Jasmine rice and mushroom risotto

Risotto is an Italian rice dish cooked in a broth to a sticky and creamy consistency. It is usually made of short grain rice since they are starchy and stickier than the long rice varieties.

As always, I was looking to make a low calorie version and finally came up with this low fat Risotto. Jasmine rice is naturally sticky but amazingly aromatic. Also, Jasmine rice is next best to short grain rice in making risotto. You don't even have to add cheese for extra creaminess. You can add if you want, of course.

This Jasmine rice Risotto is low in fat probably less than all the other Risotto varieties. It is high in carbohydrate content (about 57% in a meal) though, but you cannot prepare a rice dish with less carbs right?  :-? A cheat meal once a week is o.k, if you are following a healthy diet for the whole week. So, I made this for dinner last night and it was a hearty dish and tasted best for the rainy night.

Nutritional Information  (Approx)			(per serving)
Energy	200		Calories
Fat	4		%
Carbohydrates	10		%
Dietary Fiber	8		%
Sodium	2		%
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	0		%
Calcium	0		%
Iron	0		%
Protein	4		Grams
Sugar	0		Grams

Ingredients
[Makes 2-3 servings]
Vegetable stock cubes/Vegetable broth	2 cubes/3 cups
Olive oil	3 teaspoons
Onion chopped	1
Garlic chopped	3 cloves
Jasmine rice	1 cup
Mushrooms chopped	2 cups
Salt (if needed)	to taste
Butter(optional)	2 teaspoons

In a pot, bring water to boil and add vegetable stock cubes. if using the ready broth, bring the broth to boil. Check the taste of the broth and season it if needed. Sometimes the broth/stock cubes are seasoned well.

Heat Oil in a pan, Add onion and garlic and fry till onion looks transparent.

Add jasmine rice and fry for 4-5 minutes. Make sure the rice is not washed since it will loose half of it's starchiness and stickiness. Add mushroom and fry for another minute.
Pour the vegetable broth just enough to cover the rice and cook under simmer.

Keep adding broth little every 10 minutes till the rice is cooked. Once the rice is cooked, add some more butter and cook for 2-3 more minutes to keep the risotto creamy.
Garnish with coriander leaves and Serve hot.

Banana coffee Ice cream

You will not need an Ice cream maker to make this Banana coffee Ice cream. You will not even need "Cream" to make this ice cream. It was hard for me to name this ice cream. I first called it "Low fat Ice cream". but then, I had to say something about the flavor so called it Low-fat Banana coffee Ice cream even though Naveen asked me to name it "No- cream ice cream". I also had to skip "low fat" from heading cos it was so very long for a name, hehe

Ice creams are usually made and eaten in summer but enjoyed more in rainy seasons. The first 2-3 months of school after summer holidays is also the start of rainy season. I still remember my brother and I walking back from school holding our lunch baskets in one hand and Ice cream cone in the other and getting drenched in the rain. Those were the best days.. (Sigh!)

Finally, it has started raining here in Norway and the temperate is quite cool. I heard from mom that it is raining heavily in Bangalore. Oh, I miss Bangalore so much! I love watching rain from balcony, but I love more when there is Ice cream to eat while watching. So, I made Banana coffee Ice cream using skimmed milk and very less brown sugar. There is also no cream in this ice cream and is very low in calories. This Ice cream is best for kids who do not eat fruits. You can also enjoy eating it as much as you want, whenever you want.

Happy rainy days!

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	105		Calories
Fat	4		%
Carbohydrates	27		%
Dietary Fiber	3.1		%
Sodium	1.6		%
Vitamin A	1.9		%
Vitamin C	17.9		%
Calcium	0.7		%
Iron	2		%
Protein	1.3		Grams
Sugar	14.5		Grams

Ingredients
[makes 4 servings]
Ripe bananas	2
Water	1/2 cup
Corn flour	3 teaspoons
Milk	2 & 1/2 cups
Instant coffee powder	2 teaspoons
Sugar	2 teaspoons or more

* Chop the bananas and keep them in freezer. Freeze them for at least an hour.
* Mix corn flour in a bowl with water . Make sure there are no lumps.
* In a pot, mix milk and corn flour paste. Heat the mixture in low flame.

* Once the milk gets hot, add sugar and coffee powder. Keep stirring till the mixture thickens.

* When the mixture is thick enough, remove from flame and transfer it to a bowl and let it cool. 

* After freezing banana for one hour, grind them with coffee/corn flour mixture into a smooth paste.

* Transfer it to a bowl and freeze for 2 hours. When the mixture is about to freeze into a block of ice, remove from freezer and grind it again.

* Repeat the process for 3 or 4 times till the ice cream looks creamy and smooth.

* Scoop out and serve this yummy banana with coffee ice cream. Enjoy

* I have added low fat milk but you can replace it with either milk, condensed milk or cream.
* You can also add some drinking cocoa to the corn flour/coffee mixture for mocha flavor.
* I do not have an Ice cream maker or blender, so I have used the normal mixer. If you own a blender, do use it for blending banana and coffee.