Flax Flavored Tomato Pappu (Daal)

A little healthy flavor added to the regular tomato pappu that made it taste more yummy and healthy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup split Pigeon Peas (Kandi Pappu, Toor Dal)
• 1 tsp ground Flax powder
• 1 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder (Dhania-Jeera powder)
• 1 tsp grated Coconut (fresh or dry)
• 1 med. Tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp Oil
• Few Curry Leaves
• Few Cilantro Leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• Few broken Red Chilies
• ½ tsp Red Chili powder
• Salt

Preparation:

Wash toor dal well and place in a bowl. To this add flax powder + coriander-cumin powder + coconut + chili powder + tomato + cilantro and mix well.

Pour some water and pressure-cook the above mixture for 3 whistles. When it’s done, take the pappu out of the cooker after all the pressure is gone.

Add salt to pappu and mix well with a spoon. Keep aside.

In a small pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin seeds + curry leaves + red chilies and sauté well.

Add this to the cooked pappu and mix well. Enjoy this yummy pappu with rice or chapathis.

I am sending this delicious pappu to "Cooking with Seeds - Flax Seeds" hosted by Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal. This event is originally started by Priya. 

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Whole Wheat – Soy Dosa

This is a yummy and healthy dosa and instant.

Ingredients: 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup Soy Flour 1 cup Semolina (Upma Rava) 1 tsp Ginger Paste 1 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder 1 tsp Flax Seed Powder 1 tsp Red Chili Powder Few Cilantro Leaves, finely chopped Salt Oil Preparation: Mix everything under ingredients except oil to form a thin batter by adding water as needed. Adjust salt. Heat a pan and pour a ladleful of batter and quickly spread into a thin circle. Pour little oil around it and allow dosa to cook for some time. Then flip it over and pour some more oil around it and again allow it to cook. Transfer the cooked dosa to a serving plate and enjoy with desired chutney. Repeat the same process with remaining batter. Enjoy these delicious and healthy dosas for breakfast/lunch/dinner. We had our dosas with Tomato Chutney.  Yummy!!

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Healthy Chapathis

Presenting a healthy chapathi recipe with healthy ingredients.

Ingredients: 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour 1 tbsp Ground Flax Seed Powder ½ cup Alfalfa Sprouts (available in stores) Courtesy: Healthy Sprout Company  1 tsp Cumin Seeds Salt Oil Preparation: Grind sprouts into a paste by adding little water. Or you can also add them to the flour without grinding. In a big bowl add wheat flour + sprouts + flax powder + cumin seeds + salt and mix well to form thick dough by adding water as needs. Knead well to form soft dough. Keep aside covered for 30 minutes. Later take small portions of the dough and form into balls. Roll these balls into a thin chapathi and keep ready. Heat a pan and place these chapathis one after another and cook well by adding little oil on both sides. Enjoy these healthy and delicious chapathis with your favorite curry.

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Flax Masala Rice

This is a healthy rice dish that tasted so delicious. The good thing about flax is that it doesn’t have any smell, so that we can easily sneak it in most dishes. That way we can get good health benefits too. As we all know, flax seeds are so rich in omega-3 fatty acids which help to strengthen bones and protect from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• ¼ cup green peas (I used frozen peas)
• 2 tbsp flax powder
• 2 or 3 cloves
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp coconut powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• Few cashews
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• Salt

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds + onions and sauté well until onions become soft. Then add green peas + flax powder + cloves + ginger-garlic paste + coconut powder + oil + garam masala + black pepper powder + cashews and sauté well.

Finally add cooked rice and mix well with a spatula until it blends well with the masalas. Adjust salt. Cover and leave on low flame for 5 minutes.

Later mix well and transfer to a serving bowl. Enjoy this yummy and healthy rice with some curds and papads.

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Spiced Peanut - Flax Powder

I recently prepared a different kind of peanut powder to which I added some ground flax seeds and some black pepper. It tasted so yummy and felt good.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Peanuts (I used Planters Peanuts)
• 2 tbsp Ground Flax seeds Powder
• ¼ cup Coriander Seeds
• 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns, whole
• 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• Salt

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except chili powder and salt. Keep aside to cool.

When the contents become cold, grind them into a fine powder by adding chili powder and salt.

Enjoy this yummy powder with steaming hot rice and a dollop of ghee.

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Spiced Flax Seed Powder

I never knew about these flax seeds before. Thanks to blogging, I came know many such good things. Flax seeds have very high nutritional values. They are good sources of omega 3 fatty acids and lignans that help to fight cancer. Flax seeds are full of fiber and helps in weight management too. There are many health benefits we can get from these flax seeds. So it would be better if we include these amazing seeds in our daily cooking.

Image Source: http://www.strollerstrides.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/flaxseed1.jpg

I tried to prepare a spice powder with these flax seeds and it was a hit in my family. Try it yourself and taste the health and deliciousness. And it involves very simple and fast preparation.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Flax Seeds
• 1 cup Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
• ¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyalu, Dhaniya)
• 3-4 tsp Red Chili Powder (or according to individual taste)
• Salt

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except chili powder and salt. Leave aside for some time to cool.

Add these roasted ingredients to a blender along with chili powder + salt and grind into a fine powder.

Enjoy this yummy, spicy and healthy powder with rice/dosas/idlis.

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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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