Tambli/Tambuli or Tamboli as it is referred to in Konkani is a refreshing yogurt/buttermilk drink. It is usually had cold, preferably after a meal and forms good coolant, aids in digestion etc. This was a popular summer drink at my grandma’s place. Other substitutions for ginger could be garlic, kokum, spinach, gooseberry etc and it is prepared in a similar way. In this recipe, I have made the Tambli using Shunti (ginger in Kannada). The drink is usually had as is, but I prefer having it over warm rice.

Nutrition and Benefits of ginger: Ginger is a good source of potassium, magnesium, copper, manganese and vitamin B6. Ginger extracts have been shown to have both antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects on cells.Ginger reduces all symptoms associated with motion sickness including dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and cold sweating. People with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis experience reductions in their pain levels and improvements in their mobility when they consume ginger regularly. (Source)

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One of the challenging part of packing DS’s lunchbox is to come with some healthy and creative ideas. Now to get our 4 year old to eat, right in front of our very eyes is tricky enough then one can imagine what happens when he is provided with a lunch box and is totally out of our sight. Of course, the teachers try their best to coax him into eating, but with mischief and prancing around as his top priority, food gets neglected and takes a back seat.

The other things that I have to keep in mind while packing his lunch is not adding nuts (peanuts included) and that the lunch item does not get soggy or become hard after a while. Also as with other kids, he becomes bored eating the same stuff over and over again; so I have to come up with some new kid pleasing ideas.

So a few days ago, I was over the moon when I saw this Veggie wrap idea on Rachana’s blog. I loved the idea of making the wrap with flours (instead of chapathis /rotis/ tortillas) and the fact that it can be made instantly seemed appealing.

I kept thinking of ways of incorporating the idea of wrap and turning it into a shape that kids can handle without spilling. After looking for so many different options I chanced on Nupur’s clever and fantastic idea of a triangle shape that she used for making healthy Samosas.  I kinda put two and two together and voila this idea of making dosa triangles was born.

I made this during the weekend and the kiddo loved it. I think he loved the shape and the taste of the wrap the best. He has even agreed to take it in his lunch box and eat it promptly.  At the end of it all, there was one pleased mom secretly doing the happy dance

The taste of the wrap/dosa is excellent and addictive. As a test, I prepared some triangles and kept them aside for 3 hours and after little warming they tasted good. They did not turn soggy or hard. Thanks Rachana, Nupur and your mom’s for this wonderful idea.

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Onions and garlic play an important role in my everyday cooking. In fact, it would be fair to say that my cooking starts with the chopping of onions. Garlic, I could do without as there are many recipes for which I do not use it; but not onions as I use it very religiously.

I guess it was a few days ago, probably Thursday or so when we were out of onions. I could do without many other items, but being so used to cooking with onions, I felt lost. Anyway I did not have the mood to go to the store to get them, so instead decided to cook without them.

Growing up at my Mom’s place, Monday and Thursday would be two days in a week that she would do her cooking without garlic and onions. Now that I think about it, she had a wide range of non-repetitive menu items and she would cook up a storm without battling an eyelid. Sigh!

I did look at the internet for recipe ideas and then zeroed on this recipe from Jaya. Luckily I had beans and soaked moong daal, so made the Sabji after making few modifications of my own. It tasted so good that we could hardly make out the loss of onions. Good one to make during festivals and also during fasting. Thanks Jaya for this quick and easy recipe.

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While talking to one of my friends last week, I mentioned that I refrain from the store brought popcorns and usually make popcorn at home. She was taken aback and thought that it was a complicated process, involving lots of steps and could not imagine preparing it at home. I don’t blame her, because of the amount of commercialization, the high tech gadgets that is used for making popcorns makes us feel that it is time consuming and tedious. I walked her through the steps and finally convinced her that it could be made in a kitchen with just 2 basic ‘gadgets’ a pan and a lid!

This is an old time recipe that I have learnt from my mother and she had been following this stove top old fashioned way of popping kernels for almost 15 years now.

Air-popped popcorn is naturally high in fiber, low in calories and fat, contains no sodium, and is sugar free. This can make it an attractive snack to people with dietary restrictions on the intake of calories, fat, and/or sodium. (Source)

A note about the buttered popcorn available at the stores; it is not real butter but it is just flavored butter. What is shocking is that this is offered to kids at school on the pretext that it is low fat and also a healthy choice.

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Ever since I read on Sandeepa’s blog about green whole moong’s ability to get rid of the toxins from our body, I have been thinking of ways to incorporate more of these beans in our diet.

Here is what one source says about these small green beans. “They are very nourishing, while being relatively easy to digest–they do not generally create abdominal gas or bloating, the drawbacks of larger beans. According to modern nutrition, mung beans offer 14 gms of protein per cooked cup. Mung beans are also a good source of dietary fiber. They also contain thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and copper, and are a good source of folate.” (Source).

Here are some Indian Mung Bean Recipes that I prepare often:

• Green Moong Daal Dry Curry (Mooga Usli)/ Whole Moong Stir Fry
• Onion Cucumber Sprouted Moong Salad
• Moong Curry and Cucumber Idli (Mooga Ghashi & Tausha Idli )

So for a change I decided to make a regular everydaydaal; I also used the split moong daal along with this to give it a thick consistency. Since I had some Methi , I used it as well. I do not like pressure cooking the methi leaves along with the daal, as I feel its flavor is lost. I usually add chopped methi leaves during the Tadka/tempering process. Methi leaves emit a wonderful aroma when it hits the heat and cooks along with chopped onions. If Methi/Fenugreek is not available, then substitute any other greens by all means.

Of course with addition of onion, methi and other daal I am not sure if this exactly qualifies to be the one to detox  the body the Ayurveda way. But then this daal I feel is a nutritional powerhouse full of minerals and protein, enhanced by the goodness of Methi/Fenugreek and ginger. Nevertheless it was one tasty and wholesome Daal.

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I had bookmarked this recipe for Savory Semolina Cake from TBC long time ago and had since been in my to-do list. She had adapted this recipe from Anjum Anand’s website from Here.  So last Friday evening when I had some time I decided to give this a try. I involved DS in this as he likes mixing, measuring etc and it is a good way to keep him busy. At the end of it all he feels proud and happy that he is a big boy and that he can bake a cake.

It did not take much time to put this together; let me warn you that the batter by itself tastes delicious and is addictive. I was not hungry at that time; otherwise I am sure I would have finished eating the batter as is.:-)

Don’t be bothered by the long list of ingredients below. The process of making this is simple and straight forward. It is versatile too and you can substitute any vegetable of choice instead of the ones that I have listed like cabbage, beans etc or skip some ingredients, make it spicy and probably add more greens like spinach, Methi etc.

Taste Test: It is a light tasting savory cake; the inside tastes like vegetable Upma/Rava Idli but with lightly crusted outside. As an added bonus, it is healthy, low fat and guilt free snack too. Good one to snack on as is or as an accompaniment with afternoon tea/coffee. I am glad I found this and I am sure I will make this often.

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