Kale Chane ki Chaat

 

ashus- Kale Chane ki Chaat

This is one of the easy-to-make dishes of mine that I often love to make and pack for lunchbox. The family is always happy when this chaat is packed for tiffin. The simplicity and versatile aspect of this dish makes it a favorite of mine too, I have a good scope of adding different ingredients each time. If the chane are kept boiled, ready to be used, then one can end up making a couple preparations out of them. Today for this post I am sharing my chaat recipe.

The chaat is loaded with fiber not only from the Chane but also the vegetables and fruits used. It has the sweet and sour taste of the green apples and hence I have not added lemon juice. The finely chopped onion and the green capsicum gives it a good crunch . We can add any single colored or all the bell peppers and make it a more colorful combination. I have used only the green capsicum as I wanted to impart the capsicum flavor without adding more of its sweetness. The pomegranate pearls add the sweetness as well as the fiber. Any chaat is incomplete without the savory Sev, a must for all chaats, use it as per your own requirement. As this chaat is made of chana and the Sev is also made of gram flour, so we do not need heaps of Sev on this chaat, just a small sprinkle is good enough. One can pack this for school or office snack/lunchbox or can also serve as a chaat accompaniment in the party menu at home. One can keep the boiled chane handy in the refrigerator and can make a quick snack when hungry. It is a good recipe for those who are trying a weight loss regimen, the bowlful chaat is full of protein and fiber and hence gives fullness to the tummy as well and does not make us go for another quick bite of food. The fiber load makes it good for Diabetics too.

KALE CHANE KI CHAAT

INGREDIENTS: (For one portion)

Kale Chane: 150 gm

Oil: 1 Tbsp

GingerGarlic paste: 1 Tsp

Onion: 1 Medium

Turmeric: 1/2 Tsp

Coriander powder: 1 Tsp

Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp

Chaat Masala: 1 Tsp

Cumin: 1/2 Tsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 Tsp

Capsicum: 1 small

Green Apple: Few slices (1/2 apple)

Pomegranate: 1/2 (as per requirement)

Barik (Fine) Sev: 1 Tbsp

Green Coriander: 1 Tbsp (Finely chopped  for garnish.)

NOTE: I have given recipe for one portion only. You can increase the chana quantity and accordingly the rest of the ingredients to make more portions.

METHOD:

Soak the kale chane overnight and bring to boil upto three whistles in a pressure cooker.

Overnight soaked kale chane

Finely chop the onion, capsicum, green apple and green coriander. Remove the pearls from the pomegranate and keep ready. (You can click here to know the easy method to remove the pearls.)

Heat Kadai on the gas stove, add oil and as the oil heats up add the mustard seeds and cumin. As they crackle, add the finely chopped half onion, saute and as it turns pinkish, add the spices.

Then add the boiled chane to the kadai and cook. If little water of the boiled Chana gets added then cook till all the water is dried up. Switch off the gas stove, then sprinkle the chaat masala over the Chana and mix.

Empty the Chane in a bowl or serving plate. Top the Chane with the finely chopped half portion of onion, green capsicum, green apples and the pomegranate pearls. Then sprinkle on top with the fine Sev and finally garnish with finely chopped green coriander.

 

Whole Black gram Chaat

You can note how easy and fast the recipe can be prepared. If a recipe has many health benefits then it should be definitely tried out at home and encouraged to be eaten by all.

Hope you all enjoy trying out and tasting this quick Chaat dish, and making it a more versatile version by adding your favorite ingredients, provided you keep it as healthy.

Happy eating home cooked food and maintaining a good health. 🙂

Check out below links for my other Chaat recipes:

1. Click here for my Corn Chaat Recipe.
2. Click here for my Cow Peas Salad.

ashu

 

 

 

Baked Wheatflour Thalipeeth

Ashu’s-Baked wholewheat flour Thalipeeth

Thalipeeth is a flat bread made of a mix of multigrain flours, mixed with dry spices and onion and cooked on the gas stove in a frying pan. It is one of the most loved Maharashtrian breakfast recipes. This multigrain flour mix called as Thalipeeth Bhajani is sold in some grocery stores and also some people make it at home by mixing the pulses and wheat and getting it ground in any nearby flour mill. Most often I do not have this flour readily available at home to use and hence I always make this baked version using only wholewheat flour. We can add Gram flour and rice flour too along with the wheat flour, but for making this thalipeeth I always use only wholewheat flour, it is always readily available and I prefer this taste.

This thalipeeth is the baked version and the dough is made medium soft. Instead of making plain wheat flour fulkas and sabji, one can make this as a wholesome meal alternative.

This is a nutritious and healthy recipe, I have added ingredients to make it one. Using wholegrain and nuts increases the fiber content in the diet. The sesame, and groundnut and flaxseed chutney also adds the nutty taste. The flaxseeds are also good source of fiber and also has the Omega -3s. The fiber or roughage in diet is the undigested part of the plant food that helps with proper bowel movements, forms the bulk of the stools, absorbs water and softens it. It aids to relieve constipation.  The caraway seeds too aid in digestion. I have added freshly ground paste of green coriander, green chilies and garlic, and added chopped onions and also greens of spring onions. Yogurt is also added that has milk proteins as well as calcium.

Ingredients to make baked atta thalipeeth

BAKED WHOLEWHEAT FLOUR THALIPEETH

INGREDIENTS:

Wholewheat flour: 350 gm

Onion: 1 big

Spring onions: 1 Bunch (small)

Green coriander + Garlic + Green chili paste: 1 1/2 Tbsp

Curd: 2 Tbsp

Carom seeds: 1 Tsp

Sesame Seeds: 1 Tbsp

Ground Groundnut + Flaxseeds chutney: 1 Tbsp

Red Chili Flakes: 1 Tbsp (optional)

Dried Thyme: 1 Tsp

Water: 200 ml (use as required)

Oil: 50 ml

Turmeric: 1 Tsp

Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp

Salt: To taste

METHOD:

Using few coriander leaves, 1-2 green chilies, and 1-2 garlic cloves make a roughly ground paste. You can add roasted groundnut and flaxseeds to this mix while grinding. I keep groundnut and flaxseed chutney ready in my house.

Chop the onion and spring onion greens finely. Assemble all the ingredients required for making the dough.

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Grease a round pie dish with oil and sprinkle with the dried thyme herb and groundnut chutney.

Greased pie dish for making baked thalipeeth.

Mix the wholewheat flour with all the ingredients shown in the pic, add the turmeric, salt, 1 Tbsp oil and using water make a medium soft dough.

Ingredients to make Baked Wholewheat flour thalipeeth

Spread the dough on the pie dish and press firmly so that we get an even flat thalipeeth. I have shared this recipe using a square oven tin, click here to check that recipe.

Ashu’s-Baked Thalipeeth

Bake this in the preheated oven at 200 deg C for 40 min or until the Thalipeeth is cooked and the sides appear crusty. (Note: Oven used in houses are different, hence the oven timing may be a little less or more, use self-discretion).

Apply a coat of oil on top once it is half cooked.

Mid way remove the pan from the oven and apply a coat of oil on top. This gives a shine, does not make the top dry, and also makes it crusty.

Ashu’s-Baked wholewheat flour Thalipeeth

This is how it should be after it is removed from the oven. Serve it with a dip of choice or with the parsley pesto as seen in the picture.

Ashu’s- Baked Wholewheat flour Thalipeeth served with Parsley Pesto.

Click here for the Parsley Pesto recipe. You can also search the archives for my Tomato dip recipe.

I added Tandoori mushrooms and Baked mashed potatoes to the menu to make it a complete meal keeping in view the demand for mashed potatoes from my Jr.

Ashu’s-Baked mashed potatoes, tandoori mushrooms and baked Thalipeeth dinner menu.

One could also add vegetable or Chicken soup to the above menu. This is one of the baked dinner menus made last week and the family enjoyed it. The freshly made parsley pesto dip added a more enhanced, tangy & herby flavor to the thalipeeth.

Go ahead and try making this ashu’s baked version of the  Maharashtrian recipe of Thalipeeth, and have a happy baking time in your kitchen :).

Enjoy.

ashu.

Green Papaya Paratha

#Ashuskitchen- Raw Green Papaya Paratha

Greetings from Ashu to all the readers. It has been a sudden unexpected absence from this online space of mine and  I sure missed posting new posts. Starting this new day of March with one of my healthier recipes, Green Papaya Paratha that uses raw papaya as the main ingredient of the recipe.

Parathas are a common menu item in the Indian household, a well accepted food by all, be it the kids, young or old folks. One can have any number of possibilities or types of parathas. It is one of my favorite dishes to make for breakfast, nothing beats the hot stuffed parathas and achar/pickle on a chilly winter morning. I have very fond memories of the yummy parathas that I used to make in the winter months during my stay in North India.

Breakfast happens to be the most essential meal of the day and hence one should try and make sure to eat a wholesome, healthy one on a regular basis. The necessity to make a nutritious breakfast made me try out this different paratha, making use of the raw papaya that I had got from the market. Papaya fruit has lot of health benefits. It is a rich source of antioxidants and phytonutrients that work against free radicals, is great source of Vitamins A, B, C and K, a good source of fiber, also has the digestive enzyme Papain and thus helps in digestion too. It is also rich in calcium and some other minerals. The taste of grated raw papaya is also very refreshing and one can make use of it to make many dishes, but here I incorporated it to make the filling of the parathas and with little addition of oil, the crispy and hot parathas were heartily devoured. If you have not tried this paratha then I suggest you to try once and then decide.

Many a times one is faced with taking care of a sick loved one and is faced with the question to what type of food to include in the regular diet. This Paratha would make an excellent snack or meal menu option as it is wholesome, with vegetable that has fiber, vitamins, is good for digestion and as is a regularly made food item in Indian houses hence one does not have to put extra efforts in its preparation. When cooking for family or loved ones, do make the food with a smile and add loads of your love to it.

 Recipe for Green Papaya Paratha:

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Green Papaya: 1 Small

Green Chilli: 2

Green Coriander: 1 Tbsp

Sesame seeds: 2 Tbsp

Carrom seeds: 1 Tsp

Wheat Flour: 250 Gm

Water: 1 Glass

Oil: 50 ml

Turmeric: 1 Tsp

Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp (Optional)

Salt : To Taste

Chaat Masala: 2 Tsp

METHOD:

Wash and dry the raw papaya. Cut into half and remove the seeds if any. Grate both the halves of the papaya and put in a bowl.

Finely chop the green chilies and green coriander and add to the bowl of grated papaya.

Add sesame seeds, carom seeds, red chili powder, salt, turmeric, and mix all the ingredients of the bowl.

Grated Papaya with masala

In another bowl make a medium-soft dough of the wheat flour using water. For method of making wheat flour dough click here.

Make lemon-sized balls of the dough. Take a dough ball and roll out a small round puri and add the raw papaya filling, close the edges and again roll to make a circular Paratha.

Heat a Frypan or Tava on the gas flame and cook both side of the paratha, apply oil as per taste.

Cook paratha golden brown

Apply oil and Cook paratha on both side till golden brown or crispy.

Green Papaya Paratha/Flatbread

Once the parathas are ready, one can sprinkle Chaat masala powder over them and serve with either a yogurt raita or a mint yogurt chutney or Tomato Ketchup.

Green Papaya Paratha

Enjoy!

ashu.