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.

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