Wednesday 28 November 2012

Hummus


Hummus is a middle eastern dish which is served as dip or spread with pita bread.It is an arabic word meaning chickpeas.It is very nutritious since chickpeas are a good source of protein and fiber.

Ingredients -
chickpeas/kabuli chana -1cup
lemon juice -2tbspn
salt
garlic -6cloves
olive oil/sunflower oil
tahini(sesame seeds/til paste) -1tspn(optional)

Method -
Soak the kabuli chana overnight or for 6-7hours.
Pressure cook till soft.
Blend together - mashed chana,oil,lemon juice,salt,garlic and tahini.
Tahini is a paste made out of sesame seeds or til.
Serve as a dip with any kind of bread.

Thursday 15 November 2012

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal also known as white oats is ground oat grains.It is very healthy because of its high fiber content and hence it is said a daily bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol.So needless to say these cookies are very healthy :)

Ingredients -
oatmeal - 2cups
all purpose flour/maida - 2cups
baking powder - 1tspn
salt - 1/2 tspn
cinnamon/dalchini powder - 1tspn
butter - 1cup
powdered sugar - 1.5cups
honey - 1tbspn
vanilla essence - 1tspn
eggs - 2


Method -
Take a bowl and mix the maida,baking powder,salt and cinnamon powder.
In another bowl mix the butter and sugar for a couple of minutes.
Add honey,essence and eggs and beat.
Add the flour mixture and oats and mix well.
Pre-heat the oven to 180degreeC.Grease the baking tray with oil.
Prepare small balls out of the cookie mixture and place on the tray with sufficient space in-between.
Keep the tray in the preheated oven and bake for around 20min.
Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container.
This quantity makes around 18-20 cookies.
Enjoy healthy oatmeal cookies during tea-time :-)

Monday 12 November 2012

Baked Beans

Baked beans despite the name are not baked but generally stewed in a sauce.This is a common dish you will find in an english breakfast.It is generally a sweeter version in the west, but this recipe posted here is an Indian style baked beans :)

Ingredients -
kidney beans/rajma(1 cup)
onion(1 medium)
green chillies(3-4)
tomato(1 medium)
tomato ketchup(2tbspn)
salt
olive oil

Method-
Soak the beans overnight or for 7-8hours.
Pressure cook them till soft with some salt.
Chop onion and chillies finely.
Blanch the tomato ie- cook it in boiling water for 5min.
Remove the outer peel and make a puree out of it.
Heat a non-stick pan with some olive oil.Substitute with sunflower oil if you do not have oilve oil.
Add the chopped onion and chillies.
Saute for 2min.
Add the tomato puree and ketchup.
Put in the cooked beans and let it cook in the tomato sauce.
Cook till its semi-dry.
Serve hot with toast or it tastes equally yummy as a healthy snack :-)