Soaked peanut - healthy start of the day

A handful of soaked peanuts in my Lil one’s hand… provides her with good amounts of energy keeps her supercharged throughout the day 😊

Groundnuts or peanuts are abundant in protein, healthy fats and dietary fiber, that curbs your appetite, lowers the risk of heart disease and regulates blood glucose levels. They are immensely rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins.

Peanut allergy is also very common and is a very serious food allergy that a child can develop. It's best to take a test if you suspect you have a peanut allergy.

#kidshealthyfood #healthylifestyle #superchargedkids #peanutbenefits #supermom #superkids #dailyroutine

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Millet Khichdi - Quick and tasty one-pot meal

In India, traditionally even 30 years ago, people always ate a broad spectrum of pulses, grains, legumes, and cereals on a daily basis, we have been using millets in our regular diet for centuries, but these are getting lost in today’s fast-paced life.

Recently, more people have started including millets in their diet. It is a known fact that millets are extremely healthy and are a powerhouse of nutrients.

One cup of cooked millet contains about 207 calories with over 6 grams of protein, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat.

High fiber levels found in millet may help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol while boosting high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol.

Millets are rich in protein which strengthens hair follicles and prevents them from breaking easily. It is recommended for people who experience hair loss.

This millet khichdi recipe combines millets with lentil and veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup foxtail millet
• 1 cup moong dal
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1 cup chopped vegetables (carrot, peas, cauliflower, potato) as per your wish.
• 2-3 green chilies sliced (optional)
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• ½ tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• salt to taste
• Garnish, 1 tbsp. cilantro chopped (optional)

 

Method

• Soak millets overnight.
• Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
• Now add ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and green chilies and cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add all the chopped vegetables and saute a little.
• Add the soaked millets and moong dal.
• Add about 3 cups of water, garam masala powder, and salt.
• Cook for 2 whistles.
• Open the cooker. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. ghee and coriander leaves for garnishing.

Your yummy and healthy millet khichdi is ready to be served with a dollop of homemade ghee.

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Chocolate mug cake – a quick fix for that unbearable chocolate craving

 Yesterday, Baby S went for a birthday party in our apartment, and within a few minutes, I received a couple of pictures in the WhatsApp group. The birthday boy was blowing off a candle and cutting a delicious looking chocolate cake; and all the kids (difficult to identify who is who, as all of them were wearing masks 😊😊) are standing around the table and cheering for him.

Looking at the birthday cake picture, I started getting a chocolate craving, but this time I had my quick fix ready; I remembered the first the time I prepared mug cake 😊

It was almost three years back; was supposed to be a lazy Sunday, but alas!! it started with a recurrence of Baby S’s fever and as usual Daddy S started panicking, putting all the blame on me, why didn’t I take her to see the doctor in the first place? Why did I send her to school after two days of fever remission blah blah blah 😒…

I, though irritated at his comments, started looking for doctor appointments, and to my dismay, I found only a couple of doctors are available…doctors should take special appointments on Sundays……anyway, after not much thought, I reluctantly booked an appointment with the pediatrician who did ear piercing for Baby S. 

Baby S started crying as soon as she heard that we are going take her to the doctor which irritated Daddy S more and war broke out between them...oh god, give me a break.

However, the visit to the doctor was peaceful, so the afternoon actually turned out to be a lazy one.

Then it was time for our Sunday special evening snacks…ready to eat smiley, chicken nuggets with tomato ketchup & mayo and some fryums…and we were done…really???? Nooooo!! I wanted something else, I was craving for some chocolates…we had one coco filled cupcake left (MIL bought two) and both Baby S and Daddy S wanted to have it…what about me!!!!… I didn’t have a chocolate craving during my pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have one now.

I wanted chocolate cake within 5 minutes, I simply didn’t want to wait and didn’t want to go out…final outcome was yummy moist warm chocolate cake with chocolate sauce topping…and as by the time Baby S had already finished her cupcake, she wanted to share my mug cake also…and her the comment was, “Mamma, it’s so yummy, I like it” 😋

So, here is the recipe for a warm moist chocolate mug cake…put together in a jiffy within 5 minutes for your unbearable chocolate cravings

Ingredients:

• ¼ ^th cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ¼ ^th tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar (you can add or reduce as per your taste, I like it more sweet)
• ¼ ^th cup milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Nutella (optional, you can use any sweet spread or jam of your choice)
• 1 tbsp choco chips (optional)
• 1 tbsp of chocolate sauce (optional)

Method:

• Take a microwave-safe bowl or mug (take big enough mugs so that the cake can rise, mix all the dry ingredients together
• Whisk the milk and vegetable oil
• Add the spoonful of Nutella or jam of your choice on top, no need to push it down
• You can add a spoonful of choco chips or broken cashew also on top
• Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds depending on the type of your microwave.
• Carefully remove from microwave and enjoy.

What do you do for you unbearable chocolate cravings, especially as you can’t go out so often due to this Corona pandemic??

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Onion-cucumber raita

Raita is an Indian dish made with yogurt, spice powders, herbs, veggies like onion, cucumber, and carrot.

It’s a simple, fifteen-minute recipe, and has so many variations, it can become spicy or plain, sweet or savory. It’s an integral part of regional thalis; side dish for pulao, biryani, kebabs, or stuffed parathas. Raita is generally made to tone down the heat of the spicy foods like biriyani or kebabs, as yogurt, cucumber, and mint have a cooling effect it balances out the spicy food and helps digestion.

I like to keep my raita thick and add lots of veggies so that you get them with every bite.

When it comes to the choice of vegetables and fruits, there's no end to the options, you can choose any seasonal favorite and use it in the raita.

In fruits, our favorite is pineapple, before adding the pineapple cubes to raita, just caramelize them a little bit with sugar.

This recipe is the easiest variety with finely chopped cucumber, onion, and coriander leaves.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thick plain curd/yogurt, straight out from the fridge, I like my raita chilled
• 1 tbsp rock salt
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds
• 1 green chili, finely chopped (optional, you can increase or decrease as per your choice, I completely omitted it)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• An equal amount of finely chopped cucumber
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped (optional, in this preparation, I didn’t use)
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

 

Method:

• Take out the chilled curd and beat well
• Wash and chop the veggies
• Mix all the chopped veggies with beaten curd, add little water if you want to make the consistency a little thin, I like it thick so I didn’t add water
• Add rock salt and roasted cumin seeds, mix well
• You can sprinkle a little roasted cumin powder on top as well

Your favorite raita is ready to be served with pulao or veg tehri or biriyani 😊😊

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Veg tehri – healthy and super easy one-pot rice meal

Tehri is a one-pot rice dish, you can say a variation of pulao that originated from Awadhi cuisine. This is very easy to prepare; you can add your choice of veggies or meat or chicken to it. I generally prepare it with lots of veggies because that way you can pack a lot of nutrition in your as well as your kid’s diet, especially if you have picky eaters at home 😊.

I learned this dish when I was staying in a ladies’ hostel in Delhi; there one of my roomies was from Nainital and she prepared this dish whenever we had a mid-week holiday. In our hostel they only used to serve breakfast and dinner as most of the ladies will go out during the daytime. So, if we had a mid-week holiday either we had to order from outside or go out ourselves. We preferred to experiment with our culinary skills, and this was one of our most popular dishes 😊.

This is one of Baby S’s favorite rice dish too, of course, after biriyani 😊. Anytime I am about to prepare Tehri, she would say, “Mamma, please prepare some extra, I want to have it for tomorrow also.” Before the pandemic sometimes I have packed this for our lunch boxes also along with raita.

So, let's get started and prepare this super easy, one-pot meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup basmati rice, you can use any rice
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tbsp oil or ghee/clarified butter
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 black cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin
• 1 green chili, slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ cup onion finely chopped
• ¼ cup tomatoes, cubed
• ½ cup of cubed veggies of your choice (I used potatoes, carrots, and beans)
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped; it gives a nice flavor, but unfortunately, I ran out of it, so I didn’t use it
• 2 tsp raisins/kishmish (this is a must if I am serving it to Daddy S also 😊, he loves raisins)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp roasted cumin powder
• ¼ tsp chili powder, adjust as per your taste
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste

 

Method:

• Wash the rice and let it soak for 30 minutes, after 30 mins, drain the water and keep aside
• Heat oil in a cooker or a kadhai, I use a cooker, saves time and gas 😊
• Add cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves
• Once the cumin starts spluttering, add the onions and the slit chili, fry till the onion becomes translucent
• Add ginger-garlic paste and fry a little more
• Add all the masalas, coriander, cumin, chili, garam masala, and salt, and add little water so that the masalas are mixed well, fry for 2 minutes
• Add tomatoes and all the other vegetables, fry for 2 minutes on medium flame
• Add the rice and mix it well with the vegetables, fry for another 2 minutes on medium flame
• Add water, mix well and taste the salt, pressure cook for 1 whistle
• Once the pressure goes off, gently fluff the rice and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves

Veg Tehri is ready to be served with raita…enjoy 😊😊

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