Ingredients:
- All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
- Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
- Shredded carrots - 1 1/2 cups (from 4 or 5 carrots)
- Oil - 3/4 cup
- Plain Yogurt - 1/2 cup
- Vanilla Essence - 2 tbsp ( If preferred)
- Cinnamon powder - 2 tsp
- Cloves - 4 crushed
- Baking powder - 1 tsp
- Baking soda - 1 tsp
- Chopped walnuts, pecans or Almonds - 1/2 cup
- Coconut flakes - 1/4 cup
How to make it:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shred carrots and keep in a bowl. Do not strain the water from carrots. In a separate bowl, Mix All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and cloves. Now add oil, sugar and yogurt and beat with a whisk until smooth. Now add the carrots and nuts and mix thoroughly. Grease an 8*8 inches cake tray. Pour the batter and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool. Take the cake out of the pan, add frosting if required on top of the cake and sprinkle the coconut flakes before the frosting dries out completely. Coconut flakes - Heat shredded coconut in a pan on medium heat, mixing continuously until it becomes dry. Be careful that it does not turn brown.
Its really very hard to make kids eat healthy foods like Dhals, Greens, Veggies, Rice varieties etc.., which we consider important in our daily routine. The first thing they say is "N0- I DON'T LIKE IT, MA" and the second thing they say is "I WANT PIZZA or I WANT BURGER". Hope all mommies experience the same thing. My kid is no exception from this. So i find ways to make my kid eat the regular food with some creative ideas. Here are two of those things i do for my kid regularly.
I am sending these recipes to Vanamala of My Kitchen World for her
Kid's Food Event.
1. Stuffed Rotis
Ingredients:
For Dough:
- Wheat flour - 2 cups
- Salt- as required
- Water - for kneading
For Stuffing:
- Carrots - 2
- Radish - 1 medium size
- Corriander leaves - few
- Green Chilli - 1 0r 2 (If needed)
How to make it:
Knead the flour with salt and water until it forms a dough. Apply little oil over the dough and set aside covered for atleast 1 hour. For stuffing, Shread carrots, radish, green chillies and add chopped corriander leaves and a dash of salt. Make evenly sized balls out of the dough and roll it in to a flat and round shape. Spread the stuffing mix on one half of the rolled dough and fold the other half over it so it forms a semi-circular shape. Press the ends so it doesn't open while heating. On a hot tava, put the stuffed rotis and heat on both sides. Add a little oil or ghee if preffered while heating. Also, try stuffing with spinach, cheese, shredded cauliflower, brocolli etc.,
2. Easy Pizza
Easy to make pizza with burger buns.
Click here for the recipe.
Chinese Food:
Click here for the recipe.
Ingredients:
- Long Eggplant - 1
- Paneer cubes - Thinly sliced 12-15 pieces
- Aspargus - 5 sliced into pieces
- Beans - sliced 1/2 cup
- Green Peppers - 1/2 cup Finely chopped
- Tomatoes - 1 cup Finely chopped
- Onions - 1/2 cup Finely chopped
- Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
- Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1 tsp coarsely ground
- Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
- Corriander powder - 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
- Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
- Cardamom - 2
- Cloves- 2
- Butter - 1 tbsp
- Thick curd - 1/4 cup
- Salt - as required
How to make it:
For Gravy: Heat oil and butter in a kadai, add fennel seeds, cumin seeds, Crushed cardamom, Cloves and onion and fry until onion becomes golden brown. Add the green peppers and fry until green peppers are half done. Now add the tomatoes and little water and cook until tomatoes become soft. Add Kasuri methi, Chilli powder, Corriander powder, Asafoetida powder, Black pepper, Turmeric powder and salt and cook until it forms a thick gravy. Add thick curd, mix it thoroughly and cook for 2 more minutes.
Cut each aspargus into pieces of 1-2 inches long. Steam cook aspargus and beans. Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick. Deep fry the thinly sliced paneer pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8*8 inches baking tray with oil or butter. Arrange the cut eggplant in the tray and bake for 5 minutes. Now turn the eggplant upside down and arrange paneer pieces over it. Add aspargus and beans over those panner pieces and on top of it add the cooked gravy in such a way that all paneer pieces and veggies are fully covered. Now cover the tray with a foil and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with rotis or parathas.
This recipe is from a book called 'Great Vegetarian Dishes' by
Kurma Dasa. Got this book from one of my friend and tried this Bengali Royal Rice recently. This recipe has gotta great flavours and it tasted wonderful and just perfect. Here is the recipe with slight variations in ingredients and method of cooking.
Ingredients:
- Basmati Rice - 2 cups
- Peas - 1/2 cup
- Onions - 1/2 cup finely chopped
- Raisins- few
- Cashew nuts - few
- Almonds- few sliced
- Black pepper - coarsely ground 1 tsp
- Cloves- 4
- Cardamom- 4
- Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Cinnamon - a small piece
- Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
- Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
- Paneer cubes - 1 cup
- Shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
- Saffron- 1/2 tsp
- Milk- 1/4 cup
- Ghee - up to 1/4 cup
- Salt - as required
How to make it:
Cook basmati rice with 2 cups water. Spread it on a plate and let it cool. Soak saffron in warm milk for few minutes and add it to the rice and mix well until all flavours are absorbed. Cook peas separately. Deep fry panner cubes in oil until golden brown. Heat ghee in a pan, add cashews, almonds and raisins and fry until golden brown. Remove and Set aside. In the remaining ghee, add the onions and fry until golden brown. Now add Fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, crushed cardamom, black pepper, Asafoetida powder and chilli powder. Add the cooked peas, Paneer cubes, coconut and salt. Combine the cooked rice with the fried ingredients in low flame and serve.
Ingredients:
- Black pepper - 3 tbsp
- Dry Red chillies - 2
- Toor Dhal - 1 tsp
- Urad dhal - 1 tsp
- Channa dhal - 1 tsp
- Tamarind - small Lemon size
- Salt - as required
- Curry leaves - few
- Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Onions - finely chopped (if preferred)
- Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
- Oil - 1/4 cup
- Sugar - 1/2 tsp
How to make it:
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry black Pepper, Dry red chillies, toor dhal, channa dhal and urad dhal until brown. Grind into a fine paste with few curry leaves. Make pulp out of tamarind. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when it splutters add onions and fry until golden brown. Add asafoetida powder and few curry leaves. Add the paste tamarind pulp, salt, sugar and little water and cook until oil separates. Serve with idli, dosa or plain rice.
Ingredients:
- All purpose Flour- 2 cups
- Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
- Butter - 8 tbsp
- Nesquik strawberry powder - 4 tbsp
- Orange juice - 1/2 cup
- Milk - 1/4 cup
- Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
How to make it:
Mix all purpose flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Divide into half. To one part of flour, mix 4 tbsp butter, orange juice and make into a thick paste consistency. To other part of the flour, mix strawberry powder in milk and add it along with butter to the flour and make into a dough. Now roll the strawberry flavoured dough on a non sticky surface. Sprinkle some flour while rolling, if it sticks to the surface. Now spread the orange flavoured paste over the flat dough. Roll it tight and wrap in a foil or sheet and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. After 1/2 hour, slice the roll into 1/4 inch thick. Arrange on a cookie sheet with little more gap between the cookies, as the size enlarges while baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. I added orange- carrot juice and it came out tasty. Also adding orange zest improves the flavour.
Ingredients:
- Potato - 1
- Peas- 1/4 cup
- Carrots - 2
- Onion- 1 shredded
- Ginger - 1/2 inch piece shredded
- Corriander leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
- Curry leaves - few finely chopped
- Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
- Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
- Tomato paste - 1 tsp
- Salt
How to make it:
Pressure cook potatoes, peas and carrots and mash it into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add the mashed vegetables, shredded onions, ginger, corriander leaves, curry leaves, kasuri methi, chilli powder, tomato paste and salt and cook for few minutes. Let it cool. Take a ball of the flour and roll it flat, spread a tbsp of mashed vegetables on it. Fold it and roll into a round shape. Cook on both sides with a dash of oil on a tava. Can be served with curd raita, or any choice of vegetables.
