Palak Poori | Spinach Puri ~ Mini Bites for Kids

You can always get the kids eat better when you say you made it just for them in small size. I make small rotis for Konda and I can be sure that she will complete her box, same goes for doses or anything. While Pooris are her favorite, I can still get her interest raised when I say I made them in small size for her. Does that happen with your kids too?

And I was thinking that maybe I should make the best use of the puris and make them power packed. So wanted to try out Spinach mixed pooris. While regular pooris are something that don't face a rejection, these nutritious pooris surely face denial as the kids are reluctant to eat a different colour. Then I thought that maybe I should make it mini pooris and try mu luck.

Yes finally these mini sized pooris simply disappeared. And I plan to make Pink and Orange Pooris too, all mini bites!

I had previously made this very simple and without much of the greens. This time I added more spinach leaves and spices and made them small.

Ingredients Needed:

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Palak /Spinach - 3/4 cup (as per taste and colour)
Salt to taste
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Green Chili paste - 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil for deep frying.

Method to prepare:

Wash and blanch the spinach leaves. Puree the leaves. Alternatively you can boil them if you want.

Take the flour in a wide bowl. Mix spices, salt to the flour and combine well.

Then add the spinach puree and mix to the flour. Knead well. Add more water if required. But remember for pooris you have to get a stiff dough. Add more puree if required.

Heat a pan with oil. Pinch out very small ball from the dough and roll out into mini discs. If you want perfect small discs, cut out using a small katori or cup for even shape.

When the oil is hot, gently slide these pooris and fry on both sides.

Sending this to Champa for Kid's Delight themed one Mini Bites

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#6

Healthy Moong Dal Roti

After blogging non stop for 30 days, I had real problem on the last day. It is such an irony! But I was saved by this Roti I had made for dinner as a health diet but never got around posting as I was busy with the many cakes that were getting experimented. This healthy rotis had to take a back seat. See how it came to save the day for me!

These were made the regular way as I do with Pesarattu. Except no rice was added nor was it diluted as a Dosa batter. Instead the batter was stored as a thick paste. Just before making the dinner, we had all the chopped vegetables added to the paste, patted down on a plastic sheet and cooked on a hot tawa on both sides.

I will come back to write the proper recipe as I am having internet connectivity problem. Please enjoy the pictures until them.

Check out my Blogging Marathon buddies in action! Priya Suresh, Jay, Gayathri, Monika, PJ, Priya Vaasu, Azeema, Reva, Ayeesha, Veena, Usha & Soumya.

Carrot Paratha | Quick Lunch Box for Kids | Announcing Kid's Delight - Holiday Special!

Carrot Paratha was something that Amma had made for Konda during my SFO trip. I had asked Konda to decide on a menu for her lunch during my absence so that lunch packing gets easy and stress free for Athamma or Amma, whoever was planning to make.

When I came back both of them were telling me of this carrot paratha that Amma had made for Konda's lunch. It came during discussion one too many times. Still I never came around making it. Finally today though it was a Saturday they were working because of Children's Day celebration. So I had to plan for both snacks and lunch.

Boys also had their sports day celebrations. Chinnu won first place in running race, while Peddu was part of the Relay team. Apart from these Chinnu was in the Bunny March. We were so upset that we couldn't send Peddu for the March as he is still weak. But we all went  for  the program. Both the boys were given their medals, which they wore through the whole day.

So in all that hurry, I managed to make these Carrot Paratha for Konda's lunch. Amma told me that the grated carrots have to be sauteed before mixing in the flour.

Let's see how these are made!

 Grate the carrots, heat a pan with 1 tsp oil, saute cumin seeds, carrot, coriander leaves

Saute few minutes along with Salt to taste, Chilli powder and garam masala

 Mix the masala to the flour

 Knead into a soft dough using little water as required.

 Dust well and roll out into a big paratha. Cut out using mould you have into small parathas.

Heat a pan, grease with oil. Cook these on both sides.

Cook as many as your kids eats, allow to get cool if the lunch is going to be cold one.

Pack it right away..This stays very good till evening, I haven't tried beyond that. You don't require a side dish along with this if you are serving to kids.

Ingredients Needed:

Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Water for kneading

For Masala

Carrots, grated - 1 long
Coriander leaves handful
Salt to taste
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Method to prepare:

Grate the carrots, chop the coriander leaves.

Heat a pan with 1 tsp oil, add the cumin seeds. Then add the grated carrots, coriander leaves along with chili powder, salt and garam masala.

Saute for few minutes until the carrots are slightly gets cooked.

In a wide bowl, take the flour, add salt and the masala. Mix well.

Slowly add the water to knead into a soft dough.


Dust with flour and roll out into a big paratha. Cut out into small parathas.

Heat a tawa, grease with oil. Cook the parathas on both sides.

Pack the parathas for the kid's lunch.

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I know the Kid's Delight Finger Food Round up is still pending but somehow things just went on. Will be doing it next week. Meanwhile, please send in this month's theme entries.


Announcing this month's Kid's Delight theme is which Holiday Special

Please check out the rules and send in your entries either through the entry form or through email to spicingyourlife@gmail.com by 15th December 2010.


By Holiday Special it means you can send in any special dish that you may prepare for your children for the Holidays! It is all your innovation in play

Looking forward to your entries.

Multi Grain Paratha with Spinach and Yellow Moong Dal ~ Diabetes Diet Food!

This posted waited pretty long to get finally published! I was procrastinating every time I think this should be next. Well here I am finally with this wonderful paratha that Athamma made for herself. It is very healthy as the parathas are made with Multi grain flour.

The flour has Ragi, Wheat, Soya, Bajra etc. And with added effect of spinach and Yellow moong dal. This new Multi grain flour is our new discovery and I mostly make this for Athamma as she prefers this. Even when we grind the wheat flour at home, we add some soya, bajra to make it more fibrous and healthy.

Multi Grain Paratha with Spinach and yellow moong dal for a healthy and light dinner!

Ingredients Needed

Multi grain flour - 1 cup
Spinach - handful
Yellow Moong dal - 3 tsp
Salt to taste
Green Chilis - 1 medium
Oil for frying.


Method to prepare:

Wash and finely chop the spinach. soak the yellow moong dal for 10 - 15 mins.

In a bowl, take the flour along with salt. Squeeze out the water from spinach and yellow moong dal. Add to the flour. Mix well.

Slowly add enough water to made a soft dough. Divide into balls. Roll out as paratha and cook on a hot tawa on both sides.


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Earlier on Diabetes:

General Notes on Diabetes
Introduction to Diabetes ~ What Is Diabetes?
Why Early Diagnosis Is Important?
Diagnosing Diabetes ~ Different Types Of Diabetes
Dietary aspects in the management of diabetes

Diabetes Diet:

Appey or Paniyaram with Jowar Four
Healthly Snack with Chickpea Salad
Gooseberry Rice
Guava ~ the Wonder Fruit
=================================================================

Ragi Roti with Peas Stuffed | Indian Flat Bread Finger Millet Recipe

One really wishes things turn out perfect. When one wants to diet, one can and when want to indulge one can. How marvelous that will be right? Sadly it is not so perfect all the time. When you want to diet, you get tempted with so many delicious treats that either you are forced to make or get forced by others. You indulge in guilt, thinking all the time how the scale is going to shoot up the next time you torture it. One of the best jokes that I remember on the scale has been the all time funny one. When a chap stands on the scale, the poor scale pleads back, "One at a time please!" Imagine if that could happen real time!

I plead guilty of not following the strict diet that I wrote down here. The very reason why I published was hoping on declaring it out, I will follow it religiously. But then hey, what's fun if I follow it without any break. So here I am with all broken diets, still trying to have a grip on what might go in! Though I confess I try my level best to follow the diet. Actually as long as I was updating everyday I was following it so well. Only when I stopped it almost stopped being strict. Anyway it is another effort

Anyway I was happy that there was no increase but rather no loss too. Still it is a good sign. Coming to the recipe for today. This was one of those healthy breads that is good during dieting. I followed the same original way it is done, except made it even more healthy by adding mashed peas to the dough.

Athamma normally makes Ragi Roti by patting it down on a muslin cloth, as shown in the Ragi Roti Post.

But this time, she made it as the way she does Jonna Roti. Please check out the video we took on making Jonna Roti

Ingredients Needed:

Ragi / Millet Four - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Water

Peas stuffing

Fresh Peas / Cooked Peas - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Green Chili paste - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves

If you are using dried peas, pressure cook the peas and mash the peas. With fresh peas, just mash them with ladle and mix in the salt, chilli paste and coriander leaves together.

Mix this paste to the Ragi flour and proceed as how it is shown in Jonna Roti post.

So this was my lunch during the weekdays. Planning to make other breads with whole grains for lunch, instead of the usual Goduma dosa/ Wheat flour Dosa that I have been carrying.