Delicious Healthy Food

Most mothers face the trouble of feeding healthy food to the kids. Spinach and greens are toughest nut to crack. Here are two yummy recipes.

1. Soupy Noodles: serves four

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – 4
Bottle gourd: half of a small one
Carrots: two. small and tender
Spinach – 8 leaves (remove the stems)
Onion – one
Garlic: half round ( 8-10 cloves)
Cloves -2
Salt and pepper to taste.
Whole cumin seeds. ( jeera) – one table spoon
Noodles*: 400 gms ( instant or other)

Directions:

• Peel onion, garlic, bottle gourd and carrots.
• Wash spinach thoroughly.
• Wash all the other vegetable including tomatoes.
• Chop the vegetables in small pieces, around one to two inches.
• Place all the vegetables and the cloves in a pressure cooker.
• Add 250 ml water.
• Close the lid of the pressure cooker and when it starts to whistle, put the gas flame to low.
• Keep it for ten minutes.
• Meanwhile cook the noodle or boil the noodles as per the instructions.
• In case of instant noodles, it is just two minutes; while other noodle might take longer and require draining of water.
• Add flavouring and spices as provided with the instant noodles.
• In case of other noodles, drain the water after boiling and add salt, red chilli sauce and vinegar as per taste.
• Once the noodles are done, put these aside.
• Turn off the gas, wait for the steam to dissipate.
• Open the pressure cooker lid carefully.
• In case using a steel blender, blend the hot vegetable thoroughly; in case using a mixer, grinder or plastic blender wait for the vegetables to cool, then blend thoroughly.
• Take a large sieve and strain these blended vegetables through it.
• Use a stapula to crush and push the vegetable through the strainer.
• Take a large pan and combine noodles and blended (and strained) vegetables in that pan.
• Roast the cumin seeds on the hot girdle ( tawa).
• Crush these roasted seeds into powder. ( I put these on chakla and roll rolling pin i.e. belan over these).
• Add this powder to the noodle and soup mixture.
• Add salt and black pepper to the soupy noodles.
• A very nourishing, absolutely non fattening food for the winter evenings is ready.

#While serving in the bowls, this soup can be garnished with boiled eggs.
*Instead of noodles, pasta/ macaroni can be used.

2. Taco for tiffins: Two tacos

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 100 gms
Warm water: 200 ml
Salt: a pinch
Ajwain*: a pinch
Purified butter/ ghee: one tablespoon

For filling:

Potato – one boiled
Cheese – 50 gms grated
Green peas – 50 gms boiled
Fenugreek (Methi) green leaves – two sprigs, (washed and very finely chopped)
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Oregano – a pinch
Sandwich spread – optional

Directions:

Add flour, salt, ajwain and purified butter in wide plate/ pan.
Slowly add warm water to knead and make soft dough.
Make 2 balls out of this dough.
Put a iron girdle on fire.
Roll out the dough balls in wide circular pancakes. (size of a quarter plate)
Cook these pancakes on the hot girdle one by one, turning it over, when one side is done.
Mash together, the potato, cheese, pea and fenugreek leaves.
Add salt, pepper and oregano.
Spread a thin layer of sandwich spread over the pancakes, one by one. (optional)
Spread the vegetable, cheese mash also on the pancake/ taco.
Roll the taco and use toothpick at the ends to keep it closed.
Grill these rolled tacos in the grill plate of waffle maker.
Serve hot with green chutney or sauce.

# For filling any dry cooked vegetable can be used, e.g. cauliflower, cabbage, carrots etc. or scrambled eggs can be used.
*Ajwain is also called carom, Carum copticum/Trachyspermum copticum/Trachyspermum ammi, or bishop’s weed.