MEALS THAT HEAL

The importance of green vegetables has been known for the last few hundred years.
Foods from the "Green" groups are among the best for our health. They typically have a high concentrate of two phytochemicals; chlorophyll and carotenoids. These two have been linked to be a prophylactic to tumors and offer protection to coronary disease.
Green leaf vegetables are our best source of folates and folic acid which is a B vitamin that is essential for cell growth and reproduction. The amount of vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant is extremely high in leafy greens, especially spinach, kiwi, broccoli and parsley.Other valuable components are carotenoids, highly unsaturated yellow to red pigments occurring in plants which are components of vitamin A. Vitamin A supports the immune system and also fulfils a specific role in our vision. Potassium, calcium, iron and zinc are also present in great quantities, as is magnesium

Again it is a learning from my Mother – in – law to incorporate this vital food atleast 3 – 4 times a week. I am trying different ways and means to cook keerai and will keep posting my recipes.

KEERAI CUTLET

Preparation Time – 20 Mins

Serves - 2

Ingredients:

Spinach (Pasalai Keerai) or any bunch of keerai – 1 bunchBig onion – 1
Besan flour – 1 cup
Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder – ¼ teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste – ½ teaspoon
India green chillies – 1
Maida – 1 teaspoon
Rawa – 1 teaspoon
Salt – as per taste
Oil – five to six tablespoons

Method:
1. Wash the greens carefully to remove all the sand. This is very important when we cook greens.
2. Chop the greens. I have used spinach for my dish today. However, any greens variety can be used.
3. Ina frying pan, add a teaspoon of oil and add chopped onion and fry till they turn golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste & chopped green chillies to this and stir well.4. Add turmeric, garam masala and salt and mix well. Post a few seconds, add the chopped greens. Allow the green to cook well by sprinkling water over them.
5. Once the greens are cooked soft, add besan and make it to a dough. Make small balls out of this and flatten the same.
6. Now add water to 1 tsp of maida and dip these flattened balls in them and sprinkle rawa on top of them.
7. Heat the tawa and grease it with 2 tsp of oil.
Arrange the flattened balls and pur one tsp of oil around the. Turn the cutlets after a few mins. Allow them to become crispy and turn golden brown in colour.

The Keerai Cutlets are ready and can be served with tomato ketchup.

Avial - Reporting from Jeddah :)

Jeddah – Yeah! That’s where I am currently writing from. Me and my hubby are here on account of his office work. And I have limitations in my access to certain Indian vegetables. Most importantly I do not have a blender (mixie) in my kitchen. So, all of my recipes for the next few months will be the ones that do not require a blender.

AVIAL

Avial is a Kerala (A South Indian state) dish. It is a semi dry dish prepared with many vegetables in it. The best part is that we get to add 4 – 5 varieties of vegetables in a single dish. I have prepared this dish in its most simplified version without using a blender at all.

It is one of my hubby’s favorite dishes.

Preparation Time – 15 Mins

Serves - 2

Ingredients:

Carrot sliced into 1” length pieces – ¼ cup
Beans sliced into 1” length pieces – ¼ cup
Pumpkin sliced into 1” length pieces – ¼ cup
Yam sliced into 1” length pieces– ¼ cup
Coconut Oil – I Tsp
Corn Oil/ sunflower Oil – 1 Tsp
Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
Turmeric – ¼ Tsp
Curry leaves – few
Grated coconut – 1 Tsp
Coconut Milk – 1 Tbsp
Indian Green Chillies – 2
Tamarind pulp – a little
Salt – to taste

Method:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in the cooker. Add a few cumin seeds and turmeric and salt. Add all the vegetables, 1 tablespoon of coconut milk and some water. Cook until the vegetables are almost boiled.

2. See to that the vegetables do not get mashed. In this dish the vegetables should not be cooked soft. (I left the vegetables in the cooker for about 5 mins till the steam came out)

3. In a frying pan add little oil, cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves and grated coconut and a tiny weeny bit of tamarind pulp.

Mix the vegetables with this. The dish is ready!

Avial goes well with steam rice.