Pomegranate Power Smoothie

A healthy, filling and refreshing smoothie for a quick breakfast. This Pomegranate Smoothie is diabetic friendly, extremely nutritious filled with anti-oxidants and makes a great take away for your mid-morning snack.

Pomegranates have been enjoyed for thousands of year and they are packed with even more nutritional punch than they are given credit for. Pomegranates being an antioxidant super food contains excellent amount of Vitamin C. So, they are known to benefit your heart in many ways including improving blood flow and controlling blood pressure levels. Enjoy it as a healthy snack or as a topping for your salad or even as a smoothie, they are a delicious treat.

I have never personally liked Pomegranates simply because they are hard to deseed and sometimes they are quite sour no matter how ripened or big the fruit is. I liked drinking Pomegranate juice and I usually would juice the fruit until recently. There was an article in one of my online libraries saying you lose most of the nutrition from the Pomegranate if you discard the crunchy seeds. Well, I had wasted loads of those seeds already so this time, I decided to make smoothie instead of Juice.

Almonds are my all-time favorite while making any smoothie (They give you an extra crunch if the smoothie is all "Smooth"!!) and Yogurt is added to make it filling and nutritious. I have added honey to balance the sourness. You can skip honey and you will definitely be surprised just how sweet it tastes without any added sugar. Please feel free to modify the recipe as per your liking.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	152		Calories
Fat	7		%
Carbohydrates	8		%
Dietary Fiber	16		%
Sodium	2		%
Vitamin A	2		%
Vitamin C	18		%
Calcium	15		%
Iron	1		%
Protein	5.42		Grams
Sugar	14		Grams

Ingredients
Pomegranate seeds	2 cups
Plain Yogurt	150 grams
Almonds	2 tablespoons
Honey (optional)	1 teaspoon

• Wash and dry roast almonds. Place Pomegranate, almonds, Yogurt and honey in a blender.
• Process until smooth and serve.

• You can add chilled green tea and flax seeds to this smoothie to make it more healthy.

Cauliflower Pepper fry

A lip smacking and spicy cauliflower dish which is a best accompaniment for Rice and Sambhar. This Cauliflower Pepper fry takes very little time to prepare and tastes great when served hot.

Cauliflower is my family's all time favorite Veggie and we love all the spicy dishes that has cauliflower in them. There is always either a cauliflower or a Broccoli in my fridge since they are rich in nutrients (as you can see in the nutritional information) and you can make great side dishes within minutes. I made this recipe to participate in a 2nd blog anniversary give away at http://www.sujithaeasycooking.com/. The recipe has been adapted from Sujitha's blog. You can find the original recipe here.

I have even tried adding Peanuts to roast and grind masala and it tastes divine. You can modify the recipe however you like but make sure the vegetable is washed properly for safety reasons.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	73		Calories
Fat	4		%
Carbohydrates	3		%
Dietary Fiber	17		%
Sodium	31		%
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	118		%
Calcium	4		%
Iron	4		%
Protein	4		Grams
Sugar	0		Grams

Ingredients
Water	as needed
Salt	to taste
Cauliflower florets	1 cup
Oil	2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Onion chopped	1

To Roast and Grind
Black Peppercorns	1 teaspoon
Red chillies	2
Coriander seeds	1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Cloves	2
Cinnamon	a 1 inch stick

• Dry roast and grind all the ingredients under "Roast and grind". 
• Boil a pot of water and add turmeric and salt. Add cauliflower florets as soon as the water starts to boil, let it stay for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and keep cauliflower aside.
• In a pan, heat oil and add chopped onion.,

• Once the onion looks translucent, add cauliflower florets and fry. 
• Add the ground powder and mix well. Make sure the powder is sprinkled on all the florets. Fry for few minutes under low flame. 
• Serve hot and enjoy!

• I have not added curry leaves since it is not available here. You can add it while adding onion.

100th Post!!! Hot Milk Sponge Cake

This entry marks a special occasion - 100th blog post which is an important milestone and an opportunity to look back and see how things have changed since I started Poorni's Easy Cookbook. Thank you all for joining me on this cooking journey and I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog.

It has been 100 posts of journey into making/modifying calorie-rich dishes into low-calorie and healthy recipes. Whats more, I made many blogger friends along the way through this blog and learnt a lot from them. I am grateful to have had an opportunity to connect with so many of you through this blog.

Moving on to the dish for this day, I made this Hot Milk Sponge cake to celebrate my 100th post. I had saved this recipe from an old half torn cookbook without cover in the city library. What is better than a hot pound of basic Sponge cake that melts in your mouth? Furthermore, this recipe does not have butter in it. You may be wondering what kind of Sponge cake can be made without butter? Well, I made it without butter and after tasting it, I had no words to describe how spongy and crumbly the cake was so I let out the excitement by punching into the air.

This is the easiest, tasty and most spongy Sponge cake you can imagine. This recipe (by the look of that cookbook!!) seems to be one of the oldest recipes that were followed probably in 50's for Sponge cake.
The cake can be refrigerated for more than 2 weeks. That is the reason I made it as a loaf. You can make it in a cake pan if you like. It tastes best with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Tastes incredible if microwaved for 30 seconds before serving.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	145		Calories
Fat	3		%
Carbohydrates	9		%
Dietary Fiber	1		%
Sodium	1		%
Vitamin A	2		%
Vitamin C	1		%
Calcium	1		%
Iron	2		%
Protein	2.7		Grams
Sugar	16.7		Grams

Ingredients
Eggs	2
Sugar	1 cup
Wheat flour	1 cup
Salt	1/2 teaspoon
Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Olive oil	1 tablespoon
Milk	1/2 cup

• Sieve and combine the dry ingredients. 
• Beat eggs until light. Add sugar slowly and beat for 5 more minutes so that the ingredients are well-blended.
• Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.

• Heat milk and add olive oil. Heat till the milk is hotter but does not start to boil..
• Add milk-oil mixture to the batter and fold-in quickly. Make sure there are no lumps.

• Pour the batter into greased cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until done at 350 deg. F.
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running the knife in the sides of the pan and flipping it on a wire rack to cool the cake completely.

Dates and Semolina Halwa

Enjoy warm and healthy goodness of this sugar-less Dates halwa this Diwali and make your day healthier. This is a super simple and very easy recipe that can be made within minutes and can be served as a sweet snack or as a perfect quick dessert. Happy Diwali in advance!

Another sweet and delicious dessert yet so guilt free for this healthy Diwali , I would like to tempt you with my recipe for Dates and Semolina halwa. This is made of Oil, Dates and Semolina and can be made within 15 minutes. You can add nuts and raisins and modify to your choice. You can add half ghee and half oil for that special aroma. This dish is very humble and I have kept the recipe simple and basic. This dessert is great to curb sweet cravings for diabetics and a perfect chewy snack for expecting mothers. I keep a box of these in my refrigerator all the time for my mid day snack. It is filling and satisfies my sweet tooth without making any harm to my "Sugar-free"diet.

My mum makes this Halwa but she adds ragi flour instead of Semolina which is good for diabetics. This year for Diwali , I decided to make all the snacks guilt-free. This is one of those recipes which makes an amazing dessert without compromising on the richness and warmth of the festival celebration.

Once again, Hope this festival of lights bring you every joy and happiness. May the lamps of joy illuminate your life and fill your days with the bright sparkles of peace, mirth and goodwill. May the warmth and splendor, that are a part of this auspicious occasion, fill your life with happiness and bright cheer, and bring to you joy and prosperity, for the whole year. Have a joyous and safe Diwali. (*)

Ingredients
Dates Deseeded	250 grams
Fine Semolina (Chiroti Rava)	250 grams
Oil/Ghee	2 tablespoons
Vanilla essence/cardamom powder	1/2 teaspoon
Grated Almonds (optional)	1 teaspoon

• Soak deseeded dates in hot water for 10 minutes. Let the water be hot not warm. 
• Blend the soaked dates to a fine puree using the same water it was soaked in.
• You can skip to this step when the dates are soaking. In a pan, heat oil and add semolina. Fry under low flame till it turns slightly brown.

• Transfer semolina to a plate so that it can cool for a while.
• Heat the same pan again, add dates puree and bring it to boil under low flame. Add semolina, mix well. Let the mixture cook for 5-7 minutes under low heat. 
• Keep stirring the mixture every minute till it stops sticking to the bottom of pan and forms a big lump. Add Vanilla essence or cardamom powder and give it another mix. Remove from flame.

• Let the mixture cool for a while before you take it on a clean surface to knead it. Once the mixture is warm enough to touch, knead it for 2 minutes.
• Spread the mixture and cut it into your desired shapes. Sprinkle grated almond for a special look. 
• You can serve it hot or cold but it tastes best when it is refrigerated. 

Linking to: Full Scoops: First Blog Anniversary Giveaway!

Baked Karjikai/ Karanji ~~Karnataka recipes

Celebrate a healthy festival with this healthier version of a traditional delicacy. Do not let the pics deceive you, they are even more tastier, crunchier with gooey center than the original deep fried version!

When it is the time for festivals, we cook and eat loads of lip-smacking dishes, desserts as well as snacks. It is very hard to resist when your doctor has denied you on eating those amazing dishes. Here is something healthy, guilt-free and tastier specialty snack for those with cholesterol/diabetes and other health problems who would like to make their day more special. As usual, I was wondering where can I cut down the calories in all these festival snacks. I thought I could replace Maida with wheat flour (my mum does this) and instead of deep frying it, I can try baking it without oil. The outcome was simply superb. The Kanajis we crispier than the ones that are fried and the crispiness lasted for more than a week. Another advantage is that you can make a huge number of Karanjis in one go because you will be baking them.

The recipe is from my mom which is very simple. Her recipe is traditional and hence the stuffing is coconut and jaggery. I have followed her recipe but you can modify it as per your taste preferences.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	40		Calories
Fat	5		%
Carbohydrates	20.3		%
Dietary Fiber	1.8		%
Sodium	46		mg
Vitamin A	1.4		%
Vitamin C	1		%
Calcium	10.3		%
Iron	3.3		%
Protein	4.8		Grams
Sugar	8.1		Grams

Ingredients : For stuffing
Jaggery grated/powdered	1.5 cups
Water	2 tablespoons
Cardamom powder	1 teaspoon
Mixture of nuts chopped	quantity of your choice
Raisins	quantity of your choice

Ingredients : For dough
Wheat flour	3/4 cup + more for dusting
Fine semolina	1/4 cup
Salt	a pinch
Baking soda	1/2 teaspoon
Water	as needed

• Scrape or powder the jaggery. Add 2 tablespoons of water and heat it till it melts completely. Filter the liquid jaggery to remove the dust. 
• Add jaggery, cardamom powder and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes or till the mixture thickens. Make sure the mixture does not dry completely since the gooey stuffing makes it taste delicious.
• Add chopped nuts and raisins and remove the mixture from heat. Let it cool while you prepare the dough.

• Combine Wheat flour, fine Semolina, salt and Baking soda.
• Add water little by little to the flour to make it a dough. Knead the dough to the roti dough consistency for about 5 minutes. Make small balls each to the size of a lemon out of the dough.
• Dust the surface and roll a ball into a flat roti. Place the filling on it. Make sure you have enough space on all the sides to cover the stuffing.

• Seal the edges by pulling one side from the other side with little water on the edges. Press the edges with your fingers.
• Use a fork to press on the edge to make the Karanji design.
• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Place the Karanjis on a lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees.

Flour Burfi

Simple and easy burfis that can be made in minutes and tastes amazing and soft. It actually tastes much like Kaju katli. If you are looking for a quick last minute sweet to make, this is your perfect choice.

I had been seeing so many posts about Maida burfi and they looked mouthwatering. I decided to try them too but not with Maida. Wheat flour is not so different from Maida so I thought I will try it and also replaced Ghee with olive oil. The taste was great but Burfis were rock hard when they cooled down. So I made it with Ghee this time and guess what, they are soft, crumbly and so very tasty.

Though I have not replaced Ghee with oil, I have used very little ghee, as little as 2 tablespoons. You can alter the quantity as per your choice. Most of the Maida burfi recipes I have seen, are made of Sugar. As usual, I am very conscious about using sugar and hence, these burfis are made of Jaggery. Honestly, it did not make much difference as per my neighbor who tasted and complimented. :D My mum always says that it makes a lot of difference to choose jaggery over sugar not only for better taste but for your health too. I am just glad I got away with modifying another recipe and here it is. Please feel free to modify it as you like.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	150		Calories
Fat	26		%
Carbohydrates	12		%
Dietary Fiber	0.8		%
Sodium	0		%
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	0		%
Calcium	1		%
Iron	7		%
Protein	2.4		Grams
Sugar	20		Grams

Ingredients
Ghee	2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
Wheat flour	1 cup
Jaggery (grated/powdered)	1/2 cup
Water	2 tablespoons
Cardamom powder	1/2 teaspoon

• In a pan, melt ghee. Add flour and fry till aroma starts to fill up and the flour turns slightly brown. 
• Remove flour from heat and keep it aside to let it cool. 
• Scrape or powder the jaggery. Add 2 tablespoons of water and heat it till it melts completely. 
• Filter the liquid jaggery to remove the dust. 

• Heat the jaggery syrup under low flame till it reaches one-string consistency. 
• Add roasted flour and mix well. Make sure the heat is low and there are no lumps. 
• Add a teaspoon of melted ghee and knead the mixture with a spoon. 
• Add cardamom powder, combine well and remove the mixture from heat. 

• Spread the mixture on a greased plate. Cut them into desired shapes and let them cool completely before you store them in an air tight container.

Methi Rice/Fenugreek leaves Rice

A simple yet incredibly comforting, tasty and healthy rice dish that can be made within minutes. It makes a great lunch for your kid's lunch box and also a perfect one pot meal for your busy day.

Fenugreek leaves are one of the tastiest herbs that is used as a vegetable in India. You can make numerous dishes out of these strong flavored leaves. These leaves have a unique bitter taste which is addictive and aromatic. The Fenugreek leaves and seeds are highly nutritious and power packed. They get absorbed by the body easily and are high in protein. I remember my father drinking water mixed with Fenugreek seeds powder for his diabetes. he also used to drink a smoothie made of Fenugreek leaves and bitter gourd which are excellent in reducing the blood sugar level.

I used to eat a lot of dishes made of Fenugreek leaves when I was on weight loss diet. They are rich in fiber and a compound that helps to control cholesterol. Also, When I was in college, my friends had told me that swallowing a spoonful of Fenugreek seeds in empty stomach in the morning, your skin will be pimple free.  :D I also used to soak the seeds overnight, grind them to a smooth paste in the morning and apply on my acne and blemishes. The acne would usually heal off in 2 days and believe me, it gives great glow to the skin.

This is my mamma's recipe and she used to make it for our lunch boxes. This rice tastes delicious even when it is not hot and when we opened our lunch boxes, the aroma used to make us more hungry. Now, Naveen loves it so much that this is the only thing he wants to eat made of Fenugreek leaves. The recipe is simple and very easy, you can make it within 10 minutes. Here is the recipe straight from my mum's kitchen. Hope you like it :)

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	121		Calories
Fat	2		%
Carbohydrates	21		%
Dietary Fiber	2		%
Sodium	2		%
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	0		%
Calcium	1		%
Iron	16		%
Protein	5.5		Grams
Sugar	0.1		Grams

Ingredients
Cooked rice (any)	2 cups
Oil	2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds	1 teaspoon
Onion chopped	1
Green chillies slit	2
Fenugreek leaves chopped	1 cup
Tomato puree/Tomato chopped	1 tablespoon
Salt	to taste
Sambar powder	1 tablespoon
Water	2 tablespoons

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Wait till they start to splutter. Add chopped onion and slit green chillies. Fry till onion looks translucent.
• Add chopped Fenugreek leaves and fry till the amazing aroma starts filling up. 
• Add tomato Puree/chopped tomatoes, salt and Sambar powder. 

• Add 2 tablespoons of water and mix. Simmer the flame and cook for 2 minutes. 
• Add the cooked rice and give it a good mix. 
• Cook under low flame for 2 more minutes and serve hot with or without Raita. 

• There are many variations of recipes for this dish one of which is adding the spices to melted ghee and prepared like Pulao. This recipe is quick, simple but as tasty as any other versions of this dish. 

Dates and Nuts Loaf

Trying to cut on your sugar intake but craving for sweet treats? Looking for a perfect dessert to cheat on while on sugar-free diet? Here is a sin-free, egg-less and healthy pound cake recipe with no added sugar  or butter, yet tastes divine and delicious.

Last week I bought a book called '5 Ways That Quitting Sugar Changed My Life' by Sarah Wilson where she writes what a huge difference it makes to let go of sugar. This book is an amazing read and has most of the things I followed before and everything makes so much sense. It is very hard to stop eating sugar altogether but starting off with cutting on white sugar is a great first step to being healthy.

After I started blogging I got carried away with all the new things and ideas that came into my mind and stopped my sugar-free diet completely. Cooking to create something new and trying to make tasty sugary desserts is one thing, but after taking pics for the blog, I stand clue-less as to how to eat all that sugar after dieting for such a long time. Two months back, I threw away all that guilt and started hogging off the dishes I made even before Naveen got a chance to taste them. Reading this book dragged me back to where I stood few months back and all the guilt came back again! :-S

It is harder when you start eating sugar again and try to quit. I had to go through my cookbook to find a sugar-free sweet dish scribbled somewhere to satisfy my sweet craving. I have this notebook where I have all the recipes of dishes I ever made and noted down when mom, MIL or granny gave me on phone. :| I had jotted down this pound cake recipe when I made it for my dad's birthday last year. He is diabetic and I made this specially for him without any sugar and added nuts he liked the most.

Well, this is my most favorite pound cake and it surprisingly comes out soft and spongy even though butter and sugar are not added. The sugar has been replaced with dates as a sweetener. It tastes best the next day after baking it and you can save it for a month or even more by wrapping it up in a plastic wrap and refrigerating it. I only had loads of almonds, raisins and some cashews to add but you can add all the other nuts you want. You can also add chopped dried apricots and figs. Please feel free to modify the recipe to your liking.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	100		Calories
Fat	4		%
Carbohydrates	30		%
Dietary Fiber	3		%
Sodium	6		%
Vitamin A	1		%
Vitamin C	2		%
Calcium	4		%
Iron	15		%
Protein	4.5		Grams
Sugar	8		Grams

Ingredients
Dates (Seperated)	1 & 1/2 cups
Nuts (Almonds, cashew nuts & any you wish to add) & raisins	1 cup
Wheat Flour or plain flour	1 & 1/2 cups
Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Baking Soda	1/2 teaspoon
Salt	a pinch
Vanilla essence	1 teaspoon
Olive oil/sunflower oil	2 tablespoons

• Deseed 1/2 cup of dates and chop them to pieces. You can just make pieces out of dates using your hands if dates are too soft. Also chop almonds, cashews and other nuts if you are adding. 
• Combine chopped dates, nuts and raisins. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour and mix to coat them in flour.
• Sieve together wheat flour, Baking powder, baking soda/fruit salt and salt.

• For Puree, Deseed and soak 1 cup of dates in water for about 20 minutes. Blend it with vanilla essence and oil to make it a fine puree.
• Add the dates puree to the flour mixture and give a good mix. 
• Add the chopped dates,nuts and raisins and combine well.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree c. Pour the batter in the greased cake pan.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or till the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Once baked, keep the pan out and let it cool for a while
• Run a knife along the side of the cake pan to loosen and flip the cake on a plate. Let the cake cool completely to cut into slices and serve.

Linking to: Full Scoops: First Blog Anniversary Giveaway!

Peanut butter Cookies

Nothing can beat a glass of milk with these irresistible Peanut butter Cookies! They are so soft, chunky and tasty that it is impossible to stop with just one.

The traditional way of making cookies is with just three ingredients which are; Peanut butter, egg and sugar. that is the easiest way to make peanut butter cookies and they taste absolutely amazing. However, it gets a little boring eating the same chewy cookies and I felt like changing the recipe a little bit. By making cookies this way, you can replace butter with olive oil and you get a bowl of guilt-free healthy and filling cookies.

The first time I made this modified recipe, my family and I loved it so much that it suddenly became our favorite peanut butter cookies recipe. You can add butter instead of olive oil if you wish because it makes the cookies softer and tastier. For the egg-less version, just skip the eggs and replace with 4 tablespoons of whole milk. You can store the cookie dough in fridge for a week. You can also add chocolate chips for the dough after adding wet ingredients to make choco-chip cookies since chocolate and peanut butter makes the best combination.

Last time I went grocery shopping, I found a bag of "Sifted whole wheat flour". It looked goo for baked so I bought it thinking of trying it. I sieved it once again anyway but the result of this flour was unbelievable. I even made dates and nuts bread and a sponge cake with sifted whole wheat flour, both came out so soft and fluffy.

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	60		Calories
Fat	5		%
Carbohydrates	2		%
Dietary Fiber	1		%
Sodium	2		%
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	0		%
Calcium	1		%
Iron	1		%
Protein	1.1		Grams
Sugar	6		Grams

Ingredients
Eggs	2
Sugar	1/2 cup
Peanut butter	3 tablespoons
Olive oil	2 tablespoons
Vanilla essence	1/2 teaspoon
Wheat flour	1 cup
Salt	a pinch
Baking soda/Fruit salt	1/2 teaspoon

• Blend Eggs, Peanut butter, sugar, Olive oil/butter and Vanilla essence at high speed for 5 minutes.
• Sieve together wheat flour, salt and baking soda/fruit salt. Mix well.
• Combine the ground egg mixture and the dry ingredients. 

• Mix well and knead the mixture into a soft dough. Do not knead for more than 5 minutes.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours. 
• Take a portion of the dough, roll it to a thin sheet and cut them to your desired shape for cookies. You can also make small balls out of the dough and flatten into cookie shapes.

• Preheat the oven to 175 degree c. Place the cookie shaped dough on the lined and greased baking plate.
• Baked them for exactly 8 minutes until the edges start turning brown. Let them cool and store in an airtight container.

• Make sure to keep an eye on the cookies after 5 minutes while baking because they tend to brown easily. I baked them for exactly 8 minutes but some of my cookies were a lot browner at the bottom edges than I had wanted them to be. They did not taste any different though. 
• You can replace olive oil with butter if you wish since adding butter will make them more soft and flaky.
• If you are adding chocolate chips, make sure to add them while you combine the dry and wet ingredients since it will be hard to mix the chocolate chips into the dough after kneading.
• There is one thing I skipped in this recipe which I usually do all the time, is adding a tablespoon of Nutella to the dough. it gives that amazing chocolaty peanut butter aroma and taste so much different. 
• For the egg-less version, just skip the egg and replace with 2 tablespoons of whole milk.