Salad is usually made of leafy & fresh raw vegetables. It is a ready to eat dish which is served either chilled or in room temperature. Salads are very good for our health. Doctors advice that we should take at least one salad every meal. Each colour we add has its own nutritional value. Salads are also served with salad dressings or garnishes.
In this particular salad i am using chick peas & rajma along with coloured capsicums/ bell peppers. Chick peas & rajma are full of protein, carbohydrates, magnesium, sodium potassium & dietary fibers. Capsicum or bell pepper also is full of potassium, sodium, carbohydrates, vitamin-A, vitamin-C, vitamin-B6, iron, magnesium & other dietary fibers. Here is my recipe for a healthy protein rich salad.
Preparation time: 15 mts Cooking time: 15 mts Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
White chickpeas - 1/2 cup
Rajma (kidney beans) - 1/2 cup
Red capsicum - 1 no
Yellow capsicum - 1 no
Green capsicum - 1 no
Salt - to taste
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon - 1 no. small
Method:
Soak the chickpeas & rajma overnight. Pressure cook it till it is ready. Cut all the capsicums in to small pieces. Extract juice from the lemon & keep it aside. Drain the cooked chickpeas & rajma. Put all the ingredients into a bowl. Add the salt, pepper & lime juice. Mix it all well. Multi coloured salad is ready.
Variations:
We can make different types of salads using our creative imagination.
Tips:
1) Boil the chickpeas & rajma to the right consistency. Don't overcook it.
2) We can even skip salt as we are using lime juice.
Orange is a fruit which belongs to the citrus family. Oranges originated in Southeast Asia, most probably in China. It grows well in tropical & sub-tropical climates. Oranges are high in Vitamin-C, potassium & carbohydrates. It also has high water content & is high in dietary fiber. In India oranges are in season from October to January.
When we think of orange, we only think about the fleshy part of the fruit. Most of us don't know that even the peel is edible. Orange peel is also equally high in vitamin-c, fiber & other nutrients like the fleshy part. It is generally used in baking as a flavouring agent & also as a garnish.
In this recipe i am using the orange peel & making a curry which is the Indian equivalent to the Chinese sweet & sour curry.
Preparation time: 10 mts Cooking time: 20 mts Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
Nagpur orange peel - peel of 2 oranges
Tamarind - size of a small lime
Sambar powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chili - 1 no
Gingelly oil - 2 tbsp
Jaggery - 2 tbsp
Besan flour - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Method:
Cut the orange peels in to small 1/2 inch pieces. Pour 1 1/2 cups of water in the tamarind, extract the juice & keep it aside. In a pressure pan add the oil & heat it. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds & red chili & fry them. Then add the cut orange peel & fry it well. Add the sambar powder & turmeric powder & fry well. Add the tamarind water & salt & pressure it for one whistle.
Powder the jaggery. Make a paste of the besan flour with a little water. Open the pressure pan after the pressure is released. Bring it to boil & add the jaggery & allow it to boil for some more time. Add the besan paste & thicken the curry. Orange peel curry is ready. This curry goes well with rice.
Variations:
We can make this curry using the peel of musambi also.
Tips:
1) Try to scrape the white insides of the orange peel. It will reduce the bitterness of the peel.
2) We can cut the peel into small pieces, dry them in the sun & store them in a container. This can be used when the oranges are not in season.
3) It is always best to use fresh orange peels because it gives a great fresh flavour to the curry.
Rajma (kidney beans) - 1/2 cup
