Lemon Pickle

We are blessed with this beautiful lemon tree, and we just love it. Fresh lemon squash or Nimboo Pani is something that all Indians love. My parents too enjoyed Nimboo Pani almost everyday while they were visiting us. But these lemons are much more than just to make Nimboo Pani. Of coarse I love fresh lemon juice in all my veggies and use them on regular basis. But it was now time to make our delicious and the most simple recipe of Lemon Pickle.

Click here for the recipe of lemon Squash

 Click here to get the recipe on Lemon Scrub for soft hands and nails.

Check what the Nutritionist, Rujuta Diwekar has to say about pickles.

Lemon Pickle is made with large, juicy, lemons that have thin skin. As you pickle lemons, skin tenderizes and is soft and delicious to taste. The thick skin lemons would taste bitter and unpleasant.
This is a simple lemon pickle recipe and aged pickle gets even more tasty.

Ingredients
15 Large pickling lemons
1 cup salt
2 tbsp. Turmeric powder
1 tbsp. chili powder (you could add more to make it more spicy and hot)

• Wash and dry lemons well.
• Cut lemons into fours or eights
• Mix salt, turmeric. and chili powder into a bowl.
• In a clean, dry, glass jar, add few lemon pieces at the bottom. Sprinkle some salt mixture. Layer lemons and salt mixture to evenly coat all the lemons with salt mixture. Close the jar and let it rest for at least 4-5 days before using. Shake the jar everyday for the mixture to blend well. In a day or two you will notice the lemons submerged into the delicious lemon and alt brine. This will make the lemons pickle and lemon skin tenderize. 
• Enjoy with paratha, yogurt rice, besibelle bhat, sambar rice. biryani, or any of your favorite dishes.

Note: This is our traditional family recipe and does not need any oil for preserving. With age the color of the pickle might change, and that is okay. Pickles are good for digestion and should be eating in small quantity to aid digestion.
Never store lemon pickle into a metal container. Also, never place a metal spoon in the lemon pickle jar for a long time.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Wash and dry lemons well.

Cut lemons into fours or eights

In a clean, dry, glass jar, add few lemon pieces at the bottom. Sprinkle some salt mixture. Layer lemons and salt mixture to evenly coat all the lemons with salt mixture. Close the jar and let it rest for at least 4-5 days before using. Shake the jar everyday for the mixture to blend well. In a day or two you will notice the lemons submerged into the delicious lemon and alt brine. This will make the lemons pickle and lemon skin tenderize.

Enjoy this Lip Smacking Pickle!!

Peanut Khichdi

Lately I have been very watchful and have been incorporating proper protein to our meals, and being a vegetarian it is is a challenge to add complete protein to our diet. I do my best to develop new taste and flavors so that I can enjoy my food. I have started reading about proteins and amino acids for vegetarians, and what I found was that Soy bean and Quinoa are complete proteins obtained from plant source. Beans, legumes, lentils, and grains are incomplete proteins but the combination of grains and beans can compliment each other to makes complete protein. (You can read about complimentary proteins or complete proteins for vegetarians.) People now-a-days run away from rice but they do not realize that simple traditional recipes were prepared keeping the demographic and nutrition in mind. Simple Indian Khichdi that our ancestors made from rice and bean preparation is definitely nutritious and suited for Indian palate compared to Quinoa which is high in protein but not the grain found in India and not something we grew up eating. Rujuta Diwekar, a well known nutritionist from India talks about going back to our roots and eating local traditional food. Here are few pointers from her:
"1. Eat local food and don't change eating habits as per food fads. Keeps the body, economy and ecology healthy.
Eg- Eat dal chawal for complete protein not Quinoa

2. Strength train to optimize fat burning.
Eg- Gymming is better than walking for fat loss
3. Stay gadget free in the night
Eg- spend time with yourself not with your phone or TV 1 hr before going to bed".

And it makes sense...quinoa is surely a great grain, but with the cost you pay to buy quinoa, a foreign grain, you can get the same protein with simple and easy preparations at home... then why run for what the West does? It is surely good to adapt the best, but not follow it blindly.

I too, like most others would feel eating rice is bad. But the key is eating it right and in correct portion. Rujuta says that we need to listen to our body, and that is so correct. Khichdi, Dhokla, Besibelle Bhaat, Rajma Rice, Mixed Dhan Khichdi, Misal Pav, Handvo, Dal Chawal and Veggies, Dal Dhokli and Bhaat, Sambar Rice, Idli, Dhokla, and many more....so many delicious preparations from each part of India are nutritious and complete protein meals.

Peanut Khichdi is a simple preparation of rice, moong dal (split moong beans) and peanuts and is called Vaghareli Khichdi in my family. This is my husband's favorite, and the first recipe I learned from my Mother in law. Most khichdi recipes consist of rice and dal mixed and cooked till they get soft. The soft and mushy consistency makes it what is called Khichdi. Vaghareli Khichdi starts with the process of tempering and sauteing rice and dal and cooking it till they are just perfect.  Topped with ghee and a side of delicious thick buttermilk called Mattho brings a big smile on my husband's face :) While I was gone to India for 2 months, my husband made this khichdi several times. Thanks to technology, Skype and Face Time made it so easy to help him cook. It was so much fun to watch and instruct him. Finally, I thought of posting this recipe on my blog for him to follow. :)

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)
1 cup rice
1 cup split moong beans/yellow moong dal
3/4 cup raw peanuts
3 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
Pinch of hing
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tsp. clove powder
1 tsp. garam masala powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. red chilli powder
2 tsp. salt
4 cups water
Cilantro to garnish
Ghee to top it while serving

• Mix rice and yellow moong dal and wash it well. Keep it aside.
• In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds and peanuts. Fry till peanuts start to split open. Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp. clove powder.
• Add washed rice and yellow moong dal mixture.
• Saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add water, salt and all other spices. Mix well.
• Cover and cook on low to medium low heat for 15 minutes. Mix lightly.
• Cover and cook for another 8-10 minutes till the moisture is almost gone. Turn off the heat and let khichdi rest covered for 5-8 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with cilantro and top it with ghee.
• Serve with thick butter milk made with plain yogurt, salt, cumin powder, cilantro and some water.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Mix rice and yellow moong dal and wash it well. Keep it aside.

In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds and peanuts. Fry till peanuts start to split open. Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp. clove powder.

Add washed rice and yellow moong dal mixture.

Saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add water, salt and all other spices. Mix well.

Cover and cook on low to medium low heat for 15 minutes. Mix lightly.

Cover and cook for another 8-10 minutes till the moisture is almost gone. Turn off the heat and let khichdi rest covered for 5-8 minutes before serving.

Garnish with cilantro and top it with ghee.

Serve with thick butter milk made with plain yogurt, salt, cumin powder, cilantro and some water.

Delicious Peanut Khichdi!!

Fansi Nu Shaak/ GreenBeans & Potato

All I need sometimes is my mom's simple food. Simple veggie and roti using my mom's recipe is the most delicious comfort food to enjoy on a busy weekday. This recipe is so simple but it is very close to my heart and would love to share it here. Beans and potato shaak is something that my entire family loves and is so quick and easy to prepare that my mom would almost make it every week. While making a hot phulka roti, mummy would roll some veggie in it for a quick breakfast before we left for school. It was so delicious and addictive that I could not eat just eat one :) I am already drooling over this post!!

I know many people don't like green beans, and my husband is one of them. But if cooked right, they are very tasty and flavorful.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)
1/2 lb. Green Beans
2 medium potatoes
4 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 green chilli chopped
4-5 curry leaves
Pinch of hing
1+1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. red chilli powder
2 tsp. coriander powder
Cilantro to garnish
Juice from 1/2 lemon

• Remove the ends of green beans and chop them. Peel potatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
• Wash potato and beans well.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, chopped green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric, and hing.
• Add beans and potatoes.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Over and cook for 8-10 minutes.
• Add chilli powder and coriander powder. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes till veggies and tender.
• Garnish with cilantro.
• Serve with a slice of lemon. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over veggies and enjoy with roti or rice.

Here is ste-by-step pictorial recipe:

Remove the ends of green beans and chop them. Peel potatoes and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.

Wash potato and beans well.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, chopped green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric, and hing.

Add beans and potatoes. 

Add salt and mix well.

Over and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Add chilli powder and coriander powder. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes till veggies and tender.

Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with a slice of lemon. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over veggies and enjoy with roti or rice.

 Comfort food!!

Edamame Pasta in Marinara Sauce

Many of you wrote to me saying that Edamame pasta is tasteless and not very enjoyable to eat. The texture is chewy and hard. I think any pasta other that regular one is hard and slightly chewier because of the ingredient and the fiber content. That is normal. But the key to making the nutritious dish enjoyable is cooking it right and making it fun. I like to make unusual pastas taste good by adding more flavors and spices. Also cooking pasta in a different broth other than water will help it absorb flavors. That is sometimes true for whole wheat pastas too!

This recipe is my attempt to make edamame pasta more delicious. As you all know edamame pasta is made of edamame/Soy bean and is gluten free and protein rich. Protein rich soy beans are my favorite! So after a wonderful workout yesterday, this was a quick protein rich dinner we enjoyed. Instead of boiling noodles and then adding them to the sauce, I thought of cooking noodles with the sauce and letting it absorb all the flavors.

While I made pasta, my husband quickly made some garlic butter for garlic bread. He applied some garlic butter on a slice of whole wheat bread and toasted it in an oven for a delicious side of healthy pasta.

Ingredients (serves 2-3 people)
3 tbsp. olive oil (or regular oil)
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 medium onion chopped
3 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
1 tsp. Italian herbs
1+1/2 cup water
Handful of pasta

Heat oil in a pan and fry chopped garlic.
Saute onions and bell peppers till they turn soft.
Add tomatoes and cook till they get tender.
Add salt and other spices.
Roughly mash tomatoes to make chunky sauce. Use a hand blender to blend it you like a smooth sauce.
Add 1+1/2 cup water and bring the sauce to boil.
Add pasta and allow pasta to cook and flavors from the sauce to be absorbed my the pasta. This should take 5-6 minutes.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Heat oil in a pan and fry chopped garlic.

Saute onions and bell peppers till they turn soft.

Add tomatoes and cook till they get tender.

Add salt and other spices.

Roughly mash tomatoes to make chunky sauce. Use a hand blender to blend it you like a smooth sauce.

Add 1+1/2 cup water and bring the sauce to boil.

Add pasta and allow pasta to cook and flavors from the sauce to be absorbed my the pasta. This should take 5-6 minutes.