My recipe is in top 10......vote for me!!!!!

Vote for me.....

Hi friends,I am so happy that my Healthy soup recipe has been selected in the top 10 in the Eat healthy:Fight Diabetes contest organised by Sangeeth of Art of cooking Indian food blog. So please vote for my recipe here(the poll is on the right hand side bar). You can check out the Healthy Soup recipe here. Don't forget to check out the wonderful healthy recipes in the round up.

Looking forward for your votes.....

*Yummy Carrot Salad

Salads

..........For me salads are a healthy addition to our diet. Normally a Green salad is low in calories, low in fats and nutritionally very rich but the addition of wrong ingredients can make it unhealthy. Salads are often neglected in our diets,they should be an integral part of our meals,. A salad can even make a healthy low calorie meal by itself with the combination of proper ingredients.

These are some ways you can make your salads nutritionally rich:

Instead of using canned and frozen vegetables,use fresh fruits and vegetables (including green leafy vegetables).

Instead of the adding too much salad dressings which are high in calories and fat , ust squeeze a fresh lime juice and put in some herbs like basil which improve the flavour of the salad.

Avoid adding croutons and other extra toppings, instead add some nuts or flax seeds which make a better nutritional choice.

Cheese are a rich source of Calcium and Protein,so just take care on how much cheese you are using. Adding too much of cheese adds many extra calories.
(Source: About.com)

You can make a variety of salads, try adding a different healthy ingredients every time you make a salad.

Here's a salad recipe for you.

Carrot Salad

Ingredients

• Grated carrot- 2 cups
• Olive oil- 1 tsp
• Green chillies- 2, cut into small pieces
• Cilantro/Coriander, finely chopped- 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves- 3-4
• Lime juice- 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1-2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.Once they splutter add curry leaves and green chillies.
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• Then add grated carrot,turmeric powder and salt (add very little).Cook for about a minute not much.
  
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• Put off the flame and add lime juice. Mix again.
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• Garnish it with cilantro and serve.
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• See, its so easy.Salad is ready.

Serves 2

** Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds, and the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes. Carrots' antioxidant compounds help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision.
(Source WHFoods.org)

I am sending this yummy carrot salad recipe to JFI - Carrots hosted by The Cooker.

*For All My Blogger Friends

I know that I have not been regular since I came back but thanks to my blogger friends who with their awards and wonderful comments motivate and encourage me to be regular enough in the blogging world. I have so much to share with you all but something or the other keeps coming in between. Anyways a big thanks to all those bloggers who appreciate me and my work by showering me with awards.

My friends Arundhati of Gourmet Affair and Ramya of Memory archieved passed me this Hard Working Food Blogger award- Thanks a ton,I will definitely try to be more hardworking and be regular :)

My another good friend Ivy of Kopiaste passed me the Yum-Yum Blog award. I really appreciate it.
I also got the lovely Butterfly Award from Sudeshna of Bengalicuisine and Kitchen Flavours .

Here are some rules for the Butterfly award.

1. Add the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs of your choice.
4. Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
5. Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

I know its a rule to pass the Butterfly award to 10 bloggers, but I would really like to pass the above awards to all my fellow bloggers with their lovely blogs. You all deserve these awards..

*Happy Diwali And Prosperous New YearTo You All

Hi friends,Diwali is a festival of lights and happiness.On this auspicious occasion I wish you all a very Happy Diwali and a Great New Year.May all your dreams come true and may God bless you all.

Have a wonderful Diwali.....Enjoy!!

*Celebrating my 50th post with Bread Pizza

Yeeeeee!!!!!! My 50th post

(Image source:Google images)

Hi friends, sorry I couldn't post any recipes since last week.There was some problem with my laptop. I am so happy and excited,this is my 50th post. This is just a beginning for me , hope to get your love and support in the future also. I want to share many more recipes and food tips with you all.

Celebrating my 50th post with a wonderful, yummy recipe my mom makes. It is a favorite at my place. This recipe is a different version of a pizza,you can say a low fat version as it does not have any cheese.Weight conscious people,you can eat this dish without any guilt. You will love this sweet and spicy combination.

Bread Pizza

I have seen and heard about many bread pizza recipes, this is a bit different from those.So lets give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

• Bread (of your choice) - 4 slices
• Onion- 1 medium ,finely chopped
• Capsicum- 1 medium, finely chopped
• Tomato (optional) - 1 medium, finely chopped
• Tomato Ketchup
• Butter ( low-fat)/Ghee (for toasting bread)

For Chutney:

• Cilantro(Coriander) - 1 bunch (use the stems also)
• Mint leaves - 8-10 no.
• Ginger - 1 small piece
• Green chillies - 2, small
• Lime juice- 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

To garnish:

• Fine sev

Method:

For chutney:

• Clean the coriander.Peel ginger and remove stems from green chillies .Wash all these ingredients thoroughly.
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• Grind these along with the remaining ingredients into a smooth paste in a food processor.
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• Store in a bowl.

For pizza:

• Apply a tbsp. of chutney,then a tbsp. of ketchup on a slice of bread. (The amount of chutney and ketchup can vary as per your taste.)
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• Heat a girdle or tawa and toast the bread slice,chutney side up with little butter till the downside becomes brownish and little crispy.
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• Top the toasted bread slice with little chopped onion,capsicum and tomato.
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• Garnish it with sev and serve hot.

Serves 2

Note: Start making the pizza when you are about to serve or else it will become soft and soggy.

I am sending this recipe to the WYF: Party Food event hosted by easycrafts of Simple Indian food blog.

*Semolina(Sooji/Rava) Sheera

Semolina(Sooji/Rava) Sheera

Semolina sheera is a favorite in our Indian households,mostly prepared during festivals and puja. But for those who love it,they don't need to wait for either of these to eat it...... :) Such is the case in my house,my hubby likes this sheera very much. So Rava sheera is made more often compared to any other sweet.

It is basically made from semolina and milk. Its a bit heavy because of the added ghee,but sometimes you should just forget about your weight and enjoy such delicacies...hehehe!!! So what are we waiting for,lets get to work.

Ingredients :

• Semolina (Sooji/Rava) - 2 cups
  Ghee - 3 tbsp
  Sugar - 2 cups
  Milk - 2 cups
• Water- 1 cup
  Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  Cashewnuts -1 tbsp

Method:

• Take Ghee in a non stick pan and add Semolina to it. Roast until semolina turns golden brown. (Take care not to burn semolina).
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• Continue for 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
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• Remove the roasted semolina in a plate.

In the same pan roast the cashewnuts and keep them aside.

Now take milk and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.Add cardamom powder and keep it on a low flame.

Slowly add semolina to the above milk mixture, stir the mixture well with a spatula and avoid any lump formation.

Add the cashews to this mixture and cook it till the ghee separates from the semolina.

Serve in a bowl.You can decorate it as per your liking.

Serves: 4

This recipe is making its way to 4 events:

Yummy Festival Feasts - Diwali hosted by Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy .

JFI - Festival Treats hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

The Saas, Bahu Aur Sensex Contest hosted by Nags of Edible Garden.You can check the movie website here.

Satisfy your sweet tooth event hosted by Sudeshna of Here I cook blog.

*Potato (Aloo) Fry...

Today's recipe is Potato(Aloo) Fry. This is a very tasty and quick to make recipe. Serve it with chapati,paratha or just enjoy it with rice and dal,its simply amazing. I just love it!!!!

Potatoes.......who doesn't like them???? They are one of the widely used vegetable all over the world. They can be boiled, baked, fried, and micro waved, steamed, roasted, mashed, and placed in salads, with or without the peel.

Friends,check out this cool "Potato Song" video I found in Youtube :

The potato is thought to be just a high source of calories and that it is fattening .This is not true. You will surprised to know that it is almost fat-free. In fact the addition of high calorie toppings like butter,sour cream,mayonnaise dressing,etc make the potato recipe fattening. It has many nutritional advantages.

Here are some facts we should know about potatoes:

• Potatoes contain a number of important vitamins and minerals. A medium potato (150g/5.3 oz) with the skin provides 27 mg vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6(10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin,riboflavin,folate, niacin,magnesium,phosphorus,iron and zinc.
• Moreover, the fiber content of a potato with skin (2 grams) equals that of many whole grain breads,pastas and cereals.

• Potatoes also contain an assortment of phytochemicals,such as carotenoids and polyphenols.


• The notion that “all of the potato’s nutrients” are found in the skin is an urban legend. While the skin does contain approximately half of the total dietary fiber, more than 50% of the nutrients are found within the potato itself. The cooking method used can significantly impact the nutrient availability of the potato.
• (Source: Wikipedia)

Check some interesting facts about potatoes here .

Ingredients:

• Potato- 2 big
• Olive oil - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 2 tsp
  Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
  Asafoetida (hing)-A pinch
  Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
  Red chilli powder- 2 tsp
  Lime juice -1 tsp
  Salt to taste

Method:

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into long slices.
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  *Add about 3 tsp of salt to the potato slices,mix well and keep aside for about 30-45 mins.
• Then squeeze the slices to remove all the water.


• Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves,cumin and mustard seeds.Once they crackle,add the potato slices and mix well.


• Cook till the potato slices become crispy and light brownish.


• Then add turmeric and red chilli powder and lime juice.Mix and cook for about 2 mins,then switch off the flame.


• Serve hot with Roti,paratha or rice and dal.

Serves: 2-3

• * Addition of salt helps in removal of water from the potatoes and make the recipe crispy.Use this method to make potato chips.

I am sending this recipe to the 'Monthly Mingle-Sensational Sides' event hosted by Ruth of Ruth's kitchen Experiments and started by Meeta of What's for lunch, Honey?