Muthiya / Steam vegetable Dumplings (from Rajasthan)

Muthias are steamed vegetable dumplings. I have selected to make them with cabbage, but you can make muthias using zucchini (Italian squash) or Bottle gourd. This is a ery healthy snack for the entire family. Serve them hot/cold along with green chutney or tomato chutney.

Ingredients:
Finly shredded red-cabbage 1 medium size
Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup or as required
Lemon juice 1-2 tblspn
Kastoori methi 2 tblspn (dry roasted and powdered between plams)
Green chilli chopped 2/ as per taste
Cumin seed 1 tspn
Turmeric 1/2 tspn
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tblspn
Mustard seeds 1/2 tblspn
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (til)
Whole red chilli 4
Seasame seeds 2-3 tblspn
Coriander leaves chopped 1/2 cup

Preparation:
Mix gram flour, fenugreek, cumin seed, turmeric, green chili, sugar, lemon juice, oil, and salt in a bowl.
Add the cabbage and mix well. Mixture should be like a very soft dough. (add 1-2 tblspn more gram flour if required)
Divide the mixture with greased fingers into small balls and drop them on a greased idli maker/steamer slowly.
Steam them covered for 18 to 20 minutes.
Put a fork through and check if ready. (fork should come out clean).
Keep them aside to cool and slice them into two.

Heat the oil in frying pan on medium high.
Add mustard seeds after they crackle add sesame seeds and red chili and stir-fry for few seconds.
Add muthias and stir-fry them for three to four minutes until they are light brown.
Garnish them with chopped corriander leaves.
Serve them hot or at room temperature.


Tips:
Make the mixture just before you are ready to steam them. Squeeze them between the palm after shredding.
If you have more quantity, add the salt as and well frying.
You could store these in air-tight container inside fridge for more than a week or freeze them before seasoning.
Thaw the frozen muthias and season them when you wish to serve.

Soya Roll with Sour Cream-Tomato Ketchup Dip

Ingredients:
soya bean (not the soya chunks) - 1 cup boiled
potatoes boiled 2 medium size
Onion chopped 2 medium size
Ginger paste 1 tblspn
Garlic 3-4 cloves paste
Green chilli 3-4 or as per taste
cumin powder 1 tblspn
Cumin 1/2 tspn
Garam masala 1/2 tspn (powders cardamom, cinnamon & cloves)
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry - about 1 and 1/2 inch of the pan you are using.
Black salt 2-3 pinch, optional
Sour cream - 1 cup
Tomato ketchup - 1/2 cup

Preparation:
Boil the soya beans in pressure cooker with 1 and 1/2 cup water and salt to taste. (They should boil such that they mash when pressed between fingers)
Boil the potatoes with salt and mash them well.
Take oil in a non-stick pan and add cumin to fry.
Add onion & fry till the onion turns brown.
Add ginger, garlic, cumin powder, chilli and fry in medium heat.
Add the soya beans(without water) and fry well.
Add the mashed potatoes, salt to taste, garam-masala.
Mix well and fry.
Let it cool and then make euqal size small balls.

Take bread and dip it in water. Squeeze the water well.
Place the soya stuffings and roll the bread to close all the sides.

Take oil in the frying pan and heat it well.
Place the roll and fry well all the sides till it turns light brown.
While serving sprinkle a pinch of black salt.

For the Dip:
Take tomato ketchup and sour cream and mix well to serve along with this dip.

Lentil soup with Spinach (Arhar/ Toor/Red Gram/ Pegion Pea)

Arhar / Toor Daal (Red Gram / Pegion Pea):
Ingredients:
Arhar daal 1 cup,
Tomato 1 big - 1/2 diced
Spinach 1 cup puree (boil and blend in mixer)
Hing a pinch, 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger 1/2 inch grated
Bay leaf 1-2
Red whole chilli 1
Green Chilli 2-3 / as per taste
Cumin seeds / Jeera 1 Teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil 1-2 Tablespoon
Turmeric Water 2 cups


Preparation:
- Wash the lentils well.- In a pressure cooker, take 2 cups water and salt to taste and cook the Lentils.
- Wait for a whistle to come. Switch off the stove and wait for the pressure to come out.
- Heat 2 tblspn oil in a non-stick pan.
- Add the hing, jeera, bay leaf and red chilli.
- Add the tomatoes, ginger paste, turmeric, spinach, and salt to taste.
- When the raw smell of tomatoes disappear, add this to the lentils.

- Bring this to boil.

- Add water if you wish thinner the consitency.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves or parsley.

Lentil soup (Masoor Daal/ Brown-skinned lentils which are red inside)

Masoor Daal (Brown-skinned lentils which are red inside):
Ingredients:Masoor daal 1 cup,
Onion 1 big - 1/2 chopped & 1/2 diced
Tomato 2 medium size chopped
Ginger 1 inch
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Bay leaf 1-2
Green Chilli 2-3 / as per taste
Black Jeera/ Nigella 1 Teaspoon
Salt to taste
Mustard oil 1-2 Tablespoon
Turmeric Water 2 cups

Preparation:
- Wash the lentils well.
- In a pressure cooker, take 2 cups water and salt to taste and cook the Lentils.
- Heat 2 tblspn oil in a non-stick pan.
- Add the Kala jeera, bay leaf and green chilli.
- As the flavor of the spices starts coming add the onion.
- When the onion turns translucent, add the tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, salt to taste.
- When the raw smell of tomatoes disappear, pour this mixture into the lentils.
- Bring this to boil.
- Incase you want to cook it further, place it on the stove without covering the lid.  

Note: 
A healthy option is my all time favorite vegetable. Add a carrot, beans, peas, potatoes while boiling the lentils.
The consistency of any lentil preparation depends on your taste. If you wish to have it like soup you could add more water.
Try not to over-cook the lentils.
You should be able to feel it in your mouth when eating and it should melt in your mouth.
You can choose to garnish this with finely chopped coriander leaves / parsley.
Optionally, you could add curry leaves along with the onion.

Raita / Tair Pachadi (a Salad in Yogurt from South-Indian kitchen)

Ingredients:
Curd 3.5 % 500 ml
Carrot 2 medium size grated
Mustard (black) 1 Teaspoon
Cumin seeds 1 Teaspoon
Curry patta 1-2 Twigs
Green chilli 2 chopped
Bengal gram daal roasted 1 Teaspoon
Urud daal 1/2 Teaspoon
Peanuts 1 Teaspoon
Turmeric a pinch/ 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Sugar 1/2 spoon
Oil 1 Teaspoon
Coriander leaves chopped 1/2 cup

Preparation:
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds.
- As the mustard crackle add the jeera, peanuts, bengal gram daal and urud daal.
- When the peanuts are fried, add the curry leaves & chilli to fry them.
- Add the carrots and turmeric and salt to taste.
- Saute the carrot, dont cook them fully.
- Remove from the stove and keep it aside to cool.
- Add to the curd and serve after adding sugar and chopped coriander leaves.

Alu Dum (Baked/Grilled/Boiled Potatoes mixed with Indian spices - from West Bengal)

Ingredients:

Red Potato 750 gm.
Hing / Aasafoetida 1 Teaspoon
Bay Leaf 1-2
Red Dry chilli 1-2
Jeera / Cumin seeds 1 Teaspoon
Whole garam masala (cinnomon stick 1 inch, Cardamom 3-4, cloves 3-4)
Green Chilli 3-4 sliced / as per taste
Cumin powder/paste 2 tablespoon
Ginger paste 2 Tablespoon
Rice oil 3-4 Tablespoon Turmeric 1 Teaspoon
Tomato puree 1-2 cup (4-5 medium sized)

Peas 1 cup
Salt to taste Coriander leaves chopped 1/2 cup

Preparation:
1. Boil the potatoes in slightly salted water and drain.
2. Peel the skin if you wish to.
3. Cut all of them into halves or of equal size each.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry these boiled poataoes till it turns golden.
5. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, dry red chilli, whole garam masala and let them crackle.
6. Add the hing and pour the tomato puree, ginger paste, and jeera powder, green chillies, tumeric, and salt to taste..
7. Let the curry fry till the raw smell of the spices disappear.
8. Now add the peas and potatoes and roast till the oil starts oozing out from the curry.
9. Remove the pan from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.
10. You can add water to this and bring it to boil if you want this as moist gravy.(I dont prefer it like a liquid.)

Note:
Hing / Aasafoetida is used as a digestive aid in cooking and has a very strong smell of its own. This dish intends to retain its smell and hence is usually added just after the potatoes. Ive used it earlier for people not used to this smell.
You could choose to serve it as a starter, it would be served like baked potatoes or as a part of main course.

The picture on the right is actually Baked potatoes with the same ingredients. Ive added carrot too in it.

The picture on your left is made of white small potatoes.

Nutrition & Health

Saatvik or Jain Food:
It is believed that the food we eat, decides the quality of our minds and health of our bodies. In yoga, foods have been classified as Rajasik, Tamasik and Saatvik. Im here speaking only about Saatvik cooking. To maintain a balance between acidic and alkaline food intake, the yogic books and Ayurveda recommend vegetarian "Saatvik" diet.

Saatvik diet consists of lightly cooked vegetables with minimum spices, fruits, nuts, honey, milk and milk products, whole grains and sprouts.
Jain food is also very similar to saatvik cooking except that certain root foods like onions, garlic are prohibited.

As most of my recipes in this blog are non-vegetarians, I would like to mention a point here, as per my understanding which may spark a range of discussion here.

Most argue saying, "Non vegetarian food is Tamasik, while vegetarian food is Saatvik."

This is nothing more than a MYTH!
No food by itself is Rajasik, Tamasik or Saatvik.

It is the preparation which makes it so. Vegetables such as cabbage, potatoes etc., if cooked with a lot of spices become Tamasik while fresh boiled chicken cooked in a simple fashion becomes Saatvik.





Two (02) glasses of water - After waking up - Helps activate internal organs
One (01) glass of water - 30 minutes before meal - Help digestion
One (01) glass of water - Before taking a bath - Helps lower blood pressure
One (01) glass of water - Before sleep - To avoid stroke or heart attack

Adai (Pancake made of 5 types of pulses - from Kerala)

Ingredients:
Choice of pulses:
Boiled rice: 1 cup
Green/Yellow Moong: 1 cup
Chana daal/black chana/roasted chana: 1/2 cup
Urud daal: 3-4 Tspn
Arhar/Toor daal: 1/2 cup
Onion: 1 cup chopped
Green Chilli: 3 or as per taste
Ginger: 1 inch grated
Garlic: 2-3 falkes
Coriander leaves: 1 cup chopped
Methi leaves: 1 cup chopped (optional)
Carrot: 1-2 grated (optional)
Curry Patta - 2-3 twigs
Hing 1/2 teaspoon
Jeear 1 tablespoon
Ajwain 1 tablespoon
Coconut 1/2 cup grated (optional)
Salt to taste.Preparation:1. Soak all the pulses and rice in water for 4-6 hours or overnight
2. Grind them in mixy coarsely. Dont put too much water.
3. Make Adai as soon as you grind it (dont leave the batter at room temparature). 4. You can refrigerate the extra for later use.

5. Add the chopped vegetable: green chillies, ginger, Curry patta, Coriander, Hing, ajwain and jeera.
6. Carrot , Onion, Methi leaves(good in winter) and also grated coconut(these are optional - I usually add them to increase the nutitional value)
7. Add salt and mix well.

8. Make Adai on dosa tava just like a dosa/ pancakes but these are thick as paratha.
9. Wipe the tawa with wet napkin(kitchen tissue).
10. Then add the dough, when the Adai is almost brown at the bottom, add butter(for children) /olive oil(for pregnant ladies) and flip.
11. Cook on medium flame or else it doesnt get cooked well.

Note:
1. The above pulses can differ as per your taste and availability.
2. Prefer to add the first options mentioned. 3. Incase you are using green moong and black chana try to sprout them before grinding to increase the PROTEIN content - its important for growing children and also pregnanat women(these are my modifications).
4. If methi leaves are not available soak Kasturi Methi in hot water and add.
5. You can add other veggies as well as per your taste.
6. You can eat it with avial or coconut chutney or tomato chutney or any dips of your choice.
Tips:
- Never have this item in DINNER.
- As the content of protein is extremely high its not very easily digestable. Its heavy so avoid overeating.
- Dont forget to add hing, jeera and ajwain that helps digestion.
- As this has already a good amount of protein, dont add too many veggies and make it complex.