Calabash - Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Dosa

Ingredients :

• Bottle gourd 1 medium sized
• Rawa
• Green chilies 3 finely chopped
• Oil
• salt to taste
• coriander leaves finely chopped

Time Required : 20 minutes
Serving : 2 persons

Method :

• Take the bottle gourd, wash, peel and grate it.
• Take the rawa, add grated bottle gourd, green chilies,  coriander leaves, water, salt to taste and make a smooth batter. It should not be very much watery or very much thick.
• Take a pan (non stick if possible), grease it with oil and put on the high flame.
• Add batter to it to form a dosa.
• Cover the lid and keep it for 2 minutes on sim flame. ( If you are not doing multitasking, like I usually do, you can keep it on high flame for a minute). 
• If its brown on the back, turn the side, put little oil and cook for a while.
• Serve hot with green chutney, tomato sauce/ghee as preferred.

Health Benefits :
Bottle gourd which is low in calories and fats and rich in essential minerals, iron, proteins, high in fiber is having the health benefits as preventing fatigue and excessive loss of thirst, preventing constipation and dehydration relaxing, curing jaundice.

Bonus tip :  You can add rice floor/besan/wheat floor to make  the batter which will make it more healthy and you will get different taste as well.

Fuel Saving Tip : If you keep aside the batter for some time say half an hour, you will require less time/energy to cook the dosa.

Calabash - Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Halwa

Ingredients:

• 1 Bottle gourd  1 medium sized 
  
• 6 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of sugar or as needed
• 1 tea spoons cardamom powdered
• 2 tea spoons almonds thinly sliced
• 2 tea spoons cashew nuts thinly sliced
• 1 tea spoon charoli (Chiraunji)
•  1 tea spoon muskmelon seeds
• 3-4 threads of saffron (kesar)
• 1 pinch of edible green color (if desired)

Time Required : 30 minutes
Serving :4 Persons.
Method :

• Take bottle gourd, wash, peel and grate it.
• Take grated bottle gourd, milk and cardamom powder in the pan and bring it to boil. Once started boiling, put the gas on sim flame. 
• Stir continuously for 20 minutes.
• Add sugar, green color and let sugar dissolve completely. Keep stirring.
• Add almonds, cashew nuts, charoli, muskmelon seeds, saffron threads and keep on sim for 5 minutes.
• Halwa is ready to serve.
• You can either serve it hot or it can be served as chilled too, as per personal choice.

Health Benefits :

Bottle gourd which is low in calories and fats and rich in essential minerals, iron, proteins, high in fiber is having the health benefits as preventing fatigue and excessive loss of thirst, preventing constipation and dehydration relaxing, curing jaundice.

Bonus tip : If you want some variation in taste, you can add 1 tea spoon of ghee in it. For softer halwa, over cooked calabash.

Fuel saving tip - If you put a lid on pan, it will take lesser gas to cook. But don't forget to stirring.

Raw Banana Chips

Ingredients:

• Raw bananas 1 dozen
• Thin rawa 3 table spoons
• Turmeric powder 1 table spoon
• Red chilly powder 1 table spoon
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Chaat masala

Time Required :

Preparation time - 30 minutes

Cooking time – 15 minutes

Serving : NA

Method :

• Take the bananas and peel them.
• Cut them into horizontal or vertical thin slices. Horizontal slicing will give you round chips while vertical will give you long vertical slices.
• Add the chips in salty water. Please note this water should not contain much salt since, that will remain as taste on chips and later chips may become over-salty. This will make bananas less greasy and prevents them from turning black.
• Take little rawa, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt and mix well.
• Take banana slices out from salty water and drain. Mix slices with the mixture.
• Take oil in a pan and heat it.
• Fry the banana slices till they become crispy.
• Take out and apply chaat masala.
• Chips are ready to store in a box.
• Chips can be taken out anytime from the storage and can be eaten with tomato ketchup.

Health Benefits :

Rich source of fiber, bananas are useful for prevention of constipation, depression, morning sickness and   Extremely high in potassium and low in salt, bananas make perfect remedy to beat blood pressure, pms problems.

Bonus tip :   After frying chips, put them on tissue papers/newspaper so that it will absorb excessive oil.

Fuel Saving Tip :  

While frying, it is better to use neutral flavored oil like peanut oil or safflower. Butter and extra virgin olive oil burn at very lower temperature. 

Okra (Bhendi) vegetable

Ingredients:

• Okra (Lady finger or Bhendy)  250 grams, chopped horizontally or vertically as desired.
• 3 green chilies finely chopped
• cumin seeds ( jeera)
  
• mustard seeds
• Salt as required
• Oil
• turmeric powder
• Asafoetida
• Lemon juice if desired
• ½ table spoon sugar if desired
• Coriander leaves

Time Required:

15 minutes.

Serving:

2 persons

Method:

• Take a table spoon of oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin seeds and let it crackle. 
• Add green chilies and sauté for a minute.
• Add asafoetida and okra cut pieces to the pan. Mix everything thoroughly.
• Keep it on low flame and keep stirring after a while.
• Add turmeric powder, coriander leaves, lemon juice (if desired), sugar (if desired). Cook for few minutes but keep sauting in between.
•  Serve hot along with chapatti/rotli/dashmi.

Health Benefits:

Okra is low calorie vegetable, rich source of dietary fiber, iron, calcium,  magnesium, vitamin A, B-6, C, K,  and anti-oxidants.

Bonus Tip :

You can add plain curd or flavored yogurt to vegetable while cooking and this will give you different taste. Boiled raw banana pieces also can be added to the vegetable. 

Fuel Saving Tip :

Remember you can save up to 30% of gas/fuel if you simply switch on the gas stove only after preparation of all required materials within reach. You will not only avoid the idle flame but also will save wastage of 135gs of gas.

Pohe (Beaten Rice)

Ingredients:

• Beaten/Flattened Rice 3 cups (thick)
  
• 3 green chilies finely chopped
• cumin seeds ( jeera)
• mustard seeds
• Salt as required
• Oil
• turmeric powder
• Asafoetida
• 1 Lemon
• ½ table spoon sugar
• Coriander leaves
• Curry leaves washed
• 2 tablespoons Groundnuts/peanuts
• 1 Tomato finely chopped
• Barik shev (nylon shev)
• Coconut grated

Time Required:

15 minutes.

Serving:

2 persons

Method:

• Wash the rice flakes (poha) in cold water and add turmeric powder, salt and sugar to poha and keep it aside.
• Take a table spoon of oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin seeds and let it crackle. 
• Add pea-nuts, green chilies, tomato pieces and curry leaves and sauté for a minute.
• Add asafetida and poha to the pan. Mix everything thoroughly.
• Keep it on low flame and cover the lid of pan. You can add little water to lid of pan, to generate steam.
• Add coriander leaves, lemon juice and garnish with barik shev and coconut.
• Serve hot along with hot tea.

Health Benefits:

Beaten rice contains carbohydrates and it's low in calories. It is ideal light snack which is easy to digest.

Bonus Tip :

You can add plain curd or flavored yogurt to poha while soaking and this will give you different taste. Boiled raw banana pieces also can be added to the poha and that will be different version.

Fuel Saving Tip :

Remember you can save up to 30% of gas/fuel if you simply switch on the gas stove only after preparation of all required materials within reach. You will not only avoid the idle flame but also will save wastage of 135gs of gas.

Spinach Palak Dosa

 Ingredients :

• Spinach leaves 1 bowl 
• Wheat flour 
• Green chilies 2 finely chopped
• Oil
• salt to taste
• coriander leaves finely chopped

Time Required : 20 minutes
Serving : 2 persons

Method :

• Take the washed spinach leaves and blend them in a paste. 
• Take the rawa, add grated bottle gourd, green chilies,  coriander leaves, water, salt to taste and make a smooth batter. It should not be very much watery or very much thick.
• Take a pan (non stick if possible), grease it with oil and put on the high flame.
• Add batter to it to form a dosa.
• Cover the lid and keep it for 2 minutes on sim flame. ( If you are not doing multitasking, like I usually do, you can keep it on high flame for a minute). 
• If its brown on the back, turn the side, put little oil and cook for a while.
• Serve hot with green chutney, tomato sauce/ghee as preferred.

Health Benefits :   

Eating spinach in diet regularly helps prevent iron deficiency, anemia , weakening of bones, cardiovascular diseases.
Cooking spinach increases its health benefits. Human body can not completely break down the nutrients found in raw spinach by itself  and that's the reason half cup of cooked spinach will give us thrice as much nutrition as one cup of raw spinach. The exception for this is blended form spinach which is considered to be healthiest form of eating spinach.

Bonus tip :   Its better to choose tender little spinach leaves.Larger leaves are more matured and may become tough or stringy. Also spinach leaves in direct sunlight are found to have more nutrients than the ones stored in darkness.
You can add rice floor/besan/wheat floor to make the batter which will make it more healthy and you will get different taste as well.

Fuel Saving Tip : If you keep aside the batter for some time say half an hour, you will require less time/energy to cook the dosa.

Dahi Puri

Ingredients :

• Curd 1/2 cup
• Puris 15-20
• Tomato 1 medium sized finely chopped
• Coriander leaves finely chopped
• Red chilly powder
• Salt to taste
• Chaat masala
• Barik shev

Time required:
5  minutes
Serving:
1 person

Method:

• Take the puris in a dish.
• Add some curd on them.
• Add chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, barik shev and sprinkle red chilly powder, salt and chaat masala.
• Delicious and healthy Dahi Puri chaat is ready to eat

Health Benefits:
Curd, high in most of the required vital nutritional values, help to strengthen immune system, improves digestive system by coping up stomach problems. Due to high calcium contents, it makes stronger bones and teeth, minimizes the risk of high blood pressure.

Bonus Tip:
If you are preparing puris at home for golgappe/pani puri, the ones which are said to be failed for eating golgappe i,e,  not fully round and are broken can be used to make dahi puris.

Fuel Saving Tip: 
If you are using the items in refrigerator, then please allow some time to reach the item to room temperature. Cold food items requires large amount of fuel for cooking.