Mint Chutney with coconut

 This is a  variation of the previous recipe I had posted. Those of you who like the taste of fresh coconut, will like this. To make this you will need

.1. One cup freshly grated coconut
 2. Half cup mint leaves ( washed and tightly packed)
 3. Half cup chopped coriander ( cilantro ) leaves
 4. Two or three green chillies, slit ( add or reduce depending on how spicy you want the chutney to be)
 5. Two tsps thick tamarind extract ( you can soak a small ball of tamarind in hot water and extract the juice)
 6. Half  to one tsp. salt ( adjust to suit your taste)
   
 Grind together  all the above using a little water to make chutney. This chutney has to be consumed the same day as it contains fresh coconut.

You can season it with mustard seeds if you like. To do that, heat 2 tsps. of oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add a few curry leaves and a red chilly broken into pieces.Stir for a few seconds and add it to the chutney. (This version with the seasoning goes well with the south Indian preparations like idli and dosa.)             

World Famous Vegetarians - 2011.wmv

Mint Chutney

Mint chutney can be made in different ways and here is the recipe for one of the easy ones. You will need

1. One cup mint leaves ( washed and tightly packed)
2. Half cup chopped coriander ( cilantro ) leaves
3. Half cup curry leaves ( optional)
4. Two or three green chillies, slit ( add or reduce depending on how spicy you want the chutney to be)
5. Two cloves of garlic chopped
6. One tsp cumin seeds
7. Two tsps thick tamarind extract ( you can soak a small ball of tamarind in hot water and extract the juice)
8. Half  to one tsp. salt ( adjust to suit your taste)
9. One tbsp. oil

  Heat oil in a pan , add the slit green chillies and garlic and saute for a minute. Now add the leaves - mint,coriander and curry leaves and saute for a few minutes  on low heat till the leaves are soft and wilted, but retain  the green color. Transfer to the grinder bowl . Now add the cumin seeds, salt and tamarind extract and grind to make the chutney. You may have to add some water while grinding to get the right consistency. Instead of tamarind extract you can also use lime juice.
  This chutney is excellent for digestion as it combines the goodness of mint,curry leaves, garlic and cumin.It can be used as a spread on bread for making sandwiches or can be eaten with chapathi or rice.

                                                                        Mint chutney          

I love mint - do you?

   Mint or Pudina ( in Tamil) is probably the most widely used of all herbs. Even the  thought of mint makes you feel cool and refreshed!

   There are different varieties of mint like the field mint, peppermint, spearmint etc. Mint leaves are used in      different types of cuisine and the essential oil extracted from mint  is used in medicines to relieve head aches, muscular pain,skin problems etc. Menthol extracted from mint is widely used in breath fresheners,tooth pastes, chewing gum etc.

    Mint is excellent in curing indigestion, flatulence and other gastrointestinal problems. It is also good for relief from cold ,sore throat and sinus problems. It can be incorporated in many ways in our day to day cooking and I will give you some of the easy recipes.

                                                                           Mint leaves

Quiz time

Click on this link and see how well you do on the quizzes on Fruits and Vegetables. It is fun!

http://www.funtrivia.com/quizzes/hobbies/food__drink/fruit_and_vegetables.html

Smoothies

  Rushed for  time in the morning ? Bored of the usual items for breakfast? Here's a healthy option for you - make a smoothie --- a drink made by blending fruits or vegetables, milk / soy milk/yogurt, honey etc. Smoothies are easy to make , yummy and packed with nutrients. They are nutritionally better than fruit juices because they contain  whole fruits and therefore provide fibre as well.They are packed with vitamins and minerals and are powerful detoxifiers too. Also, having these will ensure that you have your daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Even those kids who are not fond of eating fruits and vegetables will love when these are blended into smoothies
  The combinations you can try are plenty depending upon your taste and availability of ingredients. So, why don't you try some of these?

Banana, Strawberry smoothie: One of my favourites and for making it I use :
1. Two ripe bananas peeled and cut into pieces
2.  Eight to ten  fresh or frozen straw berries
3.  A handful of blueberries( if available)
4. One glass of soya milk

      Put the banana pieces, soya milk and the washed berries into a blender and blend together for a few minutes. You will get two glasses of  smoothie . If you use ripe bananas, your smoothie will be naturally sweet and you won't have to add any sugar or honey. You can also use regular milk instead of soya milk .
      It is a good idea to  buy the strawberries whenever they are available and freeze them after washing. When I use frozen strawberries, I always keep them in a bowl in hot water and soften them before putting them in the blender.     

Carrot and Orange smoothie:  An easy to make smoothie which is so refreshing ! For making it you will need:

1. One fresh and tender carrot of medium size
2. Two juicy oranges
3. 1/2" piece of ginger grated
        Peel, wash and chop the carrots into small slices. Remove the peel , cut the oranges and remove any seeds present.  Put the carrot pieces with a cup of water in the blender and blend at high speed for a couple of minutes. Then add the oranges and ginger and blend again for a minute. You can add a few ice cubes also, if you wish, at this stage. You will get one glass of smoothie for the above ingredients.

Apple Banana Smoothie: Another popular smoothie which combines the goodness of banana & apple. To make 1 tall glass of this smoothie you will need:

1. One ripe banana
2. One medium size apple
3. One glass of soya milk or milk
4. One tbsp of honey ( you can use sugar also,but honey is the healthier option
             
             Peel and cut the banana into smaller pieces. Peel, core and chop the apples. Put the fruits along with the soya milk and honey into the blender , blend at high speed to get a delicious smoothie.

        

Types of Barley

 Only when one of my friends asked me 'What is Pearl Barley?' did I realize that I should have written about the different types of  Barley available before going into it's health benefits ! The commonly available types are:

Hulled Barley : The most nutritious and the least processed with only the outermost hull removed retaining the bran. But hulled barley takes a long time to cook.
                                               
                                                 
Pearl Barley :  This is the most commonly available form which is fairly nutritious because in this type the bran also is removed leaving only the 'pearl' inside.


                                                     
                                                             
Barley flakes: Here the barley is rolled into flakes and can be used  like oat flakes to make hot cereal.

                                                      
                                                                                   
Quick cooking barley : Since it is pre steamed it cooks very fast and is fairly nutritious too.

Barley water - a good health drink

 For making this health drink, you will  need the following:

1/2 cup pearl barley
5 cups of water
1 tbsp.fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp.honey or sugar ( quantity to be increased if you want it sweeter)

Wash the barley well and soak for 1 hour in a pot ( using all 5 cups of water.) Then boil  the contents ( bring to a rolling boil) and reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for  about 30 mns till the barley becomes a bit soft.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. Filter the water into a clean vessel and add lime juice and honey or sugar and stir well. You can store it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
You can also grate the lemon rind and add it to the boiling barley water for extra flavour.

Instead of discarding the cooked barley you can either add it to salads or eat it with plain yogurt.

Barley Vegetable soup

This is an easy to make, nutritious soup. To make this , you will need:

1 onion chopped
2- 3 cloves of Garlic crushed
1 cup of diced carrots
1 cup of chopped cabbage
1 medium size potato diced
11/2 cups of  diced ripe tomatoes
3/4 cup of pearl barley
2 tbsps of olive or vegetable oil
 8 cups of water
 2 tbsp.chopped coriander leaves.
salt and pepper to taste.

Wash and soak the barley in  2 cups of warm water for about 30 mns.( This helps in faster cooking). In a large pot or vessel, heat the oil and saute the chopped onion and garlic till they become soft. Add all the vegetables, the soaked barley (along with the water) and the remaining 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Let it simmer for about 30 mns or till the barley is fully cooked and soft.  You may add extra water if required to get the desired consistency.  Add salt & pepper and let the soup simmer for a few more minutes.  Add chopped coriander leaves before serving.

Barley - the wonder cereal

   Unlike rice and wheat, barley doesn't get talked about much in culinary circles. Back home, I remember barley water was used more like a medicine particularly for urinary infection, edema ( swelling ) on the feet etc. It was never used in regular cooking.
   The nutritional value of barley is now widely accepted. It is packed with fiber, low in fat and is cholesterol free.
   A half cup serving of cooked pearl barley contains less than 1/2 gm of fat and less than 100 calories!
(Source: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference 13,November 1999) 
   It contains several vitamins and minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium , selenium and copper. Research shows that the soluble dietary fiber in barley helps in lowering blood cholesterol as well as in slowing down the absorption of sugar thereby helping to prevent type 2 Diabetes. The insoluble fiber helps in regular bowel movement.
   Drinking barley water has a lot of health benefits. It is a diuretic which flushes out excess fluids from the body thereby preventing swelling. Barley water has been used for ages to treat urinary tract infections. Research has shown that it is  beneficial in preventing gall stones, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.
 For more information click on this link:

http://www.barleyfoods.org/nutrition.html

  So, don't you think we should incorporate this wonder cereal in our diet in order to derive health benefits from it? 

Curry leaves in home remedies

  Curry leaves juice mixed with butter milk ( or plain yogurt ) is excellent for relief from indigestion, nausea and vomitting.
  Regular inclusion of curry leaves in your diet is supposed to prevent cataract and type 2 diabetes.
  In many parts of south India curry leaves are used in making hair oil to prevent premature greying of hair. It is made like this:
  One cup of curry leaves are crushed added to 500 ml of coconut oil and heated till the leaves turn brown , but not burnt. The oil is then allowed to cool and the leaves are taken out by filtering.

   Apart from using curry leaves for seasoning, you can also incorporate these leaves in chutneys. I  normally add them to coconut chutney. To make this you will need :
 1 cup of fresh grated coconut.
 1/2 cup of chopped coriander leaves
 1/2 cup of curry leaves
 1 or 2 green chillies
 1 tsp of tamarind extract. ( soak a little bit of tamarind in hot water and extract the juice.)
  Salt to taste.
 Grind all the above ingredients together to make the chutney. You can use lime juice instead of tamarind if you like.
  This chutney can be eaten with the south Indian preparations like idli or dosa or can be used even in sandwiches.

Curry leaves powder or Kariveppilai podi

 Whenever I am able to get enough curry leaves, I make curry leaves podi (powder) with them. . For making it you will need:
1. One full cup ( pressed down) of curry leaves.
 You can separate the leaflets from the main stalk, wash and dry them on a towel before hand.
2. 1 tbsp.Channa dal
3. 1 tbsp Tuvar dal
4. 1 tbsp Urad dal
5. 1/2 tsp.cumin seeds
6. a few ( 5 or 6 ) peppercorns
7. Two dry red chillies
8.  1/2 tsp salt or according to taste
   In a pan, dry roast ( without oil ) all the dals,  till the dals turn reddish and then the red chillies,cumin seeds and peppercorns till you get a nice aroma of cumin and pepper . Dry roast the curry leaves keeping the pan on low heat and stirring continuously. The leaves should be dry, but should not turn brown. Switch off heat and let the leaves remain in the pan for a few minutes. This will make them crisp and easy to powder.
   Now powder the roasted ingredients along with salt in a grinder and store in a bottle.(If you like, you can also add 2 cloves of garlic by crushing , roasting and adding them along with the other ingredients.)
    You can have it by adding  it to steaming hot rice with a spoonful of ghee or oil . It tastes good,enhances digestion and as I said before has other health benefits too.
    Variation: You can also roast two tbsp. of freshly grated coconut and powder it along with the other ingredients. This powder can then be used to make ' curry leaves rice'. Boil the rice making sure that the grains are separate and not overcooked and allow it to cool. Add some ghee or oil and the curry leaves powder and mix well. The quantity of curry leaves powder to be used can be adjusted according to taste.

Curry leaves

 Curry leaves are widely used in South Indian cuisine.They are known as 'Kariveppilai' in Tamil and 'Kari patha' in Hindi.  They are basically leaves of a small tree which grows very well in tropical climate.The leaves have a unique aroma and add a nice flavour when added to dishes.
  Curry leaves have a lot of medicinal properties too. They help in preventing indigestion and nausea. The leaves are used in many ayurvedic medicines as they are supposed to be very good for eye sight as well as for stimulating hair growth and preventing premature greying. They are very rich in antioxidants , iron and calcium and contain vitamins A and B as well as fiber.

Curry leaves are generally available only in Asian grocery shops in the west and that too not always. You can store them in the fridge for a couple of weeks at the most. The other option is to dry them and store, but then the aroma will not be the same. Apart from using them for seasoning, you can use them to make ' curry leaf podi ' or powder, 'curry leaf chutney' etc. You can also use them to prepare some  home remedies as well as hair oil.
                  

 

Back to Avocado....

  Avocado's high vitamin E content gives it some anti aging properties as well, so here is a face pack you can try.
It is a good  tonic for your skin!


You will need :
1. 2 tbsp.of the scooped out flesh of  avocado
2. 1tsp lemon juice
3. 1 tsp. honey
4. 1 tsp regular plain curd (yogurt)

 Make a paste buy mixing and mashing all the above. Apply on your face and neck. Wash with  clean lukewarm water after about 15 minutes and pat dry. It will make your skin glow!

Coconut Oil Touted as Alzheimers Remedy

   All these years we were given to understand that coconuts are bad for health because they raise your cholesterol levels. Now research findings show that extra virgin coconut oil is very good because it increases your HDL ( the good cholesterol) levels and lowers the LDL levels in blood.
   Click on this link to see how coconut oil has been used as a remedy for Alzheimer's. If it is proved to be correct, it is really amazing!
   So let us use fresh coconut in our cooking without feeling guilty any more! ( at least till another research team comes up with a different finding!)

Coconut Oil Touted as Alzheimers Remedy