Quick Paneer Parathas ~ Wholesome Meal for Kids Day 2!

The day started quite hectic but luckily we managed to get things done on time. There was a last minute change in the menu as Konda wanted the same Pithiki Pappu Kura for dosa today, for which Athamma has those beans skinned ready. She infact prepared the kura by the time I got to the kitchen. Last night when I was getting the kids sleep, they insisted I sleep too without having to work. So I thought I would just pretend instead promptly slept and got up with start as I had planned for few posts. Plus had to soak the dals for the Onion dosa that is planned for BC. I was thankfully able to complete all my tasks.

When I checked the menu for today, Konda had asked for Paneer Parathas. I was thinking of the same way of making those quick Aloo Parathas. Once her breakfast was ready, I got into making these simple Paneer Parathas that will not be a messy lunch for her. So blended everything to the dough and had them going. By the time Konda was ready, the boys got up so naturally things had a way to get delayed. So hurriedly clicked few pictures of the box saying I surely want to share this simple and quick meal.

There is really no big recipe here but I thought how it will be to taking pictures everyday and sharing it here with you all!

Quick Paneer Parathas

Ingredients Needed

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Grated Paneer - 3 - 4 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric a pinch
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp (opt)
Ghee/ Clarified Butter - 1 tsp
Oil for cooking the parathas

Method to prepare:

In a bowl, take the wheat flour, along with grated paneer, salt, chili powder, turmeric, garam masala and ghee. Knead well to get a pliable dough. Let it rest for 5 - 10 mins.

Heat a tawa/ skillet, reduce to medium heat when the skillet is hot.

Meanwhile, divide the dough into equal balls, preferable small ones as kids live to handle tiny parathas. Dust the ball with flour and roll out to small discs.

Grease the pan with little oil so that the parathas don't stick to the pan. Place the rolled out parathas on the pan, when you see it bubbling out, flip to the other side and cook. Spread little oil on both sides and cook evenly.

This can be eaten as such or with Curds/ pickle.

Notes :

• Since you have added ghee to the dough, you need not add lots of oil. Also you need to cook this on relatively high flame, as else the parathas tend to become hard as the dough has ghee in it.
• Instead of ghee you can add curds/yogurts for getting soft parathas.
• Make it more spicy by adding cumin powder, fennel seeds or even coriander powder. Depends on how much spice your kid eats.
• Variations can be by adding finely chopped or grated onions and corianders too.

I was very happy knowing that Konda loved the Idli upma with Podi, hope she enjoys this too.

I almost think I should have made the event as wholesome lunch with the lunch items that I am preparing! But I guess this makes up as both a breakfast or lunch item!

Idli Upma with Podi - Kids Lunch Box, Menu for Kids!

The second week in planning a menu for daughter was successfully written down and plans to execute it to the T is decided. Konda was most disappointed in not having most of the items not done last week with her being at home on holidays. So to address that she suggested most of the dishes that she missed for this week. Though I tried to change it.

The most interesting thing was, when I called her in for a chat on this, the boys were eager to let me know what they wanted too. It was so cute that they said "Amma, maaki Maggi Pampi (Ma, send us Maggi)" They are so fond of Maggi, I guess all kids are, that they won't mind being given this everyday. I restrict to once a week, though I find it very hard to make them forget it.

Anyway this is the menu planned for this week.

Week 2	Breakfast	Lunch
Monday	Idli with Groundnut Chutney	Idli Upma with Podi
Tuesday	Dosa with Carrot Kurma	Stuffed Paneer Parathas
Wednesday	Bread Jam	Parotta with PButter Masala
Thursday	Semiya Upma	Curd Rice with Pickle
Friday	Dosa with Pithiki Pappu Kura	Sandwich

The Idli Upma with Podi is nothing but Idli very nicely mashed with Podi and ghee and packed. This is one of my most favorite lunch during school. Since I planned for Idli with chutney for breakfast, I convinced her to take this for lunch. Konda actually likes the Idli mashed and mixed with Sambar. Its been a while since I made it for her. I prefer that as it so much healthy and tasty too.

This is box that Konda carried with her. Double flovoured Cakes for snacks and Lays classic salted along with Idli Upma with Podi.

Have a great week ahead!

Moong Dal Halwa ~ Indian Cooking Challenge for December!

My tryst with Moong Dal Halwa started many years ago. I first tasted it on December 24th 1995 to be exact, for a breakfast. I remember so well because the trip was an unforgetable one, we were visiting Bombay, my first trip for a friends wedding. It was a punjabi wedding, an occasion we all enjoyed to every small bit. The food that we were treated to was the best one could ask of a punjabi khanna. Days may have passed without a hint, but memories still linger very heavily, unforgettably!

During my visit to Delhi in October this year, I was eager to taste Moong dal halwa but was most disappointed to learn that they don't make this halwa at that time as it is a winter special! I had previously attempted this halwa as hubby dear likes it a lot. Researching many sites and books and notes from North Indian friends, I finally made the halwa, it came out well. Hubby dear said it tasted great but not like the one he remembers from Delhi.

This was the story last year. Now just couple of weeks ago while I was chatting with Simran, we somehow got into discussing the next dish for us to work on for ICC, I remembered that her Mom must know how to make Moong Dhal Halwa. So with all eagerness asked if her mom has an authentic recipe for Moong Dal halwa. Yes came the answer and rest is history. She mailed me her mom's recipe, infact two versions of it.

And guess what, I requested Lataji to make this ahead of time to help us with notes. She was most kind enough and infact made both the versions and sent me her notes and exact steps to follow.

So thanks to Simran's Mom for the recipe and Lataji for giving us notes on the recipe. One recipe calls for using Khova, the other plain dal. I followed the one with just dal.

Moong Dal Halwa

Soaking Time : Overnight
Preparation Time : 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 - 45 mins

Recipe 1 with khoya

Ingredients Needed:

Split (Yellow) Moong dal - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup - 1 cup (depending on your preference)
Clarified Butter / Ghee - 1/2 cup
Khoya - 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts and raisins for garnish

You can make any quantity with this as long as you keep this ratio constant : equal amounts of dal and sugar, half the ghee and khoya.

Method to prepare:

Lightly roast the 1 cup of moong dal, wash, soak overnight and be ground to a fine paste adding very little water.


Take a thick bottom pan, heat 1/2 cup ghee and fry the moong dal paste till it turns brownish and releases the ghee. Add sugar and khoya.



Stir fry until both the sugar and khoya are well absorbed. Turn off the heat, then mix in cashew nuts and raisins.




Recipe 2 with just the dal

Split (Yellow) Moong dhal - 1 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cups to 1 cup (as per required sweetness)
Milk - 1/2 cup (Notes from Lataji - instead of water for the sugar, this gives the khoya added taste, Simran's recipe asked for water)
Cashews/ raisins roasted in ghee for garnish.

Method to Prepare:

1. Soak 1 cup moong dal overnight. Next morning, grind to a paste.
2. Heat a heavy Kadai, take initially only 1/2 of the ghee and heat it.
3. Add the dhal and stir continuously, not allowing lumps to form. This part is very tricky as the dhal cooks really fast, irrespective of the ghee.
4. Keep the heat at the lowest and keep stirring even after the dhal becomes thick.
5. Add the rest of the ghee intermittently and cook the dhal until aromatic and the ghee starts oozing out.
6. Meanwhile mix the sugar with water/ milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Add this slowly to the cooking dhal.
7. Keep the fir low at all times and break lumps if formed while adding the sugar and water/ milk mix.
8. Cook until the ghee surfaces.
9. Garnish with cashews and raisins.

Notes :

• Use a thick bottom pan or better nonstick pan
• Don't leave the halwa unattended. The dal can stick and it can go from just done to burnt in a second so keep stirring as much as possible. You should remember to keep stirring to prevent dhal from sticking irrespective of the ghee added.
• You aren't looking for the halwa to get too thick when you turn off the heat. It was thicken as it cools.
• Cook until ghee surfaces on the sides and the halwa attains a very nice shine.
• Initially, it may appear that all the ghee is being used up. But as the dhal cooks the ghee separates. So the ghee measure is sufficient.
• In both recipes depending on how you got the moong dal paste, you may require slightly more ghee to get the texture
• Though original recipe didn't call for roasting the dhal before soaking, Lataji felt roasting it a bit gives more fragrance.

To all my ICC members, please link your Moong Dal Halwa to Mr. Linky.

Bottle Gourd Tikkis ~ Healthy Snacks for Kids!

After announcing an event which I felt was the only way I could get Konda eat properly, I was happy getting her involved in letting me know what she wants for this week. I even made her read the entire post. She was very pleased being the topic of discussion. I thought it was best if we arrive at a menu as I do for our week. Guess what, it really helped me the last two days in not wasting time thinking what to make for her.

Below is what she wanted for this week. I am hoping I can change this next week with more ideas. Looking at the menu I was thinking maybe I should mix and match items so as to suit everybody's taste at home without ending up with different menus to follow!

I was always thinking I should put things properly in a table, but never came around doing the html part it. Recently I came across a site that gives easy solution. I remember seeing Meeta use it. When it didn't work for me, she offered to do it for me, which was really so very sweet. Then I went about creating on my own, though I ended up struggling with the table not sure where I was going wrong. Medhaa helped out with the current one. Looks like I was giving too many spaces. Thanks Medhaa!

Week 1	Breakfast	Lunch
Monday	Idli with Tomato Chutney	Macaroni
Tuesday	Dosa with Pithiki Pappu Kura	Aloo Paratha
Wednesday	Bread Jam	Curd Rice with Aloo Roast
Thursday	Pasta/ Maggi	Poori with Subji
Friday	Smoothies with Sandwich	Variety Rice

I have successfully completed two days without hassle. I am hoping this will surely help me glide through without any other problem!

This Saturday was pretty hectic as I was busy trying to cook as many as I can and shoot them. In the process, Athamma had a piece of bottle gourd that she wanted to make tikkis with as I did with Aloo Paneer Tikkis. The afternoon was spent making these and the moment I took pictures, Konda was right on them and it vanished within minutes!

She said it was absolutely delicious! We need not feel guilty as these are not deep fried. I used about 2 tsp of oil for 8 tikkis. Plus the fact that you can actually sneak in lot of veggies like this for the kids to eat without knowing it.

Bottle gourd Tikkis

Ingredients Needed

Bottle gourd grated - 50 gms
Awain / Vammu a pinch
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 ts
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds- a pinch
Chili powder - 3/4 tsp
Gram powder - 2 -3 tsp
Besan - 3 - 4 tsp
Wheat flour - 1 tsp
Bread crumbs
Oil - for cooking

Method to prepare:

Peel and grate the bottle gourd, mix in the other ingredients except bread crumbs. Since water comes out while grating, you need not add water to form the tikkis.

Ensure the dough is not watery, if required add more flour. Shape them into small discs. Roll them on bread crumbs.

Heat a non stick pan, and shallow fry them on both sides by sprinkling drops of oil.

Serve hot with ketchup.

These make a perfect evening snack for kids and its not heavy work for us too. Do try these and let me know how your kid likes it!

Announcing Kid's Delight ~ Wholesome Breakfast!

It's been on my mind for a while but I was just procrastinating. It's the same story everyday, last year it was different this year it is a different fancy. I am talking about Konda's fancy to what she wants to eat for her breakfast and lunch. I feel so guilty if I pack the same food for lunch too. But she insists so and I am so short of ideas basically if you ask me.

Last year she was fond of dosas and would only want that for all meals. Even if I refuse to pack that, she would insist she wants only that. That too with ketchup of all dips. This year the fancy has turned to breads. For a while she was fine with jams, then it was the cheese, then it was bread pizza, finally landed on simple ghee toasted slices or with cheese spreads. Whatever might the spread be, it was only bread. She even asked me why I won't send her bread for lunch. I said I consider bread slices to be something of a light filling, two slices of bread would hardly mean wholesome meal for a growing kid. She wants to differ on that.

She even cajoled me to pack her some maggi. Till now I have never budged on that. I don't mind feeding Maggi for breakfast, served hot. But never for a cold meal. Occasionally I pack her those pasta treats, hoping it will be little better. But I know better, it's just that kids love these but we can never agree on. She is fine with eating Idli but it is only with one side dish she likes. Same goes for Dosa, she likes to eat only with Carrot Kurma or few specific Kurmas that I make with Dosas. Now I can't be making only these on every other day right. She dislikes Upma, Ponga or any of those heavy stuffs, so there is no way I can sneak these into her lunch box.

Same goes for their snacks too. The other day I was talking to Kamala, when she expressed how she wishes I come back with another series on the Kids special event. She said she was finding it hard to get ideas for her kids too. Many of you had expressed the same thought. So naturally I decided why not make this a monthly event, were we all can pool in and discuss which worked and which didn't . And of course share the recipe on the blog for all to benefit from it.

Kids I have seen are more receptive to dishes served beautifully and in a different way. It works out even more when they make it themselves. I was shocked and surprised when Konda spread the most perfect paper dosa last night. I was just not ready to accept that she can handle a ladle or a hot pan! I never allow her into the kitchen for this fear. And she always keep complaining that I never allow her to do any cooking. Finally I realized she can make beautiful dosas, it was simply beyond me. She was more receptive when I said she got to eat one of what I make too.

Well I say that right now my most pressing task is to prepare something that my 8 yr old daughter eats. Most of what my daughter eats or what I make for my kids are already posted. I am part of an online group which shares the most interesting and useful information. Some of what I am going to share here are ideas from that group, I have forever wanted to try few of those dishes listed, though most are what I already prepare, at least the Indian varieties.

Below are basically some ideas that came to mind. Indian Dishes are what I would normally prepare.

Indian Dishes
Rice Roti with Veggies
Dosa - Regular, Rava, Adai, Moong dal, Wheat, Ragi, Oats, Cheese
Appam
Parathas with different vegetable stuffing with mild masala
Cracked wheat/Bulgar upma
Idiyappam
Idli - Rava or regular
Poha
Pongal
Poori
Puffed rice upma (uggani)
Puttu
Mini Idly / Mini Dosa with/without Vegetables
Fruits with yogurt


Western Dishes
Bagel and cheese
Bread pizza
Bread with cheese spread
Bread with table butter and cucumber
French Toast with maple syrup
Frozen pancakes/homemade ones
Oats with milk and fruit
Peanut butter jelly sandwich
Egg - Scrambled, Boiled, Omelette
Cheese toast
Macroni, pasta
Mini muffins
Mini Pancakes

The ones in italics refer to what I make. I will be most happy getting tried and tested recipes for the rest.
New ideas other than what is listed here can also be sent for the event. I have listed only what came to my mind!


Coming to the event part, this event aims to be different! How different you ask? Here's how it is.

1. First, you can share something that your kid eats and I will try it out and feature them here.
2. Second you can post something that you know is a kid's favorite and I will do a round up by the last date.

Ok for this month, the theme is going to be Wholesome Breakfast dishes. And you are most welcome to share your ideas.I have already listed the items that I already prepare/know. So I will be looking for ideas from all of you. If you find something missing here you can share the recipe in the comment section. I will prepare those and feed my kids. You can also prepare those and post in your blog for the event.

End of the month, I will feature all the dishes that I prepared and were accepted by kids, plus the entries you send in. Of course these will be again tried by me.

I can see that this may be confusing, if so please ask. I know I can end up being confusing at times!

Guidelines for the event:

Leave in the comment section, new ideas for me to prepare during the month.

Else prepare some dish fitting to the theme and post on your blog from now till the event closing date (15th of every month).

Once done, you can fill in your details in the form below for the event (if you face problem please mail me, I will address it)

Link back to this announcement and add the logo so that we spread the news on the event.

The dish prepared should have been accepted by your own kid, kid from your family or friends. Or even something that you loved eating as a kid. (Because the idea is to tell my kids that another kid loved this, there by making them eat it, thank you!)

The last date for the entries is 15th Feb 2010. You can send in as many entries you can.

Other ideas and suggestions are most welcome. I am hoping you will help me get better ideas!

Beaten Rice with Jaggary and Banana

I started this year with the intention of making more kids related posts and ones that are really favorite with them. I managed to do only handful of them. Atleast I am happy that what got posted were really their favorites. I enjoyed reading the feedback that whoever tried it with their kids, they loved it. What's more to it than this feedback right!

We have kind of settled to a pretty much decided menu for the kids lunch. So now that they like it, I fear to change it fearing if it was not liked by them, then what will they eat. So any experiment comes only for their snack time, which is at home. I am more free to try out new things to see if they like it or not. I know for sure they love beaten rice varieties.

With that in mind, this simple yet delicious healthy snack was an idea from Amma, who said its quick and yet great on taste. Doesn't really take much time for preparation.

Ingredients Needed:

Beaten Rice - 2 cups
Jaggary - 1 cup
Grated fresh coconut - 2 tsp
Ripe Banana -1

Method to prepare:

Wash and soak the beaten rice in water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile melt the jaggary and remove scum if any.

Drain the beaten rice from water over a colander. Keep it aside.

Then boil it again till you get a 1 thread consistency. Remove from fire, add the drained beaten rice and mix well.

Add in the grated fresh coconut and just before serving, add sliced banana.

This is a great filler for snack time, you can pack this for school along with full banana. The kid can scoop in the beaten rice alternate with the banana.

Else the sliced banana can be coated lightly with sugar to prevent browning from happening. But it is always best to pack in unpeeled banana with this for school.

Pomegranate, Indian Gooseberry and Fenugreek powder for Diabetics

This is yet another wonder powder that we can make from what we have at home for Diabetes care.

I have listed below some details on each of these three fruits that I have used, sourced from internet. I am not able to cite specific site for contributing these details, but in general the information is retrieved from researching on many sites available online. I would like to thank the individual authors for their contribution.

Pomegranate
Apart from being healthy, pomegranate is delicious too. Pomegranate consists of antioxidant, antiviral and anti-tumour properties. It is said to be a good source of vitamins as it includes vitamin A, C and E as well as folic acid. This fruit consists of three times the antioxidants of wine or green tea. It is said to be the powerhouse of health. Pomegranates are known mostly for curing the problems related to heart and for maintaining effective and healthy blood circulation. Other health benefits include cure of stomach disorders, cancer, dental care, osteoarthritis, anemia and diabetes.

Indian Gooseberry

In general Indian Gooseberry is considered very healthy due to its high vitamin C content. Amla enhances food absorption, balances stomach acid, fortifies the liver, nourishes the brain and mental functioning, supports the heart, strengthens the lungs, regulates elimination, enhances fertility, helps the urinary system, is good for the skin, promotes healthier hair, acts as a body coolant, flushes out toxins, increases vitality, strengthens the eyes, improves muscle tone and it acts as an antioxidant.

The health benefits of amla include the following:

* Eye care: Taking Gooseberry juice with honey is good for improving eyesight. It improves nearsightedness and cataract. It reduces interocular tension.
* Diabetes: Gooseberry contains chromium. It has a therapeutic value in diabetics. Indian Gooseberry or Amla stimulate the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin. Thus it reduces blood sugar in diabetic patient.
* Heart disease: Gooseberry strengthens heart muscles. So heart pumps blood flawless throughout the body.
* Infection: Due t o its antibacterial and astringent attributes the Indian Gooseberry protects against infection. It improves body resistance.
* Hair loss: Amla is used in many hair tonics. It enriches hair growth and hair pigmentation. It strengthens roots of hair , maintains color and luster. Eating fresh fruit or applying its paste on hair roots improves hair growth and color.
* Improving appetite: Consuming Gooseberry powder with butter and honey before meal improves appetite. It helps in balancing Nitrogen level and thus increases weight in a healthy way.

Fenugreek

Due to its estrogen-like properties, fenugreek has been found to help increase libido and lessen the effect of hot flashes and mood fluctuations that are common symptoms of menopause and PMS. In India and China it has also been used to treat arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, improve digestion, maintain a healthy metabolism, increase libido and male potency, cure skin problems (wounds, rashes and boils), treat sore throat, and cure acid reflux. Fenugreek also has a long history of use for the treatment of reproductive disorders, to induce labor, to treat hormonal disorders, to help with breast enlargement, and to reduce menstrual pain. Recent studies have shown that Fenugreek helps lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels, and may be an effective treatment for both type 1 and 2 diabetes. Fenugreek is also being studied for its cardiovascular benefits.


What you see above is the final ball that is done by drying these skin of Pomegranate, pitted Indian gooseberry and dried fenugreek. All these are sun dried for a day or till they are really dry and powder to a fine powder.

Once a day, the diabetic patient can mix all three powders with little water and consume.


Sending this to Sadhana & Muskaan event on Home Remedies.

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
Dietary aspects in the management of diabetes ~ Glycemic Index!
Glycemic Index of different foods

Diabetes Diet:

Appey or Paniyaram with Jowar Four
Healthly Snack with Chickpea Salad
Gooseberry Rice
Guava ~ the Wonder Fruit
Jamun Seed Powder ~ Diet for Diabetics!
Stuffed Paratha with Greens