Pink Parathas

Ha ha, creeped you out there didn't I ? Ok, they are just our good old Mooli Parathas, but made with these lovely winter red globe radishes. Gyan on radishes.


Grate the radish, squeeze out extra liquid and keep aside. Look at the lovely color :).
Grate one onion, a small piece of ginger, and some garlic. I have used garlic powder here.

Prepare the stuffing by cooking the radish like any curry. Take a teaspoon of oil in a kadai, when it heats up add some jeera and mustard seeds. Then add the grated ginger, onion and garlic. Stir till you get a nice aroma from the onions. Then add the grated radish, salt, amchur powder and a little red chilli powder. Cook till the raw smell of radish is gone. Take off heat and let it cool.
Make the dough like you would make for rotis. Use a little less water. Use a big ball of dough and make a small thick roti. Then put the curry in it and seal it like shown below:

Roll them out like parathas. Be patient, use flour to avoid sticking and dont apply more pressure while rolling the pin.
Put them on a hot pan and let the paratha cook. Press with a flat spatula now and then. I did not use any oil, but you may use some if you wish.

Serve hot with a bowl of curds. I like it with sugar mixed curd :)

Banana Pancakes

My love for bananas goes up another level when it comes to banana pancakes. It's a perfect weekend breakfast. Pancakes are usually made of maida or refined flour. But I make a healthy version of it using whole wheat flour and also kicked it up a notch by adding roasted oats :). So to sum it all, its banana, milk, wheat and oats!

One ripe banana, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup roasted oats, little jaggery or sugar, milk, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and not to miss ... 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
Put them in a blender and get it into a smooth thick batter, not watery.

Carefully pour 2 laddle-fulls of the batter onto a nonstick pan and spread it evenly. Leave for a minute. When you see the holes forming on the surface, give it 30 more seconds. Then flip it. You will see a golden colored pancake. Wait for the other side also to turn golden, and then remove from the pan.

Stack them all and pour honey or maple syrup on top. Cut through the layers and stuff it in your mouth. I cannot tell you how heavenly that feels....ummm.
Wanna kick it up another notch? Add some butter! umm umm umm...sinfully heavenly!

note: Click on the images to get the bigger versions

Phulka Illustrated

The pictures speak the recipe, so I am not gonna write more on that. Instead I am gonna write some tips.

1. Try to get a real good quality atta, preferrably stone ground.
2. Be careful while adding water during the kneading process. Every drop counts.
3. The more you knead, the softer the rotis.
4. When you lay the roti on the pan, put the heat on high. Watch it carefully, the moment you see bubbles, flip it. Then when you see the bubbles again, you know it's time to puff them.
5. Do not leave the roti on the pan for long.
6. While puffing them directly on fire, make sure you make no hole in it with your tongs.
7. If you want well puffed phulkas, always make sure there is no sort of oil or ghee added to the dough.

Macaroni and Broccoli in Not-So-White Sauce

I call it not-so-white sauce because it's not made of Maida/Refined Flour. I made it with Whole Wheat Flour and an organic one at that :)

This is our weekend brunch. And once in a while I don't mind indulging in cheese and butter. Not that I have used a lot of it in this dish. I use far less than what is traditionally used in this type of dishes.

Broccoli, Beans, Chives and Onions from the veggie section. Skimmed Milk, Whole Wheat Flour and a small cube of butter for the sauce. Cheese, Chives and Sun-dried Tomatoes for the garnish.
I forgot to click the pic of the sauce before adding it to the dish :(

Before and After adding Cheese and microwaving for 2 mins.

Now, just by the look of it, one would think it would taste bland, since there are no flavourings added. But nope. I have not added flavourings on purpose, because I wanted the flavour and taste of broccoli to shine through. And it did! Also, I have added a lot of sun-dried tomatoes that would give a tang to the dish.

Recipe in a nutshell:
Saute the onions, beans and broccoli in a teaspoon of peanut oil. Then add the boiled macaroni and saute for five more minutes. On another pan, make the sauce by sauteing 3 tablespoons of wheat floor in a small cube of butter till the raw smell is gone. Now add skimmed milk gently while stirring and let it cook till you get batter like consistency. Add salt once done. Pour this sauce over the macaroni & veggies and transfer to a microwave safe bowl. Add chives, sun-dried tomatoes and cover with grated cheese. Microwave on high for 2 mins or till the cheese melts. DONE!

I have a confession to make. I don't know how to make white sauce without lumps :(. So I take the help of my mixie. After adding the milk, I transfer the entire thing into the mixie jar and blend it well. Then I transfer back to the pan and cook till it thickens.