Grape Muffins May 31, 2008

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I had a lot of grapes in the house that I needed to use up. Being that it was a sunday morning, I wanted a breakfast dish which wasn’t too high in calories, contained protein and was low fat. For the past few years, thanks to my dear husband, my focus on making anything turns to how many calories does it have? What the carb-protein-fat ratio? And to be honest, I love the challenge…how can I make something delicious without feeling guilty, and using up all my calories per day??

So, I started looking for grape muffin recipes on the internet and found most of them using grape juice instead of real grapes. I gave up on a tried and tested recipe and decide to create my own.Ê

What you need

1. 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2. 1 Cup Quaker Oats (plain)
3. 1 tsp of Baking powder
4. 1/4 Cup Slivered almonds
5. 1/4 Cup Eggbeaters
6. 2 Tbsps Like-Peanut Butter (you can use real peanut butter too- I was going for low fat )
7. 3/4 Bottle (about 9 ounces) Pomegranate juice (or grape juice- I had Izze Pomegranate on hand)
8. 1 tsp of Vanilla extract
9. 1/4 Cup of Splenda for baking
10. 2 Cups of Fresh seedless Grapes, chopped in halves

How its done

1. Preheat the oven to 375 ¡ F.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients (1 through 4) in a bowl and whisk to mix well
3. In another bowl, use a handheld electric whisk and whisk the Like-Peanut butter and eggbeaters. Once combined, add the fruit juice, vanilla extract and splenda and mix well.
4. Now, combine the dry and the wet mixes from 3 and 4 and fold so there are no lumps.
5. Add the almonds and the grapes and mix.
6. Spray a 12 mini-muffin tray with baking spray and spoon in the muffin mix.
7. Bake for 20 minutes till the muffins are risen, golden and delicious!

Each muffin is a 111 calories with only 2 grams of fat. Two make a very satisfying breakfast and according to my hubby dear- best muffins I’d ever baked!Ê

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Dandelion Greens Poriyal May 28, 2008

The first time I tried cooking dandelion greens, I heated some oil, added some mustard seeds, a dried red chilli and some urad dal and added the chopped greens and cooked till done. It was very bitter and almost like eating a raw karela…. Now, I’ve been wanting to make dandelion greens palatable because of the wonderful things I’d read about it and because I love greens of all kinds. You can read about them more here, but in a nutshell these greens are a powerhouse of nutrition and contains calcium, vitamin E, vitamin A and many other minerals our body needs. So, when I tasted the Vallara Keerai poriyal that my sister-in-law had made, the light bulb went on. I’d never tasted or heard of vallara keerai in my life until that day. Apparently,it is a bitter green leafy vegetable readily available in India, not sure if they’re as readily available in the US. The bitter flavor reminded me of dandeliion greens, which are available here. So, I adapted my SIL’s recipe for dandelion greens and it was delish, to quote Rachel Ray…served with rice and a tangy rasam, makes a perfect, satisfying meal.

What you need

• 1 Bunch Dandelion greens
• 1/2 cup of yellow moong dal
• 1 tsp of cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp of cumin
• 1/2 tsp of methi seeds
• 1/2 tsp of asafoetida
• 1 dried red chilli
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup grated coconut (optional)

How its done

1. Soak the moong dal in water, just enough to cover it.
2. Trim the stems and chop the dandelion greens. I just roll the leaves and cut them into 1/2 inch ringlets. Wash the leaves to get rid of any dirt that might be still stuck on them.
3. Heat a non-stick pan and add the oil. When the oil heats up add the cumin seeds and the methi seeds. When the methi seeds start to brown, add the redi chilli and then add the chopped greens and let cook. Add a little bit of salt ( make sure you don’t add too much at this stage- I add the salt to help the leaves release their juices)
4. When the greens are about done, add the soaked dal and cook for a minute or so. Now add any additional salt and then top with the grated coconut, if using.

I love these greens with a spicy Poondu rasam or a Kothamalli rasam and rice.

Be A.W.E.D with Chile Relleno May 10, 2008

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ÊAWED is a great concept and kicking it off with Mexican food is even better…Kudos to DK for coming up with the idea. Mexico is only ONE latitude apart from India in the world map , and no wonder a lot of the ingredients we use in Indian food are also part of the Mexican cuisine. For example, tamarind or tamarindo, coconut (did you know that there is coconut candy similar to the coconut burfi?), cumin, cilantro or coriander leaves……. My contribution to AWED is a Chile Relleno with a Chipotle Black Bean sauce that G and I made a few months ago. We make this for our friends and they absolutely love it….Enjoy!

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