Vegetable juice

I am never fond of juices and soups. Seeing their health benefits,I just manage to gulp them down. Lately,I have been reading that fruit juice should  be taken occasionally as they tend to up your sugar levels,but vegetable juice you can have in umpteen amount. Leading dieticians have been recommending more of vegetable juices intake regularly. Anyways this beetroot and carrot juice is my hubby's recipe. Although he knows nothing of cooking,but managed to watch the ingredients being mixed being when getting his juice prepared in the juice centres. I have added some more ingredients to add flavour to combat with the chilly winter in our area. 

Ingredients

1. Carrot - 3 nos

2. Beetroot - 1 no

3. Ginger - 2 inch

4. Raw turmeric - 2 inch

5. Mint leaves - 1 small bunch

6. Coriander - 1 small bunch

7. Anwla - 3 nos

8. Black pepper corn - 10 to 12

9. Cloves - 4 to 5

10. Rock salt to taste

11. Lemon - 1 no

Make a juice out of all this ingredients,for reference I am uploading pics of the ingredients as well.

Makki da roti with sarson ka saag

In this chilly winter,makki da roti with sarson ka saag tastes heavenly. Local vegetable markets are full with fresh sarson saag and I really feel tempted to cook this whenever I visit market for vegetable shopping. Although I had used palak with sarson saag but it tastes best when bathua saag is also added. Actually bathua having medicinal value is highly used,in my native place in MP I observed that locals used to consume a lot of bathua saag. Anyways since I did not get good quality of bathua I made with combining palak and sarson saag in equal quantities. Needless to say it tastes as good. I have made some changes too,to suit my taste,but nonetheless the outcome is equally superb. Generally makki ka roti is being served with butter/ghee but I prefer vegetable oil to curb calories. So here is my version of the dish.

Sarson ka saag

Ingredients

1. Sarson saag - 500gms

2. Spinach(palak) - 350gms

3. Onion - 1 medium

4. Garlic - 1tsp(finely chopped)

5. Ginger - 1 tsp(finely chopped)

6. Amchur powder - 1 tsp

7. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

8. Makki ka atta- 2 tbsp

9. Cumin powder - 1tsp

10. Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

11. Salt to taste

12. Mustard oil - 3 tsp

13. Fresh cream for garnishing

14. Green chilly - 2 no chopped

Method

Pluck the leaves of sarson and palak saag,wash well and pressure cook by adding very small amount of water for 2 whistles. Once pressure of the cooker releases,transfer them in a colander for all the extra water to drain out. Once cool,make a paste in a blender and keep aside.

Now heat oil in a pan,fry chopped onion,green chillies,ginger,garlic till oil starts separating. Pour in the saag paste and add salt,coriander powder,cumin powder,amchur powder and stir fry for 5 mins approx in medium flame. Now mix in makki ka atta and stir fry for 3 more mins. Sprinkle garam masala powder ,mix well and serve hot,garnishing with some fresh cream.

Makki ka roti

Make a dough in 3:1 ratio that is makki ka atta and plain flour,by adding some oil,ajwain seeds,little oil and water. Roll out rotis from the dough,applying some oil or ghee/butter while frying. Serve hot and enjoy :-)

Healthy cake

A very happy new year to all my readers. May you have a healthy and blessed 2014. New year eve parties have become quite  popular nowadays. Every housing complex have their own fun parties and celebrations. Yesterday I also saw so many news channels covering live parties from various cities,I liked watching them. We all have definitely progressed with well maintained hair,skin and trendy outfits,but one thing I noticed that fitness is one thing which most of us are lacking. Most of the people in the parties enjoying,I saw were having bulging bellies. Somehow we all should focus on our inner body well being too,along with the exterior maintenance.

This cake I made is healthy,cos I did not use maida which means it's glutin free plus no added sugar. Although I covered a thin layer of icing, to decorate,but you may avoid if you wish.

Ingredients

1. Whole wheat flour(atta)- 1cup

2. Organic honey - 4tbsp

3. Orange rind - 2tsp

4. Orange juice - 1/4 cup

5. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

6. Baking powder - 1 tsp

7. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

8. Eggs - 3 nos

9. Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup

10. Chocolate vermicelli to decorate

11. Whipped cream to decorate( I simply whipped cream with powdered sugar till it form peaks)

Method

Sift the flour,baking power,baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs,to it add honey,oil and whisk further. Now add vanilla essence,orange juice,orange rind and mix well. Now add the dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter. Grease a baking tin and pour the batter to it. Now bake in a preheated oven at 180deg centigrade for 15- 20 mins or till a needle comes out clean when pricked. Let it cool on a rack and cover with the icing. Sprinkle the chocolate vermeicelli and enjoy.