Cabbage Burgers (well almost!!)

So, the other day i was frying some cabbage fritters and thought to myself, if i can fry it then why can't I bake them/shallow fry them. Then, there was no stopping...

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 2 cups (nicely chopped/shredded)
Gram Flour (aka Besan in Indian store) - 1 cup
Chopped Ginger - 2 tsp
Chopped Green Chillies - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 pinch

Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Use a little water if the mixture is too thick. Divide the mixture into 6-7 balls. In a hot skillet, spray a little PAM. Just like burgers, create one at a time and put them on the skillet. Add a little oil and cook it and then turn it. Cook on the other side as well. When half way, press the burger to flatten it a little and just cook like regular burgers. I like to start with very less oil and then once it is half way done, i add my share of olive oil :) This makes them soft and non-dry.


Notes: For all my friends on IP diet, i would suggest eating 2 burgers with some hot sauce (if u like spicy). For the ones, that like to eat as a burger, spread 3-4 leafs of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, spread some low fat mayo, ketchup or just the hot suace and add the burger and enjoy....

Stir Fry Vegetables with chopped cauliflower (as your carbohydrate)

Ingredients:

1 Cauliflower
4 heads bok choy
2 cups baby spinach
1 green pepper
1 Tomato
1 cup vegetable broth(Low Sodium)
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Chilli Paste
1 tsp Corn Starch

Cauliflower Recipe:
Pulse/Chop all cauliflower in a blender and saute it with some salt and pepper in a hot skillet. Saute for 6-7 mins.

Stir Fry:

In a pan, add 2 tbsp EVOO, vegetable broth, soy sauce, chilli paste and corn starch. Mix well and let it reduce for 2-3 mins. Add all the vegetables and let cook for 6-8 mins and adjust salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth so that it is a gravy dish.

Now the serving part:

Scoop 2 ladles of cauliflower and put in the middle of the plate. Add gravy vegetables on top. Enjoy... and let me know what you think.....

Sautéed Spinach

Until now i only knew spinach could be eaten in Palak Paneer, Daals or salads. Recently, i tried sauteed spinach at a chinese restaurant and i have to say i was quite amazed that it tasted delicious. Spinach?? Really??
So, i thought of trying to make that at home...The good part is that you control what you put into it.

Ingredients:

1 bag baby spinach
garlic powder - 1/2 tsp is enough, but varies based on taste
Salt and Pepper
EVOO

Procedure:

In a skillet, add 1 tbsp of EVOO, add a pinch of salt and pepper in that, and then add spinach. Saute for a minute or two, add garlic powder, adjust salt and pepper and enjoy....

Tip: Do not let the water released by spinach to dry up. This is a little watery dish. You can also add red bell peppers so that the spinach alone would not take funny :)


Trivia: This dish costs $7 at a regular chinese restaurant....you can do the maths how much it cost ya!!!

Moong Daal

For some this recipe might not be very interesting, but I find this daal very tasty and easy to make. This is one of the low carb, very low fat recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup split moong daal
2 inch piece of Ginger
3 green chillies cut length wise

Procedure:

Wash the daal three times and put into a pressure cooker. Add 8 cups of water, ginger cut into thin slices, chillies, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric and cook for 5 whistles. If you have the fancy pressure cooker by Fagor, then once the steam is built up, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes.

Tempering:

In a small pan, add 2tbsp of EVOO, when the oil is medium hot add a pinch of asafoetida (hing), 1 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder, 1 tsp of garam masala. Do not burn this!

Add the tempering to the daal and serve hot. Sprinke chopped cilantro, if you like.


My fav: I like to eat this with 1 tsp of rice (seriously!), 1 tsp of yogurt. It tastes yummm and we don't even need ghee!!

Bok Choy stir fry in garlic soy sauce

This is what i ate today...yummy....

Ingredients:


Baby Bok choy - 6 pcs (Cut the stalk into 1" pcs and use the leaf whole)
Red Onion - 1 medium size (Slice length wise into thin pcs)
Fresh Baby Spinach - 1 cup
Cauliflower - 1 cup sliced into 1/2" pcs
Garlic - 3-4 cloves per taste (finely chopped)
Garlic Sauce

How to Prepare Garlic Sauce:

2 tsp Cornflour (Note: Teaspoon)
2 tbsp Soy Sauce (Preferably use Low sodium dark Soy sauce)
1 cup Vegetable Broth
1 tsp Sugar (can be replaced by 1 tsp Agave nectar)
1 tbsp Red Chilli Paste (I use Trader Joes Thai Chilli Paste)

Mix all the ingredients for the Garlic Sauce in a bowl and whisk together to mix evenly.

Procedure:

1. In a skillet/wok, add 1 tbsp of EVOO and add the minced garlic and saute until light brown.
2. Add the garlic sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes in high until it changes color to dark brown and thickens slightly.
3. Add the vegetables and cook for 1-2 mins on high heat and then cover them and cook for 2 min.
4. Sprinkle a little black pepper if you like it spicy. Adjust salt to taste. Normally you don't need to add salt as both soy and broth are loaded with sodium.
5. Add a few chopped spring onions and serve hot.

Variations: You can use only Broccoli and create this dish. I buy pre-cut Broccoli from Costco and just make this dish. No boiling water or blanching...just open packet and cook...

Moth Daal Pancakes (aka pudhe)

Here is another protein/iron/fiber packed recipe:

Ingredients:

Moth Daal - 1 cup (Soaked overnight)
Spinach - 1 cup (i use frozen,,too lazzyyyy)
Onions - 1/2 cup chopped
Green Chillies/Garlic/Ginger - as per taste

Procedure:

1. Grind the moth daal with a little water to a fine paste.
2. In a skillet, add 1 tbsp EVOO and add 1 tsp each of mustard seeds and cumin. Once they start spluttering, add the finely chopped onions, green chillies and saute.
3. After a minute, add the spinach and saute for another 2 mins. Add a little salt/turmeric/and any spice you like as per your taste.
4. Add this mixture to the ground daal paste. Add some water if it is too thick. The batter should not be too watery.
5. In a non-stick skillet or tava, whichever has a thicker base, add a few drops of EVOO and pour 1 ladle of this batter and spread out. I use a fork to spread it otherwise spinach tends to get a little crazzyyy.
6. Add a few drops of EVOO around the pancake. It should be able to move freely on the skillet. Once it does, flip it...fun..fun...
7. Cook and crisp as you like and serve. I like it with Ketchup but it will go great with green chutney.

Enjoy!! comments are welcome.

Variations:

Instead of moth daal, you can use moong daal (whole or split). You can even saute some peas into the recipe but if you are trying to lose weight, i would go easy on the peas.

Baked Kale Chips

This is a recipe that i once saw on Food Network (by Giada). This was my first time buying Kale :)

Step 1: For all those naive people like me, i will start with washing Kale. We all struggle with Cilantro and Fenugreek, so we know green leafy vegetables need to be thoroughly washed. I separate Kale leaves and then wash them one by one. If the stalk is too big, I remove it. Cut Kale into 4 inch pieces, i just do it by hand. Leave on the kitchen towel to absorb extra water.

Step 2: Pre-heat the oven to 380 F. Layer a baking sheet pan with aluminum foil. Put the Kale on the pan. Drizzle some EVOO (if you are confused how much, start with 2 tbsp). Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the EVOO on Kale. With some water still on the kale leaves and EVOO, we will use less oil. Once all leaves have been coated with oil and the oven is at 380, bake for about 10 minutes. I am not a great baker so i need to check if they are getting crisp. Check and leave for another 5 minutes or so.


Step 3: Once crisp, take them out and cool.

Step 4: Eat..enjoy...no guilt....

For more details visit: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/potato-and-kale-chips-with-lemon-mayonnaise-recipe/index.html