Balanceophile

Continuing my experiments with healthy food preparation, here is part 2 of some of my healthy dishes inspired by my origin and as a by-product of my disinterest in cooking. While I do experiment with food to find a balance between being healthy and tasting good, I don’t really enjoy cooking. Hence, I try to find ways to minimize cooking time and effort by making wholesome dishes that cover most macro and micronutrients. On that note, let’s get started:

Multigrain Rotti

Rotti is Karnataka’s traditional food and there are various types like Ragi Rotti, Jowar Rotti, Akki Rotti (Made from Rice flour), etc. It is usually paired with Kayi Chutney (Coconut chutney) or like my mom pairs it with spicy brinjal chutney. Rotti is a wholesome dish with less oil and balances the right amount of fiber and carbohydrates. In my version of Multigrain rotti, I have combined various flours to create an enhanced nutritional version.

Ingredients:

• Ragi Flour – ½ cup
• Rice Flour – ½ cup
• Jowar Flour – ½ cup
• Millets Flour – ½ cup
• Oats Flour – ½ cup
• Quinoa Flour – ½ cup (optional)
• Dry Nuts Powder – ½ tablespoon
• Salt – To taste
• Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – 1 tablespoon
• Ajwain (Carom Seeds) – ½ tablespoon
• Green Chillies – as per your choice
• Curry Leaves – 1-2 strands chopped
• Onions – 2 medium-sized
• Carrots – 1 cup shredded
• Beetroots – 1 cup shredded (can skip if you don’t like the sweet taste of it)
• Spinach or Fenugreek Leaves – 1 cup shredded
• Dill Leaves – ½ cup shredded (provides a nice aroma and is healthy)
• Oil – to cook
• Water – to prepare the dough

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, add all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, jeera seeds, cumin seeds, and dry nuts powder. Give it a quick mix.
2. Then add the chopped green chillies, curry leaves, onions, carrots, beetroots, and green leaves, and mix it well with your hands to make a dough.
3. The moisture from all the vegetables will help you make the dough but you can also add water if the dough is too dry. The consistency must come into a sticky watery dough, unlike the firm Chapati dough.
4. Rest the dough for about 30 minutes.
5. Take a lemon-sized dough, form it into a ball, and add it to the Tawa (make the rotti before you keep the Tawa on the burner).
6. Using wet hands, start flattening the dough to form a chapati-like rotti. As the dough is moist, you have to use your hands instead of a rolling pin.
7. Once the rotti is of your desired thickness, make a hole in the center of the rotti and add a spoon of oil around the rotti.
8. Keep the tawa on the burner and close it with the lid. Cook the rotti on both sides until it turns golden brown or until it’s done.
9. Serve it hot with ghee and chutney. You can also have it with any podi or pickle.

Spinach-Yogurt Spread

Of late, I have become a fan of homemade spreads mainly because of how you can squeeze in extra protein or fiber without altering the taste much. And the fact that you can use the spreads on toast, roti, or on a salad as a topping. One spread; three options. This is one such spread and I took the assistance of ChatGPT for quantifying the items in the right measure to get the right taste.

Ingredients:

• Spinach – ½ bunch blanched
• Yogurt – 1 cup (100 gms)
• Green Chillies – as per your taste
• Coriander Leaves – a few
• Mint Leaves – a few
• Curry Leaves – a few
• Pepper – 4-5 corns
• Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – ½ tablespoon
• Salt – to taste
• Dry Nuts Powder – ½ tablespoon
• Paneer/Tofu – 3-4 small cubes

Preparation:

1. In a blender, add blanched spinach, coriander leaves, mint leaves, curry leaves, green chillies, paneer, peppercorns, and jeera. Blend it well.
2. Add dry nuts powder, salt, and yogurt. Blend or pulse it. Based on the desired thickness of the spread, you can optionally add water. But do not add it along with yogurt as the spread might turn out a bit runny.
3. Transfer the mixture into an airtight container and you can store it in the fridge for a few days.
4. You can add this spread on toast along with cheese, you can make a sandwich with this spread, add this on a roti and make a roti roll with vegetables, or you can even add a spoonful of this spread as a topping on your salad.

Sweet Potato Stir Fry

One of the easiest recipes is sweet potato stir fry. The only difficult part of this recipe is cutting the sweet potato. I have shared two versions of the preparation for this stir fry.

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potato – 1 big or 2 small/medium
• Mustard Seeds – 1 spoon
• Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – 1 spoon
• Ajwain (Carom Seeds) – ½ spoon
• Asafoetida (Hing) – a pinch
• Curry Leaves – 1 or 2 strands
• Dried Red Chillies (Optional) – 2-3
• Turmeric – a pinch
• Chilli Powder – as per your preference
• Salt – to taste
• Coriander Leaves – a few for garnish

Prep version 1:

1. Wash the sweet potato clean and pressure cook it for 1 whistle or steam for about 5-6 minutes.
2. Peel the potato and chop it into small cubes.

Prep version 2:

1. Wash the sweet potato clean, peel, and chop it into small cubes.

Note: Version 1 gives a mushy fry hence, I preferred making using version 2. You can alternatively bake the cubes to your desired level.

Common steps:

1. In a pan, add some mustard seeds, jeera, and ajwain seeds and let it splutter. Add a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves, and dried red chillies.
2. Add the sweet potato cubes and sauté it well.
3. After about 5 minutes, add turmeric and chilli powder. Cover it and if needed, sprinkle some water.
4. Sauté it until it’s cooked, mine took about 20 minutes as I followed version 2. Once done, add some salt and garnish with coriander.

Avocado Spread with Peanut Butter

This one is a delicious and special dish for me. It’s the first spread that I have ever tried and got it right the first time.

Ingredients:

• Avocado – 1 ripened
• Garlic – 1 pod/ Garlic powder – ½ spoon
• Yogurt – 2 spoons
• Unsweetened Peanut Butter – 1 spoon
• Salt – to taste
• Chilli Flakes – as per your preference
• Mixed Herbs – as per your preference
• Oregano – as per your preference
• Lemon Drops – 1 spoon

Preparation:

1. Scoop the avocado to the food processor.
2. Add garlic pod or garlic powder and yogurt/curd.
3. Add unsweetened peanut butter, salt, chilli flakes, and optionally mixed herbs and oregano.
4. Grind it until it becomes a creamy texture.
5. Transfer it to a bowl and add a few lemon drops.

I used this spread on The Protein Chef bread. I added cucumber, tomato, and onions. Toasted it and voila! One of the best sandwiches I enjoyed in a while. This recipe has the goodness of avocado. I used The Whole Truth Peanut Butter and with its smooth and creamy texture, the taste of the spread was elevated with a nutty, buttery richness while still being light.

That was part 2 of my healthy recipes inspired by various sources including ChatGPT, my nutritionist, online videos, etc. Here is Part 1 of My Healthy Recipes and My Experience of Portion-Controlled Meals.