Bitter Melon Salad

I grew up seeing my grandma eating fresh bitter melon salad, juice and bitter melon curry to control her diabetics. As it is in the name it is very bitter in taste. My mom would soak them overnight in coconut water and cook them with tamarind pulp and pinch of sugar to reduce bitterness. Memories of my mum’s delicious bitter melon curry is making me salivate as I’m writing about it.

There are different variety of bitter melons, dark green small ones, green long ones and light green long ones. Some of my Chinese friends like it just in a stir-fry dish with tofu. Small dark green one’s are much bitter compared to other two varieties. Hence I guess you could stir fry other two varieties i.e long green and light green ones. You can also find bitter melon juice in all fruit juice joints in Southeast Asia.

This vegetable is rich in iron and its calcium content is said to be twice that of spinach. Even the beta carotene content in bitter melon is double the amount nutrient in broccoli. It is also a rich source of potassium, phosphorous, dietary fiber, etc.

One of the most important health benefits of bitter melon is its blood sugar lowering properties. So, it is said to be best for diabetics. Bitter melon is also said to be beneficial for those with intestinal parasites.  Other benefits of bitter melon is it is useful for cleansing blood, boosting immunity and balancing hormones.

This recipe is something I learnt from mom, when bitter melon is fried with salt and turmeric it’s crunchiness and savory taste overpowers its bitterness. It’s also a very popular side dish served with banana leaf meals in Malaysian Indian Restaurants.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Panneer tikka masala served with vegetable biryani and raita (Indian salad) is one my favorite comfort food. Needless to say being a spice lover, I love this yum cottage cheese cubes marinated in tandoori spices and served in a tangy gravy made with full cream milk, minced onion, chili, garlic, ginger and other Indian spices. The main meal is fragrant basmati rice infused with Biryani spices. And definitely something very charming and to cool your body is salad in yogurt base. It is mouth watering as it looks; this is the kind of a food that takes you above the grounds…. You know what I mean right? Such a comforting meal to have for a weekend lunch. 

Greek Style Tomato & Bean Stew

Everyone has their own successful weight loss formula. For me it’s taking soups for dinner, sandwich and milk for lunch combined with regular exercise. When I switched to carb meals for dinner it started showing up in the scale. So with much determination I’m trying to take more soups / stews for dinner.

Idea for this soup is adapted from one of my favorite Spanish Vegetarian food blog. But I’ve added / subtracted some ingredients and modified the method to suite our taste preferences. Spanish food blogger Natalie also shares lovely pictures of country side surrounding she lives in. I’m so much in love with that type of country side living.

This stew is packed with legumes that are rich in nutrition, including protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. Legumes are being used to lower cholesterol levels, improve blood glucose control in diabetics, and reduce the risk of many cancers. Legumes contain many important nutrients and phytochemicals, and when combined with grains, they form a complete protein.

Caramelized Onion and Garlic in Hot and Sour Fenugreek Gravy (Venthaya Kuzhambu)

Gravy curry known as Kootu or kuzhambu in tamil is one of the main curry in south Indian meals. It goes well with rice, which is the staple food of South Asians. This curry has an aromatic flavorful gravy base, which is made with coconut cream and spices such as curry powder, coriander powder, tamarind pulp, chili powder and garam masala is added to enhance flavors of this curry. Similar type of curries are popular in Malaysian, Thai and Sri Lankan cuisine. Curries of each cuisine will have its own distinctive ingredient. For example Thai curry will be flavored with aromatics like kaffir lime leaf and lemon grass. Distinctive ingredients in Malay curries are shrimp paste or fried shrimp or fried anchovies. Sri Lankan curries are lot spicier than other curries due to heavy use of chilies. You can see lot of similarities as well as differences in these curries.

This tangy gravy is made of coconut cream and flavored with tamarind, chili and curry powder. Caramelized onion and sautéed garlic gives a pungent flavor to this gravy. Fenugreek seeds help to cool down your body from extra heat created by garlic and chili. This spicy gravy is best to serve with rice or pittu (Popular Sri Lankan meal, it’s texture is like Israli couscous, but its made with red rice flour) or roti.

Broccoli and Tofu Stir-fry with Thai Red Rice (Low Glycemic Meal)

I'm glad that I got the habit of reading health related articles and books from my dearest Dad. So when my DH asked me to read this book on "Healthy for Life" by Ray D Strand, MD, I willingly accepted.  I strongly believe in this quote “Prevention is better than cure”.

Below are some insights I gathered from this book.

The way to manage weight and maintain healthy life is to consume protein rich food combined with complex carbohydrates and to avoid high sugar and refined flour food. Our diet plays an important role in managing the insulin levels in blood.  When we consume high sugar food, the level of blood sugar rises, resulting in high insulin levels. The role of insulin is to drive sugar into a cell to be either utilized or stored as fat. In fat cells insulin enhances the conversion of glucose into fat resulting in weight gain. Hence higher insulin levels converts sugar into fat, and also holds on to stored fat like a sponge holds on to water.

The opposing hormone to insulin is Glucagon – a fat releasing hormone stimulated by the intake of protein. It is suppressed by the intake of carbohydrates. Hence when we eat a lot of high-glycemic carbohydrates rich food such as cakes, doughnut, croissant, sugar, white bread, polished rice, potatoes etc., insulin levels rises and glucagon levels drop. On the other hand when we eat balanced food having protein, good fat, and low glycemic carbohydrates in a meal, insulin and glucagon levels remain in a healthy balance. Examples of low glycemic food are fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, tofu, unpolished brown and red rice, parboiled long grain rice, nuts, rolled oats, low fat yoghurt and skim milk.

Knowledge from this book has inspired me to add more protein, and create a meal around protein.

Vegetarian Spaghetti

Spaghetti and noodles are my favorite dinner meals. However they are high in starch, hence especially if you’re taking it as dinner it has to be consumed in moderation. I picked up this spaghetti sauce idea from Jamie Oliver; however I did not want to serve them only with sauce. Because I was only going to use around 100g -150g of spaghetti for 2, so I had to make it filling by adding more vegetables and legumes. I added other Italian ingredients like olives, 3 colored peppers, zucchini and kidney beans. Just as I’m writing this post I got an idea; next time I should add some spinach or basil leaves. Try it out…. I’m sure you guyz will like it.

Soy Tikka Masala served with Carrot Rice & Raita (Salad)

Chicken tikka and paneer tikka are some of the most popular Indian dishes served in restaurants. Tikka means pieces. Specialty of this dish is paneer is marinated in tadoori spices and yoghurt and baked or barbequed in skewers. Then it’s added to tangy creamy gravy which is the base of this dish. It can be served with rice, biryani or Indian breads like naan or chapatti.

I tried the same cooking style with textured soy protein chunks. I recommend using soy chunks because similar to paneer (cottage cheese) it’s bland in taste; also textured soy protein has soft spongy texture. Hence its texture helps to absorb maximum flavors when marinated and roasted in oven.

I chose to serve Soy tikka masala with carrot rice, again a rice recipe I picked up from my mom. My version has roasted peanuts and yellow split peas for protein and crunchiness. Whenever I make main meals like rice, pasta or noodles, I look for other ingredients to add volume so that I can serve a meal with less carbohydrate and more vegetables and nuts or legumes.

Carrot gives mild sweetness to this rice, served with spicy soy tikka masala, and raita (Indian Salad) is a perfect combination for a special occasion.

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Salad

Whenever I make salads, I add legumes as a protein source. Nutty flavor of chick peas goes well combined with sour green apple and colored peppers.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a very good source of folic acid, fiber, and protein.  They are also a good source of protein, as well as minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium. As a good source of fiber, garbanzo beans can help lower cholesterol and  improve blood sugar levels. This makes them a great food especially for diabetics and insulin-resistant individuals. When served with high quality grains, garbanzo beans are an extremely-low-fat, complete protein food.  

Print recipe here
Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g boiled chickpeas

¼ of each red, yellow and green peppers, thinly sliced

1 green granny smith apple, diced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

½ of Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced

2 red chilies, halved and sliced

50g pitted black olives                                                                50g cherry tomatoes, halved

For Dressing

2 tbsp low fat yogurt (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic and ginger

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried parsley

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Mix all the dressing ingredients, set them aside.

Add all vegetables to a large salad bowl, drizzle dressing over the vegetables. Mix well with wooden spoon, serve immediately.

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Malaysian Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

Making tasty noodles has evolved in my kitchen with age and places I’ve been living. My childhood memories of home cooked noodles is simple. Noodles slightly colored in yellow using turmeric powder, mixed with leeks and carrots served with fried fish curry. (yes I’m a converted vegetarian, for 18 years) After a while when my mom became vegetarian and chose to avoid garlic and onion, she’d make the noodles with french beans, cabbage and carrot and serve it with some curry. South Asians cannot live without curry. (Some of Hindus (Brahmins, Jains) and Chinese vegetarians do not consume garlic and onion)

As we moved to South East Asia I was introduced to variety of noodles, and different methods of cooking them. Noodles in curry bowl (Laksa), Bee Hoon (Rice Noodles), chow mein (Chinese style stir-fried noodles), char kway teow  etc., While I tried most of them I also developed my style of making noodles incorporating Malaysian, Chinese, Thai as well as my mom’s style.

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Tomato and Rice Stew

This is a satisfying meal made with savory blend of rice and tomato.


Ingredients
Serves 2-3


2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger
50g long grain white / red rice washed
200g can tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 potato diced
1 celery stalk sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp chili powder
1 vegetable soup cube
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of roasted peanuts and coriander leaves for garnishing


Method


Heat oil in a large pan sauté onion, garlic ginger for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, chili powder, stock cube, potatoes, celery and rice. Stir occasionally till liquid is absorbed by rice.


Add one bowl of water, close the lid, lower the heat, and cook for 15 minutes till rice is soft.


Turn off heat add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in soup bowls garnish with coriander and roasted peanuts.

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Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Masala

Paneer is a special food item in North Indian cuisine. Paneer (cottage cheese) with its delicate milky flavor is used all over India to make delicious dishes. Available at most supermarkets in block form or even as curds, it readily takes on the flavor of the spices in which it is cooked. 

Paneer is a good source of calcium, which in later years helps to prevent osteoporosis. Cheese provides 25% of the calcium in the food supply. Paneer in moderation, is associated with lower body weight as well as reduced risk of developing insulin resistance syndrome.

Please note Vegans can make similar dish with firm tofu.

Ingredients

Serves 3-4

To make paste

2 large tomatoes

1 onion

4 dry red chilis 

Handful of coriander leaves

Few curry leaves

4 garlic cloves

1 piece of ginger

(Add all of above ingredients in food processor and blend to a smooth paste)

To make the masala

200 ml soy bean oil

500g Paneer cut into cube sizes

1 tsp of each cummin and mustard seeds

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp chili powder

200g low fat yoghurt / 200ml full cream milk

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves. Can be bought in Indian grocery stores. It's sold in packets)

Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a large pan, deep fry paneer cubes, till they are slightly golden. Drain them using slotted spoon, let them dry in kitchen towel.

Heat 2-3 tbsp of the remaining oil and stir in ground paste for 4-5 minutes till raw smell evaporates. When the paste starts to change color add fennel, mustard seeds stir for few more minutes.

Add curry powder, chili powder, tomato puree stir well. Mix yoghurt till it forms into a creamy gravy. When the gravy starts simmering add paneer, garam masala, kasuri methi and salt to taste.

If you like green peas you may add 100g thawed green peas with paneer. First photo I've added green peas.

Paneer Masala is best to serve with biryani and raita (Salad made with yoghurt, onion and green chili) or roti / naan/  paratha. 

Stay tuned for future post on Paneer Tikka Masala....

Square Beans Stir-Fry (Varai)

Square beans are a popular vegetable in Sri Lanka; we used to grow them in our backyard. I was surprised to see them in Malaysian pasar malam (Night street Market, that sells fresh fruits, vegetables and other Malaysian delicacies. Pasar Malam is similar to farmers market). There are many similarities in Malaysian and Sri Lankan cuisine. In Malaysia this vegetable is stir fried and served in a spicy chili sauce called sambal Oelek. Please note sambal oelek has shrimp paste in it. So check the ingredients before you buy them. They do have vegetarian sambal oelek.

Square beans are similar to green beans in terms of health benefits and texture. They are rich in fiber and prevents cardiovascular disease. Hench square beans can be substituted for all green beans recipes.

This is a quick stir fry dish, adopted from my mom’s recipe. She used to add potatoes to this stir fry dish. I try to make complete Sri Lankan lunch during weak ends, this stir fry is served as a part of rice and curry meal.

Ingredients

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 dry red chili diced

1 onion diced

Few curry leaves

1 tbsp yellow gram

1 tsp mustard and cumin seeds

200g square beans halved length wise and diced  (trim off edges and peel strings)

Pinch of turmeric powder

Pinch of salt

Method

Heat oil in a non-stick pan, sauté onion, dry red chili, curry leaves and yellow gram for 2 minutes. Add mustard and fennel seeds and sauté till it splutters.

Add square beans, salt and turmeric, mix well, and cook covering the lid, for 4-5 minutes till square beans are soft.

Turn off heat, serve with red rice or your choice of main meal.

Black eyed peas & Green peas Salad

As part of our diet plan, at least once in a week we try to take salad for dinner. I try to make it a filling meal by adding plenty of legumes. This time it’s black eyed peas and green peas. This is a trick for dieting, since if our diet is based on protein and fiber rich beans and other complex carbohydrates we feel full sooner.

Black-eyed peas provide a number of nutrients. They are a rich source of fiber and can be used in a number of recipes. For vegetarians, such beans can provide a needed source of iron and protein. No matter how you choose to prepare them, black-eyed peas can be a wonderful supplement to your healthy eating plan.

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g boiled black eyed peas 

100g thawed frozen green peas

1 onion thinly sliced

1 green granny smith apple thinly sliced

Few olives

Few cherry tomatoes sliced half

¼ of red pepper thinly sliced

½ of cucumber diced

100g broccoli florets blanched LINK

Few lettuce leaves roughly torn

For Dressing

1 tsp of chili flakes

2 tbsp low fat yoghurt / soy yoghurt

½ lemon juice

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp of minced garlic and ginger

Salt and pepper

Method

Mix all ingredients under “Dressing” shake well, set them aside

In a large bowl add all vegetables and legumes, drizzle the salad dressing, mix well using a wooden spoon. Serve immediately.