Zucchini - Red Poha Baked Cutlet / Diet Friendly Recipe - 31 / #100dietrecipes

Include this guilt free snack for your New year party and welcome new year in a healthy way. In this recipe, I have used thick red poha and that is the main reason of soaking it for 15 minutes. Soaking time will be less, if the regular ones are used. The soaked poha is cooked along with the sauteed zucchini mixture and further mixed up with wheat bread to make a delicious cutlets. Mint chutney is an excellent healthy choice of side dish but also can be served with tomato sauce.

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Red Poha ( Thick )
2 Whole wheat bread slices
1 Big Onion, Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Zucchini, grated ( I have used yellow zucchini ) 
2 Green chillies, Finely chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Olive oil 
Bread crumbs for outer covering

Method :

Soak the red poha before starting the cooking process. ( Approx 15 minutes ).

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped chillies followed by onion.

Saute till the color of onion changes and add the grated zucchini followed by coriander leaves.

Saute for a minute in a medium flame.

Meanwhile, drain the water from poha and add it to the zucchini mixture along with required amount of salt.

Mix well and cook till the mixture becomes dry.

Switch off the flame, transfer it to a bowl and cool it completely.

Take bread slices, dip it in water and squeeze the water.

Add the bread to the zucchini - poha mixture and mix well. ( Adjust salt ).

Divide the mixture into 8 - 9 equal sized balls.

Take one ball, gently flatten it using palm and shape it like a circle ( round cutlet ) or any shape.

Coat the cutlet with breadcrumbs and arrange in a greased baking tray. ( Instead of greasing, I placed a baking sheet on a tray ).

Bake it for 20 minutes for 10 minutes on each side in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C.

Bake it till the top layer turns crispy.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Mint chutney.

Spicy Egg Rice Using Brown Rice / Diet Friendly Recipe - 30 / #100dietrecipes

Spicy egg rice is a healthy and tasty lunch box meal to serve with a low fat curd raita or tomato sauce. I have used whole eggs in this recipe which can also be substituted with only whites. The addition of bell pepper and eggs compliments each other and gives a flavorful taste in each and every spoon. As the brown rice requires a minimum of 2 hours soaking time, it would be very difficult to prepare this during busy morning and also, the rice will be moist to add immediately. So, for the better texture of  rice, cook the brown rice on the prior day and refrigerate it over night. The texture of rice will be separate, non sticky and also mixes well with the masala.

Ingredients :

1 - 1 1/2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice 
1 Big Onion, Finely chopped
2 Fresh red chillies, chopped ( green chillies can also be used ) 
1/2 Cup Green Bell pepper , chopped into small pieces
2 Eggs 
1 Tsp Olive oil 
1/4 Tsp Chilli powder 
1/2 Tsp Jeera / Cumin powder 
1/2 Tsp Coriander powder 
1/4 Tsp Garam Masala
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing

 Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add chilli powder followed by coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala in a low flame. ( do not burn the masala )

Add the chopped onion followed by red chillies and saute.

Add the chopped green bell pepper and saute it for a minute. 

Break eggs and add it to the masala along with salt and scramble it.

Once it starts scrambling, add the cooked brown rice and mix evenly. ( Adding rice at this stage, helps eggs to coat well with the rice ).

Simmer the flame and cook for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and remove from the flame.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Chilli sauce or Raita using low fat curd.

 

Mixed Veggies Tomato Soup / Diet Friendly Recipe - 29 / #100dietrecipes

My today's diet friendly recipe is a veggie loaded Italian flavored soup prepared using exotic veggies like Broccoli, Zucchini, Bell peppers etc. The addition of oregano enhances the flavor and gives an Italian touch to the soup. Blanching the tomatoes gives a lovely texture and gives a tangy taste. This healthy soup can be served as breakfast or dinner along with the regular menu.

Ingredients:

3 Big Tomatoes
3 Garlic pods, sliced
1 Cup Colored Bell Peppers, chopped into small cubes
1 Small sized Yellow Zucchini, chopped into small cubes
1 Small sized Green Zucchini, chopped into small cubes
1/2 Cup Green peas
1 Big Carrot, peeled and chopped into small cubes
10 Broccoli florets
1/2 Tsp Chilli powder
1/4 Tsp Oregano
Salt to taste
2 Cups Water
1/2 Tsp Oil

Method :

Blanch the tomatoes, peel the skin and grind into smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced garlic pods.

Saute and add the chopped veggies followed by chilli powder, salt and a cup of water.

Cover and cook it for 10 minutes in a lower flame.

Now add the tomato paste along with the remaining water and let it boil.

Boil till it gets a thick soup consistency.

Add oregano and boil it for another couple of minutes.

Once done, remove from the flame and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Toast.

Spinach - Brown Rice Neer Urundai / Spinach - Brown Rice Balls / Diet Friendly Recipe - 28 / #100dietrecipes

This is one of the healthy snack prepared using brown rice and spinach leaves. The brown rice is soaked over night and ground into fine paste along with a chopped spinach. The ground paste is added to the seasoning and cooked in a lower flame is further made into small balls ( dumplings ) and steamed till it turns glossy. This can also be served as breakfast along with healthy coconut free Roasted gram chutney or any choice of chutney. To make it more healthy, include veggies too.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Brown Rice
1 1/2 - 2 Cups Spinach, chopped
1 Cup Water
2 Tsp Olive oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tbsp Urad dal
2 Dry red chillies, chopped
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and soak the brown rice over night.

Drain the water and grind into fine paste along with chopped spinach by adding 1 cup of water.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add urad dal followed by the chopped red chillies.

Saute and add the spinach - brown rice paste along with required amount of salt and keep stirring in a low flame.

Keep continuously stirring till the dough forms.

Once done, remove from the flame and make small equal sized balls by greasing palm with little oil. ( To avoid sticking ).

Arrange all the balls in a Idly cooker tray and steam it for 15 minutes or till the balls turns glossy.

Remove from the flame and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Roasted gram chutney or any chutney.

Spinach Horse gram Pithale / Diet Friendly Recipe - 27 / #100dietrecipes

Pithale is a popular Maharashtrian recipe prepared using besan flour, which is traditional eaten with bhakri. I have used the same recipe and made it more healthy by replacing besan with horse gram powder. Horse gram has lots of nutritious benefits and importantly, it helps to reduce weight. Check out my previous posts for more details on health benefits. This healthy side dish can be served along with Roti or rice. The sliced onion is sauteed along with a chopped spinach followed by horse gram water is simmered and cooked to get a thick gravy consistency. In this recipe, I have used horse gram powder which is available in most of the gourmet stores.

Ingredients :

1 Big Onion, finely sliced
1 Tomato, finely chopped 
2 Green chillies, chopped
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder 
1 Cup Spinach, Finely chopped
1/2 Cup Horse gram powder 
2 1/2 Cups Water + 3/4 Cup Water

2 Tsp Olive oil ( any cooking oil ) 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds
A pinch of Hing
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnishing
1/4 Tsp Lemon Juice 

Method :

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add jeera followed by hing.

Add the sliced onions and saute till it turns translucent.

Add green chillies followed by chopped tomato and spinach.

Saute till the tomato turns mushy.

Now add turmeric powder followed by salt and 2 1/2 cups of water.

Simmer the flame and let it boil.

Meanwhile, mix horse gram in 3/4 cup of water without any lumps.

Add the horse gram water to the boiling water and stir continuously in a low flame till the mixture thickens.

Once it gets thickened, remove from the flame.

Add lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Phulka or Brown rice.

Roasted Bell Pepper Soup / Diet Friendly Recipes - 26 / #100dietrecipes

Just a bowl of piping hot soup with a toast is always a refreshing breakfast for me and my husband. We always prefer soup as it is easy to prepare during busy mornings and also nutritious as it is loaded with veggies. In my today's recipe, I have roasted the bell peppers on direct flame and then pressure cooked along with the chopped tomatoes, which gives a tangy and refreshing flavor. I have used pressure cooker method in this recipe only for the time consuming factor. The roasted bell peppers enhance the taste of soup by its smoky flavor and the addition of masoor dal gives a creamy texture.This can be served as morning breakfast along with a bowl of sprouts and toast or as mid morning drink.

Ingredients :

1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper 
2 Big Tomatoes, chopped
3 Garlic pods
2 Tbsp Masoor dal, washed
2 Cups of Water 
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Crushed Peppercorns or pepper powder  ( Adjust according to taste bud )

Method :

Brush the bell peppers with little olive oil and lay it on their sides on direct flame.

Roast it by turning occasionally using tongs, until the skins are blackened.

Once done, remove from the flame and cool.

Wash the roasted bell peppers nicely to remove the black skins.

Chop the roasted bell peppers into cubes and add it to the pressure cooker.

Add chopped tomatoes followed by garlic pods, masoor dal and the measured water.

Pressure cook it for 5 - 6 whistles and switch off the flame.

Once the pressure gets released, open and blend the cooked veggies into smooth puree.

Strain the puree and boil it again for couple of minutes by adding salt and pepper.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with croutons.
For healthy croutons, click HERE.

Eggless Bansi Rava Cake /Diet Friendly Recipe - 25 / #100dietrecipes

                                                       Merry Christmas to all my friends :)

Looking for a healthy and guilt free cake to enjoy this Christmas festival. Well, then this is the one ! This cake is easy to bake, healthy, eggless and butterless too. In my diet friendly series, here comes my diet friendly cake to celebrate Christmas and New year without guilt. This is prepared using wheat flour, bansi rava and demerara sugar and baked for about 35 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degree C. Controlling sweets and cakes craving is the worst part in dieting but when it is prepared using healthy ingredients, why need to worry ? Just munch couple of pieces of this cake and enjoy dieting to get a perfect shape.

Ingredients :

1 1/2 Cups Bansi Rava
1 Cup Wheat Flour 
1 Cup Demerara sugar 
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder 
A pinch of Salt 
1 Cup Milk 
1 Cup Curd 
1/2 Cup Olive oil

Method :

Mix bansi rava and wheat flour along with a baking powder and salt .Keep aside.

Take milk  in a bowl and add curd followed by oil and sugar.

Mix well and add it to the dry ingredients.

Fold the mixture nicely and transfer it to a greased tin.

Bake it for 35 minutes at 180 degree C in a pre - heated oven or till the wooden skewers or tooth pick or knife comes out clean.

Once done, remove from the oven and cool it completely.

Cut in to desired shape and store it in an air tight container.

Serve it along with a cup of green tea.

Ragi Methi Khakra / Diet Friendly Recipes - 24 /#100dietrecipes

Khakra is a gujarati snack which is made up of wheat flour and oil. The preparation is similar to our regular chapathi but it is further pressed using a thick cloth to make it crispy. In my today's diet friendly series, I have used ragi flour along with wheat flour to make it more healthy and all you need is just a 1/2 to 1 Tsp of olive oil to prepare this diet friendly snack. Since ragi flour is added, the dough has to be rolled out gently or else it would break.This can be served as an evening or mid morning snack along with a green tea or natural tea. Though it sounds easy, preparation time is little tedious and time consuming. But the time spent on preparing this healthy snack is really worth while munching, as it gives a pleasure of having a guilt free snack.This can be stored in an air tight container and it stays for 3 - 4 days. For the below measurement, approximately 15 khakras can be made. In this recipe, I have used circle shaped cookie cutter to prepare mini khakras but it can also be rolled out like regular thin rotis.

Here is the recipe of diet friendly healthy khakras....

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Ragi Flour
1/2 Cup Wheat Flour
1/4 Tsp Cumin / Jeera Powder
1/4 Tsp Chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Dried Fenugreek / Methi, crushed
1/2 - 1 Tsp Olive oil 

Method :

Add ragi flour in a bowl along with wheat flour, cumin powder, chilli powder, dried fenugreek and salt.

Combine together and knead to form a soft dough by adding olive oil.

Cover and keep aside for half an hour.

Divide the dough into 5 equal sized balls.

Take one ball and roll it into thin circle by dusting wheat flour using rolling pin.

Using circle shaped cookie cutter or lid cut into shapes and keep aside.

Repeat the process for the remaining dough.

Heat a non stick tawa, simmer the flame and add one circle shaped dough on it.

Cook both the sides till the air pockets pop out.

Now take one clean thick cloth, press the khakra in a circular motion to avoid the formation of air pockets.

Flip the other side and keep pressing till the khakra turns crispy.

Once done, remove from the flame and repeat the process for the remaining circle shaped dough.

Cool and store it in an air tight container.

Serve.

Serving Options :

Serve it with green tea, coffee or tea.

Bottle gourd / Lauki / Surakai soup / Diet Friendly Recipes - 23 / #100dietrecipes

Bottle gourd soup is a healthy, easy and delicious soup prepared using minimal ingredients. This can be served as breakfast along with toast or as an evening drink during dieting days. Addition of this veggie in our regular diet is an excellent option during weight loss, as it contains 96 percentage of water. In this recipe, I did not strain the puree before boiling it with salt and pepper but it can also be strained.

Ingredients :

2 Cups Bottle gourd, grated
3 Garlic pods
1/4 Tsp Jeera powder / Cumin Powder
1 1/2 Cups Water 
Salt to taste
1/4 Tsp Pepper powder

For Croutons :

3 Whole wheat bread

Method :

Add grated bottle gourd along with garlic pods and jeera powder in a pressure cooker.

Add the measured water and pressure cook it for 5 whistles.

Switch off the flame and cool till the pressure gets released.

Once done, blend the cooked bottle gourd using blender or mixie jar.

Transfer the puree to the cooker and add salt and pepper.

Boil it again for couple of minutes in a medium flame.

Once done, serve it in a soup bowl and garnish with croutons.

For croutons, just place the whole wheat bread in a microwave for about 1 1/2 to 2 mins and it will turn crispy.

Remove and cut into cube shape and serve it as an accompaniment.

Chickpea - Bottle Gourd Dosa / Kondakadalai - Surakai Dosa / Diet Friendly Recipes - 22 / #100dietrecipes

Chickpea - Bottle gourd dosa is a healthy and tasty breakfast in which brown rice and chickpeas are soaked over night is ground into fine paste along with grated bottle gourd and other few ingredients. Instead of preparing regular dosa or curry using chickpeas, try this interesting and delicious dosa to have a healthy meal. This nutritious dosa goes well with any varieties of chutney and sambhar. To make it more healthier, serve this with vegetable chutney.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Chickpeas
1/2 Cup Brown rice
2 Green chillies
1/2 inch Ginger piece
Salt to taste
1/2 Cup Bottle gourd grated + 3 Tbsp grated bottle gourd

Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Water, as needed

Method :

Soak chickpeas and brown rice overnight.

Drain the water and add it to the mixie jar along with green chillies, ginger piece, 1/2 cup of grated bottle gourd and salt.

Grind into fine paste by adding water and transfer it to a bowl.

Add the chopped coriander leaves and 3 tbsp of grated bottle gourd.

Mix well and add little water if required to get a batter consistency.

Heat non stick tawa, take one ladle of batter and prepare like regular dosa.

Cook both the sides and remove from the tawa.

Repeat the process for the remaining batter and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with chutney and sambhar.

Brown Rice Upma / Brown Arisi Upma / Diet Friendly Recipes - 21 / #100dietrecipes

Brown rice upma is a diet friendly and easy breakfast when the rava is prepared ahead and stored in a container. Brown rice is washed along with a chana dal and dried on a clean cloth for a day to remove the moisture in rice,  is further ground coarsely to get a rava texture by adding pepper corns. The addition of chana dal and pepper corns is to enhance the flavor and taste of the upma. The procedure of this recipe is same as the regular one except the measurement of water, as the brown rice requires extra water to cook. This can be served with Roasted gram chutney and sambhar.

Here is the recipe of tasty and healthy upma...

Ingredients :

For preparing Brown Rice Rava :

1 Cup Brown rice
2 Tbsp Chana dal / Kadalai parupu
1 1/2 Tsp Pepper corns 

For Upma :

1 Big Onion, finely chopped
1 Green chilli, chopped ( Adjust according to taste bud )
2 Springs of Curry leaves
1 Tsp Ginger, finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 Tsp Olive oil or cooking oil 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds
1 Tbsp Channa dal
A pinch of Hing / Perungayam
3 Cups of Water

Method :

For Rava :

Wash brown rice and chana dal thrice and drain the water completely.

Spread the wash rice and dry it on a clean cloth till the moisture goes off.

Once the moisture goes off, grind into rava texture along with pepper corns.

Sieve the ground rava and remove the dust from it.

Dry roast it, cool and  store it in a container.

For Upma :

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add jeera followed by hing, channa dal and roast it till the color changes.

Add curry leaves followed by green chilli, ginger and chopped onion.

Saute till the color of onion changes and add salt followed by the measured water.

Let it boil, add the brown rice rava and mix it evenly.

Simmer the flame, close it with a lid and cook till the upma becomes dry.

Switch off the flame and keep it aside for 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Roasted gram chutney and sambhar.

Gluten Free Wheat Flour Pidi Kozhukattai / Diet Friendly Recipes - 20 / #100dietrecipes

Everyone must be familiar with a famous snack pidi kozhukattai, which is prepared using rice flour and my today's recipe is the healthiest version of pidi kozhukattai. I have used gluten free wheat flour to make it diet friendly but the same can also be prepared using wheat flour. Easy to prepare and perfect evening or mid - morning snack while dieting, which goes delicious with Roasted gram chutney or any spicy chutney. The onions and chillies are sauteed and combined with the gluten free wheat flour to form a dough and then, shaped into dumplings with a finger impression on top and steamed till it gets a glossy texture.

Ingredients :

1 Cup  Gluten Free Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Water + 2 Tbsp Hot water
1 Big Onion, finely chopped
2 Green chillies, finely chopped
Few Curry leaves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Ginger, Finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 Tsp Olive oil
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds
1 Tbsp Channa dal


Method :

Heat oil in a non stick pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add jeera / cumin seeds followed by the finely chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.

Saute and add the finely chopped onion.

Saute till the color of onion turns into light brown, in a low flame and add the measured water followed by salt.

Let it boil and add the gluten free wheat flour little by little, by stirring constantly.

Mix well without any lumps, switch off the flame and transfer it to a bowl.

Knead the mixture to form a soft dough by sprinkling hot water.

Once done, divide the dough into 9 - 10 equal sized balls and keep aside.

Take one ball in your hand and press it to get a elongated shaped dumpling along with a finger impression on top.

Repeat the process for the remaining balls and steam it for 10 - 15 minutes or till the glossy texture appears on top, in a lightly greased pan.

Once done, switch off the flame and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Roasted gram chutney or any spicy chutney.

Roasted Gram Chutney / Potukadalai Chutney / Diet Friendly Recipes - 19 / #100dietrecipes

Coconut and groundnuts are the two major ingredients to be avoided during dieting days but being in South India, it is very difficult as few breakfast dishes like pongal, upma, dosa, adai etc tastes heavenly only with coconut chutney. And particularly, when it comes to pongal my family expects coconut chutney to be served along with it. So, to make the chutney also healthy, I used to prepare it with roasted gram ( without coconut ) which tastes almost the same like our coconut chutney and need to mention that, it looks creamy too. The green chillies and ginger are sauteed in this recipe to give an extra flavor but it can also be added without sauteing, so that addition of 1 tsp olive oil can also be avoided.

This creamy and tasty goes well with the following diet breakfast recipes....

Methi wheat flour dosa
Whole wheat bread dosa
Corn rawa pongal
Sweet corn and capsicum bansi rava kichadi

Ingredients :

1 Cup Roasted gram / Potukadalai 
3 Tbsp Low fat curd 
2 Green chillies, chopped ( adjust according to taste bud )
Small piece of Tamarind
1/2 inch Ginger piece, chopped
Salt to taste
1 Cup of water + extra if necessary 
1 Tsp Olive oil 

For Seasoning :

1-2 Tsp Gingelly oil ( or olive oil ) 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Urad dal
Few curry leaves

Method :

Heat 1 tsp olive in a small pan and add the chopped green chillies and ginger pieces.

Saute for a minute and remove from the flame.

Add roasted gram in a mixie jar along with sauteed chillies and ginger, tamarind, curd and salt.

Grind into fine paste by adding water little by little.

Once done, transfer it to a bowl and keep aside.

Heat oil in small pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add urad dal and curry leaves.

Add the seasoning to the ground chutney and serve.

Serving Options :

Serve with Idly, Dosa, Pongal, Pesarattu etc..

Hariyali Pesarattu / Diet Friendly Recipes - 18 / #100dietrecipes

Pesarattu is nothing but a moong dal dosa, pesara means moong dal and attu means dosa in Telugu. Very famous and easy Andhra breakfast, which is generally stuffed with rava upma and served with ginger chutney. In my diet friendly series, I have included more healthy greens to this recipe and made it very delicious and nutritious. Spinach, mint and coriander leaves are added to the soaked green gram and grind into fine paste to give a flavorful crepe. Variations can also be made by including chopped onions, grated carrot on top of the pesarattu. This hariyali ( hariyali means green ) pesarattu goes well with any varieties of chutney. Personally, I love it with spicy chutney especially zero oil chutney -Tomato garlic Chutney.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Green Moong dal
2 Tbsp Brown Rice 
1 Cup Palak, Chopped
Handful of Mint leaves
Handful of Coriander leaves 
Salt to taste
2 Green chillies, chopped 
Small piece of ginger  
Water, as needed

Method :

Wash and soak green moong and brown rice over night.

Drain the water and add it to the mixie jar along with chopped palak, green chillies, mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger and salt.

Grind into fine paste by adding little water.

Heat tawa, take one ladle of batter and prepare like regular dosa.

Cook both the sides by smearing very little oil if necessary ( If non stick, I don't use oil ).

Once done, remove from the tawa and repeat the process for the remaining batter.

Serve hot with chutney.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with ginger chutney or any chutney.

Click HERE to get more interesting chutney varieties. 

Note :

Finely chopped onions can also be added on top of pesarattu while roasting or can also be added while grinding the batter.