Brown rice with Pinto Beans

This is my entry for "Whole grains JFI" hosted by Tastypalettes.
Of late i have been cutting back on white rice and adding more of brown rice into my diet. Since my household is filled with picky eaters i have to look for more ways to make brown rice fun and tasty to eat. This recipe is also very easy to prepare.
Ingredients:
1 cup Pinto beans
11/2 Cup Brown rice
1 Tbsp cumin
6 nos green chillies(chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 Tsp Pepper powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 Tbsp red chilly powder
1 Tomato (chopped)
1 sprig curry leaves
2 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste .
Method:
Pressure cook 11/2 cups of brown rice with 2 cups of water and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin, when it splutters add curry leaves onion and green chilly.
When the onion becomes golden brown add the pinto beans(strain and wash the pinto beans before adding).
Add salt , cover the kadai and let it cook till the beans are tender(should be about 3-5 minutes)
Add very little water if necessary.
Now add the tomato and rest of the masala.
Add the cooked rice and saute well, keep covered in low heat for another minute or two and serve hot.

Palak Paneer

I am fond of spinach, and my Dh is fond of paneer so it only seemed fitting that the two should be combined into tonight's dinner.
Ingredients:
1 Bunch spinach
1 cup Paneer (cubed)
2 Nos Green chilly
1/2 Tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Onion (sliced)
1 Tomato
1 Tsp ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp Coriander powder
1 Tbsp Cumin powder
1 Tsp Garam masala
1 Tsp Red chilly powder
3 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste.
Method:
Clean the spinach and remove the stalks.
Cut the tomato into quarters.
Heat the kadai and put methi seeds and cumin seeds.
When the cumin pops add the green chilly, spinach, tomato and saute.
Cool the spinach-tomato mixture and grind along with the ginger garlic paste to a coarse consistency.
Heat oil in a kadai and saute the paneer cubes.When the paneer turns reddish brown, remove from kadai and set aside.
In the Kadai now add the onions and sauteWhen the onion is tender add the ground spinach paste, red chilly powder,garam masala,coriander powder,cumin powder and salt.
Add water as necesary.
When the raw smell of the masala leaves add the sauteed paneer, and let cook for a minute or two.
Serve hot with roti.

Chocolate Almond Cake

We often visit Ikea if not for the furniture .... at least for the food.
The Chocolate almond cake is my Dh's favorite.It is flour less, has almonds & chocolate what more Can I ask for? .. The cake has the right amount of sweetness for having with coffee.

Zucchini Dosa

Last night I wanted to try something new and easy to make, so I tried Zucchini dosa.
This dosa can be served with curd,podi or any pickle will be fine too.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Zucchini (shredded)
11/2 Cup Gram flour (besan)
1/4 Cup Dry Coconut
5 Nos Green chillies (chopped)
1 Tbsp Cumin powder
1 Tbsp Red chilly Powder (add to taste)
salt to taste
Method:
Shred the zucchini and squeeze the water from it.
Mix the squeezed zucchini, besan,coconut,green chillies,red chilly powder,cumin powder, salt and mix with water.
The batter should be of a pouring consistency.
Heat the dosa tawa and pour in a spoon full and spread it around.
After a minute turn the dosa to the other side.
Serve hot.

Note: You can add rice flour to the batter , this will give crispness to the dosa.

Barley Dosa

In an effort to make health food more tasty and enjoyable i wanted to incorporate whole grains in my regular menu, so i tried making Barley dosa from dailytoy.
This is my version.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Brown rice
1 Cup Barley
3/4 Cup Urad dal
1 Tbsp Fenugrek seeds
salt.
Method:
Soak the rice and barley for 6-8 hrs.
Soak the urad dal and fenugrek seeds for 3-5 hrs.
Grind all the ingredients together .
The batter will be a little coarse.
Ferment the batter overnight.
The dosa is great with most chutneys .

Health Benefits of Barley

Of late I have been trying to approach a healthy diet : The kind of diet which does not involve starving or eating food that does not satisfy your pallet.
My solution came in the form of whole grains:
Substituting Brown rice for white rice,Buying multi-grain or whole wheat pasta, roti etc...
When I read the list of whole grains and benefits, I was amazed.

Health Benefits of Barley:
Barley is a good source of vitamins, minerals and fiber and selenium, and a good source of phosphorus, copper and manganese.

Intake of barley can be beneficial for our overall health. In particular it is known to help alleviate diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity. Some evidence suggests that barley seed products in the diet may improve blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes, possibly because the fiber in barley seeds delays stomach emptying and slows down the absorption of carbohydrates from foods.
Additionally, barley may assist in weight loss because it acts as an appetite suppressant making people feel like they have eaten more than they really have. Barley seeds may also protect against colon cancer.

To increase intake of barley, try the following:

• Mix with rice to make dosa batter
• Mix barley flour with wheat flour to make breads and roti
• Add barley to stews and soups or other dishes such as risotto to enhance texture
• Use cracked barley or barley flakes to make hot cereal
• Toss chilled cooked hulled barley into salads.

Buying Barley:
When I looked for barley in the supermarket I found hulled barley and pearled barley.

In hulled barley the kernels are minimally processed to remove only the tough inedible outer hull. Most of the bran and endosperm is left intact and the germ is present, making it a whole grain.
pearled barley undergoes more processing, some insoluble fiber, trace minerals and micro nutrients may be lost. Hence it is not considered as a wholegrain.


Source:www.whfoods.com,www.nutrasanus.com/barley.html,www.healthcastle.com.