healthy breakfast

RAGI /FINGER MILLET/KURAKKAN APPAM

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A healthy and delicious breakfast recipe .Small grains with great benefits .Great source of

calcium for strengthening bones in all ages.Millets in general help in controlling blood sugar

levels and this particular finger millet is widely used by diabetics due to the high fibre content.

Millets are found to be highly nutritious,and it’s best to include it in your daily diets.

Coming to today’s recipe..it was really a delicious and healthy breakfast to note .The texture

was soft, and the sides were crispy like any other hopper.So do give it a try and post in your comments .

INGREDIENTS

2 cups ragi flour

3/4 -1 cup cooked rice

1/2 coconut cut/ scraped

Coconut water 1/2 cup

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

A pinch of cooking soda

METHOD

Grind all the given ingredients except all purpose flour, sugar and salt fine .

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well . Allow to rest overnight.

Mix in baking soda in a little water and add to batter to a pouring consistency ( not thick / or thin).

Pour one ladle of the batter into a greased hopper pan . Swirl the pan ,cover and allow to

cook,and brown on the sides. Remove slowly with spatula .

Adding egg while cooking is your option . Serve with seeni sambol( Srilankan caramelised

spiced onions )coconut sambol or any curry of your choice .

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VALLARAI /BRAHMI/GOTUKOLA CHUTNEY(for iddli/dosa)

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A herb with a title of ‘brain booster’,because it is a powerhouse of valuable alkaloids which are stimulants to good memory.

It is also called the ‘ water hyssop’ ( English).This herb is widely used in Ayurvedic medicines.Capsules and powder of

this herb is available in any stores nowadays.

I have posted many recipes with this wonderherb and today’s recipe is a chutney for South Indian breakfast.

Previous posts related to this herbVALLARAI/GOTUKOLA /BRAHMI HALWA….GREEN KANJI (KOLA KENDA).

I have just given 2 recipes from my previous posts.

Look for more recipes if you are interested Vallarai/brahmi/gotukola an amazing and healthy herb which we should

compulsorily include in our family diets.

To the recipe…

INGREDIENTS

A bunch of the vallarai/brahmi/gotukola leaves

2 tbsp gram dal/urad dal

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp.cummin seeds

2-3 cloves garlic

5-6 peppercorns

3-4 red chillies (you can add more according to your spice levels)

2 -3 fresh amla/gooseberry/nelli (seeds removed)or raw mango or tamarind a small piece

salt to taste

1 tsp jaggery

1 tsp.gingelly oil/sesame oil

METHOD

Heat oil, and saute all ingredients except the leaves and amla.

Saute till the dal changes colour,and add the leaves at this stage and saute for just 1 minute.

Now add all the ingredients into a mixer jar and grind to a paste.

This can be served without tempering as we have tossed all the ingredients in oil already, but if you prefer to temper

you could do so.

As another variant of this chutney you could add a little coconut while grinding the chutney.

BAKED BROCOLLI, CHEESE SANDWICH

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A dish to be endorsed as healthy and wholesome. Broccoli and cheese decked on one side ,egg and

home made mayonnaise on the other side, the taste is exemplary.A double decker sandwich!

The vibrant green florets is a visual treat I must say.This is a baked sandwich, easy and quick to make.

As I do not like too much crunch on a sandwich, had the broccoli tossed in a blob of butter before baking.

Mayonnaise and egg to be added after baking.

I used butter only to toss the vegetable as mayonnaise and cheese are used in this sandwich.(Trying to

cut down calories)

To the recipe …

INGREDIENTS

Broccoli florets tossed in a little butter,salt,and a pinch of nutmeg powder

Cheese slices(any cheese of your choice)

Egg (boiled egg slices/scrambled egg/poached egg

Mayonnaise

Bread slices

METHOD

Grease the baking tray with a little butter and arrange the bread slices.

Next the tossed broccoli florets, and cover with cheese slices.

Press on another slice of bread on each and bake in a preheated 200C oven for 10-12 minutes.

Keep the rest of the bread slices and bake with it (the slice to place egg and mayo).

Once baking is complete, add the egg and a drizzle of mayo and top with another baked bread slice.

Cut and serve.

CARROT DOSA

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Carrot a root vegetable is a very healthy food and a good source of beta carotene with numerous nutrients and antioxidants.

Known to be beneficial for eye health,it also helps in lowering cholesterol levels.The beta carotene contained in it contributes to the

lovely bright orange colour.Carrot juice is one good healthy breakfast drink which takes care of overall health and skin health too.

Cosmetic industry use carrots widely in their produce.

Now coming to today’s recipe …It’s a breakfast recipe with the inclusion of carrot purée in dosa batter.

If you have dosa batter ready,it is just an addition of the purée. I will be giving the recipe for  instant dosa with the addition of wheat

flour also as an ingredient.

I made a variation of egg dosa, and to top it all the chutney served was celery-alma chutney which is more nutritious.

Note:You could add spring onions or leeks cut fine instead of onions.

So,here’s to the healthy colourful recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup urad dhal flour

1 cup rice flour

2 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup curd

Salt to taste

1 cup finely chopped onions/spring onions/

leeks

2-3 finely chopped green chillies

4 carrots puréed

1/2 tsp cummin seed powder

METHOD

•Mix all the ingredients with enough water to the consistency of iddli/dosa batter or pancake batter.

Make dosas,pour 1 tsp oil or ghee all around,and cook on both sides .

Serve with chutney .

CELERY-AMLA CHUTNEY

1 cup celery stalks

2-3 amla/ gooseberry ( deseeded)

2 tbsp iddli podi

Salt to taste

1 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

•Sauté the celery stalks till raw smell is gone.

•Grind fine with the rest of the ingredients and

serve.

SAGO-TOMATO KHICHIDI

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Today breakfast had to be the potato sago/

sabudana/ javarisi khichadi.Even the potatoes

were put to boil.In the spur of the moment I got

the idea to make with tomato.

Served with raita,it was a good breakfast .

https://calinskitchen.com/2020/10/27/sagopotatopeanut-khichidi/

👆🏻The link to the basic sago+ potato khichidi.

Now to today’s recipe.

INGREDIENTS

250 gm sago/ sabudana ( soaked overnight)

3 medium sized tomatoes puréed

2-3 boiled potatoes

1-2 green chillies chopped

1 small piece ginger chopped

A handful of roasted peanuts or cashewnuts

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cummin powder

A pinch of asafoetida

Few curry leaves

Coriander leaves for garnishing

3 tbsp oil/ ghee

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp sugar or jaggery (I always add sugar to

balance the acid in tomato purée)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 dry chillies

METHOD

•Heat oil,and add mustard seeds,curry leaves,

dry chillies .

•Next add the ginger,green chilies and the

tomato purée,sugar,salt and the spices,and

sauté for 5 minutes.

•Add the soaked sago and cook covered on a

low flame.

• Once the sago pearls are cooked,add the

lightly mashed boiled potatoes,and roasted

nuts.Remove from fire.

• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with

raita.

You could try the same recipe with lime .

Omitting the tomato purée and chilli

powder.

GREEN GRAM SPROUTS -GREEN PEAS IDDLI

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Iddli is one good breakfast containing proteins

and nutrients .Doused with sambhar and

chutney it’s the favourite and oil free breakfast

of South India .

Recent culinary experts have tried their hands

in creating different types and shapes of iddlis

( I too have posted few varieties of iddli).

which is to be appreciated.

Today’s recipe is another recipe I found healthy

and tasty .

The recipe is too simple !

Here’s to the nutritious breakfast recipe!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups iddli batter*

Half cup fresh green peas

Half cup green gram sprouts

1 tsp pepper

1-2 green chillies

1 tsp cummin seeds

METHOD

•Excluding the iddli batter ,grind the rest of the

ingredients to a very coarse paste .

•Mix the ground paste into the batter.

•Mix well,pour into iddli moulds and steam till

done .

Serve with your favourite chutney !

I served with ridgegourd and ivy gourd

chutney ( recipe to follow)

Tip : When you grind the iddli batter,add

coconut water in place of water for grinding.

Use ice water for grinding.

IDDLI / DOSA BATTER*

•1 cup urad dal ( washed and soaked with 1

tsp fenugreek seeds for minimum 2 hours)

•4 cups iddli rice ( parboiled rice)

•A handful of raw rice or basmati rice

•A handful of rice flakes or poha ( soak 10

minutes before starting to grind )

Adding poha is optional

Method

•Wash and soak in separate bowls.

•After 2 hours grind the urad dal first fine .

•Remove the ground urad dal into a

container .

•Next grind both the rice ( do not add much

water).till it looks like fine semolina.

•Remove and mix with the ground urad dal.

Add 2 tsp salt .

•Cover and allow to ferment .

•Pour batter to fill only half of the container,

as the batter will froth and rise and may

spill over after fermentation.

CHICK PEA-EGG MASALA

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Chick peas or garbanzo beans is one good

legume,with loads of protein,fibre,and many

other nutrients,and vitamins.

The fibre sourced from this peas is very

beneficial to diabetic patients .

1 cup chick peas =125 gm fibre .

Good to serve at breakfast.It’s best to pre-soak

before cooking. In case you forget to soak,do

not worry ,just add boiling hot water into a

casserole ,add the peas ,close the lid and set

aside for half an hour,and pressure cook .

Now …that’s a tip I have given .😀

Moving to the recipe

INGREDIENT ( serves 4)

1 cup chick peas ( soaked overnight)

1 cup curd /yoghurt

1 tsp chilli flakes

2-3 eggs

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp pepper powder

1 -2 tsp butter or oil ( oil can be opted out too)

Salt to taste

Grind to a coarse paste

2 green chillies

4-5 cloves garlic

A small piece ginger

METHOD

•Cook the chick peas with 1/2 cup curd,turmeric

and a little water till soft ( pressure cook )

•Remove from fire ,and add the ground paste.

•Add the rest of the spices.

•Now,add the eggs and keep mixing till it looks

scrambled.

Garnish with coriander leaves .

This dish can be used to make wraps,or served

with chapatis,and bread .

If you need more spice ,you could add more

chilli powder.

Simple recipe but tasty to have it without any

accompaniments.

Do try this healthy dish and post in your

suggestions and comments!

RAGI -RICE FLOUR PITTU/PUTTU( 2 variations)

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Ragi/ finger millet /nachni,kurakkan is a gluten

free whole grain,which aids in weight loss and

good for diabetic patients.

If I had to make pittu, it was rice flour ( red/

white) or wheat /all purpose flour ( roasted).

Recently only,I knew you could make ragi pittu

tasty like other pittu.

The trick is that you have to mix rice flour with

the ragi flour to get a good taste,not failing lots

of coconut too.I love to have with coconut

milk,banana,and sugar,but my family likes it

with channa ( chickpea curry ).

Today I tried two versions of ragi pittu .One

with coconut ,and the other with a little

vegetables .

The feedback stars were more for the vegetable

pittu 😋.

I want to also state that Kerala cuisine,has the

unique meat pittu,especially made with beef.

( will post soon)

So here’s to both the versions

INGREDIENTS

1 cup ragi flour

1/2 cup rice flour ( red or white)

Salt

2 cups grated coconut

Water

METHOD

Mix the ragi,rice flour,salt and 1/2 cup coconut.

Sprinkle water little by little and mix with the

tip of your fingers .

The mixture should be crumbly ,and if you

hold a portion with your fingers it should hold

lightly .

If you have the stainless steel cylindrical pittu

steamer, or the bamboo pittu maker you will

get a neat roll .

You could also tie up in a muslin cloth,and

steam for 15- 20 minutes.

Use the remaining coconut to create portions.

Starting with coconut,and ending with coconut

Now to the vegetable pittu

1 carrot ,a small leek or spring onions ,2-3

beans chopped fine,1/2 tsp ginger- garlic

chopped ,1 green chilli chopped,1 tsp chilli

powder or chilli flakes,1/4 tsp garam masala

powder ,salt to taste,1 tsp oil / ghee

Method

Mix all these together ,and layer vegetables and

pittu mix ,and steam till done .

SRILANKAN ‘POL ROTI’ WITH ‘POL SAMBOL’ STUFFED

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Pol is a Sinhalese word for coconut .This roti is

purely from the Srilankan cuisine.I have posted

recipes of Pol roti and Pol sambol before .

Today,I thought to envelope the pol sambol into

the roti and it was delicious.

This recipe was copy pasted with a few changes

from my previous post of the same .It was too

easy to post this recipe 😉

INGREDIENTS

For the pol sambol

1 cup coconut scraped

1 onion or 7-8 small onions

1/2 green chilli ( optional)

2-3 curry leaves

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp chilli powder ( can add more if you like it hot)

Two teaspoons maldive fish powder ( optional )

juice of 1 lime

Salt to taste.

METHOD

Except the grated coconut, pound or blend the

ingredients to a coarse mix.

Add the coconut and mix well.

For the roti

INGREDIENTS

3 cups plain flour

1 coconut scraped (coconut can be cut and

ground coarsely with 1 cup water and  used )

salt to taste

METHOD

Bind all these to a slight sticky dough .

Divide portions out of the dough.

Grease a plate with coconut oil,flatten with the

palm of your hand.

Keep a tbsp of the coconut sambol.

Fold in like in the photo.

Cook on a griddle till cooked on both sides.

SAGO,POTATO,PEANUT KHICHIDI

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Sago,sabudana,javarisi,or tapioca pearls is a

lovely breakfast to make and serve too.

I have posted sago khichidi before, and this is

an addition to the breakfast list.

Wholesome and healthy breakfast!

Please do not use the small sago.Use only the

medium sized sago for khichidi .Small sago is

best for payasam or kheer .

To make khichidi you have to pre-soak for

minimum 5-6 hours, or overnight.Always

remember to wash and then soak,as the sago

will swell and absorb the water,and no water

will be required in the cooking.

To the recipe now ( 1 cup =100-150gm)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sago ( washed and soaked overnight)

A handful of roasted peanuts

Few roasted peanuts+1 tsp chilli flakes +1/2 tsp

cummin seeds ( coarsely powdered)

2-3 boiled,peeled potatoes

1/4 tsp turmeric

3-4 tbsp ghee+oil

Salt to taste

For tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

I tsp ginger chopped

2 green chillies

Curry leaves

METHOD

Heat oil,and add the ingredients for tempering

Add turmeric and salt.

Now add the soaked sago,and cook on a low

flame covered for 5-7 minutes.

Now add the potatoes and the peanuts + peanut

mixture .

Mix well ,cover and simmer cook for another

2-3 minutes .

MORINGA DOSA WITH LEFTOVER CURD RICE

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This is the first time I have tried with leftover

curd rice.It was soft and the blend of Moringa,

gave out an appetising flavour.

If you have left over dosa batter,you could mix

2-3 batter with 1 cup left over curd rice .

What I did today -I mixed urad flour,rice flour

and poha with curd rice,and freshly plucked

moringa leaves…..to a healthy breakfast .

To the recipe now

INGREDIENTS

1 cup leftover curd rice

1/2 cup urad dal flour

1 cup rice flour

A handful of poha ( aval ,rice flakes )

A handful of moringa leaves

1 onion chopped fine

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of baking soda

Salt to taste

METHOD

•Mix all the ingredients together,and set aside

for 20 minutes.

•Pour a ladle,do not spread much .It should

look an uthapam ( thick ).

•Pour oil/ ghee around and cook on both sides .

Serve with any chutneys of your choice .

FINGER MILLET BREAD (RAGI/KURAKKAN BREAD)

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Ragi,finger millet,kurakkan( Sinhala ) is a

healthy bread . It was not an easy and good

bake when I did for the first time . The humour

part of the result was that ,even my dog ran

away when I offered him a bite ,it was so hard

and not edible 🤣.Why ?I made it with plain

ragi flour .

Today,I found a recipe with a mixture of wheat

flour and millet flour and the texture and taste

was good .The only change I made was to add

basil leaves and nuts as a topping.

“Failure,is part of Success,not the opposite ”

( quote ).

I never share recipes ,without achieving a good

result !

Now to the successful recipe 😍

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour ( 100-125 gm)

3 cups wheat flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg ( optional)

2 tsp yeast ( instant)

25 gm butter

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp salt

A pinch of baking soda

METHOD

•Warm milk with butter and set aside.

•Add yeast and sugar,to 1/2 cup lukewarm

water and allow to froth. ( 2 minutes)

•Mix all ingredients, in a stand mixer and

knead for 10 minutes ,to a soft and firm dough

•Apply a little oil on the dough,and allow to rise

( 20 minutes )

•After you see it doubled ,knead again for

another 10 minutes .

•Divide into portions you like ,and use a loaf tin

if you like ( I just baked in a silicon mat )

• Spray the bread with water .

• Sprinkle basil leaves , any seeds of your

choice.( I sprinkled sunflower seeds ,and

melon seeds) .

•Sprinkle a little millet flour on top .

• Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 35-40

minutes .

•Do not cut slices immediately or remove from

pan immediately

RAWA IDDLI (Instant +Oil free)

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This is a 30 minutes rawa iddli.

Soft and spongy oil- free iddlis.

The key ingredient,and tip to a good rawa iddli

is thick curd .This is very tasty iddli with

cashews and vegetables .

So,do try this method and post in your

comments .

To the recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup rawa ( semolina)

2 cups thick curd

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking soda(to mix before steaming)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

10 cashewnuts chopped

Few coriander leaves chopped

1 small carrot grated

1 green chilli chopped fine

METHOD

•First mix the semolina,curd,salt and 1 tsp

baking soda and set aside for 30 minutes.

•After 30 minutes,add 1/2 cup water and the 1/2

tsp baking soda and mix well.

•Add in the cashews ,vegetables and mix well.

•Pour into greased iddli moulds and steam for

10 minutes or till done .

Serve with sambhar/ chutneys/ korma .

SHREDDED LAMB BRUSCHETTA

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Whenever I cook any meat I reserve some in

the fridge for dishes like this .This time I found

quantity of meat was less compared to the

bread I wanted to make ( lockdown blues).

So checked the fridge for combinations and

picked up the pre-soaked channa / chick peas.

That was a satisfying combination and tasty too

A quick breakfast,dinner ,or a snack at tea .

Kids will love crunchy dishes like this ,so do try

this recipe and post in your comments!

Moving to the quick recipe now

INGREDIENTS

Bread slices

200 gm meat

1/2 cup chick peas ( soaked)

Few pieces of cut leeks / spring onions

1-2 tbsp chilli paste

1/4 tsp pepper powder

Salt to taste

Butter

METHOD

•Cook the meat till it changes colour.

•Take the meat out and mince it with the chick

peas in a mixer. ( coarse mixture)

•Mix in the rest of the ingredients

•Spread butter on the slices of bread on one only.

•Spread the minced mixture on the bread slices

and bake in a preheated oven (200C) for 10

minutes.

•Remove from oven .Drizzle tomato sauce and

serve.

Variations:

You can add grated cheese before baking too.

Adding Palak is another variation.

PALAK CURD VADA

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‘Vada in curd ‘known to be ‘Thayir Vada’ in

South Indian cuisine, is like comfort food

during hot summer days.

As urad dal is protein rich and curd is a

probiotic ,calcium rich healthy food ,having

this combination for breakfast contributes to

healthy living.

This combination of food is also considered to

be an alkalising agent.

I make this dish for breakfast at least once a

week,and today I thought to make it ‘green‘ by

adding spinach leaves .The addition of spinach

made the vadas super soft and tasty .

Let me share this recipe with you !

INGREDIENTS

200 gm urad dal

A small piece ginger

2-3 green chillies

1/2 tsp cummin seed powder

A pinch of asafoetida

A handful or more spinach leaves

1 tsp all purpose flour

A pinch of baking soda

Salt to taste.

Oil for frying

For the curd mix

Enough curd to immerse the vadas

A little sugar

Salt to taste

Beat curd lightly with sugar and salt.

METHOD

Soak the urad dal for minimum 30 minutes -1

hour.

Grind the urad dal first to a coarse paste, and

then add all the ingredients and grind to a fine

paste.

Heat oil and fry the vadas on medium flame ,

till golden brown.

Dip the fried vadas in water ,squeeze out the

water lightly ,and add to prepared curd.

Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika,or Kashmiri

chilli powder,and coriander leaves.