Cracked Wheat Upma With Oven Roasted Vegetables

Cracked Wheat Upma with Roasted Vegetables is a match made in heaven. We love it at our house. My husband never warmed up to anything brown until recently(say 1-2 yrs n counting). To make him eat brown rice, wheat bread, Whole-Wheat Roti,Wholegrain cereals, I had to do just about everything shy of walking upside down. Now I am happy to say he has acquired the taste and tolerance for them and let me tell you, its a blessing!

How it can be made in 30 minutes:
The night before: Peel the carrots, sweet potato and a whole head of garlic. Snip the beans for Upma and peel the carrrot and onions for Upma
Minute 1- Minute 8: Preaheat the Oven to 400 degrees F, Chop the vegetables to be baked, Coat them with the Olive oil drizzle and stick it into the oven to be bake for 20 minutes.
Minute 9 - Minute 18:  (While the vegetables are baking) Cut the Onions and other vegetables for the upma.
Minute 18 - Minute 22: Saute the veggies, Microwave the water for Upma for 4 minutes
Minute 22- Minute 30: Cook the Upma.
End of 30th Minute: Upma and Roasted Veggies are done cooking. **Ding**

Ingredients:
For the Oven-Roasted Vegetables

• 2 Sweet Potato, peeled
• 2 Carrots, Peeled
• ~12 - 15 #s Brussels Sprouts
• 1 Summer Squash
• 3-4 Garlic Clove, minced
• 3/4 Tbsp Cracked Black Pepper
• 3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary
• Salt as needed

For the Cracked Wheat Upma:

• 1 Medium Red Onion
• 6 String Beans, ends snipped
• 2 Small Red or Yellow Potatoes, skin-on
• 1 Carrot
• 1/3 Cup Fresh/Frozen Green Peas
• 3-4 Hot Green Chilies
• 1 Tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 1 Cup Coarse Cracked Wheat
• 2 to 2-1/4 Cups Hot Water

Procedure:

• Roast the Vegetables in the Oven: Preaheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice and dice the vegetables into bite sized pieces and add it in a wide shallow bowl. 

• Make the drizzle by combining the Oil, minced garlic, salt, cracked pepper and rosemary. Pour it over the veggies and using hands combine.

• Spread the veggies in a single layer on a aluminum-foil lined baking sheet or pizza pan. Stick it in the bottom rack of the oven. Midway(10 minutes) rotate the pan so the veggies are evenly baked.

• Watch carefully after 18 minutes cause the edges of the brussels sprouts start to blacken.After 20-22 minutes of roasting, remove it from the oven.

• While the veggies are getting roasted, Make the Upma: Microwave the water in a bowl for 4 minutes until it is hot. Prick the green chillies in several places. Quickly chop the onion, beans,carrot and potatoes into small chunks.Heat the Oil and saute all the cut vegetables along with green chillies, ginger-garlic paste for 4 minutes on medium high flame. Add the fresh/frozen peas.Sprinkle salt and stir to incorporate.

• Soonafter, add the coarse cracked wheat. Stir to incorporate.

• Stir to incoporate.

• Pour the hot water and check for taste. Add more salt and cracked pepper, if needed. Lid the pan and cook at medium flame for 6-7 minutes.

•  Cracked wheat cooks quickly. Gently fluffy the cooked cracked wheat and switch off the stove. 

• Serve the delicious upma with roasted vegetables. Super healthy and super-yum and all in 30 minutes. How cool is that?

Enjoy!
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Spiced Flaxseed-Oatmeal With Plum Strawberry Compote and Honey

Having a nutritious and wholesome breakfast is an awesome way to kick start the day. This is certainly one such dish and it is a breeze to whip it up - Both the Compote and spiced Oatmeal can be done in under 30 minutes.

Plum-Strawberry Compote: Recipe here (Cooking time: Start to finish ~ 15 minutes, if cutting fruits in the food procesor)

Ingredients: (Makes 1 healthy Serving. Cooking Time: ~ 12 minutes, start to finish)

• 1/2 Cup Old-Fashioned Oats
• 1 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal
• 1-1/2 Cup Skimmed Milk
• 1/4 Tsp All-Spice
• A few Wlanuts, for topping
• Wild Flower Honey
• 1/2 Cup Plum-Strawberry Compote, for Topping

Procedure:

• While, the compote is cooking away, add the oatmeal and all-spice to a non-stick pan.

• Pour the milk and start cooking at medium-high flame. Add the flaxseeds and continue to stir.

• Switch off once the oatmeal reaches a "desired" consistency. Usually the oatmeal gets cooked in ~3-5 minutes.

• Transfer the oatmeal to a serving dish. Top it with the compote and squirt the wild flower honey over it. Top it with a few walnuts and enjoy!

Enjoy!

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Banana-Blueberry and Whey Protein Smoothie

Smoothies are easy to make and a great way to get one's daily servings of veggies and fruits. I have added whey protein to fortify my smoothie and keep those hunger cravings at bay for a little longer. I know the color isn't very tempting but the taste is anything but. Just make sure to drink it right away cause the smoothie does turn to an ugly shade of blue afterwards..

Before I go ahead with the recipe, here is a round-up of colored foods(Smoothies and drinks mostly) that I have blogged over the past week:

• Day1(Green): Spinach, Avocado and Banana Smoothie "Leprechaun Smoothie"
• Day2(Red): POM Sangria
• Day3(Brown): Spiced Indian Tea "Masala Chai"
• Day4(White): Flavored Buttermilk "Neer Mor/Masala Mor"
• Day5(Orange): Carrot,Mango, Ginger, Celery Smoothie
• Day6(Yellow): Boiled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients(For 2 Tall or 4 Small Servings):

• 2 Frozen Small Chiquita Banana
• 1 Tbsp Freeze-dried Blueberry Powder
• 1 Scoop(~3 Tbsp) of Vanilla Flavored Whey Protein
• 2 Cups Skimmed Milk or more/less
• 1 Cup Ice cubes or more/less

Procedure:

• Grind the freeze dried blueberries to a fine powder.




• Mix the milk, whey protein and berry powder in a measuring cup.




• Chop the bananas and add it to the blender. Pour the milk-berry-protein mixture.  Add the cubes and blend 

• Serve right away. 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#16.
Enjoy!

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Eggless "Yeast Raised" Pancakes With Plum-Strawberry Compote

Day2: If there is one ingredient that makes me uneasy,its got to be yeast. I have no idea why. Just that I am always petrified working with it. So don't expect fancy bread posts from me. I am still taking baby steps towards getting comfortable with Yeast recipes. Over the weekend I decided to make pancakes for my family -  Nothing new there but this time though, I made it with yeast. Hee Haw! Base recipe is from here. It is actually waffle batter which works great for pancakes too. Umm, so good.

#2 in my Lust List: Alexander McQueen "Skull" Scarf, in every possible color(Now that is greed and its twin sister Materialism!) (US$ 295, each)

Fashion critics say this scarf will never go out of fashion. So I will definitely get this in at-least 2 different colors even if hubby doesn't get it for me. Skull prints look totally wicked.

Now onto the recipe-
Ingredients(Makes 12-14 Pancakes):

• 1-1/4 Tsp Active dry yeast
• 1-1/2 Cups Warm Water 
• 1 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 
• 1 Cup Atta Flour (Flour Milled from Semi-hard Wheat/Durum Wheat)
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed 
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil 
• 1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup 
• 1/4 Cup Skimmed Milk 
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract 
• 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder 
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

For Plum-Strawberry Compote:

• 2 Cups Strawberries,roughly chopped 
• 1 Cup Plums, roughly chopped 
• 2 Tbsp Water 
• 4 Tbsp Maple Syrup (or) Honey

Procedure:

• In a non-metal pan, add the warm water(Test the warm on the inside of your wrist. It should feel warm but not burn the skin). Add the yeast and let this mixture sit in a warm spot for 10-15 minutes. 

• Add both the flour and the salt to the yeast mixture.

• Let the mixtures it in a warm spot overnight. I just stick it in the oven. 

• The mixture is frothy and almost doubled in the morning.

• Add the sugar, milk, oil and vanilla extract in a separate bowl and whisk it well. Mix this wet mixture with the batter.

• Stir the batter so it is lump free. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

• Meanwhile, make the compote. Chopped the fruits and add it to the processor.

• Pulse it a few times. Do not puree it.

• Transfer to a pan and cook it along with 2 tbsp water and 4 Tbsp maple syrup/honey for about 10-15 minutes.

• Switch off the stove and let it cool down to room temperature.

• Make the pancakes: Pour a ladle-ful of batter into the center of a non-stick pan and let it cook for a minute to a minute-and-a-half. Flip with a spatula and cook the other side likewise.

• Stack the pancakes and serve warm with Plum-Strawberry compote and whipped cream.

As you can see, I am totally digging into my pancakes-

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Idli "Steamed Rice Cakes" With Red and Green Chutney

Day1: This week I will be posting about fermented foods. I thought I will start off with the easiest one - something that I ate growing up right from when I was in my nappies.Mom told me it was my first solid dish. She said she fed me soft Idlis dipped in warm cow's milk.  It is the classic "South Indian Idli", one of the healthier breakfast option cause it is steam cooked. Babies, adults, old folks all eat Idli cause it is easily digestible. And because it is bland it marries well with just about any side dish - chutney, chutney powder, dhal, sambhar, meat and seafood based dishes. So according to me and million other Indian folks, Idli is a wonder dish. :-).

Before I go ahead with my recipe, I want to share with you what I might like to receive this Mother's Day. Since my likes are way too lofty, I am thinking most of them will remain in the list. But at-least they make my post attractive. Husband, take note-

#1 in the Lust List: Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger Turquoise Necklace ($US 7200.00)
 Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger Turquoise Necklace

Isn't that a cool necklace or what? Oh, how it would pair well with all the summery whites. Hubby would never agree to invest so much on beads, even if it is from Tiffany's.

Now onto to the recipe-
Ingredients:

• 4 Cups Parboiled Rice (or) Idli Rice
• 1 Cup Shelled Whole Black Gram "Urad Dhal"
• A pinch of Baking Soda
• 1 Tbsp Salt (Do not use "Iodized Salt" as it inhibits fermentation)

Tools:

• Wet Grinder Or a heavy-duty Blender

Procedure:

• Soak the rice overnight and the Black Gram for at-least 4 hours.

• Grind the black gram to a smooth paste in a wet grinder or a heavy duty blender with little water. Remove it to a storage container. Grind the soaked rice adding little water periodically. The rice should be 90-95% ground.

• Move the batter the same storage container.Add a pinch of soda. Using ladle or clean hands, mix the ground batter. If using salt, use non-iodized salt. Else salt may be added after the batter is fermented. The storage container should have plenty of space for the batter to raise. The batter doubles up in volume. Store the container in a warm spot, like inside an oven.

• Let it ferment overnight. In cold places, it sometimes takes a day and a half to properly ferment. Keep a watchful eye on the batter else the batter might overflow, like in the picture. The batter for this recipe will make enough Idlis for a large crowd. 

• Take small portions of the fermented batter, add salt if it wasn't added prior to fermenting. The fermented batter is thick and frothy. Mix with little water.

• The batter should be neither thick nor runny. 

• Spray/Smear the Idli pan with little oil and fill up the wells with batter. Using a special Idli steamer, steam the Idlis for 10-15 minutes. If you don't own an Idli pan, use an Indian pressure cooker, remove the cooker weight and steam the Idli's for 10-15 minutes.

• Cooked Idlis look like plush pillows. 

• Serve it hot with Red Chutney and Green Chutney, or any side-dish of choice.

Spicy Onion Chutney:
Ingredients:

• 1 Large Red Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 Dry Red Chili or less/more
• 1/2" Ginger, peeled and finely chopped 
• 1 Roma Tomato
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaf
• Marble-sized Tamarind, cleaned and seeds removed
• Salt, as needed
• Oil as needed
• 1/4 Tsp Mustard seeds, for tempering

Procedure:

• Fry all the ingredients in a little oil except the mustard seeds. The Onions should be well fried.

• Cool and grind it to a coarse paste. Temper the mustard seeds in a little oil and pour it over.

Refreshing Mint Chutney:

• A plate of hot steaming Idlis with Red and Green Chutney is served-

Note:

• The Black Gram draws wild yeast from the air and that is how the batter is fermented.
• After fermentation, refrigerate the batter. It keeps well for up-to a week.
• During winter I sometimes turn on my oven @ 200 degrees F for 5 minutes and then turn it off. A few minutes later I stick my batter into the warm oven to help the batter ferment.

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