Vietnamese Spicy Cabbage salad (Raw vegetables)

This colorful, crunchy, tangy and spicy cabbage salad just fills you up. The salad is so refreshing as it cools you in this heat of Summer that I usually like to have 2 huge bowls of salad in the evenings. It is more like a slaw but without the calorie rich salad dressing. I love to pair it with grilled food, particularly one shredded chicken breast or a grilled fish fillet or sometimes with a couple of boiled egg whites for supper. The salad's chili kick and sweet tangy savory side provide wonderful flavor contrasts. I had it at my friend's place who is an expert in Vietnamese-style cooking and decided to include it in my list of recipe collection.

Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
2 or 3 short Indian green chilies, chopped or 2 large green horn peppers chopped fine.
1 clove garlic, chopped. (optional---you gotta brush your teeth :-) later ! )

**Watch it on the chilies. The mortar and pestle pounding releases all the oils and the dressing can be fiery -- enough to make you sweat a bit or feel overheated.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the chili, garlic, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 1 pinch salt together into a fragrant greenish paste. (Use a sweeping motion at first to crush the ingredients and then pound.) This releases and combines the oils from the chili and garlic. Scrape the paste into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients of fresh lime juice. Slowly, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt in the paste and to combine well. Taste and alter the level of heat or if needed add more lime juice to create a spicy, tart, savory, lightly garlicky dressing. Mix well.

Ingredients for the salad:

1. 1/2 head green cabbage, about 1 pound or 4 cups of thinly sliced cabbage-
quartered through the stem end, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons.

2. 1/2 a cup of shredded red cabbage (or just pick the prepacked, ready-to-eat, shredded ones from the salad section at the supermarket).

3. 1 large carrot, peeled and finely shredded.

4. 2 small radishes shredded

5. 1 English Cucumber, peeled skin & diced.

6. 1/2 a cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, or mint leaves

7. 1/4 cup coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional- for garnish & a little bit of good fat) or you could add a teaspoon of Udo's oil or flax seed oil on top of the salad instead of the peanuts.

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot, radish, cucumber chopped herbs of your choice- either cilantro or mint leaves. Toss to combine and distribute the ingredients well. Chill it for half hour, if you like.

2. Just before serving, pour the lime dressing over the salad and toss to mix well. The salad will wilt slightly. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing the sour, sweet, salty, and spicy.

3. Transfer to a serving plate, leaving any unabsorbed dressing behind. Garnish with the unsalted, roasted chopped peanuts or drizzle a teaspoon of Udo's or Flax seed oil and serve with your choice of protein. Enjoy !

**I skipped these ingredients for the dressing used in the original recipe from my friend, such as:
3 tablespoon of Fish sauce
6 tablespoons of rice Vinegar ( **I replaced it with fresh lime juice)
3 tablesppons of sugar (**just used 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for little bit of sweetness...you could instead use Artificial sweetner, though I do not know the long term effects of using Splenda or other sweetner)

Tomato-Carrot-Beetroot Juice (Raw Juicing) / Detox

Tomato-Carrot-Beetroot juice is one of my favorite drink, as it is the powerhouse of health packed with chocful of vitamins, antioxidents and other essential minerals for the human body. I usually like to have it early in the morning, on an empty stomach before workout. It boosts my energy levels to get through the day. Well whatever it is, my skin has begun to glow and I just love to have it atleast three times a week.

Ingredients:

2 Medium, ripe tomatoes

1 Medium, ripe beetroot

6 baby carrots or 1 whole carrot


Method:

1. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly. Remove the stems but keep the tomato skin intact for juicing.

2. Peel the skin of the beetroot and carrots, gently wash off any soil & remove the roots & leaves. Do not juice the stems or leaves of the tomato plant or beetroot, as they are extremely bitter and will ruin the flavor of your juice. Dice the beetroot if you are using a blender.

3. Blend to make the Juice with the above vegetables and you have a healthy yet delicious drink in about few minutes !

Tomatoes are full of vitamin C, rich in vitamin A, potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, and many others. Carrots rich in Vitamin A improves eyesight. Beetroots are beneficial, because it is high in nitrate content. You will find that this combo juice is a stimulating drink and it is also benefical to the digestive system because it is great source of fibre. This juice combo is definitely a strong antioxidant. It is claimed that the properties in beetroot is good for circulation and help to calm the nerves and also it can drastically help in lowering high-blood pressure. It can be a good detox drink as it cleanses the liver and the intestines. For women, it improves the menstrual problems as well as cures anemia.

Caution: Beetroot juice by itself is very potent. and it's recommended that you drink the raw beetjuice diluted at least 4 times with other milder juices as a combination with either veggies or fruits. Having Beetroot juice by itself can temporarily paralyze your vocal chords, make you break out in hives, increase your heart rate, cause chills or a fever.

Blends of Juices:
1. Carrot, celery and parsley - Cleanses the system of excessive acid.

2. Carrot and Cabbage - Detoxifies the intestinal track.

3. Beet juice with carrot and celery (For a sweeter drink, add an apple, or use 2 apples instead of the carrots)

4.Beetroot juice with cucumber and pineapple (A fabulous cleansing drink which is best when consumed on an empty stomach)

5. An unusual but delicious vegetable juice recipe that uses apples, beetroot, broccoli and lemon juice.

6.Beetroot, carrot & apple juice (this mix can amazingly boost your energy levels).

7. Blend the beetroot, ginger, pineapple and cucumber along with water.

Cheella (Pancakes) with Cilantro Chutney

As I was going through some of my recipe collections, I decided to put up a few here. Since I watch my diet now, I have modified these recipes, accordingly. Today I will talk about Cheella, a Sindhi Vegetarian pancake made from a batter of Chickpea flour, spiced up with onions and green chillies. The consistency is more like a pancake batter which is spread on a flat, hot griddle, and cooked on both sides. I make it by using a mixture of powdered Oatmeal and Buckwheat instead of the Chickpea flour. I recall my friend's mother making this for us whenever we stopped by after school or when we had sleepovers - for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. Spice it the way you like to suit your taste buds and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as an evening snack. This is one of my simple and favorite recipe, that is like a complete meal, when served with chutney/yogurt. Some people have it with ketchup or even Indian pickle-I avoid these as they have too much oil & salt. I sometimes have one Cheella for breakfast on the weekend with some home-made, spicy Cilantro chutney and some yogurt & 2 eggwhites on the side.

Ingredients :

(For making 3 Cheellas )

2 Tablespoons of Oatmeal
2 Tablespoons of Buckwheat
1 Tablespoon of ground Flax seed powder
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds (optional)
Salt according to your taste
4 Green Chillies (Indian green chillies are hot so use accordingly) - finely chopped
A bunch of Cilantro leaves chopped
half an Onion finely chopped (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO) or Pam spray
Water
Flat Griddle (Non stick Tawa)

Method:
1. Grind Oatmeal and Buckwheat along with the flax seed powder till its ground fine.

2. Now add a teaspoon of salt, green chillies, cilantro leaves and water to make a smooth batter, just like we make for fritters/pancakes, making sure there are no lumps. The batter should be as thick as dosa /pancake batter (Add more water if required).

3. Heat a griddle ( non-stick tawa), and lightly grease it with some Olive oil or use Pam spray.

4. Take a ladle full of the batter, and spread it evenly on the heated griddle (tawa) like you would to make a pancake /(dosa). It's thickness should be like a pancake (little thicker than dosa). Rotate the pan and let it spread. If it doesn't spread into a full circle, pour a little more to it and rotate again. (Remember to stir the batter every time you want to pour for the next Cheella). Garnish with some chopped Onions and Cumin Seeds (Optional if you like). Cover and cook for half a minute (on moderate heat) till it turns golden brown.

5. Flip and let it cook and brown on the other side too. Remove from the griddle/(tawa) when both sides are crisp and golden brown.

6. Serve hot for breakfast with a dot of spicy Cilantro Chutney and a small cup of low-fat Yogurt and with 2 scrambled Egg-whites.

To make Cilantro Chutney:

12 Green Chilles (Small Indian green chillies are hot, so alter accordingly), 1 Bunch of Cilantro Leaves, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, half teaspoon Salt, 1 clove of Garlic,

Method: (5 minutes)

1. Blend the above ingredients to a fine paste with as little water as possible to make the chutney. Store in a container.

Shelf life (4 days) when refrigerated. I skipped the step for seasoning the chutney with "oil tadka" to keep it healthy. But if you are not that conscious then you can go ahead and add that step.

(optional) Seasoning: Roast 1 tsp of black Mustard seeds and 2 Curry leaves in 1 tsp of oil in another small vessel over high flame. When the mixture starts to sputter and you hear the mustard making popping sound, add a pinch of asafoetida (Hing in Hindi) and pour the seasoning onto the chutney. (It should make a sizzling sound when the mixture is poured over).

I try to get creative while watching my diet and this is indeed a modified and healthy version of Cheella, yet tasty, Indian meal for one of my Carb-refill/ High-Carb days. I usually have it for early morning Breakfast on the weekends when I get some time to cook. Enjoy and let me know how it turned out. :-)

Palak aur Shalgam ki sabzi (Spinach with Turnips)

This recipe is from my mom's collection. Instead of the potatoes (I am avoiding starch), I like substituting it with Turnips (Shalgam) which works with my diet.

Ingredients:
2 Turnips -peeled, diced into cubes, washed
Close the pressure cooker with the cubed Turnips and water and bring to maximum pressure on high heat. Now, reduce the heat and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. Open the cooker after all the steam has escaped. Or microwave on High for 5 mins, taking out every 1 minute to stir. Drain the boiled Turnips and keep aside.

1 medium Onion -chopped (I like red onions)
2 tomatoes- chopped
2 bunches of Spinach- washed, chopped

Spice mix: 1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder, 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli/ Cayanne powder,
1/4 teaspoon Coriander powder, 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder, 1 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Ginger and Garlic paste mix

2 teaspoon Olive oil

Method:
1. Heat Olive oil on a high flame in a heavy bottomed vessel/ cooking pot. Saute onions till it changes color slightly for 2 minutes on a medium flame.

2.Add the ginger and garlic paste for a minute.

3. Add the spice mix, reduce to slow flame and stir well for a minute.

4. Add chopped tomatoes, increase to a medium flame and stir occasionally. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes till done.

5. Now add Spinach, salt and cook for 4 minutes on a slow flame.

6. When the Spinach wilts enough, add the boiled turnip cubes, mash it slightly with the rest of the Spinach, while stiring well.

Serve hot in a serving bowl. Usually its had with Indian breads/ rotis. I like to have a bowl of the vegetable by itself or sometimes with 1/2 a cup of Brown rice.

About this Recipe Blog

I am trying to watch what I eat to stay in shape. I always have protien with every meal. Usually I follow a clean diet that contains raw vegetables or sometimes boiled vegetables, boiled/ baked chicken & eggwhites without any spice or much oil. But sometimes I like to have something spicy and yet not too bad in terms of being healthy. Here are a list of few recipes from my collection, which are modified by me from the original versions. Some of the ingredients are substituted with healthy alternatives to fit according to my diet and at the same time not losing the flavor. I usually try to use as little or no salt (use lime juice instead) and little or no oil as possible. For the blogreaders here I have been generous while mentioning the quantities for salt and oil in the recipes. If you are not very health conscious you do not have to follow the recipe exactly. You can always alter measurements for the ingredients and change cooking method that suit your tastebuds and your goals. Hope you try it out and like it.