Grilled Pineapple

A quick and delicious snack that's also healthy? FRUITS come to mind! But why boring plain fruits when there's a super easy way to turn it into exotic snacking in minutes. 

GRILLED or BBQ Pineapple!

Ingredients: Pineapple slices, chilli powder as desired, a bit of oil, (salt if desired)

Make: In a wide pan, spray a little oil and place thick slices of Pineapple. Sprinkle chilli powder on both sides and pan-grill until golden brown and mildly caramelised. Enjoy the juicy flavours of sweet and spicy!

Corn Flakes Mixture - Spicy & Crunchy

Healthy snacking definitely does not have to be boring! A great way to enjoy delicious healthy snacks is to skip the deep frying. This addictive treat is exactly that and oh soooo yum!

Here is my version of CORN FLAKES MIXTURE:

Ingredients: 4 cups normal (or gluten free) Corn Flakes cereal, 3-4 sprigs curry leaves washed & dried, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup cashews, 1/4 cup coconut flakes, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar. 

For spice tempering - 1 tbsp channa daal/urid daal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp chilli flakes, a little olive oil.

Make:

1. In a wide non stick pan, saute all the spices for tempering in low flame. Add peanuts, cashews and coconut flakes, continue to mix in low flame until they start to turn golden.

2. Add in the curry leaves and corn flakes. Mix gently then add salt and sugar. Continue lightly stirring in low flame for about 10 minutes or until there is a lovely roasted aroma. The corn flakes will be extra crunchy and golden brown. 

Take off heat and cool completely before storing or serving with a nice cuppa!

Savoury Cookies - Finger Millet & Wheat

Who says baking is always to make naughty foods that are only for indulgence? No way - baking is one of the best ways to keep calories low as you can often create treats that would traditionally be fried without all the oil. 

Often referred to as a "super food" Finger Millet or Raagi, is calcium and iron rich as well as being low GI. Whole wheat also has its well known healthy benefits. So why not enjoy the healthy benefits by making something tasty to munch on!

There are different recipes out there but I made my Savoury Cookies using a simple method which worked out great. Here it is:

Ingredients (for about 12 cookies): 1 cup Raagi/Finger Millet, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup butter at room temperature, handful of curry leaves finely chopped, 1 spoon sesame seeds, chilli flakes, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, milk only enough to form the cookie dough.

Make: In a bowl, mix the raagi, wheat flour, salt and sugar. Then add the butter, chopped curry leaves, chilli flakes and mix with your hands, adding milk to form a soft dough. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes then make small portions and flatten to make a cookie shape. Place all cookies on baking paper in a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 170 deg for about 20 minutes. Let it cool before serving or storing.

Enjoy your crispy yet crumbly healthy savoury cookies with a cup of tea!

Sankranti Ellu Bella - Healthy Trail Mix

It's the Indian festival of Harvest - the celebration of food! Makara Sankranti/Lohri/Pongal, whatever it might be for you, it's sure to be a food filled day! One of the best memories as a child is collecting and sharing "Sankranti Ellu Bella" with friends on festival day, visiting family and friends. 

Sharing my version of the healthy and delicious festive snack, SANKRANTI ELLU BELLA:

Ingredients: 1 cup roasted peanuts (skin peeled after roasting), 1 cup roasted gram, 1 cup chopped roasted coconut flakes, 1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds (ellu), 1/2 cup small chopped jaggery (bella), sugar cubes if desired.

Make: Roast each of the above (except jaggery) separately. Cool down completely. In a bowl, mix all of together. Share and enjoy snacking!

Dhokla - Steamed Savoury Cake

Snacking does not always have to be unhealthy - infact, with a little bit of effort snacking can be so healthy it becomes part of your daily healthy food intake! 

Traditionally from the Gujurat region of India, Dhokla is just that, a healthy snack that is made from steaming chickpea flour making it both high in protein and low in calories.

There are many variants to the traditional recipe but sharing my version which is easy and quick as well tastes great! Here it is: DHOKLA - Steamed Savoury Cake.

Ingredients: 1 cup of chickpea flour (besan/gram flour), 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 and 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil. For seasoning, 1 teaspoon oil, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon shredded coconut, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, handful of chopped coriander, chopped chillies if desired.

Make: In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, olive oil and water together to form a smooth batter with out any lumps. Leave aside covered for about 15 minutes. Grease your steaming dish with a bit of oil then pour in the batter to steam for about 20 minutes. When steamed, sprinkle the shredded coconut and chopped coriander on top. Let it cool for a little while then add the seasoning - in a pan, heat mustard seeds and chillies in oil and pour all over the Dhokla. Cut into pieces and enjoy with a hot cuppa!

Spicy Murmura/Spicy Puffed Rice

Snacking healthy seems to the word everywhere you see - from reduced fat to oil free to no salt to low calories. Sometimes reducing the "bad stuff" reduces the taste factor. Here's a super easy snack that you can whip at home in less than 10 minutes, keeps for about a week in an airtight container and tastes sooo good it's hard to believe that it is healthy!

Always a regular in our pantry, this healthy snack ticks all the boxes and satisfies the taste buds too. Here it is, my version of the SPICY MURMURA/SPICY PUFFED RICE. This exact same recipe can also be made with FLAT RICE.

Ingredients: 2 cups of plain puffed rice (or plain rice bubbles cereal, flat rice), handful of peanuts, cashews, handful of curry leaves, handful of dry coconut flakes, 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Make: Ensure there is no water/moisture near this preparation. In a wide non stick pan, add into the oil, all the above dry ingredients except for puffed rice and fry on low flame until roasted. Now add curry leaves and puffed rice and continue frying on low flame. Add salt/sugar as needed. The aroma will be just right when the puffed rice is roasted nicely.  Remove from the flame and let it cool completely.
Enjoy once cooled and can be kept in an air tight container for snacking!

Mung Bean Sprouts Salad

The word "salad" can often bring up images that are not very exciting and for the diet conscious. However, healthy does not mean boring! Infact, you can combine many different healthy ingredients together to create exciting delicious dishes, that are high in taste and low in calories. 

With some soaked mung bean sprouts, I went on a healthy ingredient hunt in my pantry and pretty much used whatever I felt like to make a hearty, protein packed salad which was loved. Gluten free, vegan and loaded with goodness - all the elements of freshness, crunch, crispness made for one yummy meal :) 

Here it is, my MUNG BEAN SPROUTS SALAD:

Ingredients: 1 cup mung bean sprouts (soaked and sprouted), 1 tomato chopped, 1 carrot grated, 1 small red onion, handful of almond flakes, peanuts and coconut flakes, chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt.

Make: In a pan, mildly saute the sprouts with a bit of oil and chilli flakes, add salt to taste. Let it cool completely. In a serving bowl, add the chopped tomato, chopped onion, grated carrot to the cooled sprouts toss together (do not mix vigorously). Dry roast almond flakes, peanuts and coconut flakes. Let cool and sprinkle over the salad, along with lemon juice. Your healthy Mung Bean Sprout Salad is ready to enjoy!

Khara Buns/Spicy Buns

When baking your own fresh breads/buns is so easy, it's a load of fun to experiment with different tastes and get creative! I tried creating my version of the very famous "Khara Bun" which every good bakery has people lining up for it in downtown Bangalore! The result - the whole lot of buns I baked were gone very quickly :)

Here it is, my version of KHARA BUN / SPICY BUN:

Ingredients: For the bread dough, 2 cups self-raising flour sifted, 3/4 cup of natural yogurt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, pinch of salt, water and olive oil as required. For the masala, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 tomato chopped (only if desired, I usually omit tomato), 1 onion chopped finely, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon ajwain, 2/3 green chilli chopped finely, chilli flakes as required, handful of coriander and curry leaves finely chopped, salt to taste, sesame seeds.

Make: Mix the flour, butter, ajwain, yogurt with water and olive oil to form a firm bread dough. Kneed well and wrap in glad wrap. Leave it covered for at least two hours. 

Meanwhile to make the masala. In a nonstick pan, saute chill in some oil. Add in the cumin , onion, curry leaves, tomato if using and garam masala, mix well with salt. Let it cool.

When ready to mix the masala with the dough, kneed the dough well again and add in cooled masala plus chilli flakes and chopped coriander.

Portion into small palm sized balls then shape nicely. Brush each bun with melted butter then sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 170 deg for about 30 minutes. They are ready when they look golden brown and well rounded. Enjoy the soft, spicy, hot Khara Buns with a hot cuppa!

 

Papad Chaat (Papadum Salsa)

Quick and tasty snacks are often the best but such foods can easily fall into the 'unhealthy' category. If you've got 5 minutes to whip up a fresh and mouth watering snack to please everyone, this is for you. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee and best shared with your favourite people!

Here is my quick and easy version of PAPAD CHAAT (Papadum Salsa).

Ingredients (for two): 4 or 5 papadams, 2 small potatoes boiled and diced, 1 tomato chopped, chaat masala or chilli powder, salt, lemon juice, sev, coriander for garnish.

Make: Toast papadums in the microwave for quick and oil free taste. In your serving dish, first layer diced boiled potatoes, sprinkle a bit of salt then add a layer of roughly crushed papadum, followed by a layer of chopped tomato. Sprinkle chaat masala or chilli powder. Add a layer of sev and garnish with chopped coriander. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice for that tang flavour. Enjoy!

Sev Papdi Chaat

When the craving for snacking strikes, you really don't want to spend lots of time making something AND you don't want to snack on high fat or high sugar foods. I find that quick 'Indian street food' style snacks tick all my boxes!

Very similar to "Sev Puri", my SEV PAPDI CHAAT is a quick to make snack with the perfect combination of spicy, tangy and sweet flavours.

Simple and quick to put together and tastes as delicious as it looks! 

Here it is, Sev Papdi Chaat :)

Ingredients: 

Papdi (or crisp wheat crackers), chopped fresh tomato, chopped onion, chopped coriander, mint paste or mint & coriander paste, sev.

Make:
Layout the papdi in a serving plate. Spread mint/coriander paste then sprinkle chopped onions, tomato and coriander. If desired, lightly sprinkle some chilli powder on top for extra spice. Finish off with a generous sprinkle of sev. Serve and enjoy your healthy and delicious snack!

Masala Puri

Anyone from the Indian subcontinent will agree to one things about food - there is nothing more tantilising and taste-buds satisfying than a spicy, tangy, fresh CHAAT!! Wheather it is a vada-pav on the side streets, pani puri from the carts, gobi manchurian from a fancy restaurant or good old sev puri made at home, a good Chaat can bring a smile on anyone's face :) 

Having visited the south of India recently, we made sure we indulged in one of our favourites, MASALA PURI. Being back home sweet home though, it was too tempting not to re-create that Masala Puri magic..so here it is, my version of the very famous Masala Puri, made in a quick and easy way!

Ingredients (for two servings): 1.5 cups of green peas, 1 potato, 1 red onion, 1 tomato, 1 carrot, corriander, few cinnamon sticks, few cloves, salt, chilli powder, chaat powder, 1 spoon garlic paste, crisp papdis (Indian wheat biscuits), sev.

Make: In a pan, lightly fry in a spoon of oil, chopped onion and garlic until golden brown. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves and fry lightly. Add the peas and chopped potatoes with half a glass of water. Add salt and cover. Simmer in low heat for 15 to 20 minutes and you should see the peas and potatoes have cooked well and become very soft. At this stage, add chilli powder and chaat powder. Simmer again for 5 to 10 minutes. This version requires no grinding etc, so is much quicker than the traditional version. 

Remove from heat and serve immediately (remove the cinnamon sticks & cloves before serving), with toppings of grated carrot, chopped tomato, roughly broken papdis, chopped onion, corriander and sev. Not only will it look mouth-watering, it will taste amazing with the mix of spicy and tangy flavours! Double the winner also as it only takes about half an hour to prepare :) 

 

Banana Bread (Eggless)

Not sure about you, but in our house no one likes an over-ripe banana! It's on of those fruits that looses its taste the minute it gets too ripe...yes we are fussy banana eaters! However there is good news for those over ripe bananas :) When life gives you too many bananas, make BANANA BREAD! 

The recipe itself is an age old one, tried and tested by most bakers (and mums) and here is mine, the eggless version. Turns out soft, moist and sweet everytime - a hit with my little one too which is a great way to get more fruit in :)

Ingredients: One very ripe banana, 1 cup self raising flour, half cup brown sugar, half cup milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. 

Make: In a bowl mash the banana well with a spoon, should be well mashed but not a smooth paste. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, butter, oil and vanilla essence. Mix well with a fork (to ensure the cake will be light and fluffy not thick and heavy). Add the mashed banana and mix lightly. Pour into your baking tray (a bread tray is recommended) and bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 160 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, when baked, it will bounce back when lightly pressed in the middle.

Enjoy your freshly baked Banana Bread :)

Eggless Savoury Muffins

As a mum of a little one, I am always trying to create new ways to put in varieties of vegetables into foods that she enjoys eating. Savoury muffins are nothing new and I used this treat that she loves, to pack in some veggie goodness! Bonus is that it's a great healthy snack for adults too (and yummy too!)

Here are my eggless savoury muffins packed with veggies :) 

Ingredients for about 10 muffins: 

1.5 cups self raising flour (or if using plain flour, add 1 teaspoon baking powder), 2 tablespoons soft butter, 1 tablespoon Organ egg replacer powder (optional), 1 tablespoon olive oil, half glass milk, half glass water, your choice of two or three veggies grated (I used carrot, spinach, onion, corriander), dry coconut, salt to taste, chilli powder if you choose.

Make: In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together then add the grated vegetables, oil and butter. Add milk and water and mix vigorously to make a paste like cake dough. Add salt and chilli powder if you choose to add some spice! 

Spoon into a greased muffin tray, sprinkle coconut on top and bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy your fresh warm savoury muffins and sneak in some veggie goodness in your little one's snack :)

                                                                                    

Gobi Manchurian - The healthy version!

Those of you that know even a bit about Indian snacks will have heard of or enjoyed Gobi Manchurian. It's a very popular Indo-Chinese fried cauliflower spicy snack, best enjoyed fresh and hot. 

In our household it's always been a favourite but I often hestitated to make it due to the deep frying involved....well only until now! Having discovered that I can create the very same Gobi Manchurian magic without deep frying has made us very happy fans of this delicious savoury delicacy!

Here is my non-deep fried Gobi Manchurian - healthier than the traditional method and a much quicker time taken to create the same amazing taste!

Ingredients: 1 cauliflower (washed and florets separated), handful of curry leaves, 1 tablespoon corn flour, fresh chillies chopped (as many as suits), 1 onion chopped small, small cup of chopped spring onions, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon garlic paste, half a cup of tomato sauce or ketchup, few tablespoons of soy sauce, handful of fresh corriander, salt.

Make: After separating cauliflower into florets, sprinkle the corn flour and toss in a bowl so it is mildly coated. In a wide pan, use just a tablespoon of oil and pan fry the cauliflower florets, turning delicately for about 10 to 15 minutes. The florets should look crisp and be golden brown in colour. Keep aside in a bowl. 

Now using the same wide pan, use another tablespoon of oil and put in the chillies, garlic paste, chopped onion and chopped ginger. Lightly fry then add in the tomato sauce and soy sauce. You may add extra chilly powder and salt at this stage too. When the mixture starts to bubble, add the previously pan friend cauliflower florets, chopped spring onions and toss well. Finally sprinkle the chopped fresh corriander.

Your delicious HEALTHY VERSION OF GOBI MANCHURIAN is ready to enjoy!