Kids Special - Garlic Rasam

When my DD gets cold or Cough or Fever, I make Garlic Rasam &  Par boiled Rice(Puzhungal Arisi). That’s the only taste she likes when she is sick and don't want to eat anything.                 
Par boiled rice is easily digestible and has more nutrients than Raw Rice(Pachaai Arisi)              
I cook the par boiled rice as whole or crack it down coarsely in a blender before cooking. Add little extra water so that rice will be cooked softly.             

Ingredients               
Tomato ------------------> 1, Sliced
Garlic --------------------> 15 Cloves, minced
Tamarind Water --------> ½ cup
Green Chilli --------------> ¼ inch
Pepper-Jeera Powder ---> 4 tsp
Methi Seeds Powder ----> ½ tsp
Turmeric -----------------> 1 tsp
Curry leaves Powder ----> 1 tsp
Salt -----------------------> A2Y

Procedure:                 

v  In a pan, add little oil; when it is hot add minced Garlic and fry for few minutes                    

v  Add Tomato, Green Chilli & turmeric; fry for a minutes                       

v  Now add all the powders(Pepper Jeera Powder, Methi Seed Powder, Curry leaves Powder)    

v  Pour Tamarind water & 1 cup of plain water                

v  Leave it in medium, when it starts boiling remove rasam for the stove.                    

v  Do the seasoning if needed. I didn't do it because she was sick.                   

v  Serve it with hot rice.              

Yesterday she was sick & didn't eat very well throughout the day. For dinner I made this Rasam & Vendaikkai Poriyal. Surprisingly she finished the dinner in 20 minutes, usually she takes nearly 45 minutes.                 

Ideas:            

ü  If the powders are not handy, just dry roast Pepper, Jeera, Methi & powder it freshly.          

ü  If you are making the powder freshly, include corriander seeds as well. It also has medicinal properties to relieve cold & cough.  

Kids Special -Corn Pasta

After so many experiments with pasta, finally my DD is happy with this healthier version of Pasta made without any other secondhand ingredients.                       

Ingredients               

Organic Pasta --------------------> 1 cup, Cooked & Drained (Any kind)
Organic Frozen Corn ------------> 1 cup
Organic Butter -------------------> 1 tsp
Milk -------------------------------> 4 tsp
Shredded Cheese ---------------> As desired
Salt -------------------------------> A2Y Taste

Procedure                  

v  I used the Alphabet Pasta from TJs.                

v  In a pan, melt the butter; add the corn and fry for few minutes                    

v  Now add the pasta, sprinkle salt                     

v  Finally add milk and stir it well             

v  While serving add cheese on top and microwave it.               

Ideas:            

ü  Mixed Vegetables can be added to. I haven't tried yet.                      

Kids Special – Potato Gravy

This is a little modified verison of poori kizhanghu we make it for Pooris in hotels.                
It goes well with Chappati kind of dishes, sometimes If I mix this gravy with rice too. A different taste.            

Ingredients               

Potato ---------------------> 2, Cooked & Peeled, cut into small cubes
Onions ---------------------> ½ cup
Tomato --------------------> ½ cup
Green Chilli ----------------> ¼ inch
Carrot ----------------------> 1 chopped fine
Zucchini --------------------> 1 chopped fine
Salt -------------------------> A2Y Taste

Seasoning                  

Mustard Seeds -------------> 1 tsp
Turmeric --------------------> ½ tsp
Curry leaves powder -------> ½ tsp
Methi Powder ---------------> ¼ tsp
Hing -------------------------> ¼ tsp

Procedure                   

v  In a pan, do the seasoning followed by onions, Chillies & Tomato.                 

v  Add 1.5 cups of water. Remove chilli piece to avoid extra spiciness for the kids; but optional           

v  Add tomatoes, Carrot & Zucchini + Salt.                     

v  Bring it to boil and close with the lid.              

v  Leave it in medium for few minutes and remove from heat               

v  Serve it with Chappati, Puri or Dosa.               

Kids Special - Veggie Chappati

My DD likes eating chappati as a roll dipping in Yogurt (like Bread stick & sauce). So this time I decided to make a different version of chappati with little vegetables. This will prevent me from worrying about missing vegetables with chappati.                     

                       

Ingredients:                

Whole Wheat Flour -------> 1.5 cup

Potato ---------------------> 1 cooked

Carrot ---------------------> ½ cup shredded

Zucchini -------------------> 1/2 cup shredded

Salt ------------------------> A2Y taste

                       

Procedure                  

v  Mix the flour with hot water, little oil & other ingredients listed above. Better to add very less water since the vegatables also relase water               

v  Knead the dough for few minutes and leave it for some time.                       

v  Then make chappatis in the tawa until golden brown.            

v  Potato keeps the chappati sof for longer time. So I sent chappatis for her lunch.                  

Yieepee! Her Lunch box was empty next day to my surprise.
                       

Ideas:             

ü  Adding shredded Cabbage to the flour is also another option.                       

                       

                       

Kids Special - Brown Rice & Veggies mix

Though we bought the Organic Sona Masuri from Indian store, I am not satisfied cooking it every day.  It is fully polished white rice with starch & Carbohydrates thereby increasing the chance of diabetes. Also the level of nutrition is reduced considerably.            

Brown rice on the other hand is healthier because the outer bran (husk) is still intact. It has more fiber and other minerals (magnesium, manganese, zinc) than white rice. With that said, at least twice a week I cook brown rice and it goes well with all our Indian dishes & curry.               

I made Brown Rice & Veggies mix for DD’s lunch.                  

                       

Ingredients:              

Carrot ---------------------> ½ cup chopped fine

Broccoli -------------------> ½ cup florets

Zucchini -------------------> ½ cup chopped fine

Brussel Sprouts ----------> ¼ cup chopped really fine

Purple Cabbage -----------> ¼ cup thinly sliced

Shallot --------------------> ½ cup chopped fine

                       

Procedure:                 

v  Do the seasoning with mustard seeds in olive oil, followed by Onion             

v  Once it is translucent, add carrots fry for a minute                 

v  Then Broccoli, after a minute Zucchini, Brussel Sprouts & Purple Cabbage, salt;                    

v  Close it and leave it in medium for 5-6 minutes.                    

v  Now add Pepper-Jeera Powder and mix well.                          

v  Pressure Cook Brown rice with 3 cups of water for each cup of rice.                                      

v  Mix Veggie curry & Brown rice with Ghee.                   

v  Ready to serve with Sambhar             

She liked the nutty flavor & chewy texture of Brown Rice.

Kids Special - Kizhanghu Adai

My DD is bored of same Chappatti, Idli, Rice, Kothumai Dosai, Pasta in the last of couple of weeks. So I decided to make this Kizhangu adai for her, but less spicy. Idea bulb suddenly instructed me to use Peppercorns & Jeera instead of Red ChilliesJ hmm , y don't I try it?

Ingredients                       

ParBoiled/Idly Rice ------> 1.5 Cups, Soaked

Yucca Root -----------------> 1.5 Cups, Chopped (Maravalli Kizhangu)

Peppercons ----------------> 1.5 tsp

Jeera -------------------------> 1.5 tsp

Salt ---------------------------> A2Y taste

Hing --------------------------> ½  tsp 

Procedure:

·         Wash & Soak the rice for couple of hours

·         Remove the hard, brown skin of Yucca Root using Peeler; chop into small chunks

·         Grind everything to make fine, smooth batter; add water while grinding, but don't make it too watery.

·         Make little adais in dosa pans. My DD likes Mickey Mouse Adai :-)

·         Serve it with Ghee & Sugar

Idea bulb didn't fail me. Adai was really yummy & Chewy because of Yucca root's texture. She also loved it, so I sent little adais for lunch.  Peppercorns & Jeera enhanced the taste & aroma.

Yucca is high in vitamins A, B, and C, and contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, manganese and copper which make it very soothing to the intestinal tract.  Peppercorns & Jeera helps in easy digestion, Cold, Cough. So definitely this adai will be a good choice for the kids.

Ideas:

ü  Other healthier options of including grains like Wheat, Barley(high in fiber), Rye, Oats, Millet; Just powder them fine in the blender and add it directly to the batter.

ü  Grinding Yucca root with any of the other beans/lentils mentioned in Multigrain/Sprouted Beans Adai can also be another option

ü  Shredded Carrots or Cabbage as toppings

Kid's Special – Beans Rice

This weekend my parents left to India and I felt so heavy with sadness. Over and above, my DD also missed them so much but she couldn’t express much. After dropping them in the airport, we went to Indian store for Grocery shopping. The fun part is, I was totally confused when I had to buy Groceries for 7 families including mineJJ… Good experience.                             

                                   

After having lunch in Seattle, we came back home by 5:30 PM.  Every Friday it is my turn to drop and pick up all the 4 kids (including my dear friends). On the way back, I was talking about vegetables last week. My DD said she likes beans. Since then she wants only beans as her food.  So I wanted to make something with beans for dinner.                                

But I din't have beans, but I had long beans from Indian store. I chopped it fine and asked her what vegetable is that. Thank God, she answered beans.                               

I was getting ready to make Beans rice for her.                                 

                                   

Onion---------------------> 1/4 cup chopped fine           

Beans---------------------> 6 chopped fine        

Potato---------------------> 1 small, chopped fine          

Zucchini-------------------> 1/2 chopped fine    

Mustard Seeds------------> 1/2 tsp      

Black Pepper –Cumin seeds Powder---------> 1 tsp    

Salt-------------------------> A2Y taste    

                                   

Procedure                              

·         Heat oil in a pan and do the seasoning with mustard seeds.                          

·         Add Onion and fry until it is translucent                                  

·         Add beans and potatoes; close with the lid.                           

·         when it is half cooked add zucchini, salt and black pepper – cumin seeds powder                

·         Close it and simmer it for 5 minutes.                         

·         Serve it with hot rice and Ghee                                   

                                   

She liked this beans rice very much with sambhar vegetable and for the first time I sent rice to school for lunch. The small pieces of potato really complement taste better.                                 

                                   

Ideas:                        

·         u can add vegetables like small florets of Cauliflower, Brocolli, Bell Pepper if the kids like them         

·         Black Pepper - Cummin seeds powder- I'll just grind both with little salt and have it ready all the times. Whenever I make food for my DD, I'll add 1/2 - 1 tsp of it.                             

·         Adding salt to any mixture helps in smooth grinding.