Healthy burger

We were supposed to have a friend over... and I thought of burgers for dinner. The friend didn't turn up but we had leftover mixed vegetable from lunch... and I decided to make a healthy version of burger.

Ingredients:

- Mixed veggies- carrot, beans, onions, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, corn etc.

- Bread slices: 2

- Bread crumbs: 1 slice. Crush it in a mixer to make crumbs
- Egg: 1
- Mayonnaise: I used Wintergreen's garlic paste instead. For the healthy version, you can make a replacement. Add salt, garlic paste, pepper to hung curd. For hung curd, I generally put regular curd in a filter (the one used for tea) for a few mins.
- Lettuce
- Green chutney. I used Wintergreen's basil pesto paste but the coriander pudina chutney can be used instead
- Ketchup
- Spices- salt, haldi, red chilli powder
- Burger buns

Method:

- To make cutlets... boil all the veggies in a pressure cooker. I used the leftover vegetable instead. Add onions, spices (salt, haldi, red chilli powder), bread slices dipped in water to the veggies and mash everything together. Adjust any seasoning and make cutlets. Beat an egg. Dip each cutlet in the beaten egg. Roll the cutlet in bread crumbs. Heat oil in a non stick tava. Shallow fry the cutlet and place it on a paper napkin. You can also deep fry it but for a healthier version it should be shallow fry.

- Take burger buns, slice them in two and heat on a tawa. Put garlic paste/curd mixture/mayonnaise on one slice and green chutney on the 2nd slice. Place a lettuce on the bottom slice... place the cutlet and put some ketchup on top.

Yummy, healthy version of a burger. Who said healthy food cannot be tasty?

Macaroni Patata Sabji

This is my favorite sabji. I have grown up eating it and for the longest time did not know that macaroni is actually pasta.
It is a famous Sindhi veg.
I have taken the picture from here since I did not click a picture yesterday... was too hungry :)

Ingredients (serves 2):

- 1 large potato, cubed
- 1/4 cup macaroni
-1/4 cup phool patasha (available in all grocery stores)
- salt
- 2 chopped green chillies
- 1 tsp dhania powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 2 tsp kasoori methi (the most important ingredient)
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- Oil
- 1 cup water

Method:

- Heat oil in a cooker

- Add the chopped tomatoes and stir. Once they are completely done, add potatoes, macaroni, phool patasha and green chillies

- Add the spices- salt, dhania, red chilli and kasoori methi and mix well

- Add 1 cup water and close the cooker

- After 3-4 whistles, switch off the gas

Yummiest veg is ready.

Stir fried Veggies

This is what I had for dinner. It has 200 calories (according to myfitnesspal.com). What an amazing way to fuel up on veggies.

Ingredients:

- Veggies- Onion, Capsicum, Mushrooms, Beans, Baby corn, Cabbage, Cauliflower (I didn't have any at home so I skipped), carrots, tomatoes (if you want sautéed veggies you should avoid tomatoes)
- Soya sauce
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Garlic paste
- Any sauces you have at home- I used wintergreen's salsa and Ching's chowmein powder soaked in some water

Method:

- Heat 2 spoons of oil. Add garlic paste
- Add onions and sauté till soft
- Add thick veggies like carrot, cauliflower, beans etc. Sauté on high heat for a few minutes
- Add the soft veggies. Sauté on high heat for a few minutes
- Add tomatoes.
- Add soya sauce, salt, pepper and any other paste
- Mix well

It can be eaten with roti also... tastes yum.

-

Vegetable Dalia

I have started on my fitness/weight loss journey and have been researching for healthy recipes which are quick and tasty.

Here is one of them. I was surprised by how good it tastes. If only my mom would have fed me dalia like this.


Ingredients (will be enough for 2 people):

- 1 cup dalia
- Vegetables- onion, tomato, beans, capsicum, corn, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, carrots
- salt to taste
- haldi
- red chilli powder
- coriander powder (dhania)

Method:

- Wash dalia
- Take a cooker and heat 2 spoons of oil
- Sauté onions. When soft, add the other vegetables and sauté
- Add dalia and spices
- Cook on medium heat

Daal Bhaati

I hail from a small town in Gujarat which is 3-4 hours away from Rajasthan and so some of the Rajasthani food is available in our town... Daal Bhaati is very famous. My mom makes fabulous daal bhaati. It is made very frequently during winter. Sometimes when we are not in the mood for cooking we just order the daal bhaati from small restaurants which serve spicy garlic chutney along with it.

In November'11, I decided to make daal bhaati at home for the first time. Generally, bhaatis are made in a special cooker but I made it in the microwave and it was just as good.

How do you eat it? Break the bhaati into small pieces, pour the daal over and eat with hands/spoon.

Bhaati- nos 7 small ones

• Add 1.5 cups flour (regular one), lots of oil (triple the quantity you would use when making regular chapattis), some salt and little haldi. Knead the dough with little water. It has to be very, very hard... as hard as you can make it. Make flat oval shapes (you can even make round ones)


• Boil water in a big vessel. Put the bhaatis in them. They will be done once they come on top. It takes around 10-15 mins. Ensure that the water completely covers the bhatis


• You can either cook them in a tandoor (available everywhere) for 10-15 mins. Heat a tandoor, put the bhaatis on the grill, cook covered. Once the top becomes firm and brown, turn and cook the other side till they also become brown


• For microwave, mine has an automatic setting and cooked in 15 mins. For others, I guess the convention mode will have to be used. Put bhaatis on a tava, place tava on high grill and cook on high for 7-8 mins. Turn the bhaatis and cook for another 7-8 mins

Dal (serves 3-4 people)

• Boil 1/4 cup tuvar dal, 1/4 cup urad dal and 1/2 cup moong chilke wali dal. The idea is to use 3 types of dal in this ratio
• Crush the dal once boiled. Add the water leftover from boiling bhattis (why throw away nutrients?)
• Add 1 chopped tomato, salt, green chillies, salt. Boil
• In another pan, heat oil. Add jeera, hing, 1 small chopped onion, red chilli powder, haldi.
• Add the mixture to the dal and let it boil
• After 5 mins add nimbu/tamarind paste

Serve the bhaatis with ghee.