Dudhi Na Muthiya A Gujarati Delicacy (Steamed Bottlegourd Dumplings)

Hey Everyone!

I know I have been away for a very long time and to be honest I had been planning to start posting again regularly for almost 6 months now but for some or the other reason it just kept on delaying. Still I won't make promises that I will post every single day but yes I will definitely try to post atleast once a week :)

Being a total gujju I absolutely love the simple ethnic dishes from gujarati cuisine. Lots of these dishes bring back happy memories of childhood days and hence are quite close to my heart. One such dish would be Dudhi Na Muthiya aka Steamed Bottlegourd Dumplings! Muthiya (Steamed Dumplings) are very famous in gujarati cuisine and are made with a lot of different vegetables, some common would be Bottlegourd and Fenugreek leaves! Muthiya's are usually eaten as a snack along with homemade chutney or even sprinkled with some fresh coriander and sev! 

 Today I'll be sharing with you all recipe for Bottlegourd dumplings which are steamed and hence quite healthy!...so lets get cracking :)

Ingredients:-

-> 250gm bottlegourd grated

-> 1.5 to 2 cups of whole wheat flour (atta)

-> 1/4 cup of chickpea flour (besan)

-> 1 tsp red chili powder

-> 1 tsp turmeric powder

-> 1 tsp coriander powder

-> 2 tbsp curd

-> 2 tbsp oil

-> Salt to taste

-> 2 tbsp sugar

-> 1/2 lime juice

For seasoning:-

-> 1 tbsp oil

-> 1 tsp mustard seeds

-> 1 tsp cumin seeds

-> 1 tsp sesame seeds

-> 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing)

-> 1 green chili finely chopped

-> 8 to 10 curry leaves

Procedure:-

• In a clean bowl mix together grated bottlegourd, curd, oil, salt, sugar, red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and lime juice. 
• Once the sugar as melted add in whole wheat flour and besan and make soft dough without adding any extra water since bottlegourd itself is has huge water content
• Oil your hands and take small balls of the dough, shape them into logs
• Steam the logs in a steamer for 20 to 30 mins, until they are cooked
• Turn off the gas and let the steamed bottlegourd logs cool down completely
• Once they are cooled cut them into small pieces as desired.
• Heat the oil in a pan for seasoning, once its hot add in green chilies, cumin seeds, asafoetida, mustard seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves.
• Once the seeds start to crackle add in the muthiyas.
• Cook them for 5 to 7 mins until they turn light golden brown
• Muthiyas are ready to serve! Serve them hot with coriander chutney or sprinkle some fresh coriander and sev on top

I hope the recipe was helpful, if you make dudhi muthiyas do share how they turned out for you :)

Until next time take care and stay healthy!

Love,

Stir Fried Red Amaranth Leaves with Caramelized Onions

Dear All,

I was introduced to Red Amaranth leaves recently and to my surprise I absolutely loved it! Though I have seen them in the market but never had tasted them before. I was always intrigued by the gorgeous pinkish purplish color of these leaves and they always looked very attractive to me, to an extent that I had requested my mom to get me a T of the same color ...lol :D Oh well the good old childhood days of innocence :) 

Amaranth leaves are also known as Chinese Spinach. These are highly nutritious in nature and loaded with vitamins like A, B1, B2 and C, calcium, iron and potassium. These leaves are low in fat and helps in prevention of various disorders like Respiratory disorders, Retarded growth etc. For more information on health benefits check here and to know the detailed nutrient facts check here.

Just like all the other leafy vegetable these reduce to 1/4 when cooked. One bunch serves one to two persons.

Stir Fried Red Amaranth Leaves With Caramelized Onions
Ingredients:- Serves 2
2 bunches of fresh red amaranth leaves, washed and chopped finely
1 tsp oil
1 - 2 dry red chillies
Salt to taste
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves chopped
1 portion caramelized onion (recipe below)

Procedure:-

• In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil, add in dry red chillies and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
• Now stir in the chopped red amaranth leaves and mix well. Add in salt to taste and mix well.
• Within few minutes the leaves will shrunk just like Spinach, cover and cook over low flame for 5 to 8 mins. Dont forget to stir in between.
• Finally add freshly chopped coriander and caramelized onions and mix well.
• Cover and cook for another 2 mins.
• Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

For Caramelized Onions:-
1 big red onion , thinly sliced
1 tsp oil
2 tsp brown sugar

Procedure:- 

• In heavy bottom pan heat the oil, add in finely sliced onions and saute for 2 mins.
• Add in brown sugar and saute the onions over low flame for another 3 to 4 mins until they get lightly browned.
• Your caramelized onions are ready!

Verdict? This dish is simplicity at its best! Simple and easy to cook, gets ready in under 15 mins and jam packed with healthy nutrients! I have already prepared this dish 2 times in the last week and everyone just loves it! Make sure you wash the leaves properly under running water for atleast 10 mins. Enjoy this sweet and spicy stir fry veggie with ghee rice or with parathas, anyway you do I am sure you will ask for more!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Eggless Low Fat Hot Chocolate Muffins

Dear Foodies,

Its been quite a while since i last baked anything with chocolate. The baker in me was desperate and it was like a race against the time as my work was keeping me quite busy. Finally my craving got better of me and i decided to give up, but to my horror i was out of eggs as well as cocoa powder, I felt as if my world turned upside down!! No that is not an exaggeration and I am sure the bakers would understand my sentiments. Now i really had to bake something chocolaty, ok so i decided to go for eggless muffins, quick and easy but to go for cocoa powder hunting at 11pm in the night was out of question. I could use some of my dark chocolate which i got from swiss but i just have few slabs left until my next batch comes from abroad and so i guard them with my life!! Argghh.....pacing up and down in my room i saw some hot chocolate sachets of Lindt, do i need to mention what happened next?

My recipe for these low fat, eggless chocolate muffins is inspired from Mandira's recipe for Eggless Chocolate Nut Muffins which i had bookmarked sometime back.

Also I am sending my Jain Vegetable Makhanwala to Think Spice : Poppy Seeds event guest hosted by Rv brainchild of Sunita.

Recipe yields 6 large muffins
Ingredients:-
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar (adjust according to taste, if required)
1 1/2 tbsp good quality hot chocolate powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract


Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Line 6 muffins holders with liners or grease them.
• Sieve together flour, hot chocolate powder, baking soda and baking powder.
• Add in oil, milk and whisk properly until everything is mixed properly. I did not use a beater for this, hand whisk is fine.
• Finally add vanilla extract and mix well.
• Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 15 to 18 mins, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Serve them warm with a cold glass of milk, enjoy!
  

Baked Methi Corn Cutlets

Staying away from family has its own advantages, when I visit home I am pampered like anything, my mom makes may favorite dishes, I can watch disney channel without interruption(which my brother hates!) and sleep till mid day. On my last visit home, i went to see my aunt and by mistake i mentioned we dont get fresh methi leaves in swiss and immediately she packed a big box of dried methi leaves for me to take back. My aunt sun dries the fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves and stores them. Dried methi leaves stay good for months and you just need to soak them in water for 10 mins before using and they are ready to be used. I am sure everyone knows the health benefits of methi so i wont repeat the same and bore you guys. I always try to find new ways to incorporate methi in my diet. On of my favorite is methi theplas which is very much gujju's trademark. Another dish I am fond of is Aloo Methi which i'll be posting soon.

I made these cutlets in my effort to use up the sweet corn kennels which i had in my fridge. Initially i thought of making cheese sweet corn balls which i posted here but then the idea of all that unwanted calories made me feel guilty! Cutlets were second in my list and by adding methi they were super healthy and delicious and not to forget guilt free as they were baked!!

These Baked Methi Corn Cutlets are off to Madhuram's Low Fat Eggless Baking event and to CFK:Leafy Vegetables guest hosted by Pavani, mastermind of Sharmi. The first pic is off to Click:Stacks event by Jugalbandi.

Ingredients: 1 cup boiled mashed potatoes 1/2 cup fresh/dried fenugreek(methi) leaves finely chopped 2 tbsp fine bread crumbs 1/2 cup sweet corn roughly grinded 2 green chillies finely chopped 1 tsp fresh lime juice 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp chaat masala Salt to taste 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander Bread crumbs to roll the cutlets in
Procedure:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
• Mix all the above ingredients together nicely. Make sure you dont make it extremely mushy.
• Make small round balls and press them in middle to make flat round cutlets.
• Roll these cutlets in bread crumbs.
• Line the baking tray with foil paper.
• Grease the foil paper using little oil.
• Bake the cutlets for 15 mins on one side, flip and bake for another 15 mins until light brown on both the sides.
• Serve hot with sauce or coriander chutney. You can also use these cutlets in between the burger buns.

I Won!!!!! celebrating with Fatfree Eggless Banana Cake

I Won!!!! yes I Won!!! yippeeeee, i still cannot believe this, i won the BSI:Bell Peppers event hosted this week by Jenn of Bread+Butter, you can check out all the entries here. You can check out my entry Cheesy Bell Pepper Swirls here. I was so happy that i cudnt control my happiness, i was chirping like a bird nonstop, my friends started thinking i have lost is completely :) this was not enough, i was just informed by Jenn that winner will be receiving a prize too, now this is a pleasant surpise, i have never won any prizes not atleast for my cooking....you can check out the prize here. I would really like to thank Jenn, this is the first BSI i have participated and winning the first time is really very special. THANK YOU once again!!!!

Ok enough of my blabbering, now for todays post I had few bananas in my pantry.....taking their last breath.... :( I must confess I am not too fond of bananas, my mom used to make me eat these with milk for the calcium content, i would rather prefer to eat calcium tablets...grrrrr..its difficult when you know something is good for your health but still you dont want to accept it, does this sounds familiar? do you all have experienced the same? pls do share.....atleast its good to know m not alone :)

Now the most important part, how to use these over ripen bananas, eating them was out of question, i have never made a banana cake before so I made an eggless version as bananas are often used as egg substitutes and this would be great way to make some healthy breakfast. I made this absolutely fatfree..i know its sounds stupid...a cake without butter or oil... thats not possible.....but believe me it is and you would really be surprised how moist this cake turned out to be. A slice served with a glass of cold milk serves as very healthy and fulfilling breakfast. If serving after dinner, just warm the cake in micro for few seconds and serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolcate sauce...wow now thats a real treat :) This recipe is completely created by me, its not adapted from any of the recipes so its an original one from me. Next time i'll add in few nuts and chocolate chips as well

Pooja has passed me "One Lovely Blog Award" thank you so much dear, m very touched, thank you for thinking of me :) Sending this dish to Original Recipe Culinarty Event. Also sending this to Madhu's Low Fat Eggless Baking event, EFM:Breakfast Series by SriLekha and finally also sending the click to Show Me Your Breakfast event by Divya....Happy hosting gals For the decision regarding the advertising, i still am researching and will let you all know soon, i guess you will automatically come to know :) Ingredients: 2 over ripen big bananas pureed 2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup sour milk(See note below) 1 tsp vanilla essence Note: We get sour milk here in the stores but to make sour milk at home, just add a 1tsp of fresh lime juice to warm milk and let it stand for few mins to thicken. I think you can substitute it with yogurt too though i have not tried this yet also sometimes buttermilk is also called as sour milk, see here. Procedure:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
• Grease and line a rectangular baking tin or a bread tin.
• Beat together pureed bananas, sour milk,sugar and vanilla essence for about 2 mins until nicely blended.
• Now add in the dry ingredients in 3 turns and beat on lower speed for about a min.
• Now you can add in nuts/chocolate chips etc, mix well.
• Transfer the batter to baking pan and bake for 35 to 40 mins, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove and cool it for 15 to 20 mins, cut into slices and serve with a glass of cold milk.