Cauliflower Paratha

What’s for today?

I think this is a question which goes around in almost all our mind every day. What to cook? Oh, god seriously this is more difficult than the actual cooking I feel. Today I am planning to make these parathas. This one definitely acts as a 2 in 1(veg&carb) combo and solves the purpose when served with raita.

Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1 cup shredded

Coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons finely chopped

Jeera - coarsely powdered
Green Chilly  - 1 optional

Turmeric

Chili powder

Garam  masala

Salt

Atta flour - 2 cups

Method:

Mix in all the ingredients together. Usually the veggie leaves water, so sprinkle little water if needed. Keep it aside for 5 mins.

Make small balls and roll it(should not be too thick or thin). Apply oil in a tava and turn it over until both the sides are cooked properly. You can feed the kids with boondi /any other raita or ketchup. For older kids you can serve hot with some vegetable side dish

Multi-grain – Nuts Porridge (Kanji)

First of all, It is very hard to prepare a healthy nutritious “not- boring” breakfast “every” morning. Even if we prepare, it is very hard to feed kids at the rush hour. Especially with my daughter, some days she prefers south Indian tiffin and simply doesn’t want to eat bread or cereal (different varieties of muti-grain cereal just lying there in my pantry L)  I make Dosa or Idly if I have batter or make pongal or upma if I have time J. Other days I prefer this kanji which I feel is essential at least 3 days a week. This is definitely a stress-free breakfast for both of us. I remember when I was a kid, my mom used to make me sathumavu kanji( Has 25 diff grains &nuts and involves  a looooong process).  Last time when I went to India, my mom packed it for my daughter (of course for me too!)  I’ll get the recipe for that (I know it is a tedious job though..)

This is an alternate for those who are not aware of that sathu mavu kanji or do not have it in stock J

Multi-grain cereal (any variety) – powdered together

Dry roast the following and powder it separately and store it in an air tight container.

Almonds –

Cashews

Walnut

Oats

Rice Flakes (aval)

Method:

Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of powdered oats or powdered Rice flakes with 1 cup of water and allow it boil with occasional stirring until it comes to thick consistency (kanji/porridge). Add 1 teaspoon of multi-grain cereal powder and 1 teaspoon of all the nut powder. Add milk & sugar or little water and salt depending upon your kid’s preference.

For those who don’t want to give sugar, you can add raisin powder or honey together or separately. You can also add some fruits to it like banana, apple etc.

I usually sprinkle very little salt and feed my daughter. She likes to drink milk and fruits separately and doesn’t like it if it is mixed with any porridge.  But I know some kids who like to be mixed with milk. Try this for your kids (especially 18 months to 3 years) Very nutritious and well balanced breakfast. If you are using Gerber ready –to –eat cereal, try to add some nut powder to it 

Vermicelli Veggie Idly

These idlies come handy when I do not have Idly/Dosa batter and those days not wanting to make chapathis and sabzi, yet want to have a delicious food :)

Ingredients

Vermicelli – 1 cup

Rava  – ½ cup

Curd –   ¾ cup (beaten up)

Cabbage – ¼ cup (shredded)

Carrot – 1 (shredded)

Beans – 6 strings shredded or sliced thinly

Coriander leaves –  1 tablespoon chopped

For seasoning

Oil

Mustard

Jeera

Green or Red chillies  – According to the spice level. For this quantity, I usually add 1 green chilly de-seeded and 1 red chilly broken into 2

Hing

Curry leaves

Method:

Add little ghee or dry roast Vermicelli and Rava and keep it aside in a bowl and add the beaten curd. Add water and let it soak for few mins till you do other prep. (Do not add too much water.)

Add oil and do the seasoning in the order given above. Add the shredded veggies and sauté them for few mins with little salt. After the vegs are cooked, remove it from the flame and add it to the batter.

Add coriander leaves and salt(according to taste)mix it together.

Add more water if needed .The batter should not be too watery or too thick.

Apply oil to Idli plates and pour the batter and steam it for 10 mins and serve it hot with chutney. Kids love to eat as it is or with little ketchup.

Broccoli Cream of Soup

Simple yet delicious soup which kids really love! You can change it according to the kid's age and if you are making it for adult you can reduce the quantity of butter and use reduced fat milk. I pulled in a quick dinner with this soup and a veggie sandwich with focaccia bread which worked fine for both hubby & my daughter.

Ingredients


Broccoli – 1 bunch (cut into florets)
Potatoes – 2
Onion – 1 medium
Milk – whole milk(u can also use reduced fat)
Corn flour (optional)
Butter – 1 tablespoon
Pepper  and salt – according to taste

Boil/pressure cook potatoes and keep aside.  Throw in some butter in a heavy bottomed vessel and sauté the onions till it turns golden brown. Add the cut broccoli florets and add little salt and sauté it. sprinkle some water and cover it with a lid till the broccoli gets cooked. Now add the potatoes and fry it for some more time. Now switch off the flame and let it to cool. Put everything in a blender and grind it with some milk. Transfer them back to the cooking vessel and add the same quantity of milk as the puree and allow it to boil in a low flame.  Optional: Fry the corn flour in a teaspoon of butter and add some milk until the flour gets dissolved in it.Add this to the soup at this stage

Add salt& pepper.Yummy cream of broccoli is ready to serve:) Sprinkle in some shredded cheese before feeding the kids.

Will post the pic soon.