Spicy Avocado And Spinach Paratha : Wholegrain Vegan Spinach Flatbread

 (PS: The struggle is real guys! Can you see the little hands wanting to lick the pickle)

For people who do not get avocado in their Country, just chill and skip adding avocado. Instead if you have tofu or cottage cheese (paneer) handy, feel free to add it. This is a kick-ass spicy parantha . You could adjust the spice level according to your needs.

Do not get overwhelmed by the amount of ingredients. These are easily available at home. Or you can fetch them at any Indian Grocers.

Verdict: I have a 11 year old who starts drinking water just by seeing chilies or hearing the word spice/spicy. He is very very hard to convince and he loves this paratha. He calls this pasta paratha. Pasta is his favorite food and this paratha comes close to pasta taste. That is his explanation!! Whatever..I'm happy that he likes this paratha.

Notes: 
I have blanched the spinach and then pureed here. But, if you are using baby spinach, you do not have to blanch.
I have added flax seed powder to increase the nutritional level of the paratha. You could skip it or replace it with soybean flour or any other nut powder.
I have used garlic powder as I did not want the raw smell of garlic to overpower. If you do not have garlic powder, you could use dry roast the garlic, grate and use it.
Replace garlic powder with fennel powder for a different flavor.
You could make triangular, layered, circular or square paratha.
I have used peanut oil to shallow fry the paratha. You could use clarified butter, butter or olive oil too.

Preparation Time: 30-45 mins
Cooking Time: About 2 mins for each paratha
Makes: 10 parathas, 

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
Spinach : 2 heaped cups,
Avocado: 1 small or 1/2 of a large avocado
Garlic: 2 big cloves, or 6-8 small nos (Indian Variety)
Green chili: 2 nos
Lemon juice: 2 tsp
Whole wheat flour: 2 cups
Chickpea flour | Besan : 1/2 cup
Flax seed powder | Flax meal: 2 tbsp, refer notes
Oil: 2 tsp
Salt: As needed
Water: As needed

For sprinkling the spices on the paratha:
Dhania powder | Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Chaat masala : 1 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:
Oil: For shallow frying the paratha
Dry wheat flour: For dusting and rolling the paratha

Special equipment:
A rolling pin

Method: 
Making the dough:
Blanch the spinach and keep it aside. Scoop out the flesh from the avocado and mash it gently.
Put the spinach, mashed avocado, garlic, green chili in a food processor and make a puree from it.

You do not need to add any water.
Mix the dry flours in another bowl (whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, flax seeds powder, and salt).
Scoop the spinach and avocado paste onto the dry flours. Add the lemon juice to it and mix well.

Add few tablespoons of water at a time to the mixture and make a soft and pliable dough. The dough should not stick to your hands. Once the dough is formed, add the oil and knead the dough for couple of minutes.

Rest the dough to absorb the flavors for 30 mins to 1 hour.

Rolling the dough:
Divide the dough equally to yield 10 mandarin orange sized balls or big lime sized balls.

Mix all the dry spices mentioned above. (under the section for sprinkling the spice on the paratha)

Dust the working surface generously and roll the dough ball into 5 inch circle.
Sprinkle the spice powder, few drops of oil and some flour on the rolled dough.

Fold it like a triangle, square or circle.

Let it rest until you repeat the procedure for the next couple of dough balls.
Dust the folded dough square and roll into a 1/4in square paratha. (or any other shape of your choice)

Shallow frying the paratha:
Heat a griddle on a medium-high heat. When the griddle is hot enough, add few drops of oil on the griddle and place the rolled paratha. Add oil onto the edges of the paratha and shallow fry it on both sides until it turns golden brown.

Spinach and apple bajji | Palak and apple gojju | Spinach and Apple Chutney

My son is in “chutney loving phase” now. Gone are his love for idli, dosa, and other South Indian dishes. He loves eating chutney now. He wants chutney three times a day and seven days a week. He wants to eat the chutney with hot rice. I challenge myself to make healthier chutney for him every other day. So, you can expect a lot of chutney recipes here J

This is one chutney I prepared couple of weeks ago and since then I have made it thrice already. It is delicious, healthy and easy to make. It takes about 20 mins to make this chutney.

Preparation Time: 5 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Serves:3-4

Ingredients:

Red apple: 1 large, refer notes

Spinach: 2 cups, tightly packed

Green bell pepper: ¼ cup, cubed

Green chili: 2-3 nos, according to taste

Turmeric: a big pinch

Tamarind: 1 small marble sized

Salt: As needed

Asafoetida: a big pinch

Brown sugar or jaggery: 1 tsp

Coconut: ¼ cup, fresh or frozen

Water: As needed

For tempering:

Coconut oil: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: ¾ tsp

Curry leaves: 3-4 nos, torn

Method:

• Wash, core and cube the red apples.
• Wash the spinach thoroughly and roughly chop them. Slit the green chilies.
• Add the spinach, cubed bell peppers, slit green chilies, turmeric and cubed red apples to a sauce pan. Add about a cup of water to it.
• Boil the vegetables for 3-4 mins.  Add the tamarind, salt, jaggery and asafoetida to the sauce pan and boil until the vegetables are soft and tender.
• Allow the mixture to cool. If you are using frozen coconut, add the frozen coconut to the vegetable mix and allow to cool.
• Once the mixture comes to room temperature, make a coarse paste of all the ingredients. Do not add too much water. You can add the water that is used for cooking the spinach and apple. Use water wisely.
• Scoop out the paste to a bowl and prepare the tempering.
• Heat oil in a small wok. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, throw in the curry leaves and turn off the heat.
• Add the tempering to the chutney.
• Mix well and serve it hot with rice or chapathi. 

Notes:

• I use red delicious apple or Fuji apple (sweeter apple) for preparing this chutney.  If you are using a sour variety of apple, make sure to use less tamarind and more jaggery.
• Coconut oil tempering is perfect for this chutney, however you are free to use an oil of your choice. 

Uppu Huli Dose | Uppu Huli Dosa Recipe | Sweet n Sour Dosa Recipe : Step by step pictures

South Indians are famous for their dosas. We can make dosa with whatever we have at hand. The South Canara and the Malnad region of Karnataka have their own specialties of dosas. They make cucumber dosa, banana dosa, heerekai dosa, neer dosa and this uppu huli dosa regularly for their breakfast.

Uppu translates to salt, huli to sourness. This uppu huli dosa has all the ingredients that you put to your rasam. So, sometimes they put in rasam powder along with the tamarind to prepare this dosa.
This dosa is nutritious and makes a complete meal. It has vegetables, lentils and rice. Perfect one pot meal kinda dish. You can eat it with butter, ghee, a mild chutney/dip or as is :)

There are two ways in which mom-in-law prepares this. One with the normal dosa batter that she has handy or by grinding soaked rice, toor dal and roasted spices. I am showing you guys the first and the easy one here. Do not forget to refer notes. I have some important tips for you there!

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 1-2 mins for each dosa
Serves: 6-7

Ingredients: (Makes about 25-30 dosas)
Left over dosa batter: ~4 cups
Salt: As needed, refer notes
Jaggery | Brown sugar: 2 tbsp
Spinach: 2 cups, heaped
Onion: 1 large, finely chopped

For the spice paste:
Oil: 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn
Dry red chili: 4-6 nos, broken
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Grated coconut: 2 tbsp, fresh or frozen, refer notes
Thick tamarind extract: 2 tsp, refer notes

Other ingredients:
Oil: About 1/2 tsp for each dosa

Method:
Add oil to a small sauce pan and roast all the ingredients(except coconut and tamarind extract) mentioned for the spice paste until golden brown. Add the asafoetida towards the end.

Allow the spices to cool. Once cool blend all the spices along with coconut and tamarind extract to a smooth paste. Do not add too much water as the dosa batter will thin down.

Mix this spice mixture with the dosa batter. Throw in the salt, jaggery and mix.

Wash the spinach thoroughly and chop them fine. Chop the onions too.
Throw in the chopped spinach and onion. Mix well.

Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 mins.
Heat the griddle. Once hot, spoon a laddle full of batter on the griddle and spread it like a dosa. These will be like pancakes, a little thicker. Sprinkle oil on the sides of the dosa. Cook the dosa covered on a low-medium heat on both the sides for a minimum of 45secs to 1 min.
Once the dosa is cooked, serve it hot with a chutney or as is.
Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

Some of the chutney/dip recipes that go well with this dosa are:
Menthya gojju
Kadale bele chutney
Peanut-Mint Chutney

Notes:

• It is very important to cook the dosa on a low-medium heat. Because of the jaggery and the spices, the dosa will turn brown and even get burnt easily. So, take your time to cook them. I am stressing again
• You could add other leafy vegetables like methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), amaranth leaves, or even cabbage (finely shredded) to make this dosa. 
• Adjust the salt carefully as the left over dosa batter usually contains salt. 
• If the left over dosa batter is sour, then add less amount of tamarind. I do not recommend sour dosa batter for this dosa. It is better to have fresh batter. 

Spinach Soup | Palak Soup : Healthy Soup Recipes

I talked about eating healthy in my last post. Also, I am planning to cook soups often this winter. Soup fills your tummy & is very satisfying to sip a hot bowl of soup in the winter.

Some of you already know that we belong to "popeye family". So, I decided to kick off our soup journey with a spinach soup :p

Preparation Time: 
Cooking Time: 
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Monsoonspice

Ingredients: 
Fresh Spinach : About 5-6 cups, loosely packed (stems separated)
Onion: 1/3 cup or 1/2 onion, sliced (I used red onion)
Bay leaf: 1 small or 1/2
Cinnamon: a small stick, about 1/2 inch
Cloves: 2-3 nos
Green chilli : 1 no, slit
Sugar: 1 tsp, a little more or less
Lemon juice: 2 tsp
Oil: 1 tsp
Water: About 2-2.5 cups
Salt: As needed

For the white sauce:
Butter: 1 tsp
AP flour/Maida: 2 tsp
Milk: 3/4th cup

For the garnish: 
Croutons (optional). I used some toasted whole wheat bread.

Method: 

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. When oil is hot, add the sliced onions & saute till the onions turn translucent.
• Add the coarsely chopped spinach to the sauteed onions & cook till the spinach turns soft.
• Throw in the cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, green chilli, lemon juice, salt, and sugar to the sauteed spinach. Add the water & pressure cook the spinach for 1 whistle. Allow the steam to escape & let the spinach cool.
• Meantime, prepare the white sauce. Heat butter in a saucepan. Add the all purpose flour the butter & cook the flour on a low-medium heat until the flour turns light brown in color. Keep stirring the flour to ensure even cooking of the flour. When flour is cooked, add little milk at a time & whisk. Ensure there are no lumps. Cook the white sauce mixture on medium heat until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring to ensure even cooking. Keep the cooked white sauce aside.
• Discard the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf & green chilli from the cooked spinach. Drain the water & keep the water aside. You will need the water later.
• Make a smooth puree out of the cooked spinach. Add the drained water while making the spinach puree.
• Pour the puree to a sauce pan, adjust the seasoning (if needed) & bring it to a boil. Add the white sauce little at a time & whisk well.
• Allow the soup to boil. Once the soup is hot & boiling, turn off the heat.
• Serve the soup hot with croutons or toasted garlic bread or with a salad.

Notes: 

• You could add a tsp of cream just before serving the soup. 
• You could even add a pinch of pepper powder before serving.

Spinach Cabbage Paratha | Gobhi Palak ke parathe

Parathas are pan fried flat breads. Parathas are usually stuffed with boiled or sauteed vegetables and are eaten with plain yogurt, pickle or a dal (cooked lentils). Here are some of the paratha recipes.

Aloo Paratha
Mixed vegetable paratha
Broccoli Paratha
Rice Dumpling Paratha

My son's latest craze are the parathas. He wants paratha every other day. He says he likes dosas only in summer & when it is fall, it is paratha time for him.To make my son happy, I try to give him paratha atleast once a week. I do not like to stuff the parathas every other day, hence I add the vegetables to the dough itself & make parathas. Cabbage & spinach is one such. It is very easy to make & is quite healthy.

Preparation Time: 20-25 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 3-4 (makes about 8-9 parathas)

Ingredients:
For the dough:
Whole wheat flour | atta | godhi hittu: 2 cups
Finely shredded cabbage: 1 cup
Finely chopped spinach: 1/2 cup, tightly packed
Carom seeds | Ajwain | Om kalu: 1/2 tsp
Salt: As needed
Oil: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp, optional
Water: As needed

Other ingredients:
whole wheat flour : For rolling the parathas
Oil: For pan frying the parathas

Method:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned for the dough(except water) in a bowl. Mix it well & leave it aside for 10 mins (Do not add any water yet!). Cabbage would have oozed out some water.
Slowly add couple of tbsps of water at a time & make a stiff dough. Don't get tempted to add more water. Remember the cabbage will ooze out water.
Let the dough rest for 5-10 mins.

Make lemon sized balls out of the dough.
Roll these balls using a rolling pin. You could make them thin or keep it thick. I generally make my parathas thin & hence roll it thin.

Meantime, heat the griddle on a med-high heat.
Finish rolling all the dough balls.
When the griddle is hot, place the rolled paratha on the griddle. Add few drops of oil to the sides & onto the center of the paratha. Pan fry it until golden brown spots appear.

Flip it & cook it on the other side too. Remember to add few drops of oil on the flipped side too.
Remove the cooked paratha from the griddle. Repeat until all the parathas are pan fried.
Serve these parathas hot with a dal or yogurt or a pickle.

Notes:
I am repeating again. Cabbage will ooze out water & hence be extra careful while adding the water to make the dough.
DO NOT REST THE DOUGH FOR A LONG TIME. The dough will become sticky.
Pan fried parathas remain soft for a long time. Hence, you could roll, cook & then store them for the rest of the day.
You could store the cooked paratha in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Parathas need more oil to cook. Hence, don't be very stingy in adding oil. You could replace oil with butter or ghee (clarified butter). 

Spinach Apple Salad with Olive oil & lemon dressing

Though I love eating salads, my hubby's dislike took priority. So, I never made them at home. But, during my recent trip, I made sure to try a new salad whenever I could. After tasting the numerous salads, I totally fell in love with them again. I thought I could make it to myself during afternoons. I bought a big bag of lettuce & other greens to make salad often for my lunch. Here is my first attempt. I loved eating this simple salad that was ready in 5 mins!!!

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: Nil
Serves: 1

Ingredients:
Baby spinach: 2 fistful
Small Fuji apple: 1 no
Roasted walnuts: 2 tsp
Raisins: 2 tsp
Crushed pepper: a big pinch, for the garnish (optional)

For the dressing:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO): 2 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Salt: A big pinch

Method:
Mix in the EVOO, lemon juice & salt. Whisk & keep them refrigerated for 15 mins.
Wash the spinach leaves & throw the leaves in a bowl.
Dice the apple & throw them on the bed of spinach.
Add in the roasted & chopped walnuts, raisins.
Pour the dressing over the salad, toss & serve immediately.

Notes:

• I tasted a similar salad in one of the restaurants. They added cranberries & blue cheese with vinaigrette dressing. If you wish you could add cranberries or other nuts to make this salad more crunchier!
• Repeating again, toss in the dressing just before serving!
• You could use any of your favorite dressing. It still would taste great.

Palak Cabbage Pakora | Spinach and Cabbage Fritters

I made these pakoras on a cold snowy & a lazy Sunday afternoon. They are a breeze to make & absolutely delicious!! Go ahead...It's alright to indulge in these fried beauties once a while.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

Shredded Spinach: 2 cups
Shredded Cabbage: 1 cup
Carom seeds/Ajwain/Om kalu: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Gram flour/Besan: 1 cup
Rice flour: 2 tbsp
Fine Rava/Chiroti rava/Cream of wheat: 2 tbsp
Hot oil: 1 tbsp
Water: Approximately 1 to 1.25 cups

Other ingredients:
Oil for deep frying the fritters.

Method:

Mix in the shredded spinach, cabbage, carom seeds, red chili powder, turmeric powder & salt in a large bowl.

Let the mixture sit for 5-10 mins. The mixture will ooze out water.
Next, throw in the rice flour, cream of wheat, gram flour to it.

Pour in the hot oil & mix them all together.
Now, slowly add the water & make a thick batter. The batter should be of dropping consistency.

Heat enough oil in a kadai/wok for deep frying the fritters.
When oil is hot enough, drop in a tbsp of batter at a time to the oil.
Cook the fritters on med-high heat, on all the sides until the fritters are golden brown & crisp.
Remove the fritters using a slotted spoon & let them dry on a paper towel.
Serve these fritters hot with a dip/chutney or ketchup.

Palak Pakoras | Spinach Fritters: Carom seeds flavored!

"Wishing you all a very happy & a prosperous new year"

My son asks, who loves spinach more, me or Popeye? I answer back saying, " you are the greatest lover of spinach in the whole world". He happily & proudly asks for second serving of the spinach dish. Because of the above reason, I always have spinach lying in my fridge. I try to make as many dishes as possible using spinach. Some of my spinach delicacies could be found here.

During one of the festivals last year, I made this pakora instead of the cabbage pakora. We relished this with thick rice flakes bisi bele bath.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• Spinach leaves: About 2 cups finely chopped
• Gram flour/Besan: 1 cup, a little more or less.
• Rice flour: 2 tbsp
• Fine rava/Cream of wheat: 2 tbsp
• Salt: As needed
• Red chilli powder: 1 tsp, adjust according to your needs
• Carom seeds/Ajwain: 1/2 tsp (Refer here for Language Translation to Kannada)
• Hot oil: 1 tsp
• Baking soda: a small pinch
• Water: As needed

For deep frying:
Enough oil for frying the pakoras.

Method:

Wash the spinach leaves & chop them fine.
In a medium sized bowl, add all the ingredients mentioned (except the oil for deep frying!).
Mix them well.
Add few tablespoons of water at a time and make a thick batter. Consistency should be like that of a cupcake batter.
Heat oil in a wok. When oil is hot, scoop out a tablespoon of batter directly in the oil & deep fry in a medium heat.
After a couple of minutes, keep moving the fritters in the oil for even cooking. 
When the pakoras turn golden brown, remove them on a paper towel. 
Repeat the procedure with the remaining batter.
Serve the fritters, either with green chutney or with a dip of your choice!

Notes:

• For extra crispness, add thinly sliced onions along with the spinach. 
• Instead of carom seeds, these fritters could be flavored with cumin seeds or grated ginger.