Hot shot stir fry

It has been ages since I wrote any post. I have been real busy with my toddler. Now its time to shade off excess fat and get that lean body. This recipe is very good. It satisfies your taste buds and fills up your tummy with essential nutrients.

I highly recommend this dish, it is yummy, easy and all that you want.

Serves 2:
Ingredients:

Onion: 1 small
Brocoli: 1/2
Mushrooms: 6
Red pepper: 1 medium
Spinach: handful
Vegetarian sausage: 3 (if frozen, remove and keep it outside for 10-20minutes)
Salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil: 1 table spoon

Sauce:
Soya sauce: 3 table spn
Garlic crushed: 1 table spn
Red chili flakes: 1/2 table spn
Honey: 1/2 table spn
Cheery tomatoes: 5-6 finely chopped
Toasted seasom oil: 1 table spn

Optional:
Boiled noodles / rice of your choice

Garnish: 
Green leaves of sping onions
Freshly crushed black pepper

Preparation:
Mix all the sauce ingredients and keep them aside.

Wash and cut all the vegetables and keep them seperate. Cut them one inch long.  Rough chop spinach.

Cut vegetarian sausage into half and make 1 inch long pieces and cook on non-stick pan on very slow heat for 5-10minutes in total by turning when once side is cooked. One side will take 4-5 minutes. Cooked pieces will have light brown color on them. Remove from heat once cooked.

Boil the noodles or rice if you want to add extra carbs in your dish else you can just skip it.

Take a large wok, heat it. Add extra virgin olive oil and let it heat for 1 minute. Once the oil is hot, add each vegetables in order. Brocoli, stir on high heat for 1 minute, onions, let it cook for half a minute and add rest mushrooms, red peppers, spinach and cook for 1 minute. Add the sausage pieces and salt to taste. Mix well. Add the sauce and mix well. It will not take more then 5minutes for all the veggies to get cooked. It shouldn't be overcooked. Just enough till it has a bite.

Mix noodles or rice. Add more soya sauce if needed.

[Tip: If vegetables leave lot of water, spinkle some flour and mix until the water is turned into nice thick sauce.]

Garnish with greens of spring onion and freshly crushed black pepper. 

Avocado coated julienne stir fry

I came up with this recipe while I was on GM diet day 3. On 3rd day you are allowed to eat only fruits and vegetables. GM diet is same as cabbage soup diet. Fast way to lose weight. It did work for me. I like to get on low cal diet specially after I have been hogging a lot :).

I was planning to cook stir fry and just eat that. I came up with this recipe as I had an avocado which I had to finish on fruit and veg day as next day was banana and milk day. Try this recipe. You will love it.

Ingredients:
2cups of following vegetables of your choice
Mushroom, broccoli, green beans, spring onions, carrot, courgette, asparagus, colored peppers (red, yellow or green), baby corn
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/2 table spoon

Avocado: 1 ripe
Tomato: 1 medium
Garlic clove: 1
Parsley: handful
Sea salt
Lime juice: 2 table spoon

Preparation:
Wash and cut the vegetables in julienne cut and keep them separate.

Cut avocado in half.
Remove the seed. Take the skin off.
In blender add avocado, washed and rough chopped tomato, garlic clove, parsley, lime juice, sea salt.
Blend it into smooth paste.
Heat the wok and add extra virgin olive oil. Stir fry vegetables for 3-4 minutes on high flame. When you cook vegetables on high flame for short time, it will retain its nutrients.
When vegetables are cooked, add the avocado paste
and stir well.
You can add pasta to this stir fry or stir fry can be eaten own its own. Avocado is source of "good fat" hence this dish will make your tummy full.

Cajun grilled tofu

Cajun grilled tofu can be prepared in advance to be eaten own its own or can be eaten in salads or stir fries. Tofu is one amazing protein source for vegetarians and I always hunt for new recipes to make it more interesting. This one certainly tops the chart.

Following recipe can be used for any vegetable or meat you may like to grill.

Ingredients:
Cajun spice mix: 1 -2 table spoon
Extra virgin olive oil: 4 table spoon
Tofu: 400gms

Preparation:
Mix oil and spice in a bowl. Stir well.
Cut tofu into squares
and marinate it in the spice for over 4-5 hours. For best result, put it over night.

Place the marinated tofu in sandwich bag
Cover it in air tight container to avoid your freeze smelling.
Soak the skewers in water for 10 minutes before use. Preheat oven on 200 degree Celsius for 10minutes.

Add tofu one by one on the skewers.
Place them carefully in the oven for 20 minutes. At this point you can add little melted butter on each tofu but avoid it if you are watching your weight.
Keep checking tofu and remove it once it is slightly burnt from the sides.

Serve with salad or mint chutney or add in stir fry or soups.

Palak bhaji

This is very simple recipe for spinach sabji. I make this when I want to eat something healthy and don't want to take lot of effort.
This goes well with rice or chapati with onion salad.

Ingredients:
Spinach: 400gms
Tomato: 1 large
Garlic: 2 cloves
Mustard seeds: 1 tea spoon
Asafoetida: 1 pinch
Turmeric: 1 tea spoon
Coriander and cumin powder: 1 table spoon
Red chili powder: 1-2 tea spoon
Oil: 1 table spoon
Salt to taste.

Preparation:
Wash and dry spinach. Rough chop it. Peel garlic and fine chop it. Wash and fine chop tomatoes.
Heat the pan, add oil and allow it to get hot. Add mustard seeds. Once it start to splutter add asafoetida.
Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds and Add tomato and cook for 2 minutes.
Add spinach. Spinach will leave lot of water so do not add any extra water. Stir it for 3-4 minutes and you will see leaves will start to cook. Add all the spices. Add salt right at the end when spinach is almost cooked.
After 3-4 minutes spinach will be ready to serve. You can add pinch of garam masala if you wish.
Serve hot with chapati or rice and choice or pickle or salad.

Mustard and honey dressing bean salad

I love this salad. It gives a good balance of everything. Good fat, good source of protein, carbohydrate and fibers. Plus it has great taste and full of color makes it even more interesting to eat. Mustard adds bit of spices to it so for those who like to eat spicy food here is a good meal replacement for you.
Try this salad on one of those nights when you are trying to watch your weight :).

Ingredients:
Salad Dressing:
Whole mustard paste: 2 table spoon
Dijon mustard paste: 2 table spoon
Honey: 4 table spoon
Extra virgin olive oil: 2 table spoon
Freshly crushed pepper: 1/2 table spoon
Sea salt to taste

Serves: 2
Salad:
Boiled red kidney beans:1/2cup
Salad leaves: 1 cup
Broccoli: 1cup
Grated carrot: 1/4 cup
Celery: 1/4 cup
Spring onions: 2
(add anything you like)

Preparation:
Mix all the salad dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well until it becomes a smooth paste.

Par boil broccoli and celery until it is little bit soft but crispy in taste. This will take 3-4 minutes boiling time in boiling water.

Add all the vegetables and beans in the salad dressing. Give it a good mix.
Add salad leaves on the serving plate.

Spread the salad over salad leaves on the serving plate.
Serve hot or cold.

Bean cheese nuggets

Bean cheese nuggets are full of fibers and nutrition. Also good source of protein. Serves as good balanced meal.

Makes 6 nuggets.
Ingredients:
Potato: just enough for binding
Red kidney beans: 1 cup
Green chili and ginger paste: 1 table spoon
Coriander: 2 table spoon
Salt to taste
Cheddar cheese: few pieces.
Bread crumbs
Extra virgin olive oil: Few drops
Salad to serve on

Preparation:
Boil, peel and mash potato. Soak, boil and drain red kidney beans. Mash them together. Add ginger chili paste, coriander washed and finely chopped. Add salt to taste and mix well. You can spice it the way you like. Can add more vegetables if you like.
Spray olive oil on oven tray and preheat oven for 10minutes on 180degrees Celsius.

Divide it into golf ball sized pieces. Add a piece of cheese in the center
and cover it well so it is stuffed inside.
Roll the nugget into breadcrumbs and place it on oven tray.
Heat it in oven for 20minutes on 180 on 3rd rack.
On the serving dish, set a layer of salad
and then place all the nuggets. Serve hot.

Tofu bread pizza

This recipe is very healthy and can also be made low fat. With whole wheat bread, tofu and all the veggies it can be one balanced meal ready in minutes.

Makes 3 bread pizza
Ingredients:
Tofu: 100gms
Onion: 1 medium
Tomato: 1 medium
Grated cheese: as much as you like
Salt to taste
Carom seeds: 1 tea spoon
Mixed Italian herbs: pinch
Tomato sauce: 1 heaped table spoon
Maggie spicy chili sauce: 1/2 table spoon

Wheat bread slices: 3
Extra virgin olive oil (or any other oil)
For garnish: freshly crushed pepper

Preparation:
There is no set definition to make tofu bread pizza. You can add what ever you like. Main thing here is grated tofu. I do look for ways to have a balanced meal. This is just fantastic recipe with minimum effort.

Peel onions and fine chop them. Wash and fine chop tomato. Grate tofu and cheese.
Heat pan. Add oil and once hot add carom seeds. Let it splutter.
Add onion and stir for one minute or two until soft. Add tomato and let it cook until soft.
Add tofu, sauces, spice mix, salt to taste. Give it a good stir. Cook for 2 minutes on low heat. Once its done switch of the heat.
Lightly toast bread in toaster. Apply olive oil on one side of bread. We are going to place the side with olive oil at the bottom. Oil will help bread cook crispier.
On the other side apply thick layer of cooked tofu
and sprinkle cheese on top.
Heat the pan on low flame and let it heat up. Place the bread on pan and allow it to cook with lid on for 3-4minutes. Make sure flame is low else bread will start burning.
Enjoy hot pizza with little freshly crushed pepper.

Sprouted mung sabji

Mung beans are very healthy but sprouted mung are even healthier.

Ingredients:
Sprouted mung beans: 1.5cups
Tomato: 1 medium
Curry leaves: handful
Mustard seeds: 1 table spoon
Turmeric: 1 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Garam masala: 1 tea spoon
Sugar: pinch
Oil: 1 table spn
Chopped coriander for garnish

Preparation:
This is very quick recipe. One afternoon I was wondering what can I make which will go along with the rotis I had. I also wanted protein and didn't want the hassle to cook dal.

I had some mung and thought of making something with it. I didn't even want to boil it.

I chopped some tomatoes. Heated pan and added some oil, mustard, asafoetida and curry leaves. Once seeds started to splutter added tomatoes. Stirred for a while and added sprouted mung. Sprinkled some water every now and again to let mung cook.
After 3-4 minutes added spices and salt to taste. Allowed mung to get soft and once it was done sprouted mung shaak/sabji was ready.

I garnished it with some coriander and enjoyed with some cucumber salad, plain yogurt and rotis.

Tofu paneer vegetable bhurji

Make one dish and have a very good balanced meal. This recipe has fiber, vegetables, greens, protein, good fat (use olive oil), dairy. If you eat this along with roti will add your carb.

Amazing for day to day busy life and lunchbox. Easy to make and almost one pot recipe. Tastes great. What else can I offer you my readers :). Go ahead and try this today.

Ingredients:
Paneer grated: 1/2 cup
Tofu grated: 1/2 cup
Cabbage grated: 1/2 cup
Green beans finely chopped: 1/2 cup
Onion: 1 medium
Ginger garlic grated: 1 table spoon
Green chilies: 2-3
Tomato grated: 1 medium

Tip: additional vegetable suggestion: capsicum (red, green, yellow), corn, carrot, cauliflower.

Cumin seeds: 1/2 table spn
Turmeric: 1/2 table spn
Dry mango powder: 1/2 - 1 table spn
Garam masala powder: 1/4 table spoon
Oil: 1 table spoon
Salt to taste
For garnish:
Coriander finely chopped
Finely chopped ginger

Preparation:
Wash, clean and grate or fine chop all vegetables. Grate paneer and tofu. I have added paneer as I do not like just the taste of tofu. If you want you can simply remove paneer all together from the recipe.
Boil hard to cook vegetables green beans in this case for 5-6 minutes in boiling water until soft. Not too soft else it will get soggy. Rinse it.

Heat the pan. Add oil and let it heat up. This recipe will taste great even without any oil so for those who are watching your weight go ahead without oil.

Add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add ginger garlic and green chilies. After a minute add onions. Stir until onions are soft.
Add green beans, cabbage and stir until cabbage is soft.
Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are soft.
Finally add tofu and paneer and all the masalas. Cook on very slow flame for 5minutes.
Garnish with coriander and ginger.
Enjoy with rice, dal, chapatti, bread of your choice.