18. FISH CUTLETS (SNACKS)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 kg fish (Rohu)
• 1 egg beaten well
• 1/2 cup onion finely chopped 
• 2 green chillies finely  chopped
• 1 bunch chopped coriander leaves
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp salt (as per taste)
• Oil for deep frying

METHOD

• Wash and clean fish and boil it in a pan with just enough water to cook it. Let the water be fully evaporated. Let it cool down. 
• Mash the fish well with hand and carefully remove all the bones .
• Add chopped onion, chillies, coriander leaves, salt and beaten egg and mix well.
• Divide the mixture into 10-12 equal parts as per the size of serving required, large for cutlets, small for making cocktail snacks.
• Roll each portion between your palms and press it lightly to flatten it. 
• Roll the patties in bread crumbs pressing lightly,
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry.
• Drain on an absorbent paper.
• Serve hot with Mint Chutney (Recipe' No 14 on this Blog).

USEFUL TIPS
For a healthier version, you may shallow fry the patties in a non-stick pan with a few drops of oil.

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17. MOONG SPROUTS (DIABETIC & HEART FRIENDLY SNACK)

 MOONG SPROUTS

INGREDIENTS

1. Sprouted* Moong (Green Gram)...1 cup 
2. Cooking oil...1 tsp
3. Ginger chopped...1 tsp
4. Green chilly chopped...1
5. Salt 1/2 tsp (as per taste)
6. Lemon juice...1 tbsp

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pan. 
2. Add chopped ginger, chopped chilly and salt and stir briskly.
3. Add sprouts and 1/4 cup water.
4. Cover with a lid and cook on slow heat till it becomes tender and water dries up. Keep stirring in between ensuring that it does not get burnt.
5. Take off the burner and squeeze lemon juice before serving.

USEFUL TIPS

1. *For making sprouts, wash and soak 1 cup whole  Moong (green gram) in water for app 8-12 hours. Wrap the soaked daal in a sprouter or in a wet cloth and place in a pan covered with a lid. Keep checking periodically that the cloth remains moist and is not totally dry at any point. Depending on the climatic conditions, Moong will sprout in 18 to 24 hours.  
2. Chopped onion and coriander leaves can also be added before serving.
3. Makes a healthy side dish or a healthy snack in between meals.
4. In case you want it absolutely fat-free, simply cook the sprouts with all ingredients and add lemon juice etc as above. 

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16. OATS PORRIDGE SALTED (DIABETIC FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 cup Oats (Quaker's/ Saffola) 
2. 1 small onion chopped
3. 5-6 cloves of Garlic chopped
4. 1" Ginger chopped
5. 2 green chillies chopped fine
6. 1/2 cup carrots cut into small pieces
7. 1/2 cup peas
8. 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
9. 1 large tomato cut into small pieces
10. 8-10 Curry patta leaves (optional)
11. 1/4 tsp coarsely crushed pepper
12. Salt 1 tsp (as per taste)

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients except oats in a pan along with 2 glasses of water. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat after it starts boiling. Let it simmer for five minutes.
2. Add 1 cup oats and keep stirring till it mixes well. keep the heat low.
3. The oats salted porridge will be ready in 4-5 minutes. Check for desired consistency. Add extra water if required.

USEFUL TIPS

1. Don't serve too hot especially to a diabetic patient. It can scald the mouth. 
2. All ingredients except salt and oats are optional. Quantities of veggies are also variable depending upon your taste and availability.
3. A few other items that can be added to or substitute the veggies for the sake of variation are sprouts (Moong, Bengal Gram), ground-nuts  roasted or raw, walnuts, chopped spinach, cucumber, paneer etc.
4. Seasoning with mustard and curry patta can provide variation too. 

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15. OATS CHILLA (DIABETIC FOOD)

Oats Chilla

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 cup Oats (Quaker's/ Saffola) ground to fine flour in a dry grinder,
2. 1 tbsp gram flour, 
3. 1 small onion grated or chopped very fine,
4. 5-6 cloves of Garlic peeled and grated,
5. 1" Ginger grated,
6. 2 green chillies chopped fine,
7. Coriander leaves chopped,
8. 2 tbsp sprouted moong coarsely crushed (optional)
9. Salt 1-1.5 tsp (as per taste)
10. Ajwain or Jeera (cumin seeds) 1/4 tsp
11. Olive Oil or Canola or Saffola Oil

PROCESS

1. Mix all the ingredients from number 1 to 10 to form a thick batter of pouring consistency.
2. Heat a non-stick pan. Put 1/4 tsp of oil and app 1/2 cup batter. Spread around into a round formation with the help of a flat spatula. Flip over after some time and cook till it becomes golden brown on both sides.
3. Serve hot.

USEFUL TIPS

1. Serve with Mint Chutney (Recipe no.14), White Dip (Recipe no. 12), Tomato sauce, plain curd or just as it is.
2. A whipped egg can also be mixed in the batter to add extra proteins. 
3. Replacing Jeera/Ajwain and coriander leaves with Mustard seeds and chopped curry patta can provide variation to taste and flavour.

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14. MINT CHUTNEY (DIET FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Mint (Pudina), 2 bunches  cleaned and washed. Need not throw away soft stems.
2. 1 Raw mango, peeled and cut into small pieces
3. 2-3 Green chillies (as per taste)
4. 5-6 cloves of Garlic peeled
5. Coriander leaves, 1 bunch cleaned and washed (optional)
6. Salt 1-1.5 tsp (as per taste)
7. Walnut kernels ...4-5 cut into small pieces (optional)

PROCESS

1. Grind into a smooth paste items number 1 to 6 in a chutney jar of the mixie adding as little water as possible.
2.  Add Walnut kernels and grind again. This will change the colour of chutney into a lighter green and give it a good consistency.

USEFUL TIPS

1. Mixie jar may not be able  to handle all the items together. Therefore, first grind harder items like mango, garlic, chillies and salt. Then add Mint & Coriander leaves. Add Walnut in the end as it will help you manage the consistency of the chutney.
2. Mango can be substituted by lemon juice but the flavour of the two will be different.
3. f you do not like the strong flavour of garlic, don't put it or reduce the quantity.

13. BAINGAN (BRINJAL) BHARTA COLD (DIET FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Round Baingans (Brinjals) Medium Size -2
2. Medium sized onions finely chopped -2
3. Tomatoes cut into small pieces-2
4. Green chillies - 3
5. Ginger (Adrak) 1" cut into small pieces
6. Coriander leaves 1 bunch chopped
7. Salt 1 tsp (as per taste)
8. Garam Masala
9. Beaten Curd 1/2 cup

METHOD

1. Peal and cut brinjals into large pieces and boil  with 1/4 cup of water in pressure cooker.
2. Dry out extra water and mash it with a ladle. Let it cool down.
3. Mix salt, garam masala, chopped onions, ginger, chillies, tomatoes, coriander leaves and curd.
4. Put it in the fridge to cool down.

USEFUL TIPS

Goes very well with hot crisp parathas.

12. WHITE DIP (DIET FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Greek Yogurt 1.5 cup  (In case, you do not have Greek Yogurt, hang normal yogurt in a muslin cloth for an hour and use it.)
2. Salt - 1/2 tsp ( as per taste)
3. Crushed white (preferred) or black pepper - 1- 1.5 tsp (as per taste)
4. Oregano - 1 tsp
5. Green chillies 2 - very finely chopped (optional, only if you want it really hot)

METHOD

1. Beat yogurt well. 
2. Add salt, crushed pepper, oregano and minced green chillies (optional) and mix well.
3. Keep in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

USEFUL TIPS

1.  This is a healthy substitute for cheese spread, mayonnaise, butter, cream or cream dips. 
2. Can be used as dip with freshly cut cucumber, carrots, radish, capsicum etc,
3. Tastes awesome with potato chips, nachos etc.
4. Makes a healthy spread on toast to replace cheese-spread, butter or mayonnaise.
5. Can work as spread on parathas to convert them into rolls.
6. Makes makki-methi ki roti more delicious by substituting butter.

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11. BESAN (GRAM FLOUR) CHILLA (DIET FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Besan (Gram Flour) 1 cup 
2. Salt 1/2 tsp (as per taste)
3. Red chilly powder 1/4 tsp
4. Ajwain seeds 1/2 tsp 
5. Baking soda 1/8 tsp 
6. Onion (01) grated
7. Green Chilies (2-3) finely chopped 
8. Coriander (dhania) leaves chopped 
9. Cottage Cheese (Paneer) 1 cup, mashed and mixed with salt, chilly powder and chopped coriander leaves
10. Cooking Oil 1/4 cup  

METHOD

1. Mix water in besan to make it a thick batter of pouring consistency ensuring that there are no lumps in it.
2. Add other ingredients (2 to 7) and mix well.
3. Heat a  non-stick flat pan/griddle/tawa. Smear 1/4 tsp of oil on it. Pour a ladle full of batter and spread it around with a flat wooden spatula till it is spread out uniformly. Apply another 1/4 tsp of oil on it. Flip it over and cook from the other side too till it becomes golden brown in colour. Regulate heat to ensure that it does not get burnt.
4. Flip back to original position and place a tbsp of Paneer mix in the centre and fold it midway. 
5. Serve it with Imli / Sonth/ Mint Chutney.

USEFUL TIPS

1. Substitute Besan with Chana Atta (Bengal gram flour with skin) for diabetics.
2. Regulating quantity of baking soda is absolutely essential. Less of it will make the Chilla limp and soft while any extra quantity will make it reek of soda and spoil the taste. So take care!
3. Adding chopped/grated garlic can add extra taste and flavour.
4. You may make your own Sweet & Sour Chutney by mixing 1.5 cups of water 2 tbsp Dry Mango powder (Amchoor), 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp chilly powder, 1/2 cup sugar or jaggery and boiling it for a few minutes till it becomes a thick sauce. 

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10. CHICKEN CURRY IN WHITE GRAVY (DIET FOOD)

INGREDIENTS

1. Chicken thighs 3 cut into small pieces
2. Curd beaten well 500 gms 
3. Salt 1 tsp ( as per taste)
4. White pepper powder 1 tsp, Black Cardamoms 2, Cinnamon stick 1, Cloves 2 and Bay Leaf 1 
5. Kasoori Methi 1 tsp
6. Cashews or Almonds(soaked & peeled) 20 ground to paste with water/curd
7. Cooking Oil 1 tbsp
8. Onion 1 medium size ground to paste

METHOD

1. Mix together 1/3^rd of the beaten curd, salt, and all the spices at sl no 4 and let it marinade for 2 to 8 hours.
2. In a pan, boil the above mix till chicken becomes tender. 
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onion paste and stir till it becomes translucent ensuring that it does not turn brown.
4. Add it to boiled chicken and mix well. Let it come to a boil. Reduce heat.
5. Add cashew paste to the remaining beaten curd and pour the mixture slowly into the pan. 
6. Also add Kasoori Methi rubbed between your palms. 
7. Keep stirring to ensure that it does not curdle. Let it cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes until gravy becomes creamy and reaches the desired consistency. If the gravy is too thick, you may add some milk/water slowly.

USEFUL TIPS

1. It is a versatile dish and can be eaten with anything, Pita bread, Roti, Paratha or Rice.
2. If you want it hot and spicy, add a few green chilies slit length-wise while frying onion paste.
3. If you want it richer (but unhealthy), add cream along with the cashew paste.

                                

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9. TAMARIND FISH CURRY

INGREDIENTS

1. Fish (1/2 kg) washed and cut into small pieces
2. Onions 2, medium size finely chopped
3. Black mustard seeds...1 tsp 
4. Garlic 10 cloves,minced or grated
5. Tamarind Liquid 6 tbs ( adjust as per taste)
6. Curry patta 1 twig washed and cut
7. Salt 1/2 tsp (as per taste)
8. Turmeric Powder (Haldi)1/4  tsp 
9. Chilli powder ( Deggi Mirch) 1/4 tsp 
10. Cooking Oil 1 tbsp 
11. Coriander leaves 1 bunch washed and chopped

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a pan. 
2. Add chopped onions and garlic and fry till they turn golden brown.
3. Add black mustard seeds and Curry patta.
4. Also add salt, haldi and deggi mirch powder and stir for a few seconds.
5. Add tamarind water and bring to a boil. Boil till it gets desired consistency.
6. Put in the fish, cover with a lid and boil for 5 minutes on low heat.
7.Garnish with chopped coriander before serving.

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