Tag: butter

The Great Indian Breads !

Indians are known for their eating habits and their love for food . In India there is a wide range of cuisines and varieties with every 100 km you stretch . We live to eat that’s proven and we are the most natural host when comes to throw a party . If you sit and think Why I am claiming that Indians are such big foodies and party lovers , you just need to visit an Indian family for lunch or dinner (Even breakfast is not spared ) and see how they treat you as God ( We truly believe in Atithi Devobhavah….its not just for a commercial ). If I have mentioned about lunch and dinners I am talking about full rich 5 course meals (Yes! we eat that daily …at least I do) .Not only do we cook great curries and starters we have wide variety in flat breads too.We do have in offer variety in flat breads with every changing season.

All have great value addition to their taste , be it fluffy, rich in taste, soft, their fillings , sweet , salty , spicy , rich in proteins and minerals . You name it and we have it. India is diversified in its customs , culture , tradition and each part of India has their specific preferred breads be it chapati , Fulkas, Naan, Kulchas, rumali rotis , parathas, various flavoured pancakes, tandoori roti etc that too with different kind of cereals. Our flat bread preparation largely depends on what kind of crop is grown in that region .For example : Western part of India eats a lot of Bajra , Ragi, Northen India eats Maize or Wheat , Eastern eats a lot of Rice flour or refined flour and if we consider Southern India they eat mostly rice flour in fermented form .Breads are staple food for any country, city or tradition.

We actually consider breads to be very important for a wholesome 5 course meal. Its practically not possible to avoid a meal without adding bread to it . we don’t feel yummy tummy until we eat bread. Today its very simple and convenient to barge into a supermarket and get frozen breads ,which my generation people gladly do , But if asked to me I would prefer preparing it at home as any dish has to be fresh to consume and for that packed food is totally a “No No” for me.When I started cooking after my marriage making rotis or chapatis was my biggest challenge (many do agree with me- its a common syndrome )but tummy wants food , so slowly I learned how to get the perfect shaped chapatis to not impress anyone …but to satisfy my own hunger. With every occasion we have specific choices in food and we do set our happy menu accordingly, so today my attempt is to bring a variety in your life .If you are done with frozen parathas or frozen chapatis try out few of my simple recipes of very commonly eaten Indian breads .Today I have tried to assemble few regional breads for you variety and taste change. Some of it is widely eaten but Do you really want to eat frizen or try these simple recipes with much nutrition and taste.

Garlic Naan :

Ingredients :2 cup Plain refined flour, 1 cup yoghurt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon sodium bicarbonate, 1 teaspoon onion seeds, 1 tablespoon garlic finely chopped, 1 tablespoon butter to glaze the naans.

Servings : 3 to 4

Method : mix plain refined flour, baking powder, sodium bicarbonate and sieve it well to add up air . (this process makes fluffy & soft naans). Kneed the flour mixture with yoghurt into a fine soft dough , if you feel yoghurt is little less then u may add some Luke warm milk to make a softer dough. wrap the dough with a damp cloth and keep it for minimum two hours ( You may keep it overnight if you have preparation time ). This gives the dough time to ferment well , more the fermentation more fluffy and softer naan you would get. Once the dough is fermented you can make naans of your desired size with the help of a rolling pin . Once you get the desired shape top it with garlic and few onions seeds and with the help of your hands elongate it from two ends to get a longitudinal naans. Now the way you cook chapatis you just have to repeat it for these naans (No tandoor required , just simply toss it both sides on a hot tava ) the naans themselves will blow u beautifully. Once done glaze it with butter on top and serve hot .

Makke di roti :

Ingredients : 2 cup Maize( Makka /makai ) flour , Luke warm water to kneed , 1/2 cup wheat flour , ghee or unsalted butter to cook and for glazing .

Servings : 3 to 4

Method : Its simple recipe but you need to be very careful while making it as it has a tendency to crack up from sides and eventually break. To avoid that its important to kneed the dough just before serving it. Its easy to make a dough so its not a very difficult thing to maintain

Mix maize flour , wheat flour with the help of a siever and kneed it with Luke warm water. Make a soft dough as hard dough may crumble up easily. slowly with the help of your palms flatten it and increase its size. Try to maintain the shape the sides will crack its something which is obvious , so do not worry. Once you have flattened the bread , bake it in a hot tava from both sides and glaze it with ghee . Serve it with Spinach curry, or simply with jaggery it will taste awesome . Its very commonly eaten in Punjab (North India) on a day to day basis during winters. It has natural warming ability so it keeps warm from within.

Paneer Paratha :

Ingredients:

For Dough :
2 cups whole wheat flour , 1/2 cup refined flour , 1 tablespoon cooking oil( Oil helps the bread to get moistened crusty look ), Luke warm water to kneed , pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon Ajwain ( carom seeds ).

For stuffing :

1 cup grated cottage cheese or Paneer , 1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped , 1 tablespoon finely crushed pomegranate seeds , salt to taste ,1 teaspoon red chilly powder, 1 teaspoon Aamchur ( dry mango powder), 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies.

Oil for glazing the parathas.

Servings : 4 to 5 parathas

Method : Sieve whole wheat flour and and refined flour and add cooking oil , salt ,ajwain & Luke warm water to make a soft dough out of it . Keep it for 30 minutes and prepare the stuffing .For the stuffing mix all the ingredients mentioned above for stuffing purpose.

Once you are done preparing both take equal portions from the dough and stuff the paneer mixture into each portions and flatten it with the help of a rolling pin . Bake it on a hot tava from both sides once its crusty glaze it with oil ( you may use butter ) . Serve hot with your choice of curry or you can simply serve it with yoghurt . Enjoy the flavours of these great Indian breads and see your family smiling.

December 13, 2014
Utterly, Butterly, flavourly…Butter!

People, simply love it. The Butter. It is rich, creamy, lush and appetizing; making everything soft and mouth-watering. This exquisite thing, called Butter is just lovely and elegant. You can put it on anything, solid or melted and taste miraculously improves just by the little addition of it. In Indian culture, it has gained so much popularity because Lord Krishna loves it so much and the Janamashtami festival reminds us all about butter and the love and irresistance for butter that makes small Krishna steal it. The fat myth of butter is a little disturbing, but the infinite health benefits of butter just cover it up. It has been considered as a threat to the dieters but if taken in moderation, it is of immense goodness for them too. We all know, Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented milk to separate the butterfat from buttermilk and is high in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healthy fats. Butter is a kitchen essential and one of those foods which turn almost any simple, bland food into rich, luscious masterpiece meal.
In case, if you are one of them who avoid butter because it will make you fat or cause you heart disease, then you should reconsider your facts, as this yummy treat has so much good to offer and you just can’t resist this rich, buttery butter. Even, it has been proved that butter is way healthier choice than margarine and spreads. Let’s have a look on the super awesome, rich, healthy wealthy benefits of so called ‘makhan’;

It contains healthy saturated fats: Butter has lots of saturated fats which raise the good cholesterol (HDL) and change the LDL (bad cholesterol). Also, butter contains short and medium chain fats, which lead to increased fat burning and improved satiety and new studies show that there is no association between heart disease and saturated fats.
It is rich in fat-soluble vitamins and healthy ‘calories’: it contains fat soluble vitamins which are vitamin A, E, K2. The grass-fed butter is particularly rich in Vitamin K2, which provides us with powerful health benefits as it is involved in calcium metabolism and prevents many chronic diseases. Though, it has a high calorie content, but these are healthy calories and are beneficial for the body.
It is rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA): Especially, grass fed butter is a great source of CLA, which is a fatty acid and has powerful effects on metabolism and is also a great weight loss supplement. Also, It has been shown to improve body composition in many studies and have anti-cancer properties.

It is linked with lower risk of obesity: Despite having high calorie content, eating high-fat butter is not associated with obesity and weight gain. It has been researched and results are shown that high- fat dairy product, butter is not linked with obesity, did not increase risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease. It breaks down fat and use them more efficiently and also satisfies many cravings, thus helping you in your weight loss.
It makes your skin glow: As, it has Vitamin E and antioxidants, it is excellent for skincare. It helps to smoothen the skin and makes it elastic, supple, soft and keep it healthy. It has an essential antioxidant mineral, called selenium, which gives your skin, a healthy glow.
It lowers the heart attack risk: It is a myth that margarine is better than butter. The health food, butter is more heart healthy and lowers down the risk of heart attack. It is replaced and science doesn’t back up this claim of being margarine is healthier than butter as margarine contains highly processed trans fats, while butter has high Vitamin K2 content and that’s why it lowers down heart attack risk.
It lubricates the joints and protects against Arthritis: It is great for people who are suffering from arthritis as it gives lubrication to the joints and helps in reducing the pain associated with it. It was found that it helps in the production of compounds that lubricates the joints. The raw or unpasteurized butter has anti-stiffness property, also known as Wulzen factor, that protects against degenerative arthritis.
It has cancer-fighting properties: The short and medium chain fatty acids help in fighting cancer and inhibit tumor growth. Also, it is rich in CLA, which is a strong anti cancer fatty acid which prevents the cancer. So, a diet rich in grass fed butter deters the cancer growth and prevents it.
It promotes and develops a healthy brain and nervous system: Butter, a health food is high in cholesterol and our brains needs cholesterol to function properly and in addition, it has a unique, highly absorbable form of vitamin D, which is important for proper functioning of the nervous system. It is very essential food in children’s diet as it aids the proper development in their growth stage. The nourishment from butter is of utmost importance during the growing stages of childhood.

Now, being familiar with so many perks of butter, the only learning it gave us; Don’t shun butter out of your daily diet schedule, rather include it in moderate quantities in creative ways in your food and enjoy it to the fullest. Because Happy eating is healthy eating. Keep enjoying utterly, butterly dishes.
BUTTER… yummmmy!

July 7, 2014
Wants to gain some extra kilos..??

In this Neoteric world, mostly people seem to lose their weight or lose some kilos, but there are people who want to put on some weight and gain some extra kilos. These are the people who are thin as a stick and for gaining extra kilos they tends to move towards unhealthy food or junk food. They believe that extra intake of this unhealthy food would help them to gain some amount of fat, but in reality it is not so. These foods help them to add weight, but at the same time they add bad fat to our body and make it unhealthy. So it is suggested to have such food in our meal which tends to increase the amount of nutrients in our body and increases our energy level.

People may be skinny and underweight due to a variety of reasons other than the hierarchy problem. It may be inadequate habit of feeding, long amount of gap between their meal time, bad selection of dishes, large workouts, etc. Sometimes diseases may also be the cause of underweight like cancer, tuberculosis, eating disorders and hormonal imbalances. So apart from sticking to the fact that you are underweight you must change your eating habits, selection of food and get back to a normal health. Eat butter, cheese, paneer in your meal is the very common advice you can get from everyone. But the question is: Are these three things sufficient for gaining weight?? Actually, extra intake of these items can have a bad effect on the heart

Salmon is the food which is rich in protein, so daily intake of two servings would help you to increase your protein level and helps in gaining weight. It consists of omega-3 fatty acid in it which helps it earn a title of health-supportive food.

You can take peanut butter too. It is a paste made from roasted peanuts. It is being a good source of saturated fats and vitamins helps to increase the energy and make you more fit and fine. It is preferred and generally served with bread so that with just one serving 192 calories is added to our diet. This is the healthiest way and the best choice for the people who are trying to gain weight. While taking this, make sure it contains a less amount of sugar in it. This is the main source of Vitamin B3 and folate.

You can take eggs with your meals and this is the only food which suits to everyone’s pocket. It provides proteins, Vitamin A, D and E and add a good amount of cholesterol to our body and helps in gaining extra kilos.

Start your morning with Granola. It is the most nutritious diet one can have in his/her breakfast. It consists of nuts and oats, which are sufficient for providing a good amount of calories in our body. Natural Granola is a cereal which has no added sugar in it. We can also add some dry fruits to it and enjoy this with thick yogurt to have a delicious experience.

For glowing and shiny skin you know nothing could have been better than the fruit juice, but do you people known it plays a significant role in gaining extra kilos too. With the intake of fruit juices, whether it may be of watermelon, apple, strawberry, etc. increases our energy and nutrient level. And also due to the presence of sugar it helps in gaining weight. According to food experts’ mango, banana and pineapple are the best choice you can make and if it is not possible to eat all of them one by one then you can blend them together. This serving would be full of sugar and can provide you energy.

You can take dry fruits and oats at least one time in a day and if possible morning is the best time. It is very fast and quick method to add calories along with the nutrients to the body rather than fresh ones. Oats contain fibre together with various nutrients so intake of these seems to be good for skinny people.

Bananas are the most easily available and in budget fruit in the market. Intake of two bananas in a day can prove to be fruitful. Generally people used to take these bananas with the milk in the morning so that along with the calorie proteins also add to our diet. People who used to workout, take these bananas on a daily basis as it is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients.

Indulge yourself in a habit of exercising every day. It will regularly tune your body and maintain the level of intake of nutrients. It maintains the flexibility of our body and helps to make our muscles stronger. It indirectly helps in gaining our weight.

These are some of the ways to shut the mouth of those people who usually comment you as skinny and thin. Try these and gain some extra kilos to look more perfect.

July 1, 2014