5 Healthy Snacks With Cauliflower Which Are Irresistible; Guest post by Olivia Rose

A few months ago, I had invited guest posts and many people took up my offer and were featured here on Su's Healthy Living. One of the bloggers who approached me with a guest post is Olivia Rose. We have been corresponding back and forth for sometime now. I have been busy or dragging my feet.. but finally after much perseverance she is here today. Here is a bit more about her: Olivia Rose is a food blogger  who likes trying new exciting food flavors and textures. Like me she is a mother of 2 wonderful kids. She shares her recipes on MyKingCook so that other mothers like us can get delicious food ideas for their kids. 

Today, she is bringing us 5 Healthy Snacks With Cauliflower Which Are Irresistible. Do check them out! I bet you will fall in love with cauliflower just the way I always have been! Do check her blog for other delicious recipes!

As per Olivia Rose: "All images were paid images from Stock, so that we have full permission for all and don't need credit source."

When it comes to healthy eating, going green is always a preferable option to choose. These super and versatile vegetable is a trending choice now a day. Cauliflower is one among the many. Economical with a bunch of necessary vitamins and antioxidants fiber and potassium, this can be your perfect meal choice. It can be used both as a fresh vegetable as well as freezing it after vacuum sealed. Let’s explore to find a yummy yet healthiest food of the planet. We have tried to collect the best recipes to give you an appetizing meal at an affordable cost.

1 - Hot Wings Cauliflower

We all are in love with hot wings. Have you ever tried cauliflower hot wings, if not we are here to share our recipe with you?

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 36

 Ingredients

•    1 medium head cauliflower,

•    1/2 cup Chickpea flour

•    2 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs

•   ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

•    1/2 cup Low-fat buttermilk

•    3 tablespoons hot sauce

•    Salt and Pepper: Add to your taste buds

Directions

•    Pre-heat the oven to 450°.

•    Spray cooking spray to your baking dish

•    Cut the cauliflower head into small pieces

•    Mix 1 tablespoon hot sauce and buttermilk and whisk it well.

•    Add flour, bread crumbs, garlic, and salt and pepper in another shallow bowl.

•    Mix each cauliflower floret in buttermilk mixture and put it into baking dish

•    Bake for 30 minutes until crispy.

•    Add remaining sauce and bake it again for 3 minutes.

•    Serve sizzling hot with cheese dressing.

2 - Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed potatoes are a traditional side dish, we all love to dine. If you have not tried mashed cauliflower, you must give it a chance to enrich your traditional mashed potatoes taste. This perfect mash recipe can be eaten with Greek yogurt or low-fat cream cheese.

Prep Time: 10 mins     

Cook Time: 10 mins    

Total time: 20 mins

Serves:10

Ingredients

•    4 cauliflower florets

•    40-gram cream cheese

•    Salt and black pepper

•    Pinch of Grated nutmeg

•    1 tablespoon butter

•    1 bulb of garlic (finely chopped)

•    1 tablespoon green onion to enhance taste

Directions

•    Boil water in a medium sized pan for glass top stove with some added salt.

•    Put the florets in it and boil for 8-10 minutes

•    Drain cauliflower, and put them again in pot with lid on (without heat) for 2-3 minutes

•    Mix cheese, salt, garlic, butter and pepper to the cauliflower.

•    Use the potato masher to smash the cauliflowers.

•    Add nutmeg.

•    Mix well and serve with chopped green onions.

3 - Cauliflower Fritters

Fritters show how much we love our food. Let’s try our cauliflower fritters recipe instead of traditional potatoes fritters.

Prep Time: 10 mins    

Cook Time: 6-7 Mins    

Total time: 17 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

•    3 cups cauliflower florets (minced through food processor)

•    3 cups broccoli

•    ½ cup all-purpose flour

•    3 Eggs

•    1 teaspoon baking powder

•    0.7-ounce salad Italian dressing

•    ½ cup oil for frying

Directions

•    Minced the cauliflower florets and broccoli in a food processor.

•    Add flour, Italian dressing, baking powder, and eggs to mixture.

•    Heat oil on medium heat

•    Put the cauliflower processed mixture to preheated oil through heaping tablespoons

•    Fry until golden brown on both sides and serve hot

4 - Cauliflowers Breadsticks with Cheese

Let me share with you another winner cauliflower recipe It is simple, it is gluten free, and it serves your taste buds well.

Prep Time: 10 min    

Cook time: 40 min     

Total Time: 50 min

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

•    1 large cupped cauliflower (approx 4 cups minced)

•    4 eggs

•    3 tablespoon oregano

•    4 cup mozzarella cheese

•    4 garlic cloves minced properly

•    Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

•    Preheat oven to 425 F degrees

•    Prepare pizza dishes

•    Cauliflower florets (minced through food processor until they resemble rice)

•    Microwave it for 10 minutes.

•    Add eggs, salt, pepper and 2 cup cheese and spices to it.

•    Put the mixture it into pizza dish and bake it for 25 minutes until golden

•    Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bake it again for 5 minutes

•     Sliced into rectangular sticks and serve hot

You can also add smoked paprika to add extra taste.

5 - Cauliflower Tots

The cauliflowers diapers are the yummiest and the healthiest.

Prep Time: 10 mins    

Cook time: 20 mins    

Total time: 30 mins

Serves:  30-40 tots

Ingredients

•    2 cups cauliflower florets

•    1 egg

•    ½ cup onion

•    ¼ cup minced bell pepper

•    ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese.

•    1/4 cup parmesan cheese

•    ¼ cup breadcrumbs

•    ¼ minced parsley

•    Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

•    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

•    Spray the cooking pan with cooking spray

•    Roughly chop the cauliflower head

•    Steam it for 4-5 minutes until soft and then drain it well

•    Pulse in food processor until turns into fine pieces

•    Combine all other ingredients to the mixture

•    Take a tablespoon of mixture into your hands and shape it into small tots.

•    Put the tots in the pan and bake it for 20 minutes until golden brown.

•    Serve sizzling hot

Enjoy! 

I am sharing this post with all my dear friends at Throwback Thursday #56,  Fiesta Friday #139 and Saucy Saturday#64! Angie's co-hosts this week are Antonia @ Zoale and Sandhya @ Indfused.

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Masala Karela ( Bitter-gourd sautéed with spices); Meatless Monday

Bitter gourd is very common vegetable in India, but from which most people stay away because it is bitter! Once you know how to deal with the bitterness, it is a very tasty, nutrient-rich vegetable! You can read more about the health benefits of bitter gourd in the "tip for healthy living " section.

We in our household don't shy away from Karela. We actually quite love it. I fry them, I stir-fry them, curry them.. There is a lot you can do with this vegetable! Check the " cooking made easy for method to take the bitterness of the Karela away! Today, I am sharing with you a quick, easy and a delicious recipe. This I learnt from a member of food group, Vidya Thakur. As always, I have added my touch to this recipe too.. For me cooking  is like a freestyle painting where the end product depends on the artist's mood at the time. Without further ado, here is the recipe!

Servings: 3-4

Prep time: 45 mins ( including marinating in salt and turmeric powder).Cook time: 15-20 minsTotal time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd ( Karela): 2-3 medium sized.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Coconut oil: 2-3 tbsp ( any cooking oil may be used)
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig ( optional)
Onion: 1 medium-sized, chopped
Asofoetida: a pinch
Kashmiri red Chilli powder: 1 tbsp ( paprika can be used instead of red chilli powder)
Jaggery: 1 tsp ( brown sugar may be used instead of jaggery)
Tamarind pulp: 1 tsp, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.

Method:

Slice the Karela into 0.5 cms thick rings. Mix it with a little salt and 1 tsp turmeric powder. Keep this aside for at least 30 mins to 1 hour. This takes the bitterness away.

Squeeze the karela pieces from the marinade and keep aside. Discard the liquid.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a sauté pan ( kadai) on medium heat.

Add the squeezed Karela pieces to the pan and sauté until slightly crisp. Take it out in a plate/ bowl. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same pan/kadai. Add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and the chopped onion.

 Sauté until the onion is lightly golden brown.

Then add Kashmiri red chilli powder and asofoetida. Sauté for a minute.

Now add the tamarind pulp solution and jaggery. Let  it cook for a minute.

Add the fried Karela slices to the pan. Toss nicely so that all the pieces are coated with the sauce. Let it come offer for 1-2 mins.

Serve hot with rice/ roti ( flat bread ) or bread of any kind. Tastes great with curd rice.

This stays good in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Enjoy!

I am sharing this post with all my dear friends at Throwback Thursday #56,  Fiesta Friday #139 and Saucy Saturday#64! Angie's co-hosts this week are Antonia @ Zoale and Sandhya @ Indfused.

Cooking made easy:

This is a fool-proof way to get rid of the bitterness: slice/chop Karela and mix it with a little salt and 1 tsp turmeric powder. Keep this aside for at least 30 mins to 1 hour. I like to leave mine overnight. When you are ready to use the Karela, squeeze it from the marinade and keep aside. Discard the liquid. The Karela will no longer taste bitter.

Tip for healthy living:

It is an established fact that bitter gourd helps to regulate blood sugar levels and therefore keep diabetes under control. Ayurvedic research has confirmed these findings.

Food for thought:

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. Alfred Lord Tennyson

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Taushe Idli/Dosa ( Cucumber Rice Cakes & Crepes); Meatless Monday

Recently I visited my cousin who lives upstate. She had a huge bounty of vegetables in her garden in this summer. She gave me a bunch of tomatoes and some cucumbers to bring home with me. I was thrilled to have fresh vegetables that were just plucked off the plants! The cucumbers were huge and delicious. Looking at them made me nostalgic and crave for taushe idli. Taushe idli / Tausali is another very traditional Mangalorean Konkani breakfast item that very few people are familiar with elsewhere! It is basically cucumber- rice- coconut steamed cakes that is usually sweetened with jaggery( unprocessed sugar). The same batter can be slightly diluted and made into crepes. Both taste good to me. I am partial to the idlis more than the crepes ( this is one rare case where I don't profess my love for dosas!). There is also a savory version that can be made in which jaggery is not used and the crepe is served with a spicy chutney/dip.

These idlis look like the regular idlis in shape and size but are golden yellow in color. Some people also steam the batter in a plate and slice it into squares/rectangles like a dhokla.
The steaming method for this is the same as for regular idlis. This is one idli for which the batter is not fermented at all. In fact, you are likely to ruin the idli if you leave the batter uncooked once it is made, as the cucumber releases water and thins the batter. Hence it is very important to steam the idlis as soon as the batter is made.

Do try it if you get a chance. It will be something different and nice.

Servings:  Makes 16 idlis

Prep time: 20 mins + atleast 1 hour soaking time for rice.Cook time: 10-15 minsTotal time: 35 mins plus rice soaking time.

Ingredients:

White rice/dosa rice: 2 cups
Cucumber: 1 large sized, peeled and  grated.
Freshly grated coconut: 1 cup
Jaggery: 1.5 cups, grated
Salt: a pinch
Water: 6 cups for soaking the rice.
Oil: to grease the idli mold/skillet.

Method:

Soak the white rice in 6 cups of water for atleast 1-2 hours.

Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as possible from the grated cucumber. Reserve the water. Keep the squeezed cucumber in a different bowl.

Grease the idli moulds and keep ready.

Add water to the idli steamer as per the instruction on the steamer or to the required water level. Heat the steamer on medium heat.

Drain the rice. Put it in the mixer/blender and grind it coarsely. Use the reserved liquid from the cucumber to grind. Use as little water as possible for grinding. (Later when the jaggery is added, it thins the batter!)

Once the rice is coarsely ground, add freshly grated coconut, grated jaggery and salt and pulse it until it is all nicely mixed.

Take the prepared batter in a bowl.

To prepare idlis:

Add 1 ladleful of to each of the impressions in the mold. Place the rack in the steamer. Steam on high flame for 10-12 mins.Test if done by inserting a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.

Let it cool down for 5-10 mins before attempting to remove the idli out of the mold. Use a butter knife to remove it. If the plate has been greased well, the idli should come right out!

Serve hot with butter or ghee ( clarified butter ) on top.

Enjoy!


To make crepes:

Heat the griddle/tawa. Grease the griddle/skillet with coconut oil.

Add a ladleful of batter to the center of the griddle. Spread it by moving the ladle in circles over the batter and spreading it. Reduce the flame to medium and let it cook for 2-3 mins until the crepe is cooked. Flip it and cook the other side for a minute.

Serve hot with butter or ghee ( clarified butter).

Enjoy!


I am sharing this post with all my dear friends at Throwback Thursday #56,  Fiesta Friday #139 and Saucy Saturday#64! Angie's co-hosts this week are Antonia @ Zoale and Sandhya @ Indfused.

Cooking made easy:

If you don't have jaggery, you can use brown sugar or coconut-palm sugar.

The no-grind method:
If you are in a rush and don't have the time to soak the rice and grind it, you can use rice rawa/idli rawa to make the batter. Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl . The steaming process is the same.

Tip for healthy living:

Jaggery is a great substitute for crystallized sugar. It is inexpensive, less processed, rich in iron and therefore much healthier. Read more in references below.

Food for thought:

A hero is someone who has given his/her life to something bigger than oneself. Joseph Campbell

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Sanna ( Mangalorean Steamed Rice Cakes).

Almost all Indians are familiar with Idli, but very few are familiar with sanna. So what exactly is sanna??

Sanna is a Mangalorean Catholic specialty cuisine item. It looks exactly like idlis but is much lighter and fluffier. It is even fluffier and softer than mallige idlis. It has more of a fluffy bread-like consistency( well, the ideal version). This also uses rice and urad dal in it's batter but also requires other fermentation agents like toddy or yeast. The traditional recipe calls for toddy to ferment the batter but since toddy is not available here, yeast is used as a substitute, which works pretty well. Sannas are usually served with egg/chicken/ meat curries/stews and DO NOT taste good with sambar or chutney. Well, that is my opinion. It has a slight sweet taste, due to which little kids & those who don't like spice can enjoy it as is. Sannas are also prepared by steaming the batter in an idli steamer. However, these are best steamed in idli cups ( gindal) or ramekins. The cups have to have depth to them and cannot be shallow like those found in the typical idli steamer tray.

I love sannas and was craving for them when my friend's mother was in town. My sister gave me this recipe stating it is quite fool-proof. coincidentally, I found that the recipe was from my dear blogger friend Shireen, who  blogs from Ruchik Randap. I modified the recipe for my convenience. You can find the original recipe here. The recipe itself is quite easy. The tricky part is getting the fermentation right. Do try it...

Prep time: 20 mins and  at least 3 hours soaking timeCook time: 20 minsTotal time: 4-4.5 hours

Servings: makes 12-14 idlis

Ingredients:

Raw rice ( any white rice): 1/4 cup
Idli rice/ parboiled rice: 3/4 cup
Urad dal( split matpe bean): 2 tbsp
Dry active instant Yeast: 3/4 tsp
Sugar: 2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Water: to soak and grind the rice & lentils

Method:

Wash and soak the rice together in water in a bowl. Use 4 times the amount of water than the rice. Soak the urad dal separately. Soak for atleast 3 hours.

Drain and grind the urad dal separately until fluffy. Take it in a bowl. Now grind the rice to a fine paste using water as needed to grind the batter. Add it to the bowl. Add the salt, sugar and instant active  yeast and mix well.

Cover and keep in a warm place for 2 hours for fermentation. Once fermented, make sure you do not stir the batter.

Fill the steamer with water as per the individual idli steamer requirement. Grease the ramekins. Add batter into the ramekin until 2/3rd full. Place the ramekins in the steamer. Steam on medium for 15-20 mins or until a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.

Place the ramekins upside down on a tray/plate/baking sheet and let it cool down completely before attempting to remove it.

Serve with a spicy curry/ stew of your choice. I have served with chicken curry, the recipe for which you can find here. You can find the recipe for the egg curry here.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this Manglorean specialty for my friends to try, at Throwback Thursday #54,  Fiesta Friday #136 and Saucy Saturday#61! Angie's co-host this week is Judi @ CookingWithAuntJuJu

Cooking made easy:

If you don't have an idli steamer, you can use a pressure cooker/ pressure     pan, place a steamer plate at the bottom and keep the ramekins on top of the plate to steam. Make sure that the water does not rice above the steamer plate.

Tip for healthy living:

Fermented foods act as rich in probiotics. This helps maintain the flora and fauna in the gut which in turn is essential for digestive health. You can read more in the references below. 

References:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12602-014-9158-2
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24676724
http://articles.mercola.com/fermented-foods.aspx
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/7_must_eat_fermented_foods_for_a_healthy_gut

Food for thought:

Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students. Charles Kurait

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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