Muga Saaru Upkari ( Mung Bean Soup) ; Meatless Monday

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday. He believed in looking beyond himself. He worked for the betterment of black people . I decided to do something altruistic today too and bring to you a warm, hearty, protien-rich gluten-free, vegan soup and some information to face the flu season.

Did you know that January is Soup Month?? Well, I didn't know either, until recently! It does make sense though: not only is it winter and cold, it also happens to be flu season! Kids go back to school after the Christmas holidays and come home sick!! Is it any surprise that we seek comfort foods like soup??

Where I come from, soup is also used as a side with rice. So you could mix the soup with the rice and eat. Well, it would then be rice-bean soup! ;) Just kidding!  The soup-like sides that we make are called Saaru- Upkari in konkani. If I were to literally translate it then the word " saaru" means gravy and " upkari" means " sauté". So it could technically translate into a sauté with gravy. In reality is a soup. We make saaru-upkari of almost all kinds of beans. The bean of choice is cooked with 4-5 times water until tender. It is then tempered with either garlic and red chillies or red chilli powder or mustard, curry leaves, asofoetida and red chillies or chilli powder. Believe me when I say that it is delicious and a true comfort food. It can be eaten with rice as a side or as is like a soup with some bread. This makes for a filling weeknight dinner; both to cook and to eat!

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:

Dry Mung beans: 1 cup
Water: 4 cups to soak and 3 cuks to cook.
Salt: to taste

For tempering:

Coconut oil: 1/2 tsp ( any cooking oil may be used).
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Asofoetida powder: a pinch ( if using solution: 3-4 drops)
Red chilli powder: 1/4 tsp ( can be adjusted as per individual spice level).

Method:

Soak the dry mung beans in water for 4-5 hours or overnight. Drain the water, add fresh water ( 3 cups) and cook in the pressure cooker on medium flame until you hear 2-3 whistles. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook it on the stove top on medium flame until the beans reaches the desired tenderness. The mung beans should be well-cooked but not over cooked. Open the pressure cooker only after all the pressure has been released. Add salt and mix well.

Tempering:

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan/skillet on medium heat.Add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and asofoetida powder. Turn off the flame and add chilli powder.

Add this mixture to the pot with the cooked mung beans. Mix well.

Serve hot as a side with rice of your choice or serve in a bowl as a soup with some crackers!

Enjoy !

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday#22, Fiesta Friday # 103 and Saucy Saturdays. Angie's Fiesta Friday is being co-hosted by two of the very talented blogger friends, Sonal @ simplyvegetarian777 and Petra @ Food Eat Love.

Cooking made easy:

I usually plan my meals the previous day and put the desired amount of dry beans in water either at night before I go to bed or early morning before I leave for work. But in case you forget or suddenly have an urge to make mung bean soup for dinner, just soak the mung beans in hot water for an hour , keeping the pot closed and cook it in the pressure cooker.

This soup can also be made in a slow cooker.

Tip for healthy living:

Taking a leaf from Dr. Martin Luther King's book, I am going to do something altruistic and share with you some myths regarding the flu that is prevalent during the winter.These are not my views.This was shared by Christian Pickard from Bankers Healthcare Group.

I would however emphasize that the best way to keep cold and flu at bay is by observing good hand hygiene! Wash your hands every time you touch something that you think is unclean. When you are outside do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Imagine that you are wearing a face-mask!

Food for thought:

Life's most persistent and urgent question is " What are you doing for others??" Dr. Martin Luther King

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Strawberry-Watermelon-Kiwi Cooler ; Diabetes Friendly Thursday

Summer is here!Let us beat the heat and indulge ourselves with Diabetic Friendly Mocktails and Coolers with Team DFT.

Creating Recipes with a Cause!
I am a proud DFT blogger. 

To learn about DFT, read this link. 

To view more DFT recipes, Click here!

Summers are hot,making us hot and thirsty most of the time. Most people tend to indulge in soda which we all know is not good for anyone. If coke can clean toilets, imagine what it might be doing to your gut?? People often indulge in ready made,processed juice drinks that have several unhealthy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and very little to no fruit juice in it!!  Some people make healthier choice by drinking fresh fruit juice or 100 % juice. But did you know that   drinking too much fruit juice is not good either!! Even in it is 100% juice!! The daily recommended amount of fruit juice is only 150 ml per day?? All other recommended servings of fruit should come from pieces of fruit and not in the juice or liquid form. Store-bought smoothies which are marketed as "healthy" were often found to be loaded with sugar and high in calories as much as 300 calories in a 12 oz serving! You can read more in the "footnotes".

It is of course without any doubt, best to drink water during summer to quench your thirst. However, if you insist on drinking juice, drink healthy, freshly made fruit coolers without any added sugars and a small amount of fruit in it.This can be easily made at home in a blender with just 2-3 fruits. Try this easy-peasy recipe below:

Servings: makes two 8 oz glasses

Ingredients:

Watermelon cubes: 1 cup
Strawberries, chopped: 1/2cup
Kiwi, chopped: 1/4 cup
Sparkling water: 3/4 cup
Ice cubes: 1/2 cup

Method:

Add all the above ingredients to a blender and blend for 1 minute or until slushy.

Pour into chilled glasses.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!! I am bringing this to my dear friend Angie's Fiesta Friday where Loretta@Safari of the mind and Caroline@ Caroline's Cooking are co-hosting.

Cooking made easy:

This recipe can be made with any fruits ( that can be directly added to a blender) that you have available on hand. You can try different permutations and combinations.

Footnotes( Tip for healthy living):

It is recommended that one eats a total of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Out of the 10 servings, only one daily serving should come in the liquid form. The recommended daily amount of sugar is  6 teaspoons and most store-purchased juices have half of this amount in each cup. A Dunkin Donut Coolatta has 25 teaspoons of sugar in one large cup!! One has to be very mindful while selecting a fruit/cool drink.

Strawberry is a nutrient-dense food that is rich in vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. They are among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are rich in manganese and potassium.Just one serving of strawberries provides more vitamin C than one orange.

Kiwi is a super-fruit that is purported to promote healthy skin tone and texture. Amongst fruits it has the highest vitamin C levels per ounce than most other fruits.It also helps reduce blood pressure and prevent diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

We know that watermelon is healthy, low calorie and  cooling to the body. It has a high glycemic index of 72 but a low glycemic load of 4. This is because of the large amount of water that constitutes the watermelon. It is also loaded in antioxidants with high levels of vitamins A and C. It also contains lycopene, which is heart healthy.

Disclaimer:

I am not a nutritionist or dietitian. My knowledge and information is based on my research and reading from different resources. Please consult your doctor or dietitian before making any changes to your diet.

Go ahead and enjoy this summer sipping on some diabetic mocktails and coolers with team DFT. Check out the other recipes below:

1. Sonal's Jal Jeera.

2.Shailja's Java plum mocktail.

3.Prachi's aloe vera peach punch.

4. Swati's cucumber mint lemonade.

5. Anupama's green tea infused watermelon orange cooler.

6. Parvathy's orange iced tea.

7. Apsara's strawberry mint lemonade.

8. Chahat's grape pinapple mint fizz.

9. Vidhya's green tea spritzer.

Food for thought:

Excellence means when a man or woman asks of himself more than others do. Jose Ortega y Gasset

Ganesh Chathurthi Special: Godu Appo (Sweet Appe/Paniyaram)

Today is Ganesh Chathurthi . Today is Lord Ganesha's birthday. Lord Ganesh is also known as the " elephant-face God" in the western countries. Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated with much pomp in India and by Hindus worldwide. It is a festival of great importance to Indians just the way Christmas is to Christians. In quite a few Indian cities and towns there is a week-long celebration for this  festival. Where I am from, we celebrate it is celebrated as a family gathering. That is, the eldest person in the family hosts the festival in his home and all the family members congregate there for the celebration. Being that we are so far away from home, we celebrate it by going to the local temple for prayer and preparing sweet appos at home as an offering to Lord Ganesha. It is believed that this was one of Lord Ganesha's favorite treats!

There are several different ways of making appos and as usual my recipe is one that is of no fuss, quick and easy to make, yet absolutely delicious! The only requirement is the availability of a appe pan without which this cannot be made!

 I am bringing this to Angie and all the wonderful people at Angie's Fiesta Friday. I am sure they will be intrigued!!

Servings: makes 21 medium sized appos.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour: 1/2 cup
Coarse rava( sooji): 1/2 cup
Freshly grated coconut: 1/2 cup
Poha ( beaten rice) : 1 cup
Jaggery: 3/4 cup
Water: 1 cup
Salt: pinch
Ghee( clarified butter)/ oil: to grease the appe pan.

Method:

Grind together coconut, poha, jaggery and salt with water.Take the mixture in a bowl. 

Mix into it the wheat flour and sooji. The batter should have a thick consistency.

Keep aside for 5 hours or overnight.

Heat the appe pan over medium heat.

Grease the pan using oil/ ghee. Pour tablespoonful of batter in each hole of the pan. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook. 

When the top is done you can flip it over and let it cook for 1 min until done.

You can serve it hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Iron and cast-iron pots and pans tend to rust if not taken care of properly.  Taking care of iron or cast iron pots and pans is not difficult if one is mindful. Do not use soap to clean iron pots and pans. Clean gently with a paper towel/ wash cloth or soft scrub. Dry immediately after washing and apply a thin film of oil before storing. This will ensure that the pan remains seasoned, does not rust and food doesn't stick to it upon cooking.

Tip for healthy living:

Avoid non-stick pots and pans with Teflon-coating. The Teflon coating upon heating releases chemicals that could be deleterious to our health. It is worse when the Teflon coating starts wearing off. If using non-stick pots and pans, upon wearing off of the Teflon coating, promptly discard the pan. 

Food for thought:

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Napoleon Hill

Valval ( Mixed vegetable stew in coconut milk)

Valval is another dish that I absolutely wouldn't eat as a child. Why??? Because it was too bland for me!! Huh?? Most kids love bland food and I did not like it. No rhyme or reason to it! But now, it is one of my favorite traditional  konkani dishes and thank God, my kids love it! It is similar to Avial that is cooked in the neighboring state of Kerala( in India). I am from Karnataka. This dish is cooked traditionally for our festivals as there is no onion or garlic used in this dish. This is one super easy dish and a great way to get rid of any leftover vegetables in the fridge! 

This dish is so likeable that I am bringing it to Angie's Fiesta Friday! Margy@La Petite Casserole is the co-host this week. I am sure all the girls will love it! I am also bringing it to Sonal's event Portion control and Light Eating Week as it is so healthy that it is perfect for her theme! 

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

Carrot:1, sliced into thick 2 inch long pieces
Red potatoes: 2, cut into big chunks
Ridge gourd: 1 small, cut into 1 cm thick slices
Snake gourd: 1 small, cut into 1 cm thick slices
Sweet potato: 1 small, cut into big chunks
Ivy gourd: 6-8, chopped into medium pieces
Zucchini: 1, cut into thick 2 inch pieces
Pumpkin: 1/4 of a small pumpkin, cut into big chunks.
Arvi( collacasia): 2-3, peeled and cut into big chunks.
Green chillies: 2-3, slit
Water: 1 cup to cook the vegetables
Coconut milk: 1 can
Tamarind: 1/2 marble sized
Asofoetida: pinch( optional)
Raw cashew nut halves: 1 tbsp( optional)
Salt: to taste

For tempering:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Jeera ( cumin seeds): 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Method:

In a pot heat 1 cup water, add the vegetables one after the other in the order of time needed to cook with the ones that need the longest time going in first. Add the tender cashew nuts, slit green chilies and  salt and cook until the vegetables are tender.

Dissolve tamarind pulp in a little water and add  the water to the above pot.

Add 1 can coconut milk, pinch of asofoetida and simmer for few minutes.

Tempering:
Heat coconut oil in a frying pan, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add the curry leaves.

Garnish the above pot with the tempering.

Serve hot with steamed rice or enjoy a bowl all by itself!

Cooking made easy:

Any combination of vegetables can be used for this dish but the vegetables that hold themselves well after cooking are preferred like gourds and carrots etc. Make sure to add some root vegetables like potatoes, cassava, yam etc which act as thickening agents to the sauce. Otherwise the sauce becomes a little runny.

If using cassava, or colacasia(taro), make sure that you cook it separately with a little tamarind pulp and then discard the water. Now you can mix this with the rest of the vegetables.

Tip for healthy living:

If you have a heartburn after eating a heavy meal, apparently drinking one tsp of apple cider vinegar helps counteract it.

Food for thought:

All love shifts and changes. I don't know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all the time. Julie Andrews