Chilli Chickpeas Salad

Salad lunches are always a favourite! On busy weekdays when a nutritious lunch is especially important, a yummy mix of healthy ingredients is often the easiest and quickest. 

Here it is, my CHILLI CHICKPEAS SALAD:

Ingredients for 2 bowls: 400g cooked chickpeas (canned chickpeas are great to save time), 1 firm ripe avocado chopped, handful of cherry tomatoes, a small red capsicum chopped, shredded red cabbage, salad leaves like lettuce, rocket, spinach. For seasoning, salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Make:

1. In a pan, use a little olive oil and saute chilli flakes. Put in the cooked chickpeas, a little salt and roast mildly to coat in the chilli infused oil. Add in red capsicum and toss together (without cooking further).

2. Use a salad serving bowl to assemble the salad. Start by laying salad leaves and shredded cabbage.  Then top with chilli chickpeas and red capsicum. Add more leaves and top with avocado and cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Sri Lankan Pumpkin Coconut Curry

One of my favourite cuisines has got to be Sri Lankan! With the use of spices and coconut, the creamy yet strong flavoured curries are simply delicious. 

I have read some traditional recipes for Sri Lankan vegetarian curries, which involve a lot of grinding of dry spices to achieve the strong flavours - this is not always quick and easy for busy lifestyles. So I took the ideas and tried my own twist on a Pumpkin Coconut Curry, which worked wonderfully and since been a favourite for us!

Here it is, my quick and easy version of the Sri Lankan Pumpkin Coconut Curry:

Ingredients: Half a pumpkin chopped into large cubes, 1 onion chopped finely, fresh chillies (2 or 3 as desired), 1 can light coconut milk, small spoon of turmeric powder, salt to taste. For tempering, 1 spoon olive oil, 1 spoon fennel seeds, 2 or 3 small pieces of cinnamon sticks, 1 spoon cumin seeds, 1 spoon mustard seeds, 2 sticks of fresh curry leaves. 

Make: In wide based pan (I prefer non stick), put in the spoon of olive oil, add fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, chopped chillies and mustard seeds. When they heat up, chopped onion, curry leaves and saute. Now add the pumpkin cubes, salt and roast slightly for about 8 minutes. Finally add coconut milk and bring to boil. Garnish with chives and serve hot :)

Cauliflower Fried Rice

What better than to tuck into a warm bowl of hearty goodness on a cold evening sitting on your cosy couch watching your all time favourite movie? I can't think of much more homely comfort than this!

Hearty goodness could mean a lot of different things, but if you're Indian it probably means a nice yummy bowl of rice with your favourite flavours. That's me! One of our favourites is a delicious Cauliflower Fried Rice and it warms our cold evenings and hearts :)

Here it is, my Cauliflower Fried Rice.

Ingredients: Florets from half of a cauliflower (break into bite size pieces, don't cut as it disintegrates), 1 tomato chopped, handful of peas or any other chopped vegetable you wish, 1 onion chopped, spices for tempering (cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chilli flakes), curry leaves, 1 cup of cooked Basmati rice, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, lemon juice from half a lemon.

Make: In a thick bottom pan (non stick is better), temper the spices in a little bit of oil then add curry leaves and chopped onions. Saute then add the cauliflower, tomato and peas. Cook for about 8 minutes until the vegetables look soft yet not overcooked. Add the cumin powder and extra chilli powder if you wish and mix well. Finally add the cooked rice and lemon juice and mix it all together taking care not to mash the rice. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. Serve nice and hot with papadum and raita!

Asian Salad

Some days you just feel like the lightest and healthiest of meals but it is actually hard to think of what you can make that also tastes good. Salads are probably the first to come to mind and yes this quick little light meal is a salad, with a yummy twist.

Loaded with fresh ingredients and vitamins, my ASIAN SALAD ticks all my boxes for a light lunch or dinner without being boring in taste!

Ingredients: 1 carrot and 1 cucumber cut into thin strips, half of an apple cut into think strips, handful of sprouts, 1 spoon sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon cashews, lemon juice, pepper for seasoning.

Make: Toss all the cut salad vegetables into a serving bowl and sprinkle lemon juice and pepper on top. Dry roast the sesame seeds and cashews until golden brown. Sprinkle it all on top of the salad. Add coriander and salt if you wish. Time to enjoy your fresh and light Asian Salad!
 

Lemon Fried Rice

Lemons lemons everywhere! It's the season for lots of yellow citrus goodness to be hanging from our trees in the garden. Lemons are not only a wonderful choice to help with many common day to day health issues, they also add amazing flavour to almost dish you can add them too.

After lip-smacking lemon pickles, our most favourite savoury lemon dish is the very simple yet deilicous LEMON RICE (commonly known in Bangalore as Chittranna). It's probably the most commonly made rice dish in households and also the most loved. There's a feeling of home associated with this quick and easy dish that South Indians will agree to :)

Here it is my version of the quick and easy, LEMON RICE.

Ingredients: 1 cup cooked rice, the juice from 1 fresh lemon, half cup green peas, 1 onion chopped, handful of curry leaves, handful peanuts (can omit this), 1 small potato chopped. For tempering, 2 chilies finely chopped, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon split peas (channa daal), 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera), 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon oil.

Make: In a thick bottom pan, heat the oil for tempering the spices. Add each of the chillies, turmeric powder, split peas, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they smell roasted and start to splutter, add peanuts if you choose and add the chopped onions and curry leaves. Saute onions till golden brown then add the green peas and chopped potatoes. Cook for about 8 minutes till soft and add the cooked rice. Add in the fresh lemon juice, salt to taste and toss together (do not pat or mix hard so you keep it all light). Sprinkle with chopped coriander if you wish.  Enjoy hot!

Fruit Smoothie

Happy December!! December not only spells summer in the land down under, but also times for over indulgence (eating) and probably not the most healthiest kind of indulgence! So why not prepare for all the intake by starting the month on a healthy note.

Trying to consume 3 or 4 fruits and veg at once can be challenging, so the best way to do it is SMOOTHIE it :) You can add whatever combination of fruits and vegetables you like, each have their own benefits and taste.

Here is my FRUIT SMOOTHIE, fit for a quick lunch on the go too :)

Ingredients for 1 cup: 1 apple, 1 orange/mandarin, 1 kiwi fruit, 1 carrot.

Make: Roughly chop all of the above and put in your juicer, grind for a few minutes and add a few spoons of water if too thick.

Enjoy your delicious healthy smoothie filled with goodness!

Spiced Cauliflower Rice & Roasted Chickpeas

A hearty, delicious and healthy lunch is not always possible to put together especially on busy days where time is precious and list of to do's are too long!

Here's a quick meal including a side dish (now that's pretty fancy for a busy day lunch) which you can put together within minutes by preparing a few things the night before.

It's always a hit at our household and very healthy with a nice serve of veggies and protein :) Here is is, my SPICED CAULIFLOWER RICE & ROASTED CHICKPEAS.

Ingredients for Roasted Chickpeas: 1 can of preboiled chickpeas, chilli flakes, salt.

Make: Grab a thick bottomed pan and put in chilli flakes into a bit of oil, add the chickpeas (double washed out of can), salt to taste and roast till golden brown - should take just a few minutes. 

Ingredients for Spiced Cauliflower Rice: 1 cup of cooked rice (can be made night before), 1 cup of chopped cauliflower florets, half cup chopped carrots, handful of frozen peas or corn kernels, 1 fresh tomato chopped, 1 onion chopped, chilli powder, 1 spoon cumin seeds, 1 spoon mustard seeds, salt, olive oil, cumin powder.

Make: In a non stick pan, saute the onion in a bit of olive oil with cumin seeds and mustard seeds, then add all the chopped veggies. Roast on high flame for a few minutes, add cumin powder, chilli powder and salt. When mixed well, add in the cooked rice and combine well. Done! 

There it is, a healthy, hot cooked meal ready to enjoy for lunch :) 

Tawa Pulao (Indian Fried Rice)

Wanting to make a hearty Indian rice dish but have little time or patience to spend in the kitchen? It happens to the best of us and more often than not! The biggest downside to most quick cook dishes are that we loose out on nutritional benefits, however not this beautiful dish!

Taking just half an hour to create, not only does it tick the nutritious box but will also put smiles on your family's faces.

My version of the very famous dish by celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor (his version on his page Sanjeev Kapoor)...TAWA PULAO.

Ingredients: 1.5 cups cooked rice (preferably basmati rice), 1 tomato chopped, 1 carrot chopped, 1 potato chopped, half cup green peas or corn kernels, 1 onion chopped, 1 spoon garlic paste, 1 spoon pav bhaji masala, 1 spoon garam masala, coriander leaves. For tempering, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

Make: In a wide based pan, heat oil and saute the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, onion and garlic paste. When there is a nice aroma, add all other chopped vegetables and masala powders. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in the hot cooked rice, salt and mix well. Mix in chopped coriander leaves. Done!

Enjoy your hot Tawa Pulao with yougurt or raita :)

Char-grilled Mixed Veg Salad

Lazy lunchtime but you feel like enjoying a tasty, warm, healthy, tongue tickling kind of meal? Sounds almost impossible to achieve when the mood is lazy right? Wrong. Here's a salad sure to bring a smile as it's possibly one of the easiest cooked meals you can make!

Open the fridge and grab a few easy to chop veggies, some bread and you're ready to create! This yummy salad is one we enjoy on lazy Sundays and is especially great in Summer when you want to keep cooking to minimal.

Ingredients: two or three veggies of your choice (I like pumpkin, carrot, zucchini) chopped into large pieces, few rolls/slices of bread chopped up, chilli flakes, salt, olive oil.

Make: In a wide base pan, start with olive oil and chilli flakes. When chilli flakes heat up add the veggies, bread pieces and salt to taste and cook in high flame for 4-5 minutes until they look char-grilled. Sprinkle pepper on top if desired. Decorate with fresh and healthy spinach leaves/parsley/corriander. 
Enjoy your delicious lazy day healthy veggie salad!