Vaatli Daal (Channa Daal/ Bengal Gram Daal)

Ever since my diabetes screening scare, I have been paying close attention to the amount of carbs in my diet. Being a vegetarian, I end up eating more carbs that I should be eating while not getting enough protein. I also did some reading up on Glycemic index, glycemic load etc. Although I did not test positive for diabetes, I know I better watch out because it runs in the family.

One ingredient that seems to work very well for diabetics is channa daal/ bengal gram daal (http://www.mendosa.com/chanadal.html).

I used to wonder why people up north (India) eat missi roti (Roti made with wheat flour + channa flour) when they were trying to control their glucose levels. Now I know.


Since I am supposed to be eating a number of small snack through out the day, while still getting my dose of protein, some carbs etc, this recipe I got from Amrutha came to mind. It's a popular Maharashtrian dish mostly prepared on the last day of Ganapati. Its quick, very tasty, and surprisingly filling.

Here is the recipe.

- 1 cup of channa daal soaked overnight.
- 1 green chilli chopped(or more if you like it spicy)
- Juice of half a lemon
- Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
- Curry Leaves 5-10
- 1/2 tsp haldi
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 pinch asefoetida
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp grated fresh/frozen coconut

- Process the soaked channa daal in a chopper/ food processor into a coarse crumbly meal without using any water. blenders/grinders do a poor job. they end up making a paste out of some of the daal while leaving the rest un touched. I rely on my little onion chopper to do this.
- Heat oil in a pan, add asefoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilli, saute for half a minute. Add the channa daal to the pan, add haldi and salt.
- Stir for a min. Add 1/4th cup of water, cover the pan, and let it cook over low heat for 15-20 mins. Check occasionally to see if the daal is cooked. Add more water if needed.
- Once the daal is cooked, garnish with cilantro and lemon juice.
Serve hot.

Three Bean Salad

This is a quick snack if you have canned beans in your pantry. I have tried it with 3 different beans. This can be tried with other beans too.
Ingredients:
Garbanzo beans - 1 can
Red kidney beans - 1 can
Pinto beans - 1 can
Onion - 1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 1-2 (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 3-4 (slit lengthwise)
Lemon juice - 1-2 tbp
Grated carrot (optional)
Cilantro for garnishing
Oil for seasoning
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp (according to taste)
salt as per the taste

Procedure:

Put oil in a wok and put mustard and jeera seeds and let them splatter. Then add chopped onions and green chillies and fry till golden brown. Then add all dry powders and stir for 2 mins. Then add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5-10 mins stirring in between. Drain all 3 beans, run under cold water and add them to the onion tomatoes mixture. Cook for 5-10 mins covered stirring in between. Once done add lemon juice and garnish with cilantro and grated carrot.
Enjoy this as an evening snack!

Zucchini Boats

I am always on the look out for easy vegetarian side dishes to go with pastas, pizzas and burgers. Zucchini boats turned out to be just the thing. they are simple to make, healthy, and can be altered and personalized in a million ways.

So here is the recipe:

You'll need:
- 3 medium sized Zucchini
- 1 large onion
- 3-4 cloves of garlic (More if you like things garlicky)
- Italian seasoning
- Panko bread crumbs
- Red chilli flakes
- grated cheese (I used an italian blend of 2 italian cheese. I magine it will be tasty with just about any cheese)
- Butter and or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt

- Preheat the oven to 340
- Wash and slice zucchini's into halves lengthwise. Scoop out the insides to make boats. I allow about 1/2 cm of thickness on the boats... just depends on how much pulp the zucchini's have. Reserve the pulp. Brush the boats inside and out with EVOO and keep aside.
- Chop the pulp (if in large chunks) into small pieces.
- Chop 1 large onion and 3-5 cloves of garlic
- Heat butter (or EVOO) in a pan, add the garlic, then the onion - saute until onions are cooked. Add the zucchini pulp. Saute until the pulp is cooked. At this point, things will be fairly wet. Add about a cup of Panko bread crumbs and mix well to get a crumbly slightly dry mixture. (You may have to play with the amount of bread crumbs needed) Now add salt, italian seasoning and red chilli flakes to taste.
- We can get very creative with this stuffing - add quinoa, add bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, etc.
- Now fill the boats with this filling, top with cheese (I used the italian blend... that had 3 italian cheeses). Bake for 30-40 mins.
- Broil for 1-2 mins to get the cheese to brown.

If you like your vegetables with a bite to them, bake only for 30 mins. I like my vegetables well cooked, so I bake for 40 mins. Also, the zucchini's tend to soften a bit after they cool - so bake them to slightly less that what you want them to be.

Thats it. If you try it out, please leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. It tastes much better the next day!