Showing posts with label mango. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mango. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Mango Quinoa

Know what you Eat - A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to South America, quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa's amino acid profile is well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake, also quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. The raw mango is a valuable source of vitamin C. It contains more vitamin C than half-ripe or fully ripe mangoes. It is also a good source of vitamin B1 and B2 and contains sufficient quantity of niacin. These vitamins differ in concentration in various varieties during the stages of maturity and environmental conditions.
Quinoa has become a staple in our house over taking rice. So when you have to cook and eat a grain every day, you have to be innovative to come up with different dishes so that you don't get bored. So what ever dishes are possible using rice like mixed rice varieties i do all of them using quinoa. This is one of them.

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins
Serves - 2

Ingredients
Cooked Quinoa - 2 cups
Grated raw mango - 1 cup (firmly packed)
Peeled and grated ginger - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves chopped - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Roasted Peanuts - 1 handful
Chopped coriander - handful for garnishing
Salt to taste

Curry powder

Channa Dal(Bengal gram) - 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 2 or to taste

Method

Cooking Quinoa
1) Soak Quinoa for atleast 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly otherwise you will get a bitter taste out of the cooked quiona.
2) Add 2 measures of water to 1 measure of quinoa and cook till it is soft and fluffy. I normally pressure cook till 1 whistle and switch off.
3) Let it cool completely( if possible cook quinoa the previous day and refrigerate it).

Curry Powder
4) Dry roast channa dal, coriander seeds and red chilli. Once the raw smell is gone and the ingredients are slightly brown in color add grated coconut and switch off. The heat in the pan is enough to roast the coconut, if you are planning to keep it for a few hours or use the curry powder next day roast the coconut nicely. Keep this aside to cool completely. Once cooled, dry grind into a coarse powder

Final Touches
4) Heat oil add mustard seeds and leave till it splutters completely.
5) Now add the curry leaves and the grated ginger ,mango, salt, turmeric powder.
6) Saute on a low flame for 10 minutes once cooked completely add curry powder and cooked quinoa and stir thoroughly so that all the spices are mixed evenly.
7) Switch off and add the roasted peanuts and garnish with chopped cilantro.
8) Serve with raita of your choice. You can have this power food for breakfast or lunch.

Event Participation

1) This goes to Mango Mela hosted by Srivalli.

2) This goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

3) This dish goes to Original Recipes - Monthly Round up Event hosted by Lorie.


Saturday, May 30, 2009

Mysterious Mango Cake

Good To Know: Mango: The good part is it is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. A good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin B6, and a very good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Mango's are a gr8 way to replenish that lost potassium, besides an average sized mango can contain upto 40% of your dietary fibre requirement. so mango a day keeps irregularity reg. constipation, piles and spastic colon away, as well as lower down blood cholesterol levels. The bad part, A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars, so I added less sugar to incorporate the naturall sweet flavor of Mango. But if you have a sweet tooth, its fine sometimes to digg in.


I love cakes, and specially baking them for my kids, just to hear "cool mom", Initially I used to bake the same cake using semolina/rava & added dry fruits, tutty-fruitty, with pineapple essence, but, as Mango is in the season, so I came up with this recipe off adding mango pulp, instead of other things just for a change, I guess with any pulp like strawberry, raspberry, even banana would taste equally good. Try this its FOOL PROOF, NO ERRORS recipe.


Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time : 20-25 mins
It yeild medium sized 8 cup cakes and med sized 8" square cake.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 C of Semolina/Rava/Sooji ( fine variety )
1-1/2 C Mango pulp (fresh / readymade kesar mango pulp )
3/4 C Ricotta Cheese (Part skim)
1/2 C Half & Half or regular whole milk should be fine too
1/2 C Butter (melted)
1/2 C Brown Sugar (as mango pulp is already sweet)
1-1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp ground cardamom(elaichi)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 C chopped cashew & walnuts, raisins (optional)




Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees No need to roast rava/ sooji.
2. Take a mixing bowl, mix sooji/semolina/rawa, ricotta cheese, 1/2 & 1/2,butter, sugar, cardamom pwd,nutmeg pwd,chopped cashew & walnuts, finally add mango pulp and mix it again . Let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. Put it in a baking tray, place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
4. Be careful and keep a close watch.
5. Check with a fork to see if properly baked. If the knife comes out clean remove immediately. 6. Allow to cool completely and then cut and serve.


Event Participation:

This dish is our contribution to Srivalli's Mithai Mela hosted by Cooking 4 all Seasons.
The photo goes Click Central (Stacks) hosted by Jugalbandi.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Cracked Wheat and Fruit Kheer(Pudding)

Know What You Eat: Cracked wheat carries a great deal of nutrition and fiber since it includes the fiber and nutrient rich outer bran and germ of the wheat.
There are two types of cracked wheat available in Indian stores, one is just the broken wheat in which the grains will be little big and other one the grains will be small and it is a combination of the wheat germ and bran. The second one cooks faster than the first variety, if you are using the broken wheat double up the cooking time.Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Serves: 4


Ingredients

Cracked wheat - 1/2 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Water - 1 cup
Saffron - few strands
Jaggery or raw sugar - 1/2 cup or to your taste
Chopped banana and mango - 1 cup
Garnishing
Ghee - 2 tsp
Chopped nuts and raisins - 1 table spoon
Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp

Method
1) Dry roast cracked wheat till you get a slight aroma.
2) Now add 1 cup of water and let the cracked wheat cook for 5 minutes.
3) Now add 2 cups of milk and few strands of saffron to the cracked wheat and leave it to cook completely, stirring in between
4) Once the cracked wheat is completely cooked add the powdered jaggery and leave it for 1-2 two minutes till the jaggery dissolves completely.
5) Let this pudding cool for few minutes, this will become little thick so add the remaining 1 cup of milk and the chopped fruit pieces(mango and banana).
6) Heat the ghee and roast the cashew and raisins and elaichi powder and garnish the pudding with the roasted nuts and raisins.
7) You can serve the pudding immediately or refrigerate without adding the ghee roasted nuts and raisins as this will taste much better absorbing the sweetness and flavor from the fruits and just before serving garnish with ghee roasted nuts and serve.
This dish is our contribution to Srivalli's Mithai Mela hosted by Cooking 4 all Seasons.