Whey Soup

This is a excellent source of protein. Note that this is an image i shot with a 60mm Nikon Lens. Great fun doing so.

Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 2 to 5 minutes. Serves 4.


Ingredients
2 tsp oil
1½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 green chillies, slit
4 cups whey, refer handy tip
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
½ cup paneer (cottage cheese), cut into ½” cubes

Method
1. Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds.
2. When the seeds crackle, add the green chillies, whey, salt and pepper, mix well and bring to boil.
3. Add the paneer and coriander, mix well and simmer for 30 seconds.
Serve hot.


Handy tip: Put 1 litre of milk to boil. When it starts boiling, add 200 ml curds and mix well. Remove from the flame and stir gently until the milk curdles. Strain the curdled milk and use the whey (white coloured water) collected below. Use the paneer from the muslin cloth as required.

Delhi Half Marathon, Nov 2009

Here's the first non food post. What's running fast and eating right got to do with each other. Everything. Over the last 16 months, i have been eating every 2 hours and that happens just naturally now. Its really eating clean food. I am on no diet. Clean eating, translates to a leaner body and end result is being a faster runner. I have moved to the 2 hour pattern just to get lean and feel fit. The end result has translated into running faster which i just love doing. :)

Ran the Delhi Half Marathon, 1st Nov 2009 in 1 hour, 52 min and 26 seconds. Incredible for me. A pace of 5 mins 16 seconds a km. My previous fastest run was 2 hours and 6 minutes for a half marathon done 2 years back during the Mumbai full marathon. Really an awesome timing and that's been possible through very little running. My schedule has been running 2 days a week, wt train 3 days a week all year except the last month where i added a day of running and cut a day of wt training. The lesson is run less and faster.

Next target is to do Mumbai Marathon in Jan 2010 under 4 hours 30 minutes. If i do that then i will train onwards for the Commrades Marathon 89km, in May 2010.

MOONG DAL WAFFLES WITH STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES

An Indian touch to western waffles! Moong dal provides folic acid while vegetables ensure fibre in this unusual yet delicious combination. Make the waffles in advance and rustle up the colourful stir-fried vegetables just before you need them.



Preparation Time: 10 minutes. Cooking Time: 15 minutes. Makes 4 waffles. Soaking time: 3 to 4 hours.



For the waffles
1 cup green moong dal (split green gram) with skin
2 to 3 green chillies, finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped fenugreek (methi) leaves
2 tsp besan (Bengal gram flour)
A pinch asafoetida (hing)
¼ tsp fruit salt
2 pinches sugar (optional)
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste



For the stir-fried vegetables
½ cup capsicum, cut into thin strips
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
½ cup baby corn, thinly sliced
½ thinly sliced cucumber
½ cup broccoli florets
¼ cup bean sprouts
1 small tomato, deseeded and sliced
1 tsp onion seeds (kalonji)
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste



For the waffles
1. Soak the moong dal in water for 3 to 4 hours. Wash, drain and discard the water.
2. Grind the soaked dal with the green chillies and a little water in a mixer to get a smooth batter.
3. Add the fenugreek leaves, besan, asafoetida, fruit salt, sugar, oil and salt and mix well.
4. Pour a ladleful of batter in a pre-heated waffle iron and bake until crisp.
5. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 3 more waffles. Keep aside.

For the stir-fried vegetables

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the onion seeds.
When the seeds crackle, add all the vegetables, bean sprouts and salt and sauté on a high flame till the vegetables are tender.
Remove from the flame, divide it into 4 equal portions and keep aside.


How to proceed
1. Place one waffle in a serving dish, top it with one portion of the stir-fried vegetables and serve immediately.

2. Repeat with the remaining waffles and stir-fried vegetables to make 3 more waffles.



Nutritive values per waffle

Energy: 215 calories
Protein: 11.8 gm
Carbohydrates: 32.9 gm
Fat: 4.5 gm
Folic acid: 72.0 mcg
Zinc: 1.4 mg
Fibre: 1.5 gm

PESARATTU

Green gram dal dosas spiked with onion, green chillies and ginger.

Cooking Time : 20 min.
Preparation Time : 15 min.
Soaking Time : 4 hours.

Makes 6 to 8 pesarattus.

Ingredients

1 cup split green gram (green moong dal)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
salt to taste
oil for cooking

Method

1. Wash and soak the split moong dal in water for at least 4 hours.
2. Drain and grind to a coarse paste.
3. Add the onion, green chillies, ginger and salt and mix well.
4. Heat a non-stick tava and grease it lightly with oil.
5. Spread a ladleful of the batter on the tava to make a 2 mm. thick dosa. Smear a little oil from the sides.
6. Cook on both sides till light brown. Put a potion of the vegetable stir fry recipe given below on each dosa.
7. Repeat with the remaining batter.
8. Serve hot.

Tips
Variation : Pesarattu With Vegetable Stir Fry : Fill the pesarattu with a veggie stir fry given below or a stir fry of your choice and serve it with coconut chutney.

Veggie Stir Fry for the Pesarattu
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 chopped green capsicum
1/2 chopped red capsicum
1/2 chopped yellow capsicum
1 chopped tomato
1 cup chopped broccoli , blanched
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp red chili garlic chutney
salt to taste

For the Veggie Stir Fry
1. Heat the oil and fry the capsicumes for a minute.
2. Add the tomato, broccoli and fry again for a minute.
3. Add the mushrooms and fry for a minute.
4. Add the red chili garlic chutney and salt and cook for a minute.

Stir Fry Paneer in Soya Sauce

This is a very healthy recipe as paneer is a great source of protein. Recipe can be made real quick.


250 grams low fat paneer, cut into pieces
3 spring onions, chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

1. Heat the oil and add the garlic and cook for a minute.
2. Add the spring onions and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the paneer and green chillies and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the soya sauce and salt and cook for a minute.


Serve hot.

Oats Dosa with Green Peas

Replacing rice with oats makes your dosa very healthy. Oats is very low in glycemic index and keeps you fuller for a longer time. Have this with chutney.



Makes 5 dosas.

1 cup oats,
¼ cup black gram (urad dal) powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups water (approx.)
oil for shallow frying

For the Filling

1 tbsp oil
½ tsp brown mustard seeds (rai)
½ tsp salt
red chilli powder
2 cups boiled green peas





For the filling
1. Heat oil in a pan. Put rai and when it crackles, add salt red chilli powder and peas.
2. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Keep the filling aside.

Method
1. Grind oats and urad dal separately in a mixer to a powder.
You can use ready-made urad dal powder too.
2. Combine oats powder, dal powder & salt.
3. Put enough water to make a batter of thim pouring consistency.
4. Heat a pan. Put oil and wipe it off. Remove from fire. Take a ladle full of batter and spread from inside to outside.
Return to fire. When the edges turn brown, put a few drops of oil on the sides and on the dosa. Put some filling. Fold over.

Serve with chutney.

Note: Don’t keep the batter for too long as it becomes more and more thick. You can use different vegetables in the filling. Also try paneer if you wish.

Apple Cinammon and Oats recipe

Great healthy quick Breakfast recipe. Oats are a top 10 food group to eat as they contain complex carbs with a low glycemic index. The skim milk gives good protein. This meal can be had 2 hours before a workout also.

1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp brown sugar
2 pinches cinammon
2 tsp chopped walnuts
1/4 chopped apple with skin


Heat the oats,skim milk and brown sugar in a pan and cook till the oats are nearly done. This should take between 3 to 5 minutes.

Take off the gas and add the cinammon, walnuts and chopped apples and mix well.
Serve immediately.