Quinoa Dosa

Quinoa is a grain that has little crunchy texture. It gives a nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa belongs to spinach family. It is rich in proteins and fiber. Though Quinoa is not a very common grain in many kitchens, many are trying to explore this wonder grain due its health benefits.

Quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus; this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

I made Dosas with Quinoa and they tasted sooo delicious!! This is an instant dosa and doesn't need any fermentation. And these are very easy and quick to make. 

Ingredients: 2 cups Organic Quinoa 1 cup Wheat Flour 1 cup Rice Flour Salt Oil Preparation: Wash Quinoa well. Then mix all the ingredients except oil into a batter using water as required. It should of dropping consistency and it should be considerably thin. Heat a pan and pour a ladleful of batter and make a circle.  But don’t spread it like most dosas. Start pouring the batter around the edge of the pan thus making a big hollow circle. Quickly fill in the circle with more batter.  Pour little oil around the dosa and allow it to cook for some time. Then flip it over and allow it to cook on the other side too. Pour little oil around the dosa if needed. Transfer the dosa to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with remaining batter.  Enjoy these healthy and yummy dosas with desired chutney. Yummy!!

This is my contribution to "WYF: Breakfast event, hosted by EasyCrafts.

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Cookies ‘N Berry Shake

Yummy combination of strawberries and oatmeal cookies with milk

One day I felt like having some milkshake. I didn’t want to make regular strawberry milkshake or banana milkshake. So thought for a while and came up with the combination of strawberries with oatmeal cookies. But to my surprise it came out so yummy. Even DH liked it so much. 

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Arati Kudumulu (Banana Modak) for Vinayaka Chavithi

Hope you all had a wonderful Vinayaka Chavithi!! We had a great one too!! Every year we celebrate it with very enthusiasm and devotion. This year I prepared some yummy treats for Lord Ganesha. These include Arati Kudumulu, Undrallu, Bajjilu (Besan Fritters), Nimmakaya Pulihora (Lemon Rice), Bellam Pongali (Sweet Pongal).

Before going to the recipe of banana modak, I would like to share few snaps of our puja at home. We prepared Lord Ganesh’s idol at home with play dough that we made by ourselves. My daughter and I have created the idols. Look below.

The idol on the left is made by my daughter and on the right by me. Later we realized that her idol looked like Daddy Ganesha and mine like Baby Ganesha. Don’t you think so?

Few Snaps of our puja:

Now coming to the recipe for Banana Modak:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Rice Flour
• 1 cup desiccated Coconut
• 3 ripe Bananas
• ½ cup Sugar
• Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

Mash bananas well with a fork or hand. To this add all other ingredients except oil and mix well with hand. We don’t have to add water as mashed bananas contain lot of water. Mix well until you get a soft texture. Keep aside.

Pour oil in a pan and heat. Take small portions of the prepared batter, make into desired shapes and drop into the hot oil carefully. Deep-fry until they turn golden brown in color and remove from the oil. Place on a paper towel to get rid of the excess oil. Repeat the same process with rest of the batter.

Offer these yummy treats to Lord Ganesha!!

Other treats I prepared for Lord Ganesha are:

Undrallu – For this I followed Sailu’s recipe to the letter. Thank you for the easy recipe Sailu!! They turned out so delicious and perfect.

Lemon Rice

Assorted Fritters – These are made just in the same process I used for Variety Bajjis that I posted previously. But this time I used Green chilies, Cabbage Leaves, Red, Yellow and Green Bell Peppers for these bajjis.

Last but not the least, Sweet Pongal - for this too I followed my Chakra Pongali recipe that I posted previously. The only change I made was I replaced sugar with Jaggery (Bellam).

That was our treats for the holy occasion Ganesh Chathurdhi. How about you?

This is my contribution for “Janmashtami & Ganesh Chaturthi Event” hosted by Purva.

Check out our Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations last year!

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Berry – Cherry Pops – Super Healthy

Here is why I called these pops super healthy:

Strawberries – These are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, manganese, folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Strawberries are proved to cure certain cancers, rheumatism, and constipation. They help in removing harmful toxins from the blood.

Cherries - These are rich in Vitamins C and A. Helps in preventing heart diseases. They also help in relieving pain from arthritis and headaches. In recent studies, it was proven that cherries help in weight loss too as they are low in calories, low in fat and contain a high percentage of water.

Milk - Rich in Calcium that helps build stronger bones so that reducing the risk of osteoporosis. It helps to develop good immune system. Milk even proved to provide healthy teeth.

Flax Seed Powder – These are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, thus promoting bone health. They help reduce high blood pressure. Apart from these there are many fabulous health benefits of Flax Seeds. If interested to know more, please read here.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Cherries, washed and deseeded
• 1 cup Strawberries, washed
• 2 cups Milk, fat free
• 1 tbsp Flax Seed Powder

Preparation:

Blend cherries + strawberries until smooth. Add milk and flax seed powder and blend again.

Note: I didn’t add any sugar to this, so it wasn’t so sweet. If anyone wants too sweet a small amount of sugar can be added while blending.

Filter the contents to remove excess pulp. Pour into ice pop moulds and freeze until set (approx. 4 to 6 hours).

To unmold these pops, just place the mold in warm water for 2 seconds or place under running water from the tap. They come out easily after 2 seconds.

Enjoy these yummy, healthy popsicles on a hot summer day or whenever you wish.

As I used milk in this recipe, I am sending this to “Fall In Love – Milk”, hosted by Sanghi.

I am also sending this to "Cooking For Kids: Evening Snacks", hosted by Divya. This event is originally started by Sharmi of Neivedyam. Thanks for reminding me about the event Divya!!

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Medley Masala Curry

This curry is the fusion of many interesting ingredients, prepared by DH. It tasted so delicious and we enjoyed it a lot!!

Don’t get scared by looking at the big list of ingredients. Preparation is soooo easy!!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of Pineapple chunks (20 oz) equal to 2.5 cups, drained
• Few Cashews
• Few whole Almonds, soaked for some time and peeled
• A handful of Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
• A handful of Orange Bell Pepper, chopped
• A small piece of Ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 or 4 Green Chilies, chopped
• A pinch of Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 big Carrot, peeled and cut into small pieces
• ¼ cup Green Peas, frozen
• ¼ cup Corn, frozen
• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 2 or 3 dry red Chilies
• ½ tsp Soya Sauce
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 tsp Oil
• Salt

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Stir well and then add cashews + almonds + red chilies and sauté well.

Then add all the other ingredients and sauté well. Add some water, cover and keep the pan on medium flame until the veggies are cooked and all the water gets absorbed. Adjust salt.

This curry goes well with chapathis.

I am sending this curry to 'Side dish for chapathi' event hosted by Viki of Viki's Kitchen.

Thank you Sanghi and Viki for reminding me about the event .

On a different Note:

Dear Ann of Happy and Healthy Cooking has passed Kreative Blogger Award and the tag. Thanks for your nice gesture Ann!!

Last but not the least, here are few snaps of my rose babies from our little garden. Our new rose plant just started blooming!!

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Banana – Coconut Halwa (Fudge)

As I had some very ripe bananas lying in the fruit basket, I thought of making this fudge. It turned out so delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe Bananas
• 2 cups desiccated Coconut
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• A pinch of Saffron
• Some Cardamom
• Some Raisins
• Some Cashews

Preparation:

Peel and mash bananas well. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat 1 tsp ghee and add cardamom + raisins + cashews and fry till the cashews turn golden brown in color. Take them out of the pan and keep aside.

Add rest of the ghee to the pan and add coconut powder to it. Stir well and add mashed banana and sugar. Mix well.

Add saffron and keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick. Then turn off the flame and transfer the fudge to a greased plate and press tightly with a spatula.

Allow it to cool for some time and cut into desired shapes. These are perfect on festival days too.

Enjoy!

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