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Recipe: Staying Fresh In The Summer – Sprouted Salad

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Summers in India are usually a time when many people prefer to eat lighter meals, but a heatwave like we are experiencing now makes this all the more important. You may find yourself automatically desiring light meals when the climate is hot, and there’s a science to this. Heavy food affects the metabolism, taking longer to digest, and this process increases the heat in the body. The lighter the meal, the lower the amount of internal heat generated during the digestion process. For some, a light meal may be some cooling yogurt and rice, or may even constitute simply of a tall and refreshing glass of buttermilk. As a lover of salads, I find that they are ideal for this season, and can pack many nutrients into a simple (and yes, light) dish. This sprouted salad, using homegrown sprouts and an assortment of fresh veggies, is one I’ve been making very often, and I’m glad to share it with you too.

At the start of this year, I shared the method for growing sprouts at home. You can use any legume of your choice, including fenugreek, beans and more. I love my green mung sprouts, as you may recall from that post, along with brown chana sprouts. Brown chana, also known as black chickpea, is believed to be high in iron due to its colour. As a darker legume, it’s usually eaten in the winters (as it’s heavier on the digestion than the lighter looking ones). Nature has a wonderful logic to it, which we can attune our appetites to, so as to make the most of seasonal produce. For me, I have found that the health quotient of brown chana makes it appropriate even for summer consumption, and it has made its way into this dish. It is rich not only in iron but also in protein, vitamins, calcium, phytochemicals and magnesium, and has benefits for the heart and brain functions and regularising cholesterol and blood sugar.

I’ve had my share of carb binges, partying, exotic meals in exotic destinations and culinary indulgences of all sorts. As I’ve said before, moderation is key. For me, eating right is a conscious choice, especially as I get older, and I’ve found that one of the key elements to this is ensuring that I get adequate protein in every meal. From experience, I can tell you that there is no scarcity of choice for vegetarians. This sprouted salad is an excellent example. Adding sautéed pieces of tofu or paneer will also increase the protein component of the dish.

Now, there may be something familiar about this recipe to long-term friends of re:store. That’s because re:store was one of the first entrepreneurships in Chennai to open up salad subscriptions. Back when I started the company in 2015, salads were a major component of the menu, though I’ve since honed my focus on baked goods. This one was among the bestselling items, and if you’ve eaten it before and had a craving for it anytime since, here you go – this is the recipe I used then and still do, shared with love.

That also reminds me: that was around the time when complimentary food stopped being served on many flights, so I began to pack a small container of this sprouted salad as my mid-air snack on many occasions. I still do this, in fact. This healthy salad is my preferred travel companion for short flights. It ensures that I’m feeling nourished and energised by a protein boost when I land and head into my appointments at my destination. It has the same effect on tired minds and bodies in need of rejuvenation in the summer heat.

Sprouted Salad

(Serves 2)

 

Fresh Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons spring onions

¼ cup capsicum

¼ cup raw mango (grated)

a handful of cherry tomatoes

½ cup steamed sprouts

1 tablespoon jalapenos (finely chopped)

a handful of coriander leaves (finely chopped)

¼ cup cucumber

 

Dressing ingredients

Salt to taste

1 pinch pepper

1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup

Juice of ½ a lemon

1 teaspoon pomegranate balsamic (optional)

 

Pumpkin seeds

Chopped almonds

 

In a bowl, add all the fresh ingredients. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Just before serving, add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix well.

When ready to serve, assemble all the ingredients, including the seeds and nuts, the dressing and the fresh ingredients. Mix well and gently. That’s all there is to it. Enjoy this delicious, nutritious salad and let it bring its refreshing qualities to your heat-busting methods.

You may have noticed the use of raw mango in this dish. I know some of you may be wondering whether my long-standing tradition of sharing ripe mango recipes and desserts, since the fruit is in season, will continue this year. However, given the heatwave, I thought I’d do something different and focus on replenishing and energy-boosting recipes. Don’t forget to drink lots of water, and you can always keep hydration interesting with a hearty lassi. On the subject of mangoes and indulgences, the recipe archive is right here for you to explore!

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Recipe: Tinged With Goodness – Turmeric Tea

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I was recently down with a virus (thankfully, it was not COVID), and that was when I began consuming this turmeric tea every night. I had long been making it on a nightly basis, for my husband who insists on a cup of it before bedtime. Despite his urging me to have it as well, I somehow never did. That bout of illness was an important reminder for me that we need to keep our immunity high. Healthy, homemade remedies are a time-honoured way of doing this.

It isn’t that I wasn’t occasionally consuming turmeric-based boosters – such as this turmeric shot and this sniffle-season tonic  – but making a point to have a beverage like this one every night was just not part of my routine until a few weeks ago. However, there was a nightly drink that my mother would prepare for us while we were growing up. She would put a drop of ghee in a cup, add two pinches of turmeric powder, pour hot milk over this, stir it and make my siblings and I drink it. Like most children, we hated it. Now that I am older and appreciate the medicinal values of common ingredients, it’s been a pleasure to bring some turmeric back into my bedtime routine. Now, I can’t get enough of it, and even look forward to it.

I first consumed this drink while visiting my son in Bangalore. The lady who comes in to do his cooking prepared it one day when the kitchen ran short of tea leaves. She called it “a healthy tea” and offered it as a substitute. It was so refreshing that it became a keeper in my family, and I got the recipe from her and began making it once I got back home too. It was reminiscent of the homemade remedies I’ve known, and easy to prepare as well. When I look back on my childhood, I hardly recall being given pills; nor do I recall falling seriously ill. Common, seasonal illnesses were always treated with traditional, natural cures.

It’s a healthy tea indeed, made with the goodness of turmeric. Turmeric is an antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti- inflammatory ingredient, and has been trusted for centuries as a disease preventative. It is not for nothing that a turmeric stamp is re:store’s signature, and has taken pride of place in the brand logo for six years now. You can see it right there on this blog’s header and on my product packaging too. To me, it represents good health and vibrance in all aspects of life. I love the ingredient for its versatility: it’s as useful in a curry as it is in a beverage like this.

It happens to be turmeric season now, and I’m planning to go to the South Indian heartlands where it is harvested to track the process. This adventure is something I will be sharing with you in time.

Coming back to this turmeric tea itself: you can experiment with more spices to flavour it with, depending on the season and what’s on hand in your kitchen. In rainy or wintry weather like what we’re having now in Chennai, the spices can be warming too. I like to just add lemon and honey, and sometimes a cinnamon stick or star anise. At home, we are currently mostly off dairy so we prefer it as a turmeric tea. You can turn it into a turmeric latte by adding milk and eliminating the lemon. As long as turmeric is the base, you can play around with the rest of the recipe.

The best part of this drink is that unlike my other turmeric remedies, which I use seasonally or only when I have fallen sick, this is good as a year-round drink. Many of us enjoy a warm beverage at night, and this makes for a great replacement (especially if you prefer to be dairy-free). Also, it kills your night-time sugar craving. This is good news for those of us with a sweet tooth, and I’m telling you this from experience! Something about this drink just takes away that itch. Quite the benefit, in addition to all its healing properties, no?

Turmeric Tea
(Yield: 1 cup)

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 small piece of ginger
A few drops of lemon juice
¼ teaspoon honey
1 cup boiling hot water
Some star anise

Boil the water along with the ginger and star anise. In a cup, add the turmeric powder, honey and lemon juice.

Once the water boils, pour it into the cup.

Stir and drink while it’s hot.

Incredibly simple, yet so very soothing. As I said earlier, add selected spices to flavour the beverage further, as per your wish. Let this turmeric tea relax you, and heal you as you sleep. Sweet dreams!

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Recipe: Even Better At Breakfast – Bajra Rotlo Cereal

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Still on the theme of post-festive millet-based goodness, after the previous post’s millet upma, I’m glad to share another recipe that I’ve been turning to frequently. This is another breakfast dish, and what’s even better is that it makes use of the previous day’s leftovers, maximizing resources and minimizing time. There’s a long tradition of innovative dishes that do this, as we’ve seen in my second helpings series from a few years back, and this bajra rotlo cereal fits beautifully into that category too.

Bajra, or pearl millet, is a long-fingered crop with hundreds of grains on the cob. It has been cultivated on the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years, and is a staple across different cuisines in this region. As a darker coloured millet, which indicates that it is heavier on the digestive system, it is perfect for monsoons and Indian winters. It keeps the body warm, since the digestive system is active for longer, working on those slow-release carbs, and thus reduces hunger between meal-times. I have noticed that it is one of the key ingredients consumed by farmers, such as the people I’ve met on my travels to the Rann of Kutch, where the salt-harvesting community eats bajra with chutney daily.  It has a high iron quotient, is gluten-free and is rich in amino acids, fibre and antioxidants.

Bajra rotlo is a flatbread, one of many varieties enjoyed by the Gujarati community. It is most often accompanied by a garlic chutney, but while I was growing up my mother would usually serve it to us with jaggery and ghee or else with homemade white butter. In those days, the milk quality of brands that are still around today was pure and excellent, which meant we could extract our own buttermilk from the curd, and from this the butter. I remember watching my mother churning the buttermilk, which would make the butter float on top. She would often ask me for my help. We would collect the white butter and set it aside. Having it with some bajra rotlo over dinner was one of my favourite meals.

Of course, the homemade butter no longer exists and the store-bought ones just don’t compare when it comes to this purpose. Which brings me to my second-favourite way of eating bajra rotlo: as cereal.

It’s funny how things come full circle. As a child, this was a dish that I scorned at the breakfast table. My mother would always prepare a few extra bajra rotlos, to be kept overnight for my father and her to have in the morning. She would crumble these with her hands, turning them into a cereal consistency, and my parents would eat this cereal with milk. It looked like cornflakes to us kids, which was interesting in theory, but we did not like the taste back then. I grew to love it, however. In fact, I now enjoy this deconstructed version more than I enjoy the previous night’s freshly-made, unbroken bajra rotlos themselves!

Now, when I prepare bajra rotlo cereal, the memory of my mother’s hands and the way she would crumble the rotlos always comes to me. The dish is all the more special because of this.

For the time being, no one else in my family likes bajra rotlo cereal. But they watch me eat it, just as I once watched my parents eat it. I’ve never forced it on my kids, but maybe somewhere later down the line, they’ll reach out for this comfort food on some mornings too. Fond memories really are what make food palatable, above all else. Besides, as parents we always set an example. The next generation, be they little or a little older, will make similar choices to ours. So the more healthily we eat, the better a model we set for them.

Bajra Rotlo Cereal

(Yield: 4 servings)

1 cup bajra flour

½ cup water

A pinch of salt

½ cup flour for rolling

 

Optional (non-cereal version)

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely coriander leaves

 

Put the flour in a bowl, add the pinch of salt and stir. If you plan on having the bajra rotlo as a bread, not a cereal, then make the savoury version and add the onion and coriander now. Skip these optional ingredients if you plan on having the cereal version.

Add the water. Leave a little bit behind in the cup – use just enough to make a malleable dough.

Once the dough is made you, don’t let it sit. You will have to roast the rotlo immediately.

Make four smooth balls with the dough. On a rolling board, sprinkle more flour. Place a ball of dough on it and use your palms to gently pat it out. Use your fingers to press down the edges of the rotlo. If you need the help of the rolling pin, you may use it, but very lightly and gently. Since there is no gluten, the dough will be soft and needs to be handled with care. Add more flour if necessary. Each rotlo needs to be ¼ inch in thickness. Keep dusting with flour at the bottom too. Make all four pieces.

On a hot griddle, place each rotlo individually. Use your fingers to wet the top of the rotlo with water.

Roast on one side and flip over. Cool on a medium flame. As it’s thick, it needs to cook well on the inside. Once it has spots on both sides, place the rotlo directly on the flame to cook further.

Remove from the stove and top with ghee. Allow to cool. You can now serve this bajra rotlo with chutney or dal, if you like.

To make a cereal, once it has cooled, either the same day or the next morning, simply crush or crumble the rotlo with your hands.

You can have this with cold milk, if you prefer that. I usually have mine with warm milk. Specifically, I enjoy it with almond milk, which I’ve been reaching for more and more in my quest to make my diet more vegan. You can also add some sugar, if you wish to sweeten the cereal. All in all, it makes for a complete and healthy breakfast.

The festive season also coincides with the wedding season, which means that there is a general period of celebration until February or so in most Indian communities, peppered with religious occasions as well as personal gatherings. Foods like this dish, which nourish the body and let it recover from the heavy, fried, sugary, buttery, ghee-rich foods that are eaten at special events, are welcome and appreciated after and between feasts. This isn’t to knock indulgent foods at all – in fact, I have noticed how traditional ingredients like gond or gum resin, which are used in laddoos, are a warming agent and boost immunity. There’s a culinary and seasonal logic to indulgence too. But the body really does feel better when some millets are in the mix, balancing out the treats.

I’ve got quite a repertoire of millet-based dishes in my recipe archive, if you are keen to bring this nutritious category into your kitchen more often. Having tried this bajra rotlo cereal, if you find that you’re a fan of pearl millet at breakfast, the traditional Gujarati bajra ghensh is also a fantastic option. Here’s to happy, healthy mornings!

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Recipe: Post-Diwali Downtime – Millet Upma

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After the abundance of sweets, treats and fried foods of Diwali and Navaratri, hopefully accompanied by equally large helpings of blessings and joy, it’s back to trying to eat clean and healthy. This month is all about giving the body’s systems time to settle down before the culinary excitements of Christmas and the New Year beckon again. In this part of the world, this is also a time of rains, which call for immunity-boosting and warming foods as well. With all of this in mind, and taking a cue only from what I’ve been preparing for my family and myself, I’m delighted to share the recipe for a type of comfort food that is ideal for this time of year: millet upma.

Upma is a kind of porridge that is consumed across South India, in several variations. Its base may be semolina, vermicelli, corn, whole wheat or rice. Here, I have chosen to use a millet as the base, specifically the little millet. Millets and soups are perfect for the current weather. While soups are not really a part of the local cuisine, millets have a very long tradition of usage here. I’m quite an advocate for cutting down on white rice consumption in favour of nutritious millets, and you can explore many more millet-based recipes in my blog archives if you’re interested in doing the same.

As well as being a great place to start if you’re new to millets, this dish is also just the perfect way to start your day. Now, the truth is that millets taste healthy, which you know means that the family will fuss over it and make faces – at first. But as I’ve observed from my own grown kids, a millet upma is most welcome at breakfast after a night of partying or feasting. It’s just the kind of thing that calms body and mind, and boosts energy levels at the same time. So I choose a millet upma at the right moment during other times of the year, but it’s whipped up quite frequently in my kitchen in the post-festive period. We also have it as a light dinner, with more vegetables added to the mix. It’s especially great if you’re like me and have dinner early, as the millet gives you energy for the remaining hours of the evening, while still being easy to digest at night.

When cooking millets, the amount of water you add will depend on the size of the grain. Heavier millets – bigger in size and darker in colour – are traditionally used in monsoons and winters as they take more time to digest, hence warm the body for a longer time. However, I’ve chosen a sort of in-between. The little millet, known in Tamil as samai, is a larger grain but has a lighter colour. Use the millet of your preference, and do remember that depending on the type, you may need to pressure cook it or soak it overnight. You will also need to figure out the water level so that the result is a dish that is tender and crumbly. The consistency of the cooked millet should not be sticky.

Millet Upma

(Yield: 2-4 persons)

¾ cup little millet

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup chopped beans and carrots

2 tablespoons oil

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

A few curry leaves

1 green chilli

1¼ cups water

A squeeze of lemon juice

Salt to taste

Rinse the millet and set aside. Heat a kadai and add the oil. Once the oil heats up, add the mustard and cumin seeds. Allow them to splutter and then add the remaining vegetables, green chilli and curry leaves.

Cook until the vegetables become tender and then add the water. Once the water has boiled, add the millet. Then add the salt and stir well. Keep the flame low, cover the kadai with a lid, and allow all the water to be cooked. The millet grain should be tender and not sticky.

Add some lemon juice and stir gently. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot, and enjoy the taste of a healthy meal that your body will thank you for!

As I said earlier, there is a long history of millet consumption both in India as well as in my household, as shared here on my blog. I hope this millet upma recipe intrigues you into exploring this food category further. I’ve got a whole range, from the traditional – bajra ghensh, seven-grain khichdo, ragi dosa with peanut chutney, chakkara pongal, ragi kanji and little millet rice with green beans poriyal – to the innovative or internationally-inspired – vegan millet thayirsadam, vegan chili and Indian veg millet salad. I’d love to know about your own journey with millets, too!

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Recipe: An Eggs-cellent Breakfast – Egg Stir-Fry

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As I’ve been whining over so many recent posts, I’m on a stay-off-carbs personal menu and this can sometimes be quite a challenge! The key is in creating meals that are not only healthy but also delicious, even as one watches what one eats. Here is another recipe in this category, a breakfast egg stir-fry that I have quite often.

While eggs are what I usually make this dish with, I sometimes substitute them with paneer or tofu, depending on the mood of the morning. The lovely part of this recipe is that whether you make it a vegan one or an egg-based one, it gives you a protein high that will carry you through your tasks all the way till lunch time. It’s perfect for a post work-out breakfast, and it also happens to be grain-free – just what the doctor prescribed!

It is said that a high protein diet helps you cut down on your sugar cravings. I’ve seen this proved true, in terms of my body’s own requirements. It’s no secret that I have an incredible sweet tooth, as the plethora of desserts I’ve shared will show you, if not my penchant for baking for others. Let me let you in on something: there was a time when I used to bake a tiny little cupcake using the batter of every cake order, under the pretext of ‘tasting’ it. Needless to say, that was quite a few tiny little cupcakes enjoyed, all in the name of quality control! I no longer do this, and I suspect that including more protein in my morning meal may well be the reason why.

That’s not to say that I restrict myself. I only mean that I no longer have an irrepressible sweet tooth. When I do indulge myself, it is mindfully done. The lovely variety of cake orders I’ve been fulfilling lately – a celebratory red velvet, a vegan vanilla lavender, a sugar-free date, an eggless almond – have certainly inspired me to make those tiny little cupcakes on the side for myself too. One should give in to temptation now and then, as long as it is within the limits of one’s overall healthy eating plan. If you feel like a slice or two of cake, I’d be more than happy to bake you one, and you’re welcome to tease me about the tiny cupcake on the side. Get in touch!

There are always reasons why our bodies crave any kind of food, be it sugar or spice or something else altogether. Listen to your body, understand what it’s really asking for, and give it the right nourishment. As is famously said, you are what you eat.

To return to the subject of our protein cravings and needs, it isn’t true that vegetarians or vegans have trouble meeting this quotient. I tend to eat a largely vegetarian or vegan diet, but flexibly so. Whether I put eggs, tofu or paneer into this dish is entirely a question of that day’s likes or dislikes. I’m a moody eater, and can be put off even by favourite ingredients for phases, just as I can be obsessive about certain ingredients for phases. I find that listening to my body’s likes and dislikes is a part of healthy eating, and it’s a skill I learned slowly. Healthy eating is never just about the ingredients or portions alone.

Egg Stir-Fry

(Serves 2)

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onions

3 boiled eggs (sliced)

2 cups chopped veggies (broccoli, bell peppers)

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon amchur powder (optional)

½ teaspoon garam masala

1 pinch of turmeric

½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder

¼ teaspoon black pepper powder

A generous sprinkling of coriander leaves

Heat a pan and add the olive oil. Now, add the onions and vegetables. Many vegetables complement eggs, so add whatever you prefer. Personally, I avoid starchy ones and use bell peppers and broccoli quite often. It’s a combination I like, and so I usually stick to it. Tomatoes are also a good choice, so do toss them in if you enjoy them.

Stir on a high flame until golden, then add the spices.

Mix well. Finally, add the boiled eggs. Garnish with the coriander leaves, and serve. Enjoy this delicious start to your day!

If you’re a fan of eggs, you may also want to try out a somewhat more extravagant (or should that be eggs-travagant?) and extremely filling Middle Eastern/North African dish known as the shakshouka, my recipe for which I shared here. As always, I’d love to know your thoughts!

 

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Recipe: A Feast Of Its Own – Seven-Grain Khichdo

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For centuries, Gujaratis observed the harvest season of Sankranti (which takes place in January) with a special dish, a seven-grain khichdo which celebrated the bounty of the earth. It was originally made with fresh, still green grains, and cooked for many hours in a large brass pot on coal. It would be prepared right before the harvest itself, when the grains would be ripe and tender. What constituted the seven key ingredients of the recipe depended on what was being grown, and some ingredients that we may think of as being legumes or lentils also qualified. It was also sometimes made with fewer. It was called “saat dhaan” – “seven grain” – when made with all the staples, and “paanch dhaan” – “five grain” – when a couple were eliminated for reasons of convenience, availability or taste. Pearl millet (bajra), wheat, rice, split pigeon peas (toor dal), sorghum (jowar) and green gram (moong dal) were among the traditional staples used. Over time, changes in agriculture and culinary life have allowed us to enjoy this wonderful dish whenever we please.

Even still, it’s a dish with a long preparation and cooking time, so I think of it as a Sunday dish – the kind that you begin working on as soon as you wake, and which is hot and ready just in time for lunch with the whole family. This was exactly how I used to see it being prepared in my sister’s home when I would visit her when she first got married. Her mother-in-law made an amazing seven-grain khichdo, and I would observe as she soaked each ingredient separately early in the morning, then as she literally pulled out the big old brass pot and coal in order to cook it in the time-honoured way. I had the good fortune of experiencing this whole process, just as I used to watch my own mother make Navaratri handvo authentically. Biting into the piping hot khichdo when she served it at lunch after having worked on it since the crack of dawn was unimaginably beautiful. My sister and I now make this khichdo in our own ways, with our modern appliances, but of course it’s her mother-in-law’s recipe that inspired us to keep this time-consuming (but so rewarding) dish in our own repertoires.

Another significant change that has come with urbanisation is that while certain ingredients began to become available year-round, access to fresh ingredients became limited. Thus, a contemporary saat dhaan khichdo will be more likely to use dried ingredients. Here, too, availability determines what you can use. For instance, in Gujarat and Maharashtra you can get readymade chaffed wheat, with the skin removed. I haven’t been able to procure the same in Chennai, so I have to pound the grain gently, to remove the outer covering.

Hand-pounding each grain individually is an important part of the process when using dried ingredients. Each one needs a different type of pressure. Bajra and jowar can be pounded very coarsely, for example, whereas wheat breaks when you do so. Of course, if you happen to have the tender green grains, there’s no pounding required.

Then there’s the individual soaking too, with each grain requiring a different duration. Wheat, bajra and jowar take the longest, whereas rice can be soaked a few hours after the overall preparation has started. As you will likely be making this khichdo with a mix of readymade, hand-pounded or fresh grains that you have available, do use your familiarity with the ingredients to determine the preparation time you need. In addition to the grains mentioned earlier, some I have used or heard of being used in this khichdo include black-eyed peas and green chickpeas too. It just comes down to availability, but the trick is to strike a balance between heavy grains and the lighter variants.

That is because this seven-grain khichdo is itself a very filling dish. While it was a part of Sankranti traditions that honoured the harvest, there is also a science as to why it was made this way. Mid-January would still be winter in Gujarat, and a heavy dish like this made of up whole grains would take a long time to digest. It would increase the metabolism and keep the body warm through the day. It is meant to be enjoyed at lunch, served hot and without need for accompaniments, except some pickled green chilli and kadhi (which is similar to more kolumbu) if you have it.

In terms of spices, the authentic version of this dish required no sautéing and very minimal spices. Everything just went into the large brass pot and cooked away for hours. The flavours of the grains would be allowed to dominate, with just a bit of ajwain (which aids digestion), and the two quintessentials of turmeric and salt being added. That and ghee – a couple of dollops of glorious ghee are an important part of this khichdo.

My sister’s mother-in-law would include a bit of dhaniya-jeera (coriander-cumin) powder, while my sister chooses to add curry leaves and garam masala. I don’t use any of these, but I do use tomato. Play around as you wish to as well, until you hit on the seasonings you most enjoy.

Seven-Grain Khichdo

(Yield: 2-3 persons)

25 grams whole wheat (chaffed)

15 grams broken bajra

50 grams rice

15 grams green whole mung

15 grams yellow split mung dal

¼ cup green peas

¼ cup fresh green pigeon peas

Water to cook

2 tablespoons ghee

½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)

¼ teaspoon asafoetida

1 crushed tomato

¼ teaspoon turmeric

Salt to taste

1 – 2 cups hot water

Soak the grains individually until they are tender to touch, in water about an inch higher than the level of the grains.

When cooking, add 2½ times water to the quantity of grain.

You may pressure cook the bajra and wheat together as it takes a longer time to cook these grains. Set aside.

Next, pressure cook the rice and green whole mung and yellow split mung dal together. Set aside.

In a kadai, add ghee and once it becomes hot, add the ajwain first and then the asafoetida. Next, add the crushed tomato and then all the spices.

Now, add all the grains together to the hot, spiced ghee in the kadai. Stir on a medium to low flame.

Keep stirring. Add some hot water if required, especially if you like the khichdo to be soft as I do.

Once cooked, serve hot along with a garnish of green chili and coriander leaves.

The long preparation and cooking processes that go into a good seven-grain, or even five-grain, khichdo mean that it’s really meant to be a feast, just as it originally was during Sankranti. I recall how whenever my sister’s mother-in-law prepared it, she would distribute it to their neighbours as well. It is a meal in itself, meant to be shared, and meant to be consumed immediately after the many hours that the cook would have spent putting it together.

As with all tasty things that are best shared, I hope you’ll whip up a nice big batch the next time that you have half a day to linger over putting a meal together. Then, I hope you’ll gather your favourite people around the table, and enjoy this traditional Gujarati khichdo, with all the joy that the farmers of yore would have felt as they feasted with their loved ones right before the big harvest.

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Recipe: An Italian Soup, My Way – Minestrone

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Minestrone is one of my favourite soups of all time, and the recipe was promised to you not once but twice, when I shared this sourdough toast post and this all-purpose tomato purée post some months ago. I think this is the perfect time to give you this one too, as the weather has turned cold even here in Chennai and we could all use a little more warmth.

This simple and nourishing soup is an Italian dish, but one which has changed through the centuries. It is believed that it has ancient origins, from before the Roman empire came into being, and that various trade influences led to more ingredients being incorporated to the base. Knowing that there is no one version of a strictly traditional minestrone makes me confident about sharing my version. It was a dish that I used to enjoy when I travelled abroad, but later started making at home too – a combination of wanting to be more self-sufficient, missing my travel experiences during lockdown, and a little bit of culinary FOMO. I now make it once or twice a week at home. Not only is it a very healthy dish, but it also helps to clear out excess vegetables in the fridge. This means it’s a great way to get the family to eat better. A big bowl of veggie-rich minestrone with some freshly-baked bread is a complete meal in itself. You can make it even more filling by adding quinoa, brown rice or pasta too.

Most minestrones that you may eat in Europe will contain borlotti beans (also known as cranberry beans) as their base, but these were in fact first cultivated in South America. This tells you that they must have been a later addition to the popular recipe, brought in during colonial times. This being the case, I am personally very happy to use any bean I have on hand. Here in India, we have a great variety. At home, we eat a different kind of bean daily – moong, channa and so on – as it suits our mostly vegetarian diets. For this recipe, I’ve chosen to use kidney beans as they are widely available everywhere. You can substitute them for your preferred local bean.

The secret to a great minestrone is in allowing a bit of the rind from Parmesan cheese to simmer in the soup as it cooks, which gives it a nice, nutty flavour. This plus the measured use of white wine retain the European-ness of the dish. Another ingredient that elevates it for me is my homemade tomato purée. A dollop of it makes a huge difference.

I’ve shared this recipe with various friends before, all of whom seem to love it just as much as we do at home. I hope that you will too. It’s very healthy, very tasty, and while it’s no ordinary vegetable soup, it’s just as easy to make.

Minestrone

(Yield: 2 large bowls/2 persons)

 

20 grams leek

25 grams celery

25 grams spring onions

100 grams zucchini, carrot, mushroom

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

2 tablespoons tomato purée

75 grams boiled kidney beans

1 cube/2 cups vegetable stock (i.e. 2 cups of boiling hot water added to one organic cube)

2-3 tablespoons white wine

1 or 2-inch Parmesan rind

Pasta/brown rice/quinoa (optional)

 

Sauté the garlic cloves, leek, celery, spring onions, zucchini, carrot and mushroom for a few minutes.

Add the tomato purée to this and stir well.

Next, if you are using pasta or brown rice in this soup, add that as well.

Add the kidney beans and the freshly chopped herbs. Then, pour in the vegetable stock. Freshly-made stock is always best, but cubes will work well too. After this, add the Parmesan rind to the pot and let it impart its flavour to the soup.

Add the white wine and salt to taste. Be careful with the quantities of both. Just a little more wine than you need, and the whole soup is spoiled. The tomato purée already contains salt so you will need less of it than you think.

Finally, add some chilli flakes, and garnish with chopped parsley and spring onions, and a squeeze of lemon. Remove the Parmesan rind before serving.

Serve warm. This soup works beautifully as a side, and if you have added brown rice or pasta, it can become its own meal-in-a-bowl too. I often bake a garlic pull-apart roll to go with this. My kids are tempted as soon as they see that soft, fluffy pastry, straight from the oven and tantalizing them on the table, and it draws them to sit down with a freshly-made bowl of soup too.

I hope this lovely minestrone brings you much deliciousness this December, as this year winds down and we take stock (no pun intended) of all it has contained. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes prepared as often in your home as it is in mine. Try it, and tell me if that’s the case! As always, I love hearing from you.

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Recipe: Easy As “AB… Z” – Simple Zucchini Soup

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The first time that I tasted this sublime soup was when I was visiting a dear friend who was unwell at home. Valli Subbiah is an amazing person with an exceptional gift with kids, and even though she was feeling poorly, her hospitality was as gracious as ever. She offered us this simple, flavourful zucchini soup in mugs. At her place, what was served was more of a hot beverage than a soup, but I made it in a thicker consistency when I tried replicating it at home. Valli was sweet enough to share the recipe with me, and we are both happy to share it with you today.

I’m not a great fan of zucchini, so the fact that this dish captured my heart says a lot about how tasty it is. Since having this soup, I’ve been reading up about the vegetable (well, technically it’s a fruit – did you know?) and am delighted to have found a way to consume something that’s so good for us. It is excellent in supporting or easing menopause and post-menopausal health concerns, and is rich in fibre, folate, Vitamin C and a host of other nutrients.

Zucchini is native to South America, which naturally meant that European colonials began to export and cultivate it too. It’s a late addition to Indian markets, but it’s well-suited to our climes and has a fast growing period, which has made it become popular on our menus over the last decade. I certainly never had it while growing up, and am glad it’s so easily available now. Its novelty to us is revealed in the fact that we don’t have names for it in our own languages. If we are non-English speakers, we just call it “jukini” or “jugni”, in our Indian accents!

Despite the main ingredient being of foreign origin, the most interesting part of this recipe is the distinctly South Indian twist. I love the kick that curry masala gives this soup. It seasons the dish without overpowering the taste of the zucchini. I like dishes which can be subtly enhanced in this way, while retaining the basic flavours of ingredients. If you’re a fan of fusion cuisine, some of my other recipes in this category are here.

There are a few types of zucchinis available in Indian markets, and certainly even more abroad. I used the green one and decided to leave the skin on as it was very thin, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it’s also good for you. The bitterness of vegetable skins is why people usually discard them, but it’s often the case that nutrients may be packed within. Besides which, leaving the skin on meant that the colour of my soup really popped. You know how I always say that food must please the eye first, which is why attractive plating is so important when you serve a meal.

The aesthetics are also important to me as a photographer. Most of you know that the dark and moody tones of the Dutch masters are my inspiration, and I try to replicate the visual effect of their paintings through my own Indian still life and culinary images. However, while doing the photoshoots for this recipe (yup, I did a few – I have fun playing with different looks and pursuing the perfect one), I decided to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself by making white the key note. I was aiming to capture summer’s brightness in these images, and I enjoyed the result, even though deep, sombre tones will always be my big love. I’m curious to know what you think of this style. I’m always excited about new discoveries both in the kitchen at re:store and behind the camera at Nandi Shah Photography.

It’s birthday month right now at our household, with both my husband and I being June-born. But I’m off sugar for three weeks, and after the cake binge we had on this blog (therefore, at home as well!) recently, I wanted to think up something fun but healthy to share to celebrate. I’d never have imagined that zucchinis would be a part of it, but here we are. This surprisingly simply and surprisingly mood-uplifting zucchini soup really does make me feel like raising a mug or a bowl in a toast!

 

 

Zucchini Soup

(Yield: 2 servings)

 

200 grams chopped zucchini

30 grams shallots

2 – 3 cups hot water

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon curry masala

 

Sauté the shallots in olive oil. Then, add the chopped zucchini and stir for a bit.

Next, add two cups of hot water and cover the pan with a lid. If you want the soup to be a little thin, or want to serve it as a beverage, use the third cup of water as well. As you can see from the photos, I personally prefer it thicker. Allow the vegetables to cook until they are tender.

Finally, add the curry masala and turn off the flame. Allow to cool just a little and blend. Serve the soup while it’s still warm.

Now that I’ve been swayed by the charms of the zucchini, I’m curious about other ways in which I might enjoy preparing it. I’ve heard that zucchini flower fritters are a fun snack, and that the flowers themselves are quite pretty, with yellow petals that brighten the plate. I haven’t seen them outside of photographs, but I’m certainly intrigued about getting my hands on some – both for the taste, and for the look! Another simple way to use the vegetable/fruit is to slice it up, roast it with a drizzle of olive oil, and serve it with a dip. A slightly more adventurous idea, but which is actually quite easy in preparation, would be zoodles. Made with a spiraliser and eaten either raw or cooked, zoodles are an ideal alternative to pasta for those who are on gluten-free diets. Do you have more ways to incorporate zucchini into your meals? Let’s chat in the comments.

I hope you’ll enjoy this simple and wonderfully spiced zucchini soup, and that it will taste just as extraordinary to you as it did to me the first time I had it at my friend Valli’s house. That day, as we sat around exchanging stories and sipping at this deliciousness, we all felt a little better about everything. Some food items and some friends just have that effect, don’t they? I know how important it is to bring comforting things into our lives at this time, and I hope that this recipe will be one of them. May good health return to us all on the planet, and with it, may we cherish our diversity and honour our oneness.

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Recipe: Berry Delicious – Strawberry Smoothie

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Strawberries are in season right now, and are easily available at my regular grocery outlets, and I know this is true for many Indian cities. I love tossing a few of these sweet fruits into the blender, along with a fantastic mix of healthy ingredients, to whip up a smoothie in no time. I’m not a great fan of green smoothies, especially ones which involve raw spinach! While I know they are good for us, I have had an aversion to them ever since I once fell sick after having one. It’s interesting how memory and food are so strongly correlated. Our experience of food becomes a memory, and informs our next experience of the same item. But this fun, fruity smoothie is only a repository of goodness for me.

I highly recommend smoothies if you are currently going carb-free or observing a thoughtful diet. They pack a lot of nutrition into a single glass and are very filling. There comes a point when one realises the value of eating healthy and age-appropriately. This is especially important for women who undergo many physiological changes with age. Chia seeds and flax seeds are two ingredients which are particularly beneficial for us, lowering the risks of certain cancers, balancing the hormones and providing nutrition that addresses post-menopausal needs. You can sprinkle these onto salads or lightly onto various dishes, incorporating them into daily meals. I am also keen on innovative ways that centre them as major ingredients. You may remember my take on the trendy chia seed pudding here.

As with my recent stir-fry recipe and so many others that have been shared on this blog over the years, this smoothie recipe is highly adaptable based on personal tastes and dietary needs. For example, my son likes an addition of protein powder in his smoothies. I personally not only hate the taste but am against such chemical supplements, so you’ll never find the same in mine. When I find that I’m in need of a protein boost, I head for these overnight oats or a similar recipe. The use of natural ingredients is important to me, and I don’t like to compromise on this.

This smoothie is based on flaxseed meal and chia seeds, with an eclectic and ever-changing mix of other ingredients. I prepare it through the year, so while strawberry is my current star, I will substitute the base fruit depending on what is seasonal. What’s fresh and being harvested right now matters, as well as what I used to call my mood or state of mind, but which I now recognise as something deeper. I’ve come to understand that what we think of as cravings can sometimes be needs. When your body is asking for a dish, it is sometimes because of the need for a specific ingredient, and its positive effects. The healing or nourishing benefits of that ingredient may be what my body requires each time I feel an urge for a particular taste. We must learn how to listen to our bodies well so that we can identify the underlying need and address it. This means that I may add a bit of turmeric or ginger to my smoothie on certain days, because there’s an extra boost my body is asking for.

My craving for this smoothie itself sometimes reflects my body’s desire for sugar, and I find that this is one of the healthier ways to meet it – through fruits. It’s a great appetite-sater between meals. Nowadays, I often have it for breakfast, or in the evenings if I’ve eaten a complete meal in the morning instead.

As I said earlier, there’s presently an abundance of strawberries in hill stations all over India, and they are plentiful in our urban supermarkets. I believe strawberries are the easiest berry variety to grow in our climes, and they must be a newer crop as they don’t form a major part of my memories of school holiday summers in Ooty. My most cherished memories of strawberries are from trips abroad. It was wonderful to relive my childhood experience of going strawberry-picking with my aunt in America with my own kids. We ate until we were sick of strawberries, if there could even be such a thing!

That reminds me also of a long-ago visit to Italy. Somewhere just outside of Rome, I came upon a place where wild strawberries grew lushly. They were marble-sized, as small as raspberries. I learnt very little about them except that they had a very short growing season, and that they tasted sublime served with whipped cream. They also looked so beautiful that I don’t think I’d blend them into a smoothie even if you gave me a basket of them today. Their incredible flavour was meant to be relished whole. Fortunately for us here in India, strawberry crops of a good quality that are perfect for smoothies are now easily available.

Still, they carry an air of exoticness to me, and it’s never stopped being amazing to me that in some places, sweet strawberries grow the way that mangoes and bananas grow in our own backyards. We don’t care if they fall to the ground or become pulp, if monkeys steal them and just leave their skins, or if they just go to waste. The reverse must be true for those in countries where strawberries run wild, who would be alarmed that we take our own abundant tropical fruits for granted!

 

Strawberry Smoothie

(Yield: 1 glass)

 

3-4 strawberries

½ cup pomegranate arils

1 cup orange juice

1 amla (gooseberry)

1 teaspoon flax seed powder / flax seed meal

1 teaspoon chia seeds

4-5 almonds

Water as required

 

Put all the ingredients into a blender. Add water, either at room temperature or cold/iced, depending on your preference. You may also add mint leaves, as I do sometimes, if you want to enjoy that flavour.

Blend well and serve. That’s really the entire method! The beautiful simplicity of smoothies is part of what lets you be creative with the ingredients. In my home, the components change daily. A seasonal fruit, however, is always the base and the key.

Although some people add nuts directly into their smoothies, I often have a handful of whole ones alongside my drink instead. Walnuts and almonds are my favourites. Together, they form a light but nourishing meal.

You’ll find this strawberry smoothie highly flavourful and filling. It definitely falls into that “how can something so tasty be so good for you?” category! The convenience of putting it together, as well as how quickly you can consume it during a busy day, are also attractive points that make it a dish that’s well worth incorporating into your lifestyle. I’d love to know if you try it out!

 

 

 

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Recipe: Eating Sunshine & Rainbows – Meal-In-A-Bowl Stir-Fry

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I love, love, love stir-fry and could eat it every day, and some weeks I think I actually do, making different versions of it as per my craving or mood. A stir-fry is more of a category than a dish, of versatile meals-in-a-bowl that cater to any kind of dietary restrictions, lifestyles or personal taste. My boys love theirs with meat, so I regularly add chicken or prawns to theirs. Vegan versions are protein-rich with tofu. When it comes to stir-fries, to each their own.

The simplicity of my preferred version of a stir-fry, replete with healthy ingredients and subtly flavoured, is something I arrived at after sampling numerous versions in many places. For a long time, I would gravitate towards stir-fries in restaurants, which would be made in an elaborate way with different additives and sauces. Then, I encountered them again when I was studying Macrobiotics at the Kushi Institute, where we ate a lot of steamed and sautéed vegetables. Realising how adaptable this dish was, and how it could be cooked to suit a diverse range of diets, made me introduce it into my repertoire frequently.

Stir-fries are built through a checklist of choices: pick a protein, some vegetables, the oil you’re using, nuts or seeds for texture if you like them, and an optional carb. They can literally be made with whatever basic produce you have available at home on any given day. For me, the vegetables are the star ingredients and I have certain time-tested preferences about which ones are good when cooked in this style. I prefer to avoid water-based vegetables as the stir-fry technique works best for firmer, crisper ones. Baby corn, aubergine, bok choy, spinach and kale are among my favourites.

When I want my meal-in-a-bowl stir-fry to be extra filling, I add a carb to it. This can range from red rice, white rice, millets and pasta, depending entirely on what I already have on hand. All these carbs work well when layered with the other ingredients. Without them, a stir-fry can be enjoyed as a hearty salad. When I am including a carb, I tend to avoid starchy vegetables such as potatoes, so as to keep the dish light. You may also choose to avoid sugary vegetables like peas and baby corn if you’re being strict with what you’re consuming. See what works for you. Ultimately, I still feel that vegetables are vegetables and you can’t really go wrong with them. Sometimes, it’s about using your own intelligence. For instance, in Macrobiotics, nightshades such as tomatoes are believed to not be good for you. That doesn’t mean that you have to eliminate them completely. Instead, you balance them by using a smaller portion and adding extra leafy greens as a counter.

I enjoy the crunchiness and slight rawness of the vegetables so much, as well as the feel-good factor to eating them. At the Kushi Institute, I also learned that chewing is absolutely essential. In fact, at mealtimes we sometimes actually counted the number of times that we chewed one mouthful. The maximum I got to was 25! With the slightly undercooked vegetables, you have to be sure to chew them well. To keep the focus on their natural tastes and textures, I ensure that the spices I use are minimal.

The trick is to incorporate all the colours of the rainbow within the dish, which specialists say will cover a broad spectrum of your nutritional needs in a single meal. Here is a convenient list that explains how and why. I try my best to do this when putting together a stir-fry. Visually too, there’s something so beautiful and appealing about this method. It really does make me feel like I am eating a bowl of sunshine.

Not only is this perfect meal-in-a-bowl versatile in terms of the ingredients you can use, but it can work for any time of the day. Aside from lunch and dinner, I find that a portion of it with a couple of boiled eggs makes for a superb, energy-boosting breakfast. The best part is that it takes all of fifteen minutes to put a bowl together, right from chopping to serving. Sometimes, when my son says he won’t be coming home for lunch but then suddenly shows up because a meeting got cancelled, all I have to do is throw together a few fresh vegetables with a bit of chicken, the way he likes it. Within minutes, not only does he get a delicious home-cooked meal, but he is also fully fortified to get back to work.

 

Meal-In-A-Bowl Stir-Fry

(Yield: 1 bowl)

 

2 cups vegetables of your choice

½ cup cooked rice

1 tablespoon groundnut oil

¾ teaspoon ginger/garlic paste

3 tablespoons cut tofu

2 tablespoons soya sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon white sesame seeds

1 teaspoon chili paste

2 tablespoons coarsely crushed peanuts

Coriander leaves to garnish

Salt to taste

 

Add the groundnut oil in a wok. Once it’s hot, add the sesame seeds and allow them to lightly change colour.

Next, add the garlic/ginger paste. Stir for a minute.

Now, add the vegetables and stir them on a high flame. Do this for about 3 minutes. I like my vegetables to be a bit crunchy so I don’t allow them to cook until tender. Be careful not to burn or singe the ingredients at the bottom of the pan, as this will reduce their nutritional value.

I often use carrots, bell peppers, beans, broccoli, spring onions, raw mango for a bit of tang, and some corn. If you decide to follow the same choices, make sure that the carrots and beans go first as they take a while longer than the others to cook, even slightly.

If you are including a carb, add the cooked rice now. I prefer organic rice varieties, and you can also use millets or orzo pasta. Then, add the tofu.

Finally, add the salt and the remaining ingredients, substituting peanuts and sesame seeds for cashew nuts or walnuts if you prefer. In terms of flavours, some of the best ones are soya sauce, lemon juice, honey glaze and chili sauce/paste. Stir fry for a few minutes on a high flame. Serve hot, garnished with coriander.

There is no single recipe for stir-fry, but this is my favourite. I like the mix of East Asian seasonings with familiar local flavours like raw mango and peanuts, and I find they blend together beautifully. Remember that you can substitute any ingredient for another in its own category; protein, veggies, oil, nuts/seeds and carbs. And most importantly: remember the rainbow, and let green reign!

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