Eggless Carrot Cake

 

Ingredients

1) Grated Carrots - 1 Cups
2) Wheat Flour - 1 and half Cups
3) Jaggery - 1 Cup
4) Coconut Oil - 1/2 Cup
5) Curd (Yogurt) - 2 Tablespoons
6) Baking Powder - 1 Tablespoon
7) Baking Soda - 1/2 Teaspoon
8) Elaichi - 1 Piece
9) Cinnamon Powder - 1 or 2 Teaspoons
10) Sugar - 2 Teaspoons

11) Milk - 1 Cup

Procedure

1) Add Sugar and Elachi to a blender and make it into a fine powder

2) Melt Jaggery and keep it aside. Just heat Jaggery in a pan with little water till it melts ( 2-3 minutes)

3) Sieve the Wheat Flour and keep it aside

4) Mix grated Carrots, Coconut Oil, Curd, Elaichi Sugar powder , Cinnamon Powder, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, melted Jaggery and mix well

5) Add Wheat flour as well and mix well

6) To the above mixture, slowly add milk little by little and mix well

7) Beat the Cake batter thoroughly for 2-3 minutes

8) Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 45 mins - 50 mins. Baking can be done in a conventional Oven or makeshift Oven using Pressure cooker container

9) Stick a tooth pick to the baked cake and check if the tooth pick comes out clean. If not, bake for another few mins

10) Take it out of the oven, and let it cool

Cut into desired shapes and enjoy !!

Peanut Flax seeds Ginger Chikki

Ingredients 

1) Peanuts - 1 Cup 
2) Ginger - 5-20 gms
3) Flax Seeds - 1 Cup
4) Jaggery - 2 Cups
5) Milk Cream - 2 Tea Spoons
6) Elaichi (Cardamom) - 2 Pieces

Procedure

1) Take the Ginger (add a bit more ginger if you like ginger flavor), 2 Elaichi, and little brown sugar (same quantity as ginger) (or Jaggery powder or grated Jaggery) and blend this into a paste. Keep it aside

2) Roast Peanuts and Flax Seeds separately. Let them cool and make them into a coarse powder. Do not blend peanuts too much as they release oil

3) Take a pan, switch on the stove (medium flame) - Add some (2 teaspoons or 1 table spoon)  milk cream (Meegada in Telugu or Malai in Hindi) and add to the pan. When the cream starts to melt and oozes out the butter /ghee add the ground ginger , Elaichi sugar paste and saute it for 3-5 mins

4) Once the ginger is cooked, add Jaggery 2 cups (equal quantity of the nuts that we are using for the recipe), little water, and keep stirring till we get the thick Jaggery syrup ( 2 string consistency)

5) Add ground peanut and flax seeds to the syrup and thoroughly mix

6) Add this mixture to a greased plate and let it cool

Cut into desired shapes and enjoy !!

How to grow Microgreens ?

What are Microgreens ?

Microgreens are young vegetable greens that are about 2-3 inches tall. They have concentrated nutrient content and come in a variety of colors / textures/ flavors. They are a good addition to salads, soups etc., Since they are concentrated in nutrients, small quantities would be sufficient for consumption and yet meet the nutritional needs. 

I took masoor dal (red lentil) for demonstration of the process

Steps to grow microgreens

1) Soak red lentils (masoor dal) for 12 hours, and drain the water. 

2) Take a flat bowl with 1-3 inches depth (In this case, I had taken half cut milk bottle), and layer the bowl with 2 layers of tissue. Tissue is required to hold the sprouted roots and help the microgreens grow

3) Spray water and make the layered tissue damp

4) Spread the soaked & drained lentils on the tissue. Make sure the lentils are not too overcrowded. If there is too much overcrowding, we will end up with foul smelling lentils after 3-4 days

5) Cover with a damp cloth, and store the container / bowl in a warm dry place

6) Spray water on the soaked lentils every 12 hours

7) Seeds will start to germinate in 3-4 days

8) Continue this process until leaves start to appear

9) Once we see leaves appearing, remove the covered cloth and place the greens in a sunny or dry area

10) These initial leaves will go off and true greens start to appear after another 5-7 days

11) The greens are ready to harvest and consume

Note :- In place of red lentils (masoor dal), we can use chickpeas, green gram (moong dal), horse gram etc.,

Picture & Procedure Credit - Sri Chakri Tallam, Australia

Thank You Chakri !

Common names of vegetables in regional languages

Below table is a compilation of commonly used vegetables and their names in few regional languages.

S.No	English	Telugu	Tamil	Malayalam	Hindi
1	Spinach	Palakura	Pasala Keerai	Palak Cheera	Palak
2	Basil	Tulasi	Tulasi	Tulasi	Tulasi
3	Carom	Vamu Aaku	Asamatavoman leaves	Omam leaves	Ajwain
4	Curry Leaf	karivepaku	Kariveppilai	Kariveppila	Kadi patta
5	Mint	Pudhina	Pudhina	Pudhina	Pudhina
6	Coriander	Kothimeera	Kottamali	Kottamali	Dhaniya Patta
7	Carrot	Carrot	Carrot	Carrot	Carrot
8	Beetroot	Beetroot	Beetroot	Beetroot	Beetroot
9	Bottle gourd	Anapakaya	Sorakai	Chorakaa	Lauki
10	Ridge gourd	Beerakaya	Peerkangai	Peechinga	Chikni Turai
11	Tomato	Tomato	Thakkali	Thakkali	Tomato
12	Dates	Kharjooram	perichampazham	Eethapazham	Khajur
13	Honey	Thene	Thaen	Thaen	Shahad
14	Ginger	Allam	Inji	Inji	Adarak
15	Lemon	Nimma Kaya	Elumichai	Cherunaranga	Nimbu
16	Celery	Celery	Celery	Celery	Celery
17	Chia	Sabja	SabjaVithai	Tirunitru	Sabja
18	Ash gourd	Boodidha Gummadikaya	Neer poosanikai	Kumbalanga	Pethakaddu
19	Malabar Tamarind	Vaagu Kaya	Murgal	Kudampuli	Kokum

  

Bottle gourd Plantain Chutney !!

Ingredients - 

1) 1/2 cup diced bottle gourd along with skin
2) 1/4 cup diced plantain along with skin
3) 1 medium onion
4) 3-4 green chilly's (can be more if you prefer spicy)
5) 1/2 lemon slice
6) 1/2 teaspoon crushed peppercorn
7) 1.5 cups curd
8) Pinch of Salt (Optional)

Preparation - 

1) Saute the diced bottle gourd and plantain for 1-2 mins
2) Boil the sauteed bottle gourd and plantain in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle
3) Added the boiled bottle gourd & plantain , green chilles, onion and blend them in a blender or  mixie
4) Add this mixture to the curd, squeeze lemon along with a pinch of salt (optional), crushed peppercorn and mix well
5) Add Lemon juice and mix
6) Optional - Add tadka / tempering with ghee / cream

Bottle gourd plantain chutney ready !!

This can be served as a side to Roti's / Paratha's, or served with Pulav's, Biryani's. This can also be eaten as is without any side.

Recipe & Photo Credit - Sri Amarnath garu, Srimathi Lakshmi garu

Soybean Salad

Soybean Salad - Dinner or Lunch Option

Ingredients:-
1) Soybean (Soaked for 8-10 hrs, pressure cooked for 2-3 whistles)  - 100 gms
2) Grated Cabbage - 100  gms
3) Sweet corn - 100 gms
4) Diced Tomatoes - 100 gms
5) Diced Onions - 50 gms
6) Green Chilly's (cut into small pieces) - 3 or 4
7) Lemon Juice - 2-3 Teaspoons
8) Sesame seeds - 2 Teaspoons
9) Coconut pieces - 25 gms
10) Raw peanuts - 20 gms
11) Fennel seeds (Saunf) - 1 teaspoon
12) Coriander - For garnish

Sauce Preparation :-

1) Add Coconut pieces, Peanuts (Groundnuts), Saunf and Sesame seeds to a blender (or mixer grinder)
2) Add little water and make into a fine paste
2) Switch on the stove , and take a small cooking bowl or vessel
4) Add 1 tea spoon of Oil (or butter or clarified butter) to the vessel. To this heated oil , add the ground paste and let it cook till the raw flavor is gone
5) Add pinch of salt, turmeric, a little chilly powder and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes
6) Sauce is ready. You can flavor with diced garlic or other herbs as per your taste and preference

Salad Preparation:-
1) Switch on the stove
2) Take a wide cooking vessel, add 2 tea spoons of oil to the vessel
3) Add Onions, Green chilly's and saute for 2 mins
4) Add grated cabbage, Sweet corn and saute for another 2 mins
5) Add the tomatoes, boiled soybeans to the vessel and saute for another 2 mins
6) Finally add the sauce and mix well
7) Switch off the stove
8) Add lemon juice, garnish with coriander and serve

Substitutes:-

1) You can always substitute Soybean with Kidney Beans (Rajma), Chickpeas (Chole) or any other type of legumes

Nutritional facts:-
This salad provides approximately 20-25 gms of Protein and 20 gms of Dietary Fiber.

Enjoy the dish along with the Health benefits :-) !!

Should we live with lifestyle disorders forever ?

Life Style Disorders

It's a common sight nowadays to hear cases about individuals as young as early 20's ending up with Type 2 Diabetes, Under or Over functional Thyroid gland, Heart diseases, Obesity, Liver diseases, Kidney ailments,  Vision problems, Fertility , Hormonal imbalances etc., The list goes on and on, and until few years ago, these diseases and disorders used to hit individuals in their late 40's or later. Unfortunately, the trend has changed for the worse.

Contributing Factors

We observed that in most of the clients and patients (> 80 - 85%) who come to our clinic for counseling have very poor lifestyle which over a period of time manifests as one of the disorders / diseases stated above. The amount of time it would take to manifest differs from individuals based on the level of abuse that their bodies were subjected to and their genetic predisposition. However, the key contributing factors can be summarized as below

1. Physical Inactivity (Sedentary Lifestyle)

2. Bad food choices

3. Smoking , Drinking and Substance abuse

4. Lack of Sleep

5. Stress , Anxiety

Any of these disorders  / diseases can impact us both emotionally and financially.  This further adds up to the already elevated stress levels, which in turn aggravates the physical health. It's a vicious cycle, unless changes are made to correct the disorders

End of road ?

Is this the end of the road once an individual is diagnosed with one of these diseases ?

Absolutely not !! 

Human body is an amazing machine. Given an opportunity, our bodies will correct themselves within no time. We hardly give the body a chance. We abuse it so much that the body gives up at certain point.

Fortunately, these diseases are rightly termed as lifestyle disorders, and as soon as we bring order / structure to our lifestyle's, these disorders can be corrected. Unless there is an underlying medical condition, most of these disorders can be corrected with Lifestyle changes.

Solution & Tips

First and foremost, we have to pledge to ourselves that we are committed to reverse these disorders. Besides our personal commitment, Family, Friends & Well wishers support is absolutely necessary and we need them to help and support us.

Start slowly and take guidance from a professional who can help and motivate you with your health goals.  

1. Physical activity - Start with walking. If walking is not the thing for you, engage yourself in a sport of your choice but start slow. Assess how the body is responding before increasing the intensity

2. Nutritious Food & Hydration - Make sure you are making your food choices wisely. Include healthy foods from  all categories of foods (Proteins, Carbohydrates, Vitamins & Minerals). Stick to home cooked food, fresh fruits and vegetables. Ensure that the body is sufficiently hydrated as well. Hydration helps to eliminate the toxins from the body

3. Smoking / Drinking / Substance Abuse - Best thing is to avoid them. However, if individuals are heavily into these, make a phased approach to avoid them completely. Family & Friends support is absolutely required 

4. Stress, Anxiety and Lack of sleep - Try to get at least 6-7 hours of sound sleep every day, and manage the stress levels. If needed, don't hesitate to seek a professional help for the stress related issues

Wish you all good luck with your Health goals !!

Stay Healthy & be happy :-) !