Iftar Bites : Barley Pomegranate Tabbouleh and Dal Soup

The markets are bursting with juicy ruby-red pomegranates here in Hyderabad.About Rs.15 each,the fruit is worth every rupee.
The power packed sweet pomegranates in the wholesome barley tabbouleh is one nourishing Iftar(fast breaking) nibbles.

Ingredients
1 cup barley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper,freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin(zeera)
1/2 a lemon freshly squeezed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Mint,freshly chopped
1 cup pomegranate arils
Method
Rinse barley in cold water.Cook in 3 cups of salted water until soft about 30 minutes.Drain the water(can be cooled and consumed).
Cool the barley,transfer in large mixing bowl,add the cumin,pepper,lemon and mint and combine well.Finally combine the pomegranate.Serve.
Can be refrigerated in air tight container for 2 days.



Dal Soup

Sun starved monsoon season has left us craving for more of warm soups for Iftar.This heart warming dal soups is one of my favorites.



Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 cup Yellow Mung Lentil
1 medium chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper,freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon ginger,minced
1 big clove garlic,minced
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup mint leaves

Method
Wash and Soak lentil for few minutes.
Heat the oil in a saucepan or pressure cooker. Add the chopped onions and saute until lightly brown(reserve a few for garnish). Add ginger,garlic and saute some more for another minute. Add the turmeric ,chopped mint and lentils.Cook the lentils in a cup of water until lentils are tender. May take 8-10 minutes in a pressure cooker or 20 minutes in a covered skillet. Now blend it in a food processor or blender along with a cup of water ,until smooth
Put back in the saucepan and simmer for few minutes until the white foam forms at the top. Serve warm ,garnish with fried onions.

I'm sending the Iftar bites over to Ramadan special events : Mona's Hyderabadi Ramadan food festival and Lubna's Joy from Fasting to Feasting III.

Archives : July 2010

July 2 Red White Blue Dessert,Health Nut's second anniversary

July 7 Healthy Ice Cream Carnival


July 9 Tuna Burger with Pineapple Relish, Plantain Fries and Berry Milk shake

July 13 Peach Mango Salsa Ranchera

July 14 Water Melon Spritzer

July 15 Dark Chocolate Velvet Banana Split


July 18 Water Melon Spritzer


July 14 Baked Doughnuts with Peach Honey Glaze


July 20 Caramelized Plantain Muffins

July 24 Foodbuzz 24X24 : Save the Coast - A Louisiana Seafood Celebration

July 27 Swiss Swirl Plum Ice cream Cake

July 30 A Wholesome Ramadan Dinner and 7 day Meal Plan

Banana Pineapple Pudding Cups with Toasted Coconut

An avid baker presently cooking in mommy-in-law's oven-less kitchen,I truly miss baking.Sure glad I had some drafted baked goodies to post.


My honest intention was to make a very fruity cup cakes,but when the cup cake recipe went wrong yet tasted incredibly good,I decided to call them pudding cups.

Pineapple and bananas,the two most common tropical fruits,come together to create a pudding like consistency in the cup cakes,while the edges has a crisp golden texture,the collapsed center was perfect for filling with another enjoyable tropical fruit,toasty coconuts.



Recipe : Banana Pineapple Pudding Cups with Toasted Coconut
Yields 6-8 cups
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Pineapple puree
2 ripe bananas,mashed
1/2 cup fine whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder(aluminum free)
2 large Organic Eggs
1/4 cup reduced fat Organic milk or Soy milk.
1/3 cup canola oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar or 3 tablespoon of natural sweeteners like Honey,maple syrup or Agave nectar

For Topping
1 cup Unsweetened shred coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 375F.Line the muffin tray with parchment cups.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.In another bowl whisk eggs,mix in pineapple puree,mashed bananas,sweetener and oil,combine.Now bring together this wet mixture slowly in the dry mixture until completely incorporated.
Fill the cups 3/4 th full and bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown.The cups will eventually collapse ,making space for the filling.



Toast the shred coconut in pan at medium heat until toasted.Fill the toasted coconut in to each of the cups.Serve.



The center is sticky fruity delicious almost like a pudding.

Plum Corn bread Salad with Cider Vinegar Dressing

A salad as good as a meal
Inspired by the Louisiana style corn bread salad, hearty corn bread,dry and fresh fruits,nuts,seeds ,baby greens and cherry tomatoes - this is the splendid low-calorie salad ,rich in essentially healthy ingredients.I skipped all the cheese and mayo and used the reduced cider vinegar dressing instead.The vinegar soaked bread gives a nice tart kick to the salad.One could also replace the cider vinegar with balsamic or rice vinegar.

Besides the other ingredients in the salad,the ancient acidic condiment - vinegar also has several health benefits unknown to many of us:
*Vinegar is good source of potassium,an essential nutrient.
*Aids in digestion,considered a good detoxifying agent
*Neutralizes the harmful substances in food when taken as drink before meals
*Helps in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.And also maintaining blood glucose levels.
*Diluted vinegar drink ,taken twice a day can aid in weight loss and arthritis.
All convincing reasons to use it often in every day cooking.




Recipe : Plum Corn bread Salad with Cider Vinegar dressing
Ingredients
3 cups Jalapeno Buttermilk corn bread,cubed
2-3 fresh plums,seeded and sliced
2 cups baby kale or arugula
6-8 cherry tomatoes,quartered
3-4 dried figs,quartered
1 tablespoon pumpkin and sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried nuts(cashews,almonds,pecans,pistachios or walnuts)

Dressing
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Method
Heat the vinegar in a small saucepan,reduce to half its original quantity.Cool it.
Toss all the other ingredients in large mixing bowl.Pour the vinegar all over and toss again.Keep cool in fridge until time to serve.




The salad is my entry for WHB #248 ,hosted this week by Astrid of Paulchen's Foodblog

Papaya Banana Silken Smoothie

Don't judge a fruit by its outward appearance,holds true with this warm and exotic tropical fruit with beauty skin deep.

I had tasted dried sweet papaya before but never bought a whole fruit home.The ripe papaya with hues of pretty peach color is deliciously sweet with soft buttery texture,ideal in smoothies,milk shakes and fruit salads.

The enzyme called papain present in papaya(concentrated in raw fruit) is used for making digestive dietary supplements.The richness in Vitamin C makes it a powerful antioxidant fruit,also used in range of beauty products.



The pearly black seeds with intense peppery punch,can be ground and used in salad dressings and sauce.Looks good as garnish on the silken smoothie,except that it was way too spicy for my taste buds, had to unpleasantly fish them out.

Recipe : Papaya Banana Silken smoothie

serves 3
Ingredients
1/2 a medium papaya ,peeled ,seeded and cubed
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup soy milk
2 tablespoon agave nectar

Method
Blend all ingredients until smooth.Serve cold.


My passion for tantalizing tropical fruits continues with perfectly nourishing papayas.Share yours at Health Nut Challenge 7: Tropical Temptations.

Lychee Lemon Sparkler and Thin Crust Thyme Pizza

An absolutely entertaining drink and snack

The juicy sweet tropical fruit - Lychee ,is a rare delicacy.The lychee juice that is more common than the whole fruit can be used to make refreshing summer drinks.Lemon and mint in the sparkler is a flavorful compliment to the sweetness of lychee.
Recipe : Lychee Lemon Sparkler
Serves 3
Ingredients
2 cups of Lychee juice,chilled
1 lemon,halved ,seeded and juiced
3 tablespoon agave nectar(optional)
6 ounce bottle of lime flavored soda water
few fresh mint leaves

Method
Mix the lemon,lychee and agave nectar in a big pitcher.Add in the soda water.Pour in tall glasses and pour a cup of soda water in each.Garnish with fresh mint leaves and slice of lemon.Serve immediately.


Lighter in calories this thin crust pizza squares with simple toppings of onion ,partly skimmed cheese and aromatic thyme ,makes a thoroughly enjoyable evening snack.The fresh thyme was from my own herb pot.
Recipe :
Yields: 2 Pizzas 8x15 inches
Ingredients
For Dough
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Cornmeal, for dusting
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For topping
1 medium red onion,sliced
1 cup partly skimmed mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Method
Dissolve the yeast in warm water, stir in the sugar and allow the yeast to get frothy, about 10 minutes.In a large bowl combine the flour,salt and flax seed meal. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil and knead until well combined.Apply some more oil on the sides of the bowl cover and allow to rise until double it size about 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450F.
Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface,knead lightly.Roll 2 rectangular pizzas about 8x15 inches and 1/4 inch thick.Sprinkle some corn meal on a baking tray or pizza stone.Place the pizza,sprinkle the cheese,onions and thyme all over.
Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until crust has risen and is golden and the cheese has melted.Cut in squares and serve warm.

This is my entry for this week's Yeast Spotting

Mango Pancakes

Marvelous Mangoes

Mangoes is one such fantastic fruits that I would love for break fast ,lunch and dinner.Just a week before we started for India,Mr.Health nut got this big box of sweet ripe mangoes.7 days and a box of mangoes to devour,we were literally including them in 3 meals of the day.


Mango mellowness intensified in every layer,the pancakes charmingly capture the essence of mangoes,that can certainly bring cheer to the breakfast table.

Recipe: Mango Pancakes with Mango syrup
Makes 6-8 pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour(fine ground)
1 teaspoon baking powder(alum free)
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup mango puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup skimmed milk(add a little more if needed)
1 Organic egg
1 tablespoon Organic butter,melted

Method
Sift together the flour, baking powder,cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.In another bowl,whisk egg along with milk and mango puree . Mix both wet and dry mixtures.
Heat non stick pan on medium flame. Grease it lightly with oil . Ladle about 3 tablespoon of the batter onto pan for each pancake. Cook until the top is bubbly and bottom is light brown, flip, and continue cooking for about 30 seconds.Repeat the same for the rest of the batter.serve with mango syrup.
Mango Syrup
Bring 1 cup of Mango puree and 1 cup of water to a slow boil with 2 tablespoon of light brown sugar or 1 tablespoon of Agave nectar.Now stir in a teaspoon of Organic corn starch in a 2 teaspoon of water and pour it in the cooking mango mixture while stirring constantly.Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.Serve the syrup with pancakes .

Coconut Chocolate Pastries(Baked Puran Puri)

Welcomed by the breezy rainy monsoons,the health nut family safely reached incredible India after an expected tiring journey with a toddler in terrible 3's.It has been raining since we arrived,the wet season may not be the best season to go around the town,but definitely inviting to warm up the ovens.

The coconut pastries are baked version of the infamous deep fried puran puri.
The divine match of chocolate and coconut ,sweet and nutty ,the filling couldn't get any simpler.

The Health Nut Challenge 7 focuses on tropical fruits and vegetables.Please share yours for an exciting round up of Tropical Temptations
Recipe : Coconut Dark Chocolate Pastries
Ingredients
For the pastry
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon of dry yeast(1 small sachet)
1/2 cup luke warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon Olive oil

Coconut Filling
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup bitter sweet chocolate chips

Method
Mix the yeast,water and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour ingredients along with the yeast mixture. Make a smooth dough and cover. Allow to rise for an hour until double its original size.


Preheat oven to 350F.On a lightly floured work surface,roll out the dough to 1 cm thick.Cut out 10 rounds about 6 cm in a diameter.Place 1 tablespoon of the coconut and 3-4 chocolate chips in the center of each round.
Brush the edges of the rounds with water;fold rounds in half to make semicircles;press edges using a fork.Bake for 15 minutes until golden.



The pastries are now a part of Yeast Spotting.