Jack and the bean stock healthy snack recipe

Jack and the Bean stock

Healthy Snack

Healthy Eating!

I love my tea time snack. And am always on a hunt for new and healthy snack & tiffin options for my little monsters. All play makes them needing more energy and i need super energy and healthy meals for them. And when you get both in one dish…you have a very happy Me. So you enjoy your Tea and let the kids get the needed energy with this next recipe …
JACK & THE BEAN STOCK…..

Yes! This is the Name of my recipe.

Why is this a Super Snack –These little sticks are full of protein, calcium,Vit-a,Vit-b12,Vit-d,Potassium,Magnesium,Dietary Fiber and etc.

Why this recipe –A few Days back I was reading about the various beans and pulses. I am very fond of kidney beans right from childhood days, as long as I remember. But that was because I could leave any delicacy for a platter full of Rajma/Chawal.I loved the flavor and especially which was my mother’s preparation. But I recently discovered that Kidney Beans are too part of the Super Food List. They have been listed as WORLDS HEALTHIEST FOODS.

Amazing!

If you wish to know more about the health benefits of these red beans, Google and you will find links where you’ll find everything about their numerous benefits. After reading that, I  headed to my kitchen to make something interesting and adding to the nutritional value of these magical beans by adding my favorite vegetables to them. Enhancing the flavor and filling my kids platter with another yummy and healthy snack. Here’s how you’ll make these bean stock and make Jack happy!

Ingredients:

Red kidney Beans: 2 cups

(Soaked, boiled with salt, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon)

Potato:  1 Big (boiled and peeled)

Crushed fresh garlic:  6 cloves/ 1 tbsp.

Salt:  ½ tsp.

Black Salt: ½ tsp. or to taste

Green Chilies: 1 chopped (optional)

Peanuts:  1/4^th Cup (powdered)

Cabbage:  1/4^th cup finely chopped

Broccoli: 3- 4 florets finely chopped (no stems) / 1/4^th cup

Green Capsicum:  1/8^th Cup or 2-3 tbsp. finely chopped

Yellow Capsicum:  2-3 tbsp. finely chopped

Bread slice (whole-wheat bread): 1 slice (churned to crumbs in a mixer) fresh

Method:

1. Soak the kidney beans overnight .In the morning sieve the water and fill fresh water in a cooker, add salt, black cardamom, turmeric powder, cinnamon stick (about ½ inch) and pressure cook up till 3 whistles or till cooked.
2. Sieve the water and let the beans cool completely.
3. Now,mash the beans nicely,add mashed boiled potato,all chopped vegetables,crushed peanuts,seasoning and fresh bread crumbs.
4. Mix everything well together.
5. Refrigerate this mixture for about 15-20 minutes.
6. Now,shape them into thick sticks .Take a small portion in your hands.Roll them vertical between your palms and flatten them by pressing between your hands.Now, shape the sides nicely with your fingers and start frying.
7. Heat a pan or a griddle,put 1 tbsp. olive oil and start frying your sticks.Turn and cook on both sides.Remember do not put too much oil .Keep adding little oil as needed.
8. Serve hot with Mint Sauce or tomato Ketchup.

Enjoy your Jack and the Bean stock with a cup of Tea/Coffee. Add these to the Kids tiffin and see the lovely smile on their face.

Recipe Pasta Carbonara

Pasta

Carbonara

This is the simplest recipe of all times. And for all those you read my blog and follow my recipes, know how fond I am of simple cooks. I really think that the simple the recipe is the more tasteful it is, except for a few recipes which call for many ingredients and the process is long but yes it’s all work the hard work.

Coming back to the topic, this recipe is my favorite again due to its quick preparation and simple ingredient list which one normally finds handy in the kitchen at all times.So,any meal emergency or sudden demand for  “not the usual today”, can be met with least stress or running around for ingredients. I make this almost twice a month. When we get bored of the usual dal/Lentils and veggie routine and don’t want to indulge in anything too heavy on the tummy. My son loves it and I happily serve him this very health and loaded with protein dish as it does substitute for Lentils to some extent, in terms of protein intake.

Serves: 4

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Preparation Time: 15 min

Total Time: 20 minutes

Cuisine : Italian

Difficulty Level: Easy

Macaroni alias Carbonara

Ingredients:

500 gms macaroni pasta (boiled and drained)
3 large eggs
200 gms of chicken (boneless) cubes (optional) or Bread cubes-3-4 bread slices.

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh cream ( I used 25% fat free)
Black pepper to taste

Butter -2 tbsp.

Garlic-1/2 tsp.

Italian herbs ½ tsp.

Salt to taste

Olive oil to cook: 1 tbsp.

Method:

1.        Heat 4 cups water in a saucepan. My cup size is 200ml, so take 800 ml water approx. in the pan. Bring it to boil. Add 1 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. oil in the water and add pasta. Cook till it’s done al dente. Sieve the pasta and add cold water and keep aside.
2.     Now, in another bowl, beat 3 eggs .Add herbs, pepper and salt to taste and beat well. Please be careful while putting salt as the boiled pasta too has a bit of salt in it.
3.     Now, heat ½ tsp. olive oil and butter as mentioned in the pan. Add garlic and bread cubes and sauté till bread is a bit crispy and looks golden brown in color.
4.    You may substitute the bread cubes for chicken cubes or mutton sausage if you wish to make another option.
5.     Take out the bread cubes and keep them aside.
6.       Now, in the same pan heat 1 tsp. olive oil and add pasta to it.Saute and add cream    and simmer the flame.
7.       Now, slowly add the beaten egg mixture on low flame and keep stirring well. Its imp. To keep stirring otherwise the eggs will get scrambled and not coat the pasta.
8.       Now, once the mixture is well blended, grate the cheese and mix
9.      Put it off flame, and serve it in a bowl. Add the garlic bread on to and serve hot.

SUBWAY STYLE FOOT-LONG RECIPE

SUBWAY STYLE FOOTLONG RECIPE

Who has not eaten and relished a subway foot long!

It’s my personal favorite of all the fast foods available. Healthier than a lot of other options, full of veggies and tasty sauces, a sub does give a full meal in one. So, this time I decided to make it at home. Fresh salad and the patty made from previous night’s dinner leftover.

Presenting!!!

Rice ‘n’ Cheese Sub

Made these yummy multigrain rice and cheese sub patty from the dinner leftovers and clubbed it along with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and flavored with thousand island sauce, mint sauce, mustard sauce and salt and pepper to make the yummy and healthy rice and cheese sub.Todays breakfast along with our summer favorite mango shake.

Serves: two 6” foot longs

Cuisine: Fast food

Ingredients:

Multigrain footlongs-2

Cucumber (cut in rounds)-1

Tomato(sliced)-1

Onion (sliced)-1

Lettuce (small)-1 or 6 leaves

Thousand island dressing or any sandwich spread.

Mint sauce to taste

Mustard sauce to taste

Few chili flakes and Italian herbs to sprinkle.

Amul cheese slices-2

Tomato ketchup/ hot n sweet sauce-2 tbsp.

For patty:

Leftover boiled rice: 2 tbsp.

Boiled potato: 2 medium mashed

Kadhai paneer or any dry paneer (cottage cheese) vegetable: ½ cup( used my leftover)

Fresh Bread crumbs: 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Fresh paneer: 4 tbsp. ( I had some lying in the fridge)

Oil for frying

Method:

1.  For patty: mix together, boiled and mashed potatoes, paneer (cottage cheese) veggie, rice and fresh paneer along with bread crumbs. Season it with some salt to taste. Mix well and make small patty like balls and flatten them a bit with your hands.

2.  Heat oil in a skillet and fry these on medium to high flame till done. Keep aside.

3.  Now, to assemble the foot-long, cut the foot-long into half lengthwise. Spread some thousand island dressing. Place lettuce leaves .Now put cucumber rounds as many as you wish. Put some onions and tomatoes on top .On the other side place some amul cheese slices cut into half’s and then put the prepared patties and press them a bit with your hands.

4.  Top it with some chili flakes, Italian herbs and tomato ketchup or hot n sweet chili sauce. Fold in and relish this yummy subway style veggie RICE ‘N’ CHEESE sub.

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FALAFEL RECIPE

FALAFEL RECIPE

WITH PITA BREAD AND CUCUMBER & MINT TOPPING!

This recipe does not need any introduction.

A freshly fried falafel with the amazing humus and salad.

Falafel ,a very popular middle eastern dish served in very many ways  is a 
vegetarian delight!

It may be the only dish which can be served as an appetizer, a main dish and as a fast food snack too. As an appetizer it is served with salad and hummus dip. When served as a main course serve it is stuffed in a pita pocket along with salad and tahini sauce You may find the recipe of my tahini here( Tahini sauce recipe).I prepare and serve it with an addition which is cucumber mint n curd topping.

I just love the flavor of mint with pita and falafel!

Well, this recipe just following is falafel as an appetizer. But as I personally like falafel best with pita bread, so I made small pita pockets (as usual) as base and topped it with falafel patty and hummus. Since its summers and tahini with hummus is a very hot combination, so I further made and topped it with a cool cucumber mint salad. Made this as an appetizer, but believe me we finished this one as a brunch…….it was yummy. So do try this recipe of mine and leave a note about how did you like it.

I have the recipe of pita pockets  and hummus on my blog on this link here.

                                                ( Pita bread recipe , Hummus recipe)

Preparation time	5 minutes
Cooking Time	10 minutes
Total time	15 minutes
Cuisine	Middle Eastern
Difficulty Level	Easy

My cup size: 200 ml

Ingredients:

For Falafel:

 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight, boiled (with salt) and drained.

 1/2 onion, chopped

 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro or coriander leaves

 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4^th tsp.  Soda-bi-carb

1 teaspoons roasted cumin powder

 ½ teaspoon ground coriander

 1 teaspoon salt (check as chick peas too have salt)

 ½ tsp. green chilies chopped (optional)

 1 pinch cayenne pepper or black pepper

 2 teaspoon lemon juice

 1 tablespoon olive oil

 2 tbsp. All-purpose flour

 oil for frying

For Cucumber Fill:

 2 cup plain yogurt thick

 1 cucumber – peeled and diced (small)

 1 teaspoon dried herbs

 Salt and pepper to taste

 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

 1/4^th cup mint leaves (cut by hand)

Method:

•    Falafel: Mix all the ingredients and grind in a food processor.
•    Take out in a bowl and mix again with a spatula.
•    Make small balls of equal size and put in a platter covered with a kitchen  towel.
•    Refrigerate these balls for about half an hour.
•    Now, heat oil for shallow frying anf fry these balls one by one.
•    Serve hot as an appetizer or in main course.
•    For cucumber and mint with curd topping: mix all the ingredients in a big  bowl. Refrigerate for about half an hour again and serve.

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HUMMUS RECIPE

HUMMUS RECIPE

A dip made from cooked chickpeas mashed together with the lovely tahini sauce ,lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.

A middle eastern treat which goes well together with vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian appetisers. This.This wonderful dip can also be served alone with pita chips/salads and other snacks.It blends wonderfully with vegetarian dishes and enhances the taste of many meat based appetizers as well.

Recently,I had this rich sauce/dip with the lovely shawarma roll and beetroot salad.Oh!! it was delicious and it left a wonderful aftertaste in my mouth, which I still remember.

This recipe here is my adaptation from many recipes I have tried recently but couldn’t get that exact flavor which I was searching for.Then I made changes accordingly to taste.And This recipe I can say is the nearest to the market style I have eaten .I also have a tahini sauce recipe on my blog on the link below.

(Tahini Sauce recipe.)

Serves:                    2 cups

My cup size:          200 ml

Preparation time:  overnight

Cooking time:      10 minutes

Difficulty level:      Easy

Cuisine:         Middle Eastern

Ingredients :

2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight, boiled and drained)

4 tsp. tahini sauce

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. olive oil (extra virgin)

3 ½ tbsp. lemon juice

Paprika / red chilli powder to taste to garnish

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1.     In a food processor, grind together chickpeas, tahini sauce, garlic cloves, salt, lemon juice and olive oil to a paste.

2.     Serve in a bowl and garnish with some olive oil, paprika and coriander leaves.

3.     Refrigerate for about 20 minutes before serving. 

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PITA BREAD RECIPE

PITA BREAD RECIPE

A soft, slightly leavened flatbread of middle eastern origin. When pita breads are baked at very high temperatures they rise dramatically and form pockets like our indian well rolled chapatis. Served with falafel and hummus with salads of different kinds.

Serving: 6 small

Preparation Time: 5 minutes + 2 hour proofing

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Total Time:2 hrs15 minutes

My cup size=200 ml

Ingredients:

2 cup flour (whole-wheat)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 + ¾ cup warm water

Yeast - 1/2 tsp. + ¼ tsp.

1+1 ½ tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Sugar

Method:

1.   Dissolve the yeast in warm water along with salt and sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes to active.

2.   Now in a large bowl, take the flours and add olive oil. Mix well with your hands and rub nicely so the flour and oil are mixed together. Add all the ingredients along with the yeast mixture and knead into soft dough.

3.   Cover it with a wet muslin cloth and lid in a warm place to ferment for an hour. After an hour take the dough out knead it softly again once so that the air is punched out and again put in to ferment for another  half an hour.

4.   After half an hour make equal sized balls of the dough and roll into small little thicker rotis.Cut them with a round cutter (could use a steel lid too) to make the right shape. This is important for the right rise in the pita bread.

5.   Make all the breads and cover again with a muslin cloth for 15 minutes.

6.   Now, preheat the oven at 250 degree Celsius.

7.   After 15 minutes the pita breads would have been risen again a bit.

8.   Now, bake these for about 7-10 minutes in the oven at 250 degrees or till they are done.