Carrot-Cabbage-Whole Moong Stir Fry

Happy New Year, all of you!! Here is a protein rich stir fry, so easy to make. Let's start out the new year healthy and simple!

Cabbage- 1 cup sliced/chopped
Whole moong -1/2 cup dry (soaked and cooked yields around 1 cup)
Carrot - 1, medium, grated
Green chillies/serranos - 3, sliced, (adjust the number depending on spiciness)
Coconut - 3 - 4 tbsp, fresh grated, optional
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp, optional
Dry red chillies  -  2 nos
Curry leaves - a few, optional
Oil - 1 tbsp (you can use even lesser, if using a non-stick)

Note: Veggies or whole moong doesn't have to be exact measurements! I eyeball them mostly.

Start with pan on medium heat, adding a tablespoon of oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let them splutter, now throw in the dry red chillies (Skip this step, if you are not using mustard and red chillies). Add cabbage, carrots, and chillies along with salt, let them cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Make sure the heat is medium or medium low and not to burn the veggies. Once they are cooked, stir in the whole moong and coconut along with curry leaves, check the salt. Switch off the heat once everything is well combined. Best served hot.
Enjoy with rice!

Cheers,
Anjana

Carrot Puttu

Greetings everyone!
 As a hard core "puttu fan", I love all sorts of puttu. But, eating carrots for breakfast? Was not my thing.Trust me, once you eat this, you will never look at the carrots the same way.

This makes 2 puttus, as in the pictures below.

Ingredients:
Carrots, fine grated, - 3/4 cup
Finer rava (Semolina) - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Fresh/frozen grated coconut

Roast rava in a pan until it is just heated up. switch off the stove and let it cool, make sure you take the pan away from the hot stove. Once cooled down mix in the grated carrot and salt, this should look like the picture below.

Make sure it is well combined, as we are not using any water to moist the mixture, unlike the traditional puttu. Cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes. Prepare the puttu-steamer, add grated coconut and fill the puttu container and top it off with coconut.

Steam for 10 minutes. Cooking time is  higher than the traditional one, because semolina needs more cooking time.

Once done, flip it into a plate and serve hot with black chana curry/any curry you like or plantains/banana. Repeat the process for rest of the semolina-carrot mixture.

This is a very good way to incorporate carrot into your daily food. Its mildly sweet, I like to combine with sugar or plantain. Black chana curry is also a very good combination for this puttu.

Eat healthy,
Anjana

Ariyunda or Rice Balls

Summer is here and it is the time I miss home a lot. Ariyunda or rice balls are a staple in my home. My mom makes it as an evening snack and I used to devour them when I get back from school. I got the recipe from my mom, unfortunately she eyeballs the ingredients every time she makes these. Therefore please note that all the measurement of ingredients here are approximate.

Ingredients:
Matta rice/Parboiled rice - 1 cup
(Freshly/Frozen) Grated coconut - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Cashew nuts -  1 cup
Jaggery -  3/4 cup

First step making the rice puffs!!Fry the rice in a pan, (no oil required) until they are puffed up really well. They will be really crispy and light when they are done. Do not let it blacken, golden brown would be ideal. Then, take it off from the stove and let it cool for sometime. I used toasted cashews which are store bought. If you are using raw cashews, toast them. Finely powder the cooled rice puffs. Now, grind the cashews and coconut along with grated jaggery in a food processor or a blender in batches. Cashews release oil and the mixture has a tendency to stick to the side of jar so occasional stirring is important. Once they are blended well, add the powdered rice puffs and blend them mixing them occasionally. This requires some patience. Once everything is powdered, mix everything together well with hand and make them into small balls.

I made here bite size balls. If you find your rice balls to be dry and more powdery, add more coconut. The moisture of these balls depends on coconut as well as oil released by cashews while grinding them. These are super healthy and yummy without any refined sugar! These have to be kept in refrigerator and they will stay good for 8-10 days.

Enjoy,
Anjana