The recipe here combines antioxidant rich purple cabbage, beta carotene rich carrots, and mustard greens. Substitute any common leafy greens available locally like drumstick greens or amaranth leaves.

Millet Chickpea Egg-free Croquettes Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ cup cooked pearl millet
• ½ cup cooked chickpeas
• 3 to 4 slices of whole wheat bread
• ½ cup finely chopped or grated veggies like purple cabbage, carrots, spinach/mustard greens/amaranth leaves, mint leaves
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Preparation method for millet chickpea egg-free croquettes

1. Mash the cooked chickpeas and millet, and combine it with chopped veggies, chilli powder, salt, and knead to make thick dough
2. Wet the bread slices in water and squeeze out excess water, and knead it into the dough till well incorporated
3. Shape the dough and deep fry in medium hot oil till crisp on the outside and done on the inside
4. Serve warm with homemade cilantro mint chutney and tomato chilli chutney.

This recipe was first published in the June 2016 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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• Store this chutney in a clean, air-tight steel or glass container and refrigerate it. It stays good for 10-12 days
• I’ve added almonds to make it thick, you can replace almonds with peanuts
• Make sure you use fresh coriander and mint leaves
• You may skip jaggery

Ingredients

• Coriander: 2 cups
• Mint leaves: 1 cup
• Green chillies: 1-2
• Jaggery 1-2 tbsp
• Lemon juice: 1tbsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• Salt: 1-2 tsp

Preparation method:

1. Add all the ingredients to a grinder/blender jar
2. Grind without adding water
3. Taste to check for salt
4. Transfer to clean glass or steel air-tight container
5. Store in refrigerator.

This chutney can be served with parathas, chillas, cutlets, kebabs and even works great as a salad dressing. You can also use this chutney to make mint raita.

The post Mint coriander chutney recipe [with almonds] appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Here is a quick and easy baby potato recipe that you can have either as a starter or a side dish. Try it today!

Baby potatoes in sambar masala recipe

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes: 250g
• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Oil: 1tbsp
• Sambar masala powder: 1 heaped tbsp
• Salt: as per your taste preference

Method

1. Wash the baby potatoes and place in a pressure cooker with sufficient water. Cook for not more than two whistles.
2. Once the pressure settles, drain the water and place the potatoes in a colander. You may peel the potatoes or leave the skin on. Cut each potato into two halves.
3. In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
4. Then add the potatoes and toss around.
5. Once they have browned a bit, lower the flame and add salt and sprinkle sambar masala evenly over the potatoes. Toss around so that the masala powder coats the potatoes well. Cover the pan and let it cook for few minutes.
6. Serve hot

The post Baby potatoes sprinkled with sambar masala appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

According to Medical News Today’s website, “the health benefits of consuming papaya include a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, aiding in digestion, improving blood glucose control in people with diabetes, lowering blood pressure, and improving wound healing.”

But many people don’t like the smell of this fruit and therefore avoid it. For them and for others who love experimenting, here is an interesting way to consume papaya: in a spicy coconut gravy. The delicious vegan papaya curry cooked in a spicy coconut gravy goes well with both rice as well as rotis (Indian flatbread).

Papaya Erissery: A delicious vegan curry

Serves 3 – 4

Ingredients

• 1½ cups papaya, thinly sliced to 1” long pieces
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp salt

To grind

• ¼ cup grated coconut
• 4 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 – 2 green chillies
• ½ tsp cumin seeds

To temper

• 1 tbsp oil, preferably coconut oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2 whole dried red chillies
• 5 – 6 curry leaves
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp grated coconut

Preparation method

1. Cook the papaya with water, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt in a pan till the  slices are soft and you are able to mash them with a spoon. You can also pressure cook them for one whistle, allowing the steam to be released naturally. Set this aside.
2. Grind the ingredients listed under ‘to grind’ to a semi-smooth paste. Add this to the cooked papaya. Gently heat this mixture for 3 – 4 minutes till the coconut gravy gets cooked. Lightly mash any big pieces of papaya with the back of your stirring spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from flame and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the oil for tempering. Add mustard seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves. Once they crackle, add the shallots and fry till golden. Add this tempering to the papaya curry.
4. Return the saucepan to the stove and tip in the coconut. Gently toast the coconut on a medium-low flame till golden brown. Add this to the papaya curry as well. For best results, keep the papaya erissery covered for 30 minutes before serving to develop the flavours. Serve with rice or rotis.

The post Papaya Erissery: A delicious vegan curry appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Traditionally Sundal is made as prasad [devotional offering] during a religious festival or ritual, but it is often had as a healthful accompaniment to meals or just as a nutritious evening snack. When made for prasad, onions are not used.

Widely sold on the streets of Tamil Nadu and served in almost all Tamil homes, especially during the festive season, Sundal is a quintessential Tamil salad. You will often find Sundal being offered in temples of Tamil Nadu—served in bowls made of dried beetel leaves or banana/palm leaves.

This vegan Sundal recipe uses sweet corn instead of the more popular chickpeas.

Sweet corn Sundal [stir-fry] recipe

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients

• 200g sweet corn kernels
• 3 chopped green chillies
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp grated fresh coconut or desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp split black gram [urad dal]
• A pinch of asafoetida [hing]
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp gingelly [sesame] oil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 twig of curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Preparation method

1. Boil 3 – 4 cups of water in a pan and then add sweet corn pellets and turmeric powder. Cook on low-medium flame till the sweet corn turns soft. Remove from the heat, drain the water completely and keep aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and temper the mustard seeds, black gram and curry leaves. Add chopped green chillies, ginger, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Stir well for a few seconds.
3. Add cooked sweet corn, asafoetida and salt to taste. Cook for 2 – 5 minutes. Add grated coconut and stir well. You can also add grated raw mango, finely chopped onion and grated carrot to enhance the flavour of this dish.

The post Healthful Sundal recipe using sweet corn appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Ingredients

250g lady’s fingers / okra / bhindi
Oil 1- 2 tbsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Amchur powder ½ tsp [dry mango powder] or Juice of half lemon
Salt as your prefer

Method

1] Wash and dry the okra. It’s important to dry them before cutting, or they becomes soggy.
2] Trim both ends and then slit the okra in 4 pieces each.
3] Line the baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven at 180ºC for 10 minutes.
4] Place all the sliced okra over the parchment paper. At this step, I also sliced an onion and added it to the okra. Sprinkle the oil and dry spices [EXCEPT salt ] over the okra and gently mix. If you add salt before baking it becomes a sticky mess. If you’re using lemon juice in place of amchur powder then add it in the end, with the salt.
4] Bake this for 20 – 25 minutes at 180 – 200ºC. You may want to check in after 15 minutes or so, as oven temperatures vary and in some ovens the cooking time is shorter.
5] Once done the okra will look brown and slightly shrunk. Now remove from the oven, transfer to a serving bowl or tray, sprinkle with salt, mix well and serve.
6] If you want it crispier, you may transfer it to a pan [No oil needed] and toss it for 2-3 minutes on high flame. Serve immediately.

The post Oven roasted crispy bhindi/ lady’s fingers/okra appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Tofu is eaten more for its nutrition than its taste because it doesn’t have its own flavour. This is a good thing as it can be added to any recipe without spoiling the original taste. Despite its versatility, the reason it’s not as popular in India as noodles or soy sauce is that most people are strangers to its benefits.

At a glance: Health benefits of tofu

• It is a low-calorie food—100g tofu has 76kcal of energy in contrast to paneer, which provides around 250kcal of energy.
• It is rich in high-quality protein—100g provides about 8.1g of protein.
• It is easy to digest and also suits those with lactose intolerance.
• It is rich in calcium—100g tofu almost serves 10 – 15 per cent of one’s daily calcium requirement.
• It has isoflavones that help women battle against menopausal symptoms and breast cancer, and men against the risk of prostate cancer.

Keep it fresh

Tofu is available as water-packed or vacuum-packed. If you get the water-packed variety, rinse it thoroughly before cooking. Also change the water daily to keep it fresh. Whichever variety you buy, once you open it, refrigerate it and finish it off within 3 – 4 days or before the expiry date. Also, don’t buy if it smells sour.

TOFU RECIPES

Tofu Gobi Pepper…in its many avatars

Serves 2

Try these different variations of the same recipe to enjoy tofu in its many forms

Ingredients

• Tofu: 1 cup, grated
• Cauliflower [gobi]: 1 cup, grated
• Green peppers [capsicum]: ¼ cup, grated
• Onions: ½ cup, finely chopped
• Red chilli powder [paprika]: ¼ tsp
• Light olive oil: 1 tsp
• Salt: To taste

Tofu gobi wrap

Preparation method

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and sauté till they turn translucent. Add grated cauliflower, grated green pepper and salt
2. Stir fry for 4 – 5 minutes and cover. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes till the peppers are cooked. Add the grated tofu and chilli powder. Stir fry for another 3 – 4 minutes till all the vegetables are cooked and come together like a thick filling. Switch off stove
3. Use this as a filling in parathas with mint chutney or in pita breads with hummus.

Tofu Burgers

Preparation method

Make the tofu filling as described above, but with a small difference—add a cup of boiled potatoes to the filling. Mix Well and make into patties. Dip the patties in bread crumbs and shallow fry them. Make burger using these patties with lettuce, tomatoes and onion slices.

Tofu Appams

Preparation method

Prepare the tofu gobi mix as usual and beat an egg into it. as described above, but with a small difference—add a cup of boiled potatoes to the filling. Pour this mixture into appam maker and let it cook on both sides. Serve as spicy egg appams with ketchup.

Tofu tortilla pinwheels

Preparation method

Make the patties like you make for the burgers. Now, spread one tortilla with a light layer of sour cream. Arrange slices of avocado, green peppers, onions, lettuce, cucumbers and the chopped tofu patties. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, roll the tortilla, slice it into 3 – 4 small portions and serve them as pinwheels.

Tofu fried rice

Additional ingredients

• Light olive oil: 1 tbsp
• Red chilli powder: ½ tsp
• Soy sauce: ½ tsp
• Brown rice: Cooked and cooled

Preparation method

1. Prepare the tofu-gobi mix and keep aside
2. Heat olive oil in a wok and add the red chilli powder, when it sizzles
3. Add the cold cooked rice and toss. Once the rice is coated with the red chilli powder, add the tofu-gobi mixture and toss well again
4. Pour soy sauce on top, garnish with green onions and serve hot.

The post Healthy and tasty tofu tricks appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Makes 6 large fritters

Ingredients

• 2½ cups zucchini, coarsely shredded
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup corn kernels
• ½ tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ cup chickpea flour [besan]
• ¼ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp oil

Preparation Method

1. Take the coarsely shredded zucchini in a bowl and sprinkle ½ tsp salt over it. Rest for 10 minutes to draw out the liquid from the zucchini.
2. Squeeze out the water from the zucchini. Add the zucchini, corn, red chilli flakes, cumin powder, garam masala powder and chickpea flour to a mixing bowl. Mix well with a spoon to form a batter. If you feel the batter is runny, add breadcrumbs, few spoons at a time, till batter comes together. If you do not wish to use breadcrumbs, you can add more chickpea flour. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Divide batter into 6 portions. Form each portion into thin patties with your hand and pan-fry on both sides till nicely browned, 2 – 3 minutes per side.
4. Serve the fritters hot with a chutney or dip.

This recipe was published in the April 2016 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Serves 3 – 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 dried red chillies
• 5 – 6 curry leaves
• 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• A pinch of asafoetida
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup grated green or unripe papaya
• ½ cup grated green or unripe mango
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 3 cups cooked rice
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts

Preparation method

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves. When the seeds begin to crackle, add ginger, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Saute for a few seconds on low flame to fry the ginger.
2. Add grated papaya and mango and cook for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring frequently. When the papaya and mango are soft, add the coconut and saute for a few more seconds.
3. Now add the cooked rice and gently fold in to combine. Season with salt. Add the roasted peanuts. Serve hot with raita, pickle and papad.

This recipe was first published in the February 2016 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

The post Green papaya and raw mango rice appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

We share below a simple way of making banana fritters, in the style of pancakes. Just be sure to use ripe bananas [overripe ones are better], they will be sweet, mushy and you will need less sugar. Anytime I have overripe bananas that are too mushy to eat, I just make these fritters or a green smoothie. These fritters are made in a pan using very little oil just enough to grease the pan. You can use ghee if you are not a vegan.

Ingredients

• Overripe bananas 2
• Wheatflour / Jowar flour/ Rice flour 2 – 3 tbsp
• Sugar/ jaggery 1 tbsp [you may add more or skip this]
• Cardamom powder, a pinch
• Nutmeg powder, a pinch
• Oil/ Ghee for greasing the pan

Method

1. Peel the bananas and mash them in a bowl, with a fork. Then add all the other ingredients and mix well.
2. Heat the pan and grease with oil or ghee.
3. Spoon the batter on the pan and form fritters.
4. Cover and let it cook on medium flame. Flip and cook the other side.
5. Serve hot

Tips

• If the fritters are sticking to the pan or not forming well, add a little more flour to the batter.
• You may also add some vanilla essence and chopped almonds to the batter.
• You could also skip the sugar/jaggery and while serving drizzle the fritters with honey instead.

The post Healthy and delicious vegan banana fritters (not deep fried) appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.