Saatvik Channa Masala

 Sri:

Saatvik Channa Masala

Sharing recipe with variations for students to cook in dorms easily. 

Ingredients:

1 cup raw chickpeas - soaked overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours  (Variation - 1 can chickpeas drained and washed)

Tomatoes - 2 (Variation: 2 tbsp tomato paste)

Green Chillies - 1-2, 

Grated Ginger - 1 tbsp

Cumin - 1-2 tsp

Kasuri Methi - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

In a blender, blend tomatoes, green chillies and ginger. 

On the side, cook the soaked chickpeas with salt for 3-4 whistles in a pressure cooker. 

In a separate pan, add some oil, when it warms up, add the cumin, when it splutters, add the kasuri methi, roast for a few seconds, and add the blended tomatoes, green chillies and ginger (or the tomato paste, green chillies and grated ginger, add some water since the paste will be thick) and let it cook until oil separates. Add the cooked or canned chickpeas, adjust water if desired and bring them all to a boil for a few minutes. Turn off when desired consistency is reached.

Instant Pot Method:

Add the oil to the instant pot, add the cumin, when it splutters, add the kasuri methi. Add the tomato paste or the blended tomatoes, green chillies and ginger. Cook in the open pot for a few minutes, then add the soaked chickpeas, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, wait for another 10 minutes before releasing the pressure. If it is too watery, turn on saute mode and let it cook until the desired consistency is reached. 

Offer to Krishna and honor the prasadam.

Sambar - Paruppu Kozhambu

 Sri:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal (can be made with moong dal also), washed three times

1 small dough nut ball sized tamarind, soaked in hot water and pulp extracted (or 1 tsp tamarind extract)

1 tbsp sambar powder

Vegetables - any of these or a mix - okra, green/yellow/red/orange bell pepper, carrots, pumpkin - cut into smaller pieces ahead of time. Other than okra, other vegetables can be added to the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker while cooking the dal. 

1 tsp salt

Procedure:

Cook the toor dal or moong dal in pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Add the dal, vegetables (do not pressure cook okra) and 1.5 cups water, sprinkle some turmeric. Add some vegetables if desired. If using pressure cooker, cover the lid, add the weight and cook for 4-5 whistles in medium heat. If using instant pot, cook in high pressure for 10 minutes. Wait for another 10 minutes and then release the pressure.

Two methods at this point - traditional method is to cook the tamarind pulp water until the raw smell is gone and then add the dal to it. For students and those looking to do one pot meal, you can add the tamarind pulp water directly to the cooked dal in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot to make it easy. There will be a slight difference in taste compared to the traditional method but that's your trade off for convenience. 

If not using okra, add the tamarind pulp, salt to the cooked dal and bring them to a boil for a few minutes until the raw tamarind flavor is gone. 

If using okra as the vegetable, then, the tamarind pulp and okra should be cooked together in a separate pan and then once the okra is cooked, the dal should be added to the tamarind-okra mix. In lieu of cooking' the okra in the tamarind pulp, you can also fry cook it in a separate pan and add to the tamarind pulp and dal mixture separately. The point is that, okra does not cook well in plain water, it needs to be either sauteed or cooked in tamarind water. You can use either method.

In a separate pan, add some oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add sambar powder, roast it quickly and add to the sambar mix. Bring it all to a boil for a few more minutes and turn off. Sambar will thicken after some time so take that into consideration while checking for consistency. 

Offer to Krishna with some rice and honor the prasadam.

Peas Pulao

 Sri:

Ingredients: 

1 cup basmati rice, washed three times, then drain water and keep

1/2 - 3/4th cup sweet peas (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp oil

2 tsps jeera / cumin

cloves, cardamom - a few, whole or powdered

1 - green chilli cut

1/2 inch - ginger grated

Almonds, cashews, raisins - optional, chopped

Salt - 1 tsp

Procedure:

Add oil to a thick bottom cooking pan. When it heats up, add cumin, when it splutters, add the cloves and cardamom, green chillies and grated ginger. Fry them for a bit and then add the washed/drained basmati rice, fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, then, add the sweet peas. Mix well, add 1.5 cups water and salt. Let it cook. When the water is almost absorbed, close the pan/pot, and turn the heat down. In about 5 minutes, all the water should be absorbed and the rice should be cooked. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add some oil, add chopped nuts and fry them well. When they are roasted, add the raisins and fry for a few seconds. Add them to the rice. Mix well and fluff the rice. 

Offer to Krishna and then honor the prasadam

Thinai Kichadi - Foxtail Millet Kichadi

 Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

Today, I made thinai kichadi to combat hunger while the main meal of Pizza was getting ready.

Thinai (Foxtail Millet) - 2 tbsp

Broken Moong Dal With Skin - 2 tbsp

Cubed Potato - 1

Cubed Carrot - 1

Cut Green Bell Pepper - 1/4

Green Peas - 1/4th cup

For tempering

Oil - 1.5 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Peanuts - 1/2 tbsp

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Ural Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli - 1

Water - 1 cup

Procedure:

Wash the millet and the dal. 

In a thick bottom pan, add the oil, red chilli and mustard seeds. When the mustard splutters, add peanuts and fry until the ends split, should only take a minute. Then add the channa dal, urad dal and fry them. When they are golden brown, add the cumin to the tempering. Quickly add the vegetables and fry them for 4-5 minutes. Then add water, salt and the millet and dal. Let it all quick well, should take about 20 minutes. You can also put this into a pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles. 

While other millets are not generally offered to the deities for naivedyam, thinai/foxtail millet is perfectly acceptable. Of course, potatoes, carrots, peas or bell pepper are not considered 'aachaaram' either. 

The millet and dal should cook well. Once done, offer to Krishna and enjoy.

Saatvik Whole Wheat High Protein Pizza - only 125 Calories per slice

 Sri:

I've recently embarked on a high protein+strength training journey to ensure I can be strong and toned as I get older. Today, I worked with Copilot to create a whole wheat high protein pizza. The best part is this is a thin crust pizza and is only 125 calories and 7g protein per slice. I could eat 5 slices without guilt for my main meal of the day. 

Ingredients:

6 cups Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour

¼ cup vital whole wheat gluten

2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

4 tsp active dry yeast

3 tsp sugar

1 cup non fat Greek yogurt ( this has 18g of protein for 100 calories)

2 scoops Naked Whey Protein

2 cups water (you can adjust as needed, the dough needs to be somewhat loose and sticky)

2 tsp salt

This made six pizzas (please refer to my Saatvik Pizza Recipe for the procedure)

In each pizza, I added the following toppings:

Mexican Cheese Blend – 1 cup (this cheese has 110 calories per 1/3 cup with 7g of protein)

Low Fat Panneer grated – ½ cup (1.3 cups of grated panneer is 160 calories and 18g of protein)

Pineapple – 1/3^rd cup

Olives, green / red bell pepper - about 3/4th cup in total

Tomato sauce – no oil, just made with roma tomatoes canned paste

 

Stuffed Focaccia Bread

 Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

Today, I bring a very delicious stuffed flat bread recipe. It's my family favorite. Not just the family, every friend and guest I've served this to love it. It's nutritious and filling, wants you craving for one more slice. 

Here's my simple way to make it. There are a few segments to it:

1. Prepare the flatbread dough

2. Make the filling

3. Bring it all together, create the stuffed bread and bake. 

What you'll need:

Special Equipment: Pizza (or other flat) pan, greased with olive oil and an oven to bake. 

Ingredients:

1. Flatbread dough: 

Bread Flour - your choice of white, whole wheat or a mix - 5 cups

Olive Oil - 1/3 cup 

Yeast - 3 tsp

Sugar - 4 tbsp

Salt - 2 tsp

Water - 2 cups, luke warm

Dried basil, oregano or other italian seasoning - 2 tbsp

2. Filling:

Mixed vegetables: I commonly use

Bell Peppers - all colors - green, red, yellow, orange - one each, sliced thin

Potatoes - 2 large, sliced thin

Green Peas - 1 cup

Pineapple - cubed, 2 cups

Sundried tomatoes - 1 cup

Olives - chopped - 1 cup

Green Beans - Chopped into 1 inch pieces - 1 cup

Eggplant - 1/4 cup - cut as you desire

Carrots - sliced thin and long - 1 cup

Panneer - cubed, 1 cup

Fresh Basil - 1 cup

Pine nuts - 1/2 cup

Cheese - Cheddar, Mozzarella or a mix

Chilli flakes - 2 tbsp

Olive Oil - 2 tbps

Use any combination of the above vegetables, nuts and cheese per your preference. Add others that you may like.

Recipe

Pre-heat the oven to 400F

1. Prepare the dough:

If you have a standard method to make the pizza dough, use that. Here's what I do:

In some lukewarm water, add 2-3 tsps of dried yeast, sugar and salt, wait for it to froth, about 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the dough, olive oil, salt and the frothy yeast mixture. Knead well to form a loose dough. You can do this in a stand mixer or the dough setting of the bread maker if you have one. If not, no worries, just knead it all well. 

Cover and rest for an hour or two. Punch down after an hour. 

2. Prepare the filling:

In a large pan, add all the vegetables (except sundried tomatoes and olives), olive oil, salt and stir fry. Let this cook, fry in between to ensure it doesnt stick. When it is more than half way cooked, add the sundried tomatoes. When it is more or less cooked, add the olives. When the vegetables are all cooked, add the chopped panneer and chilli flakes and mix well. 

Grind the basil leaves and pine nuts together into a paste. Add to the prepared filling and mix well.

3. Bring it together and bake:

Cut the down into 4 equal parts. 

Take one part, roll it into a ball using your hands and then roll into a large flat round base (similar to how you would roll a pizza base or a large roti or a tortilla, but slightly thick than a roti or tortilla).

Place the dough base on to the greased pan.

Add the prepared filling and spread on the dough base leaving some space on the edge. 

Add grated cheese on top of the vegetables.

Take another part of the dough, roll it down flat and large. Carefully, lift and place on the dough/vegetable base and cover it fully. Stretch the edges to the bottom layer of the dough and press down to close fully. Use a fork or some water to seal the edges. 

Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Bake until golden brown and crisp. Tap the top to feel the crispness. When it is done, take it out, let it cool down.

Cut into slices, offer to Krishna and enjoy.

Notes:

To make vegan stuffed focaccia, omit the panneer and cheese

Basil / Pine nut pesto paste is completely optional, it just adds a lot of flavor, but can be easily omitted if there is an allergy or if you simply dont like the taste

Any of the vegetables above can be substituted or omitted, for instance, I've only used eggplant once. While I eat the vegetable, its not my favorite so more often than not, I skip it.

Gobi Manchurian - No onion no garlic version

 Sri:

Make a thick batter with all purpose flour, corn starch, rice flour, salt , red chilli powder, water, dip the florets , deep fry and keep.

For the sauce, grind tomatoes, ginger, green chillies and add to a pan with oil. Add red chilli powder, crushed red pepper flakes and cook till it’s not raw anymore. When it is done, add some water and bring to a boil. Mix 1 tbsp of corn starch with water, mix without lumps and add to the sauce. Add soy sauce and bring to a boil

Once the deep fried cauliflower cools down, fry it again and let it cool down a bit again. Just before eating mix the cauliflower with sauce and serve

You can add sliced green peppers and shredded cabbage anytime in the sauce and cook to the extent you like

If you want it crunchy add later , if you want it well cooked, you can add earlier

If the sauce or the fried cauliflower is too hot it will become soggy quickly