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Healthy Staples
Wheat has been part of our staple diet for thousands of years. It is an important source of our carbohydrate and protein needs. We all love our pastas, bagels, breads, cookies and crackers.
However, over the years, in a race to keep the human population fed, we have force the wheat through several mutations and drastically changed how it is grown, treated, milled and packaged.
This modern form of wheat has had a damaging impact on our health - with an estimated 1% of the global population now suffering from gluten allergy. As a solution we are turning to gluten free substitutes, which are again full of things like corn starch, potato starch, tapioca etc. All of these present problems of a different nature.
I have now long advocated going back to basics and including other healthier whole grains and flours in the diet, like millet, barley, buckwheat, rye etc - and preferably farmers market milled and without any bleach or chemicals.
Millet is my personal favourite. Its gluten free and rich in carbohydrates, phosphorus, iron and magnesium. It is a great option for whose of us suffering from diabetes.
This week, here are a couple of my recipes to make use of this wonderful grain.
Millet Pancakes - Sweet
Ingredients : Finger Millet Flour - Ragi (1/2 cup), Banana (1), Milk (1/3 cup), Baking Powder (1 tsp), Vanilla essence, Honey (2tsp), Olive oil (1tbsp), Salt (pinch)
Add millet flour and baking powder and salt to a bowl and mix well till combined
Mash banana to a fine paste.
Add rest of the wet ingredients - honey, olive oil and make a homogenous mixture.
Mix dry and wet ingredients together and mix gently till combined.
Heat a pan and spread some olive oil on the pan.
Pour about 1/4th cup of the batter and let it spread to form a thick circle.
Cook on both sides till golden brown in colour.
Serve hot you can top it some sliced bananas or berries.
Millet Pancakes - Savoury
Ingredients : Pearl Millet Flour - Bajra (1/2 cup), Coconut Milk (1/4 cup), Salt, Garlic Crushed (1/2 tsp), Ginger Crushed (1/2 tsp), Green Chillies Crushed (1/2 tsp), Baking Powder (1/2 tsp), Sesame seeds (1tsp), Oil (1bsp)
Sieve millet flour with salt and baking powder.
Add crushed ginger, garlic and green chillies.
Add coconut milk and make a smooth batter ,
Heat a pan and spread some oil on the pan.
Pour about 1/4th cup of the batter and let it spread to form a thick circle.
Cook on both sides till golden brown in colour.
Serve hot with green chutney or pickle.
#OnePotRecipes - Rajma Chawal
I dont know anyone who doesn’t like a good Rajma Chawal. Every family has a secret recipe and rituals around how to make this amazing dish. I am not asking you to un-follow your grandma’s recipe, this is about making this fantastic meal in minutes (with some non-taxing pre-prep) as opposed to hours - continuing with our #onepotrecipes theme.
Here we go.
Rajma : Rajma (1/2 cup), Water ( 2 cups), Oil (1 tbsp), Salt (1tsp), Onion Chopped (2 tbsp one small onion), Tomatoes Chopped (2 tbsp one small), Ginger Garlic Paste 1tsp, Amchoor Powder (1/4 tsp), Tomato Puree (1.5tbsp), Green Coriander Chopped (2 tbsp).
Tempering : Ghee (2 tbsp), Cumin Seeds (1 tsp), Dry Red Chilly (2),
Garnish : Green Coriander Chopped (1 tbsp_
Rice : Rice (1 cup), Water (1 cup), Milk (1 cup), Salt (3/4 tsp), Cumin Seeds (1tsp), Oil (2tbsp), Black Cardamom (2-3 pcs), Cloves (4-5 pcs), Cinnamon Sticks (2-3 pcs), Green Cardamom (2-3 pcs), Bay Leaf (1 nos.)
Rajma
Soak rajma for about 6 hours in 2 cups of salted water.
Drain the soaked rajma
Take a pressure cooker of about 4 litres capacity and add the soaked beans along with the water to the cooker
Add rest mentioned under rajma heading to the pressure cooker.
Rice
Soak rice for about 30 minutes in one cup of water,
Add the soaked rice along with the water to the separator dish of the pressure cooker ( if you do not have a separator dish of the pressure cooker take any stainless steel bowl of about one litre capacity)
Put all the ingredients mentioned under the rice category in the bowl and cover with a silver foil or a tight lid.
Place the container containing the rice inside the pressure cooker holding the rajma.
Seal the lid of the cooker and put the cooker on the burner.
Once the cooker releases one whistle, lower down the heat and let it cook till cooker releases 6 to 7 whistle (about half an hour)
Turn off the heat and let the steam inside the pressure cooker subside.
Open the lid and with the help of a tong remove the container with the rice.
Your rice is ready to serve.
Tempering
Heat ghee in a small frying pan .
Add cumin and dry red chillies and cook for about 30 seconds.
Temper the Rajmah in the cooker with desi ghee.
Bring the Rajmah to boil.
Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Serve hot, garnished with green coriander with the prepared rice.
Tip of the Week
This should not be a big reveal - soaking up whole grains can speed up cooking process by 75% but soaking dissolves out the water soluble nutrients. So if you are soaking your beans or grains do not discard the water in which the grain has been soaked to retain those nutrients.
And that’s all for this week - write back to me on what would you want to see more of in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile make sure you share, clicking the button below. Also follow on Instagram and send us any pictures of how you are using these recipes.