Spinach Brown Rice (Diabetic)

I'm always talking about sweets, and when you see people who are suffering from diabetes you have to take a step back and think twice. This term diabetes make me upset. I have met so many people who are diabetic. Diabetes prevents you from eating food which contains sugar - artificial and any normal source of sugar. Natural sugar from fruits, vegetables, and grains are healthy but only if you take them in a limited portion. Artificial sugar is big no no. Diabetes is a silent killer and it occurs due to unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, poor nutrients intake from natural food, and blood pressure. For more information you can visit and learn more about diabetes at http://www.diabetes.ca/

Now the question that remains is how to make delicious food, which has all of the flavor, taste and is something that you can enjoy? Don't be stressed out and feel guilty if you are diabetic. Every problem has a solution. You can eat the same thing as what others have in their plate, but in a different and healthy way.

Today  I am going to hopefully please all of you, my dear friends, with this guilt free, tasty spinach brown rice plate. Hope you will enjoy it.!!!

Ingredients (serves 2):

1/2 cup organic Brown rice
4 cups water
1 Teaspoon Avocado oil
1 cup organic spinach
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/8 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon coriander  powder
1/2 tablespoon Avocado oil
1/8 teaspoon cumin seeds

Procedure:

1. Wash brown rice with water and set aside.
2. In medium pot boil 4 cups of water at medium heat.
3. Once water is boiling add 1 teaspoon of avocado oil in water and add washed brown rice.
4. Cover the pot and let it cook for 18-20 minutes until fully cooked
5. Strain in sieve and take out rice in one bowl.
6. In small pan heat 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
7. Once oil is heated, add cumin seeds and add chopped spinach.
8. Saute spinach for 2 minutes and add salt, turmeric, chili powder, coriander and cumin powder and saute for 2 more minutes.
9. Add 2-3 tablespoon water and let it cook for another 5 minutes and take out from heat.
10. Add cooked brown rice in spinach and mix well.
11. Serve hot with organic rolled oat flat bread (bhakhri) ***see recipe of oat flat bread***

Nutrients count and Calories:

Cracked Wheat Fig Halwa

Festive season has been started and lots of colors, food, colorful outfits! Oh my god I just love it. Navratri and Diwali are my favorite festival since childhood because when me and my brothers were kids, my parents used to buy us new colorful clothes, jewelry and my mother used to make so many sweet, savory, and spicy dishes. We stayed up late at night playing dandiya for all nine days of Navratri with friends and was so much fun. Now I can see the same excitement in my kids too, especially my daughter. She just loves Indian outfits and I am always trying to create different designs for her Navratri lehnga cholis. 
I will post a few pictures here soon because you know girls... they want to keep their outfits a secret until they show them to their friends!

I am fasting during Navratri to worship Durga Ma! And I love to make different prasads everyday to offer. Navratri is now famous all around the world for dandiya and garba!
Today, I have made cracked wheat and fig halwa. This is healthy because of cracked wheat and figs. Generally I like to make simple cracked wheat halwa with nuts. I got figs from Costco and this brilliant idea came in my mind. Hope you all will like it too.

Ingredients (serves 6):

1/2 cup cracked wheat
3 cup water
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee)
7 figs chopped in small pieces
2 tablespoon Cane sugar or Organic Coconut palm Sugar
1 tablespoon almond powder
Pinch of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon  cardamom powder
1/2 cup extra water if needed 

2 tablespoon chopped pistachio
Saffron strands 

Procedure:

1. On medium heat, roast cracked wheat and clarified butter (ghee) in wide pan  for 10-12 minutes until it becomes light brown.
2. Add 3 cups of water and mix cracked wheat. Stir for 5 minutes and then cover it with lid and let it cook for 20 minutes.
3. Occasionally lift the lid carefully and stir the mixture and make sure there is enough water to cook them. Otherwise they will stick on bottom of the pan and will burn. If you need you can add 1/4 cup extra water to cook them well.
4. Now after 20-25 minutes check if wheat is properly cooked . They should be soft and if you press the grains between your finger tips or taste them, you can judge that it is cooked.
5. Now add whipping cream, figs and sugar into this mixture and stir well .
6. Stir continuously until sugar is melted and mixture is leaving side and making firm texture.
7. Add  saffron, cardamom powder, nutmeg and mix it well.
8. Cool it down and mould in your choice of shape or you can serve hot with garnishing of pistachio. 

શુભ નવરાત્રી 

Baked Cake Doughnuts Eggless

Whenever we go for travelling outside of Edmonton, we always make sure to make a stop at  Tim Horton. Doughnuts are super yummy, sweet and sugary. I understand that its too sugary but once in a while its okay to have them. I made them before but they were fried ones and didn't turned out as soft as I wanted. One day  me and my kids were in Bed Bath & Beyond and I saw this doughnut tray. You know what, my kids are my the best friends, they always allow and encourage me to spend time as I need in such stores where you can find tons of amazing household items to have. But I am not a shopaholic, thank god. I always buy stuff that is necessary, so I feel like I should get a huge round of applause for saving my dear hubby's money! Lol!

So I have made these doughnuts from the recipe that was on Wilton's Doughnut pan, but I have made few changes in this recipe. And thankfully they were super soft and yummy!!

Ingredients (makes 12):

2 cups flour sifted cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar (in original recipe it is 3/4 cup sugar)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce (in original recipe 2 eggs , but I have used apple sauce)
2 tablespoon butter melted

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degree F.
2. Spray doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray
3. In large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
4. In another mixing bowl, mix applesauce, buttermilk and butter. Whisk it well.
5. Add buttermilk mixture into flour and whisk batter until well incorporated.
6. Fill doughnut cup 2/3 full, so they have enough room to bake.
7. Bake for 8-9 minutes in the middle rack of the oven until the top of the doughnuts spring back up when touched.
8. Cool it for 4-5 minutes.
9. Glaze them with your favorite glazing like cinnamon sugar, chocolate glazing, or sugar dusting.

Note:

Cake flour :  From 1 cup all purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoon flour and add 2 tablespoon corn starch to make cake flour. For step by step recipe go to:

Source:   http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cake-Flour

Super yummy!!!

Pav - Butter Buns (Eggless)

Pav, also called butter buns, are widely used in the world from breakfast to the dinner table. In India its called pav, soft spongy buns used for street food such as pav bhaji, vadapav, dabeli, vegetable burger, pav ragdo and more. Somehow I have found that in India, the pav is very soft and sweet too and I like it. Through several trial and error methods, I've finally managed to make these butter buns perfectly! And the best part is they are eggless!!!!

Ingredients (makes 15):

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon warm milk 
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoon butter at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoon milk powder
2 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon honey
pinch of cardamom powder
Butter for greasing
Extra flour for dusting
1/4 cup warm milk if you need to make soften your dough

Procedure:

1. In mixing bowl , add all purpose flour, salt, milk powder, cardamom powder and mix well with whisker .
2. In warm milk add sugar and yeast , whisk and cover it to fermentate. Make sure milk should not be too hot or cold. Process of rising yeast very much depends on the temperature of milk.
3. After 8-10 minutes yeast will rise. Whisk it well and add honey into yeast mixture. Mix it.
4. Now make well inside the flour mixture and pour yeast in flour and mix with fork or if you are using stand mixer, then at low speed add flour gradually into yeast liquid to make dough.
5. If you need more milk to make dough soft then keep extra warm milk a side and use it. Its all depend on the quality and age of flour.
6. Kneed it for 2 minutes and now dusting  flat surface or on counter top spread a generous amount of flour and knead dough by adding butter.
7. Kneed dough in circular motion to developed gluten.  It will make soft buns/pav. Make sure butter is fully melted and mixed with flour and make soft dough.
8. Cover the dough aside for 1 hour to 1:30 hours and let it rise at room temperature.
9. Once the dough rise, knead it again on floured surface and divide the dough in 15 equal parts and make round balls.
10. Greased baking pan with butter and placed these balls in pan, close to each other and cover it.
11. After an hour they will rise and in double size.
12. Preheat oven at 350 degree F and place baking tray in middle rack.
13. Bake Pav/ buns for 25-30 minutes until top of the buns will be golden brown.
14. Take them out from baking pan and let them cool on wire rack
15. Apply butter on top.

Avocado Coconut Soft Cookies

Healthy food is always welcome in each home and all parents wants to make healthy yet delicious food in order to make sure that their kids are having all the nutrients they need and at the same time they also can enjoy the taste of the food too.
I created these cookies when I saw an avocado in my fridge and I thought that I should try something different. I made it in first try and they turned out so good. They were gone in 2 days!!!!

Ingredients (makes 35-40 cookies): 

150 grams Avocado flesh 
1 1/4 cup Whole wheat whole grain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
50 grams banana (half medium size banana)
2 tablespoon butter at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon ginger powder
1/3 cup shredded coconut
3  tablespoon jaggery  OR Brown sugar
4 Tablespoon milk at room temperature
Extra flour for dusting


Procedure:

1. In mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour baking soda, salt, coconut and ginger powder. Mix well so everything is well incorporated.
2. In another bowl mash avocado flesh and banana together and make smooth paste.
3. In avocado mixture, add 2 tablespoon milk and jaggery. Mix well.
4. Now add flour mixture gradually and mixed it in avocado mixture with fork until both bind together.
5. Add butter and kneed dough by hand on floured surface.
6. If needed add some milk. Dough should not be too soft neither be hard. Texture of dough should be like rolling consistency.
7. Cover it and set aside for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat  oven at 350 degree F.  and arrange rack in middle.
9. After 30 minutes on floured surface , roll out dough and make round sheet of thickness of 1/4"
10. Cut with your choice of cookie cutter.
11. Place parchment paper on baking sheet and arrange cookies.
12. Bake cookies for 15-20 mins  until light golden brown.
13. Remove from oven and let it cook on wire rack .
14. Ice with white chocolate or your choice of icing.

Sweet Boondi

Time flies and now the kids are back to school and we're all back to our normal routine. I don't like it once the kids are not at home, there's no verbal fighting, laughing, chit chatting  :( But other activities are already gearing up, so I'm trying to adjust my timings and spend some more time on my blog. Excited about my website, which is under construction and hopefully will be ready soon to share some delicious recipes, ideas and videos how to make it and more.Stay tuned!!!!

Now the festive season has started and I'm preparing my pantry and menu already.  Lots to do so it is sometimes overwhelming and making too many sweets, creates lots more temptation and increases my weight. So, hopefully I will manage my sweet craving craziness and keep it away in a secret corner:)

Boondi! Boond means small droplets of water in Hindi. Shape of boondi is like small round droplet. I loved it but was wondering how did they make it so small and perfectly round? To make Boondi you need a special round sieve with handle and has mini holes through which batter can pass and make small boondi. Not very difficult and I have made it in the second try, so you can do it too. You can make boondi and give shape like round ball called Boondi ladoo.

So, ready to make sweet boondi?

Ingredients(serves 4):

1 cup Bengal gram flour

3/4 cup 2% milk or you can use full milk

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon melted ghee (clarified butter)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (made from green cardamoms)

10 strands saffron (optional but highly recommended)

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds, pistachios

1 tablespoon milk

Ghee for deep frying (you could use canola oil but ghee gives better and tastier results)

Special sieve for boondi    

Procedure:

1.      In Mixing bowl, mix gram flour, milk and ghee and whisk thoroughly until it becomes lump free. You can use hand blender to mix it. 

2.    In medium wide pot put 1 cup of water and sugar and boil. As it boils scum will rise to the top. Skim this off with a spatula. The sugar syrup must be boiled till it reaches a one-thread consistency. 

3.    Add few drops of lemon juice to avoid crystallization of sugar syrup. 

4.    Once the syrup has reached the one-thread consistency, remove from the fire immediately, add the cardamom powder, stir and keep the syrup warm at very low heat.

5.     Add saffron strand into syrup and mix it well.

6.    Add a little milk if batter is bit thick and make the batter very smooth.

7.     in 1 tablespoon milk add few strands of saffron and mix it until bright orangey yellow color developed. Strain milk and add in batter and mix well to get nice yellow color batter. 

8.    Now heat the ghee on a medium flame till hot. Reduce flame a little.

9.    Hold the sieve about 4 inches above the hot ghee and fill a ladle with the batter. Pour the batter into the sieve. Now use another spoon to gently press the batter through the sieve and into the ghee. It will fall like tiny drops/ beads - Boondi - into the oil! 

10.  Now fry the Boondi till they are a very pale golden colour. When done, drain, remove and put into a separate bowl. The fried Boondi should be cooked but not crispy.

11.  Repeat till all the batter is used up.

12.Once all your Boondi is ready, add the finely chopped dried fruits, pour the warm syrup over all the Boondi and keep aside for 10 minutes. The Boondi will soak up the sugar syrup and soften.

13. Serve hot with garnishing of dry fruits

14. To give more taste add warm melted ghee on top of boondi while serving.

Please share your views and comments!