Desi Health Bites: Guthi Vankaya and a Sub-wich

Guthi Vankaya is a famous Andhra dish. It is made by stuffing tiny brinjals/eggplants/aubergines with a freshly made spice powder. The stuffed vegetables are then cooked in a gravy or sautéed in generous amount of oil until cooked. When served as an accompaniment to rice, it is guaranteed to uplift your meal to a gastronomic experience. Know someone who hates brinjal? Then offer them this Guthi Vankaya. And watch the magic.
This Guthi Vankaya recipe was created for the Fortune Rice Bran Oil Desi Health Bites Activity. I have grilled the stuffed Vankaya instead of going the more oil-rich frying route. Also, I tried a sandwich version where I’ve taken the curry one step closer to chomp-heaven! The sandwich is very healthy if you use whole grain bread. Omit the onion rings in the sandwich if you do not want to increase the calories. Instead, raw onion rings soaked in vinegar will add a different dimension to the sandwich too.
Do not let the long list of ingredients scare you. They are quite easy to bring together. Once you bite into the sandwich, any other thought will promptly be forgotten. Go on, try it out and let me know. 
 

ALLERGY INFORMATION

• Does NOT contain gluten, soya, corn, eggs, lactose.
• Suitable for gluten, lactose intolerance or people with nut allergy.

Preparation Time – 20 minutes, Cooking Time – under 30 minutes including grilling time, Serves - 6

You Need -

Cookware – Oven proof glass bowl, mixer grinder, fry pan, sandwich toaster, microwave oven with grill or OTG.

Ingredients -

For Guthi Vankaya -

1. 500 grams tiny violet brinjals
2. ¼ cup dry coconut (copra) slices
3. ¼ cup chopped onion
4. 2 tablespoon Coriander seeds (dhania)
5. 2 tablespoon chana dal
6. 2 teaspoon urad dal
7. 6-7 red chillies
8. A thin 1 inch cinnamon stick
9. 2 cloves
10. ½ teaspoon Cumin (jeera)
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. 2 tablespoon Fortune Rice Bran Oil*

For Onion Rings –

1. 2 big red onions
2. 1 cup Panko Bread crumbs
3. 3 tablespoon cornflour
4. 3 tablespoons Gram Flour (besan)
5. A pinch salt
6. ¼ cup water
7. Fortune Rice Bran Oil for deep frying

For Honey Mustard dressing –

1. 2 tablespoon good quality mustard
2. 2 tablespoon honey

For Assembling Sub Sandwich –

1. 6 numbers 6” hot dog rolls or Ciabatta bread
2. 1 teaspoon butter
3. 1 European Cucumber (Or Salad Cucumber)
4. 3 medium tomatoes
5. A few leaves each of Iceberg, Romaine and Curly green lettuce
6. 6 Cheese slices

Method –

 For Guthi Vankaya –

1. Add ½ teaspoon oil to a fry pan, and fry these ingredients over medium heat to a golden brown – dry coconut slices, chopped onion, dhania, chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, cinnamon, cloves, jeera. Cool, and grind with salt to a coarse powder.
2. Rinse the brinjals, chop off the stem. Make ‘X’ slits starting from the bottom of each brinjal, going up to the head, but take care to leave the head intact.
3. Stuff the slits with the above powder.

1. Preheat Grill in microwave oven at 220⁰C.
2. Place the stuffed brinjals (Guthi Vankaya) head down and filling-side upward, in a suitable oven proof glass bowl. Drizzle the remaining oil over the brinjals and grill covered for the first 10 minutes, then open for the next 5-7 minutes.
3. The Guthi Vankaya is ready when the brinjal feels soft to touch and the filling looks toasted.

  
  *A word about the oil used here – Fortune Rice Bran oil has a substance called ‘oryzanol’ which helps in reducing cholesterol in the body. Oryzanol works by lowering cholesterol levels and has free radical scavenging actions as well. The latter action helps the body by improving skin texture, reducing wrinkles and ageing, apart from protecting against dangerous cancer causing cells in the body.

For Onion Rings –

1. Mix the gram flour and cornflour with salt and just enough water to make a thin (but not watery) batter.
2. Peel the onions, slice horizontally into thick slices, and separate into rings.
3. Dip each ring into the batter, coat with panko bread crumbs and set aside.
4. Repeat until all onion rings are coated. Heat about 1 cup Fortune Rice Bran Oil in a suitable fry pan and deep fry the rings till they are golden brown. Set aside.

For honey mustard dressing –  Whisk both ingredients to a smooth homogenous mixture.

For Assembling Sub Sandwich –

1. Immerse the lettuce leaves in ice cold water. Rinse the cucumber and tomato and cut into thin slices. Separate the Guthi Vankaya into segments.
2. Cut each hot dog bun/Ciabatta bread horizontally into two. Brush with butter and toast in sandwich maker/tawa for a few minutes. Remove to serving platter.
3. Drizzle some honey mustard dressing over the bottom side of bun.
4. Place the brinjal segments over the dressing. Arrange cucumber, tomato slices over this. Drizzle some more dressing over the vegetables.
5. Drain lettuce, shake dry and tear up by hand into bite size pieces. Place lettuce over the sandwich, top with cheese slice. Cover with top of bun and press down lightly.
6. Repeat with the rest of the hot dog buns and filling similarly.
7. Your super healthy, tasty, filling, homemade Guthi Vankaya sub sandwich is ready.

 

“This blog post is in association with Fortune Foods as a part of their Desi Health Bites activity– The Hunt for the Best Rice Bran Oil Recipes. For more updates and healthy recipes using Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil,
follow Fortune Foods at www.fortunefoods.com , 
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FortuneFoods and
on Twitter at @fortunefoods (https://twitter.com/FortuneFoods)
 

Roasted Brinjal Raita / Eggplant Raita / Roasted Eggplant Dip

The best meals are often the simplest ones. Those which can be rustled up with really few ingredients, in minimum time, and deliver high on nutrition, as well as satisfaction. Quick cooking=happy eating=content tummies.

This raita is one such recipe. Besides, the dish is versatile in that it can be used in many ways. The day I made it at home, we used it as raita, dip, as well as a substitute for mayo in sandwiches! So does it taste like baba ghanoush? Well, not quite. Tzatziki? well, maybe. Punjabi Baingan Bharta? mmm, not that either.

Why don’t we  just delve in and find out? Shall we?

The secret to an amazing brinjal raita lies in how it is smoked. While purists will tell you to rub some oil on the skin and roast on all sides over an open flame patiently turning it over and watching lest it char beyond recognition, i am going to let you in on a secret!

Just rinse the brinjal, wipe dry, slit into four long pieces, place in a microwave safe glass bowl and cook on the highest power for 6-7 minutes. Now take each piece and roast them individually over an open flame for just a minute per piece.  Dunk them in a bowl of cold water, peel the charred skin and reserve the pulp. This whole process takes less than 15 minutes. This gives the right amount of smokiness to the pulp without being overpowering. It also frees you up to attend to the rest of the meal while it cooks in the microwave. No need to tend to it constantly. Plus a total reduction in cooking time.

Now that I have simplified it for you, go ahead and make yourself some fragrant raita/dip/sandwich filling/meal by itself.

ALLERGY INFORMATION

• Does NOT contain gluten, nuts, corn, soya, eggs.
• Has dairy in the form of skim milk curd (yoghurt). Usually tolerated by people with lactose intolerance.

Preparation Time – 15 minutes, Cooking time – 15 minutes, Serves – 4

You Need

Cookware – Knife, Cutting Board, Small Sauce pan / Tadka pan,  Bowl of 1 litre capacity.

Ingredients

1. 1 Big Violet Brinjal/Eggplant weighing approximately 500gms
2. 1 cup Fresh curd
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. A pinch sugar
5. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
6. 1 small green chilli
7. 1/4 tsp cooking oil
8. a pinch of asafoetida powder
9. a few curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnish – optional

To Assemble

1. Prepare the brinjal/ aubergine/eggplant as described earlier. To repeat – wash, wipe dry, slit along length of brinjal into 3 pieces. cook for 6-7 minutes in microwave safe glass bowl at highest power. You may add 2-3 tbsp water to the bowl to help cook without shrinking. I find this method works best for me.
2. After this, place each piece individually over an open small flame and char the skin. Dunk all of them into a bowl of cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and reserve the pulp.
3. Mash the pulp with potato masher/fork.
4. Whip curd with sugar and salt. Add the mashed brinjal, and stir in well to combine. Raita just needs seasoning now.
5. Prepare the seasoning by heating oil in a small sauce pan/tadka pan. Add mustard seeds, when they crackle, add slit green chilli, asafoetida powder. Switch off flame. Pour over the raita. Add the curry leaves and coriander leaves, if using, stir in and let it rest for few minutes.

Your delicious fragrant raita is ready! Serve with hot phulkas, paratha, bisi bele bhath, biryani, filling for sandwich, dip for crudites, wraps. Don’t want to make anything else? Just have it chilled. A bowlful. As it is.

Notes -

• This method of cooking first and smoking next allows for a good desirable smokiness. Even agnostics of smoky flavours will find it appealing.
• Do not omit the seasoning. It is crucial in bringing all the flavours together.
• Some chilling will really help in elevating this simple creation. However, if you are in a hurry, don’t worry. Just dig in.

Technorati Tags: brinjal raita,eggplant raita,eggplant dip,smoked eggplant dip,aubergine dip,curd,yoghurt

Dalia khichdi

We returned tired and hungry after an exciting round of Diwali shopping. With just more than half an hour at hand, I had to rustle up a reviving meal for my family. This is what I made. Quick and easy to put together, no exotic ingredients, and healthy comfort food at it's best! Do try it out and let me know how you liked it.

You need

1. Cracked wheat-1 cup (200 gm)
2. Mung dal-1 cup (200gm)
3. Carrot-2 small, chopped-(1/2 cup)
4. Capsicum-1 medium, chopped (1/4 cup)
5. Potato-1 big, chopped (1/4 cup)
6. Large violet brinjal- 1/2 chopped (1 cup)
7. Tomatoes-3/4 kg
8. Asafoetida powder-a pinch
9. Turmeric powder-3/4 tsp
10. Salt-2 tsp
11. Coriander leaves-3 tbsp chopped

For seasoning

1. Oil + ghee-2 tbsp
2. Jeera-1 tsp
3. Whole black pepper- 1tsp
4. Cloves- 7-8
5. Cinnamon-5-7 small sticks
6. green cardamom-3-4

To assemble

1. Choose ripe red tomatoes, wash well and puree in mixer.You could also blanch them, peel skin and then puree.Retaining the skin or peeling it off is personal choice, I have not seen flavour change with either.
2. Wash all other vegetables, dice into even sized pieces.
3. Wash dalia and mung dal together, add three times the volume of water (that makes it 6 cups of water for this recipe), and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil, ghee mixture in a broad kadai/ saucepan.
5. Add in order given, all the ingredients for seasoning.
6. When jeera crackles, and you get a pleasant aroma of spices, it ts time to add hing powder, turmeric powder.
7. Add chopped vegetables toss well and fry for 3 minutes.
8. Add tomato puree and salt.Allow to simmer for atleast 10 minutes until raw smell of tomatoes are gone.
9. When the pressure has released, add the simmering vegetables to the cooked dalia,  mix thoroughly and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
10. Finally add chopped coriander blend in and serve hot.
11. Serve with any raita / salad and papad.

Notes

• You can fry washed wheat + dal in a tsp of ghee for a nice aroma.
• You can add more vegetables like knol khol, peas, sweet potato, onion.
• You can omit tomatoes entirely if you do not prefer the tang, or mix in juice of 1 lemon at the end.
• You can serve this hot topped with a tsp of ghee to kids and omit for those with calorie restrictions.
• Microwaved masala papad is a good accompaniment too.
• Can add more water after mixing the vegetables and cooked dalia.

Now for  the nutri notes

• This is a great one pot meal - combining cereal, pulse, vegetables and dairy allowance if served with raita.
• Eating a cereal and a pulse in the same meal ensures that the amino acids missing in one is complemented by those in the other. This is great for vegetarians since they derive maximum benefit from plant protein by eating in combination like in this recipe.
• Tomatoes, rich in lycopene take pride of place in this dish. Apart from fibre, vitamin A and vitamin C, that you get in tomatoes, the lycopene in tomatoes also is an anti carcinogenic agent.
• Using cracked wheat ensures that the benefits of bran and germ are derived fully. Hence, a high protein content (12gm/100gm), not to mention high fibre as well (1.2-1.4g/100gm).What would interest everyone is also the high niacin and folate levels in cracked wheat makes it an ideal grain for pregnant women, athletes, teenagers and elderly too.
• Carrots used here add to the beta carotene, you get half your daily allowance of Vitamin A by adding 1/4 cup of chopped carrots per person.

Here are the visuals 

chopped vegetables

frying whole spices

simmering vegetables

Mix cooked dalia with vegetables

Serve with raita

Stuffed brinjals-my style



Stuffed brinjal-my style

You will need-

1. peanuts-200ml
2. dhaniya-150ml
3. chana dal-100ml
4. urad dal-75ml
5. white til-100ml
6. jeera-1 heaped tsp
7. mustard seeds-1/2tsp
8. red chillies-15-20
9. tamarind-size of orange
10. jaggery- approx half the amount of tamarind
11. onions- finely chopped 2cups
12. salt-as per taste(approx 2tsp)
13. violet brinjals-1kg
14. vegetable oil-2tbsp
15. mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
16. urad dal-1 tsp

To assemble the stuffing-

1. Soak tamarind in a cup of warm water.squeeze out juice, set aside.
2. Roast items for masala powder(from 1 -8),separately,in a drop of oil each.Roast the red chillies last.when cooled powder them together.
3. Saute the chopped onions lightly.
4. In a large bowl,combine the masala powder,sauted onions,jaggery,tamarind juice,salt.Blend well with hand/ladle to get uniform mixture.
5. Wash whole brinjals wipe clean.You may slice off the stems.
6. Cut them into quarters or sixes keeping the base of the brinjal intact.
7. Use a spoon to fill in the stuffing mixture well into the cut brinjal.(I enjoy getting dirty with my hands at this stage!!).Reserve any left over stuffing.

To assemble the stuffed brinjal-

1. Heat a large heavy bottomed pan/pressure cooker.
2. Add all the oil,temper with mustard seeds,urad dal.
3. Gently place the brinjals stuffed side up into the pan.Tip in the remaining stuffing with 1 cup water(add more water if using a pan).
4. Cover lid of pan/cooker.Cook till 1 whistle if using cooker.Check for doneness in a pan,after 7-8 minutes,add more water if needed,cook till done.
5. Your gooey,heavenly smelling stuffed brinjal is now ready.
6. Serve warm with hot steamed rice and tadka dal.

Notes-

• Pressure cooker works best for me.
• Roast each ingredient for powder patiently until just golden brown.
• Omit jaggery if you dont fancy a hot-sweet flavour.
• Cut brinjals carefully after getting the stuffing ready,they get discolourd if left cut for too long.
• Optional-Add chopped coriander to stuffing or after cooking,as a garnish.

   

ingredients

fried onions with powdered jaggery,masala and salt.

stuffing mixture

slit brinjals stuffed with paste



Serve with steamed rice and dal.