INSTANT WHEAT IDLI



The recipe for this idli is almost the same as regular rava idli. The first time I tried making these with instant wheat puttu flour and that turned out well, so this time I tried it with plain wheat flour. This variation turned good but the batter had to be jazzed up a little with seasonings. I even added some sautéed onions to the batter. Here I have served these instant wheat idlis with sambar.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Regular whole wheat flour, 1 cup.
2. Thick sour yogurt, 1/2 cup.
4. Water, 2/3 cup or more depending upon batter thickness.
5. Baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon.
6. Salt, ½ teaspoon.
7. Mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon.
8. Channa dhal, ½ tablespoon.
9. Broken cashews, ½ tablespoon.
10. Chopped cilantro, ¼ cup.
11. Diced onions, ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
Fry the wheat flour in a pan under low-to-medium heat for 5 minutes until good smell emanates from the flour and let it cool. Mix the cooled wheat flour, beaten curd, baking soda, salt in a big bowl. Keep adding water until the batter reaches regular idli consistency and there should not be any lumps in the batter. Set it aside for 5 minutes. The batter should be just thick enough to pour into the molds. Meanwhile, heat a small pan with some oil. Once the oil turns hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then ad the channa dhal and cashews and fry for a few seconds until they turn golden brown. Remove the seasonings from the pan and add the diced onions to the same pan and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are tender. Add the onions along with the fried seasonings and chopped cilantro to the idli batter and mix everything well. Pour the batter into regular idlis mold and steam for 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove from the mold and serve hot with any chutney or sambar.

Please check out my other low-carb idli recipes:
1. RAGI IDLI

2. OATS AND CRACKED WHEAT IDLI

SHRIMP, MUSHROOM, AND SPINACH FRY



This dish was a product of my refrigerator cleaning spree. I threw in some leftover button mushrooms and baby spinach lying in fridge into the shrimp curry which I make very often. This version was good and somehow it turned healthier too :) Here I added the shrimp, mushrooms, and spinach together to give the dish a saucy consistency instead of a dry dish. For a different version of the dish, the spinach can be added in the end and cooked just a little to retain their color.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Cleaned and deveined shrimp, 1 pound.
2. Any type of mushrooms, 1 small packet.
3. Spinach, 1 big bunch.
4. Onions, medium size, 4.
5. Tomatoes, 3.
6. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
7. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
8. Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Curry leaves, 1 sprig.
10. Chopped cilantro, ¼ cup.
11. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
12. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
13. Turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Dice the onions, tomatoes, and spinach finely and slice the mushrooms into even pieces. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil and when the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the fennel seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the diced onions and curry leaves now and keep sautéing for a few minutes until the onions turn brown. Add the diced tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. At this stage, add chili powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder and keep stirring under low flame until the powders lose their raw smell. Another teaspoon of oil can be added here. Now add the shrimp, mushroom, and spinach, mix everything and cook closed under medium flame until everything is cooked and the dish turns into a saucy consistency. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or any type of breads.

Variation: A teaspoon of garam masala can be added in the end to give a good flavor to the dish.

WHEAT SEVAI OR WHOLE WHEAT ANGEL HAIR PASTA PAYASAM



Dear friends, thank you very much for all the support and well wishes during my absence. Things have been busy at the personal front lately that I had hardly any time to post anything in my blog, even from my drafts. Now I have a lot of catching up to do with all your posts :)

Coming on to the recipe, I made this payasam today for Krishna Jayanthi. I found a packet of whole wheat sevai at my nearby Indian grocery and the ingredients consisted of 98% whole wheat, which a perfect choice for a low-carb dessert…..ideal for those who miss out all the sweet indulgences during the festival season. The same payasam can also be made with whole wheat angel hair pasta, and also transformed into a low-fat and sugar-free version with fat-free milk or half and half and Splenda.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Wheat sevai or whole wheat angel hair pasta, ½ small packet. This comes to a cup when broken into small pieces.
2. Milk, 1 to 1-1/2 cups. (Low fat or fat-free milk also works perfect for this).
3. Any sweetener of choice, ½ cup or more depending upon preferred sweetness.
4. Cardamom powder, ½ teaspoon.
5. Ghee or butter, 1-2 tablespoons.
6. Raisins, 2 tablespoons.
7. Cashews, 2 tablespoons.
8. Coconut milk ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
Grind the coconut with ½ cup of water to a smooth paste. Dry roast the sevai until it changes to a light reddish color and let it cool. In the same pot, add the ghee and let it melt. Roast the cashews and raisins until the nuts turn golden brown and the raisins plump up. Add the milk, coconut milk, ¼ cup of water, cardamom powder, and sweetener and let it come to a boil. Add the sevai or noodles mix everything well and cook until the sevai is cooked. This can be served hot or cold.

Please check out my sugar-free rice and moong dhal payasam here.