Ragi Idli with Vegetables

A well liked recipe from a friend. Ragi is rich in Calcium and consuming it in the steamed form with vegetables makes it more palatable for those who are not used to its taste. This recipe does not use Ulundu / Urad dal.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients
 Whole Ragi 250 gms
Ladies finger 125 gms.
Parboiled Red rice aka Idli rice 50 gms
Fenugreek or Vendhayam seeds 10 gms or Two Tsps 
Grated vegetables of carrot, cabbage, capsicum etc -  75 gms
Sprouted peanuts (optional) 50 gms
Rock salt 2 tsp

Method
Soak everything except bhindi separately for 5 hours.
Use little or no water and grind ragi into a thick paste.
Grind rice and fenugreek seeds into a thick paste.
Slice ladies fingers into thin circles and grind it into a smooth paste without adding water.
Add salt.
Blend everything together.
Set aside for 4 hours.
Add vegetable gratings and sprouted peanuts
Pour out small sized idlis on idli plates.
Steam in medium flame for 20 mins
Switch off, remove idli plates and make sure they are cooked.
Wait for 5 minutes to cool off .
Scoop and serve with Cbutney.

Healthy Snacks

Healthy Behl with green gram sprouts, (grated) raw mangoes, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper and  (finely chopped) coriander leaves, mint leaves, tomatoes, onions, spring onions, green chili ,rock salt and jeera powder. 50% vegetables by weight and remaining can be puffed rice. Ingredients to be mixed just before serving.

Healthy Sandwich. The same combo above can be sauteed lightly and used as a filling in whole wheat sandwiches. Can skip a few ingredients but sprouts can stay. Best served grikked

Date Nut Laddoo. De-seed, warm and knead the dates. Toast, cool and blend the nuts coarsely. Mix both, knead well and make the balls. Better to avoid peanuts. Also good to use just two types of nuts like almond+cashew.

Peanut Laddoo Toast, cool and remove skin from 1 cup of peanut. Add three fourth cups of grated jaggery and  a dash of flax seed powder and quarter tsp of cardamom powder. Blend to smoothness and make into balls. No need to add ghee.

Sesame Laddoo   Toast and cool 1 cup of sesame seeds. Add three fourth cups of grated jaggery and  a dash of flax seed powder and quarter tsp of cardamom powder. Blend to smoothness and make into balls. No need to add ghee.

Green Smoothie

Ingredients (per person)

2 Bananans sliced
2 dates chopped and de-seeded
A handful of edible greens (of one kind or many) chopped fine.
Two table spoons of shredded coconut  (optional)
Half a glass of water
A Powerful blender and a juicer jar

Method

Add bananas to the juicer jar first.
Dates next.  Then greens. And coconut if you like. At last, half the water.

Blend in pulse mode for 90 seconds. Add remaining water and blend at high speed for another minute or so until it becomes fine and smooth. Serve with a spoon.

Adjust proportion of ingredients to suit your taste.

Note: Avoid drinking smoothie with the same type of green every day.

Lemon Ginger Tea

Ingredients (per person)


half  inch piece of ginger cut into small chunks
juice from quarter lemon
2 tea spoons of brown sugar
1 glass of water

Method

Heat water. Add ginger pieces. Bring to rolling boil. Add brown sugar. Switch off and cover with a lid. Let it be for 5 minutes. Filter and serve.

Millet based Porridge/Kanji - Salted

Ingredients:

1. 2 tsp of ragi / finger millet or thinai / foxtail millet powder - Roasted.
2. 1/2 glass of butter milk
3. 1 gl;ass of water
4. pinch of rock salt 
5. seasoning (mustard seeds, curry leaves roasted in very little oil)
6. 1/2 tsp of corriander powder (optional)

Method:

• Roast millet powder on low flame in a dry thick bottomed vessel until you can smell it.  You can also pre-roast in bulk and store in an air tight container.
• Blend or beat buttermilk to a smooth consistency and keep aside. 
• Take water in a thick bottomed vessel, add millet powder and mix into a smooth solution.
• Switch on the stove and cook until the mixture boils well for a few minutes.
• As it cooks, add corriander powder.
• Switch off the stove, add salt, seasoing and butter milk and mix well.

Serves one person.

Millet based Porridges / Kanji - Sweet

Ingredients:

1. 2 tsp of ragi / finger millet powder.
2. 1/8 glass of coconut milk or 2 table spoons of coocnut grating
3. 1 gl;ass of water
4. 2 tsp of brown sugar
5. 2 elaichi crushed (optional)
6. A pinch of dry ginger powder (optional)

Method:

• Extract 1/8 glass of coconut milk from fresh coconut. If that is too much work, just blend a few pieces of coconut into a fine past and keep aside. 
• Take water in a thick bottomed vessel, add millet powder and mix into a smooth solution.
• Switch on the stove and cook until the mixture boils well for a few minutes.
• As it cooks, add elaichi powder and dry ginger powder
• Switch off the stove, add brown sugar and coconut milk/paste and mix well.

Serves one person.

Calcium Smoothie

This is also very rich in iron and lecithin.
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of fresh curry leaves juice

1 cup of coconut milk (fresh if possible)

2-3 Tsp of cane sugar or other unbleached sugar
A pinch of cardamom if you like 

Method:

Blend curry leaf juice and coconut milk well.

Add sugar, mix well and serve.