WARM OATMEAL AND APPLE

This delicious recipe is sweet, creamy and satisfying and will start your day with a nice warm tummy. It gives a full feeling, and one tends to avoid unnecessary snacking. Its great for the heart and a superb metabolism booster. Best of all, it tastes like a slice of apple pie!
Warm Oatmeal and apple

Ingredients
 
1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
2 cups skimmed milk
1 apple thinly sliced then cut into bite sized pieces
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon organic honey
2 chopped dates
Method of cooking 

In a medium sauce pan combine the almond milk, oatmeal, cinnamon. Heat on low until most of the milk is absorbed (stir as needed), See that most of the milk is absorbed. If you like your apples soft add them in now too, if you like some crunch wait until you are about to serve to stir in. In about 15-20 minutes total, remove from heat, add honey and chopped dates and serve.

Fish in Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

Fish pieces about 3 to 4

Turmeric powder

Fennel seeds

Nigella seeds

Fenugreek seeds

2 Onions diced

1 Tomato chopped into small pieces

2 spoons of black mustard seeds

Salt to taste

Mustard oil

Dried red chilly

2 green chillies

Fresh leaves of coriander

Method of preparation

 

Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric powder and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan till its really hot.

Place the fishes in the pan and lower the flame and allow the fish to cook.

Once it appears to be golden brown increase the flame before turning it upside down.

*This keeps the fish from breaking!!!!

After frying,keep the fish pieces aside.

In the same oil,put a dried red chilly and let it crackle.

Put the diced onions into it and fry till it gets golden brown.

Add the chopped tomato and let it cook for two minutes.

Add salt to taste and half tea spoon of turmeric powder.

Grind the mustard seeds soaked in water for about an hour along with two green chillies.

Strain the mustard sauce with the help of a strainer and set it aside.

Put this sauce into the pan and add a little water to it.

When it comes to a boil,add the pieces of fish to it.

Put one fourth spoon of fenugreek seeds,one fourth spoon of nigella seeds and one tea spoon full of fennel seeds into the gravy thus prepared and bring it to a boil.

Before serving,sprinkle mustard oil and garnish it with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

 

From Bonoshree Mukherji.

Aloo Posto ( Potatoes with poppy seeds )

Bonoshree Mukhrejee, just sent me this recipe, for my blog. Thanks friend. Love you.

 

Ingredients 

3 to 4 medium sized potatoes

3 tea spoonful of soaked poppy seeds

1 green chilly

2 to 3 spoons of mustard oil

Method of preparation

Grind the poppy seeds soaked in water for about 2 hours into a paste and keep it aside.

Take a pan and heat the oil.

Dice the potatoes into small pieces and saute them well in the oil.

Once the potatoes are golden brown,pour the paste into it and add a little water to it.

Add salt to taste and the green chilly too.

Bring it to a boil and sprinkle some mustard oil on it before serving.

Simple, rustic and amazingly yummm !!

Banana Pudding. From the Indian Subcontinent

Seema Sinha, Thank you dear friend for this amazing yummy recipe.

(Image sourced from the net)

Ingredients :
 Bananas : 7 ripe
Small cardamom :5
Sugar : 500gms
Coconut : one, with water
Raisins, cashew and saffron: as per requirement

Preparation Soak the raisins and saffron in a bit of water and keep aside.
Cut the bananas in small round pieces and start to boil it in water. Extractt the milk of the coconut and add it in this boiling mixture . Add the sugar, cardamom, mix it well, while boiling, keep stirring. Cut the cashew in thin slices, , add it in the mixture. Remove from fire, when you see that it seems the right dropping consistency, should not be very runny. Now you can add the raisins and saffron. Those with a sweet tooth, people, indulge yourselves. Instead of the white sugar, brown sugar can be used. Any little effort, towards maintaining good health, will mean something. Sweet times friends, enjoy this Indian dessert. Garnish a bit of ground cardamom, and slices of banana, and any other sliced dry fruits that you wish.

Cornball Curry ( Bhutte ki kofta curry )

Sent to me by my dear friend and  a good cook Seema Sinha.

Ingredients 

Corn on the cob: 3
Onion : 2 large
Tomato : 3 medium
Gram flour :two tablespoons, for binding and taste
Green chili, Ginger,  chopped coriander ,Garam Masala : As per requirement
Oil : for frying
Salt : To taste

Preparation

Remove corn kernels from the cob and mince them in the grinder. Mix it with Chopped and lightly sauteed onions, chopped green chili, coriander, gram flour and ginger. Make small round balls of this mixture and fry them. Keep them aside.
 For the curry 

Tomatoes : 2 medium size
Curd :50 gms
Onion : 2 medium
Garlic : 6 cloves
Chili powder, Jeera (cumin seeds), turmeric powder, ans salt : to taste

In a little bit of Ghee or oil, add Cumin seeds, let them crackle, add puree of tomatoes, fry it a little, then add curd, and the other spices. Once the spices seem to be well fried in little oil, add just enough water to submerge the corn balls in it, and to thicken the curry a bit. Once the curry seems well done, meaning just thick enough, add the koftas in it. Boil it once with the koftas ( corn balls). Serve it with hot Parathas, Rotis or puris. And add a green Chutney, complimenting and completing the colour combination, and tastes of the meal. Dont forget to add a salad, for the sake of roughage and good health. Good taste be to you!! 

 

Bishop's weed or Carom or Ajwain

Ajwain, or carom seeds as it is called, is easily available in all Indian grocery stores. Its a frequently used spice. It has a strong unique flavor and smell, mostly known for its gut healing properties.It works like a wonder drug in cases of an upset stomach. Just take 1/4th of a teaspoon, either swallow it with warm water, or then, chew it, if possible. Pure ajwain is very strong, and can have a pungency in it that many tastes cannot accept. Bad throat   Add a teaspoon of ajwain in two liters of water, boil it, and consume it through the day. See how the cough reduces, and the throat feels calm, and they say that it removes the mucous too. It serves as an antiseptic too, kills germs.If this incredible seed is soaked in lemon juice and black salt, dried in the sun, and consumed occasionally, it helps to keep the stomach in order, removes nausea and also gives a fresh taste in the mouth.
In India, it has been a very common practice among people to keep the body warm either by consuming ajwain, or then massaging the chest with ajwain heated in pure mustard oil. Keeps the body warm and secure from catching a cold. It is said that by applying this oil on painful joints one gets rid of joint pain too.
I know of people who grow this herb in their kitchen gardens, and consume the leaves ( I love the flavour) as a green vegetable, or seasoning on veggies, or then have them as fritters ( in a paste of bengal gram flour and fried) . The fritters taste incredible on a cool rainy day.
It plays an important role in oral hygiene too, as it kills germs in the mouth, and removes bad odor. Use of ajwain oil along with clove oil in gum pain is well known.
These are the benefits of Carrom seeds as I know, and have experienced. There may be many more.
Add on if you know, and help others benefit too. Go on!!

The Indian Spices Rage

India is known for its exclusive spices, since times immemorial. Countries of the world recognized India from the exotic spices they grew, and started trading in them. Several years ago spices were a hot commodity, its lure being the reason why many ships from all over docked here. It is said that one could even pay the rent or trade in gold with some special spices.The aroma, vitality and sharpness of these spices could well be the reason of its popularity. Not to forget the healing properties, and many more specialties that  these herbs and spices incorporated in them. Indian cuisine, with these seasonings and herbs, is considered as one of the most balanced foods of the world.
Here is a list of these spices, Wikipedia having quite a comprehensive list. The amazing quality of each, and the good it can do to the body is becoming quite a rage all over. Except that we must never overuse these strong herbs, they can harm too. Use in moderation is the key word here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_spices