Mango pomegranate salsa served in edible cups

Nutrition facts

Calories in 1 edible cup = 57

Calories in 1 cup Mango pieces = 99

Calories in 1 cup sliced bell peppers = 18 

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients:

For Edible cups
Refined flour(maida) - 1 cup
Corn flour(makki ka aata) - 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1 pinch
Warm water as required- less than half cup


For Mango- Pomegranate salsa

Mango finely chopped - 1
Pomegranate seeds- 1 cup
Spring onion greens/Scallions - 2 tsp
Fresh coriander - 2 tsp
apple cider vinegar  - 2 tsp
Red bell pepper  chopped - 1
Castor sugar- 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Salt-

Method:

For Cups:

• Sieve together all dry ingredients (refined flour, corn flour, baking powder  and salt)
• Add oil and rub it with fingers until oil blends well. It will resemble bread crumbs
• Make a well in the center and add lukewarm water little by little until the dough is soft 
• Cover the dough will clean towel and let it rest for atleast 30 mins
• Knead the dough again and make equals sized balls from it
• Roll the dough as thin as possible
• Now put dough in muffin mould and press gently all over so that it takes the shape of mould
• Prick it with fork to prevent puffing. Brush with olive oil
• Bake in preheated oven at 200deg for 20 mins. Time may vary with different ovens so keep a check after 15 mins 
• Let them cool. Cups are ready

For Mango- pomegranate salsa

• Mix all the ingredients together and cover with cellophane
• Keep it in refrigerator for atleast 4 hrs to blend the flavours
• Give it a mix again before pouring into cups.

Notes:

• Pour salsa over cups just 5 mins before serving otherwise it can make cups soggy
• Keep an eye on blog for whole wheat cups soon!! :)

Corn Tortillas

A tortilla is a type of soft, thin flat bread made from finely ground flour. Corn tortilla is bread of maize flour which predates the arrival of Europeans to the Americas. These are low in fat and sodium, provides calcium, potassium,  fiber, iron and B vitamins. Tortilla can also be made with wheat flour

Tortillas are used to prepare many Mexican and, more generally, Latin American dishes. Traditionally, all these dishes (except burritos) are made with maize, not wheat, tortillas. The dishes include burritos, chalupas, chilquiles, enchiladas, enfrijoladas, gorditas, quesadillas, tacos, sincronizadas, sopes, taquitos, tacos dorados, tlayudas, tortilla chips, tortilla soups, tostadas

Nutrition Facts
1 corn tortilla = 52 calories

Cuisine: Mexican
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Refined flour(maida) - 1 cup
Corn flour(makki ka aata) - 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1 pinch
Warm water as required- less than half cup

Method:

• Sieve together all dry ingredients (refined flour, corn flour, baking powder  and salt)
• Add oil and rub it with fingers until oil blends well. It will resemble bread crumbs
  
• Make a well in the center and add lukewarm water little by little until the dough is soft 
• Cover the dough will clean towel and let it rest for atleast 30 mins
  
• Knead the dough again and make equals sized balls from it
• Roll the dough as thin as possible
• Cook on non stick tawa flipping when bubbles starts to form
• Let it cool. Can be stored and refrigerated in ziplock bag for over a week

Notes:

• Whole wheat tortillas can also be made by replacing it with refined flour. We just need to use a bit more water as wheat absorbs more water. So accordingly we have to knead the dough more

Pita Bread

Pita bread

Cuisine: Lebanese
Preparation Time: 4 hrs
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 3 cups
Active dry yeast - 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Mix half cup warm water and 1/2 tbsp yeast. Add sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved properly
2. Let it rest for 15 mins or till it becomes frothy
3. Sieve together flour  and salt
4. Make a hole in the center and pour yeast solution over it
5. Mix it gently. Slowly add more warm water to knead the dough
6. Keep kneading the dough until it becomes elastic. knead for another 10 mins
7. Coat the dough with olive oil. Put this dough  in big vessel and keep it aside for 3-4 hrs
8. It will double  in size so vessel should be large enough
9. Now punch down the dough and  knead for another 1 min. You can refrigerate the dough at this stage to use it later
10. Make  12- 14 equal sized balls and roll them like chapati
11. Place it on non stick tawa. Cover the lid for 20 secs. Turn it over and again cover
12. Now cook from both sides like chapati 

For baking:

1. You can also bake pita bread in preheated oven at 220deg for 15 min by fliping in between once

Notes:

1. Water should neither be hot nor cold as that can kill yeast. It should be lukewarm
2. It  can be stored in refrigerator for upto a week
3. I have tried both methods(non stick and baking) and like tawa one more. You can also try baking method

Oats Poha

Oats Poha 

Ingredients:

Rice Poha(chiwda) - 2 cup
Oats- 1 cup
Onion Chopped -1
Peanuts roasted - 15-20
Potato - 1
Almonds finely chopped - 2
Raisins - 10-12
Fresh coriander finely chopped- 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds (rai)- 1/2 tsp
Slit green chillies - 1
Lemon juice - 1 lemon
Curry leaves- 10-12
Turmeric- as required
Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Wash poha. Add oats over it and keep aside in a strainer
2. Finely chop onions. You can also add carrots or peas to  make it vegetable rich poha
3. Chop potato lengthwise (french fries shaped)
4. In a non stick pan, add 1 tbsp oil and shallow fry potatoes stirring occasionally
5. When potatoes are half done, add peanuts to roast them in same oil
6. Sprinkle salt and turmeric over the poha and oats mixture
7. Add potatoes, peanuts and chopped fresh coriander to it and mix well. If mixture looks too dry then sprinkle some water and mix
8. Remove any extra  oil from pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, slit green chillies, onions, almonds, raisins and cook till onions turns transparent. If you are adding vegetables, add at this stage
9. Add poha mixture to pan and cook on low flame  for 2-3 mins. Stir it to mix all the ingredients. Do not over stir 
10. Switch off the flame. Add lemon juice and enjoy!

Notes

1. Variations can be done by adding veggies of your choice. Carrots and peas go well with this

Nutrition packed pancakes

Vegetables blended pancakes

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30-45 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Grated carrots- 1/2 cup
Grated beetroot - 1/2 cup
Grated potato- 1 medium size
Gram flour(Besan)- 11/2 cup
Oats - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Green chillies - to taste

Method:

1. Microwave carrot and beetroot for 30 sec
2. Mix all the ingredients and grind to fine paste
3. pour 4 tbsp of batter on non stick tawa and spread evenly with spoon. Make chapati size pancakes
4. Cook from both sides on medium to low flame
5. Serve with tomato chutney  and dry Jeera aalu 

Notes:

1. Tomato ketchup or raw tomato can also be  added while grinding to make it tangy
2. Variations can be done by adding other vegetables like gourd(gheeya), pumpkin, raw papaya, beans etc can also be added

Tri- colour Veggie Sandwich

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 1 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
Whole wheat bread\White bread- 4
Carrot grated- 1 cup
Spinach (blanched)- 1 cup
Beetroot (grated)- 1 cup
Amul butter -  As per requirement
Hung Curd - 1/4 cup
Mayonnaise - 1/2 cup
Fresh cream -  1 tbsp

Method:

1. Remove the corners of bread slices and cut the slice diagonally. Keep aside
2. Microwave grated carrot and grated beetroot separately for 30 sec. Keep aside and let it cool
3. Finely chop spinach. Bring water to boil. Add spinach to boiling water and stir for 30 secs.
4. Now drain spinach and immediately pour into ice cold water. Again drain and keep aside
5. Mix hung curd and mayonnaise and divide into two portions
6. Mix 1 portion with grated carrot and another with grated beetroot
7. Now spread butter on all slices
8. Spread 1 tsp of carrot mixture over slice. Put the other slice over it with butter side facing up
9. Spread spinach over it with little salt. You can also add grated cheese to make it more yummy.
10. Place another slice over it with butter side facing up
11. Spread beetroot mixture over it evenly and close the sandwich with another slice with butter side facing down
12. Cut from the center and serve 

Notes:

1. Keep them covered with cellophane/plastic sheet to retain its freshness
2. Can be made ahead of time 
3. Cheese can be added to make it more yummy