Easy Eggless Carrot Omlette For Kids

I loved Omelettes as a kiddo. They were an answer to my midnight hunger pangs during exam time. However, last year, an hour spent in Mumbai traffic jam behind a crammed up Poultry truck prompted Mr. Hubby and I to give up eggs.

These days I am trying to introduce various flavours to my toddler son as I believe, introducing varied flavours to kids by the age of five develops them into less picky eaters. While I wanted him to relish a nice fluffy Omelette, I found a way out to do so the eggless way! The best part is one can also play hide and seek successfully with veggies and the little prankster will happily eat it all without any fuss!

Sounds like a relief to the moms na! So let's get started...

Ingredients (Makes 4 Omelettes)

Gramflour/Besan - 2 tbsp

Carrom Seeds/Ajwain/Ova - 2tsp

Asafoetida/Hing - a pinch

Coriander Powder/dhaniya - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Black Pepper Powder/Kali Mirch - 1tsp

Carrot - 1 small, finely chopped

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Green Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

Water - For the batter

Refined Oil - To toast

Method

1. In a bowl, take gramflour. Add asafoetida, coriander powder, carrom seeds, black pepper powder and salt to taste. (Asafoetida and carrom seeds are excellent for digestion).

2. Add water and make a slightly thin batter. Remove any lump.

3. Add the chopped onions, chopped carrots and chopped coriander leaves and mix well. The batter will thicken a bit so adjust consistency to that of a dosa batter.

4. Heat an iron tawa/nonstick pan sufficiently. The way to a perfect Omlette is to have a sufficiently hot and greased pan. Personally, I am trying to do away with non stick cookware hence I stick to my good old iron tawa.

5. Using a round spoon, pour a spoonful of batter on a greased tawa and spread using circular movements.

6. Flip over the Omlette when one side is done and cook the other side as well. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes till the Omlette turns crispy from one side.

7. Tasty and healthy eggless omlette is ready! Serve it with ketchup/green chutney or as my son prefers, just like that!

Quick Masala Corn & Paneer

What would you do if you were to walk into an empty refrigerator after a vacation? Order from restaurant? No way, you have already been eating out for so many days. Definitely, not going for grocery shopping in such a tired state. Chances are, you would be so tired that you would settle for a dal rice meal.

When we had gone to vacation in Kerala last month, I finished every possible perishable item in my fridge. Ironically, we returned at a time when most restaurants had closed for lunch, not that we would have ordered anyway. While I was gazing at my fridge and blaming myself for having finished all the grocery, a packet of corn kernels and frozen paneer in the freezer compartment smiled at me, as if saying, "Main Hoon Na!"

So, this is how I prepared this quick and easy Masala corn and paneer and not in a kadai, but in my time saver pressure cooker!

Do try it out and let me know in the comments section how it turned out. Also, let me know if you have been in a similar situation and how you managed!

Okay okay enough of my bak bak, now over to the recipe. 

Ingredients (Serves - 4)

Cottage Cheese/Paneer - 200g

Corn kernel - 100g

Onion/Pyaaz/Kaanda - 1 medium

Ginger/Adrak - 1 small piece 

Oil - 2tbsp

Cumin Seeds/Zeera - 1tsp

Cloves/Laung - 3-4 pieces

Asafoetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp

Black Peppercorns - 3-4 no.

Bayleaf/Tejpatta - 1/2 

Salt - 1,1/2 tsp or to taste

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander Powder/Dhaniya - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder / Haldi - 1,1/2 tsp

Tomatoes - 2 large, pureed 

Water - 1/2 Cup

Method

1. Grind the onion and ginger into a fine paste.

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves and bayleaf.

3. Add the ginger onion paste and saute for 2-3 minutes. We don't have to make it golden brown, just saute till the raw smell of onions goes away.

4. Add the corn kernels and mix well.

5. Add the spices - salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Saute on medium flame for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add the tomato puree. Saute for 3-4 minutes or till the oil separates.

7. Add water, mix well. Cover the lid and give 2 whistles.

8. Now that the gravy is done, add the cottage cheese cubes. Give it a nice boil for 2-3 minutes. 

9. Masala Paneer and Corn is ready!

P.S. I was broke on grocery that day else I would have garnished the dish with some chopped coriander leaves and would have added 1-2 tsp cream/malai to make the gravy rich. So, if you are preparing this on a good day, I suggest these to enhance the flavour. The dish nevertheless comes out to be lip smacking even without these!

Mixed Vegetables in Indian Style Poppy Seed Gravy

Each time I relish a white gravy dish at a party, I secretly aim to prepare it back home. But the good old onion tomato gravy is a comfort zone for us Indian women! Quick, easy, tried, tested and loved by everyone, how can things go wrong with the tomato gravy?

But then, I HAD to come out of my comfort zone. So this Sunday afternoon, the Rajma, Chhole and Shahi paneer were ditched for vegetables in poppy seed (khus khus) gravy. It wasn't tough at all, rather easier and richer than the tomato gravy. As for my family, well...their happy faces said it all!

So, here's the recipe. Do try it out. Also, you may wanna google the health benefits of poppy seeds for some motivation!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into mouthful size florets

Potatoes - 2 medium, diced

Green Peas - 1 cup (I use a small katori)

Capsicum - 1 large, diced

Carrot - 2 medium, diced

Poppy seeds/khus khus - 3tsp

Cashews - a handful, chopped (You can increase the quantity as per preference)

Nutmeg/dalchini powder - 1tsp

Onion - 1 large

Green chilies - 2

Ginger - 1 small piece

Desi Ghee - 2tbsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1tsp

Asafoetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp

Clove/Laung - 3-4 no.

Black pepper powder - 1tsp

Green cardamom powder - 1tsp

Full cream milk - 250ml, boiled

Salt - to taste

Method

The Poppy Seed Paste

Soak poppy seeds and cashews in 1 cup warm milk for about half an hour. Then grind the mixture into a fine paste. Add the nutmeg powder. Keep aside.

The Vegetables

Heat ghee in a kadai. Roast the potatoes. 

Once the potatoes turn golden brown and soften a bit, add the remaining vegetables (cauliflower, capsicum, peas and carrots). 

Add some salt as it will help soften the veggies. Add cardamom powder. Saute well. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes our till the veggies soften a bit. Take care not to overcook the vegetables else they will break and get mashed once they go inside the gravy. Keep the vegetables aside. 

Onion Paste 

Blend the onion, ginger and green chilies into a fine paste. Keep aside

The Gravy

Heat ghee in the kadai. Add asafoetida, cloves and cumin seeds. (You can see a pea here since I used the same kadai in which i sauted the vegetables).

Once the seeds splutter, add the onion paste and saute on medium flame for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the sauted vegetables. Mix well.

Add the khus khus cashew paste and mix well on low flame (since poppy seed paste tend to thicken the gravy in no time!)

Add salt and black pepper powder. Cook for 2 minutes on low flame. 

Mixed vegetables in poppy seed gravy is ready!

Is an RO purifier your best for pure water?

When it comes to my children, I make no compromises on quality. As a mother to an infant and a toddler, I am always proactive about minimizing the risk of infections. Since small children are very susceptible to water borne infections, I began to use boiled water for his consumption. As kids, I had always seen my parents do the same so I followed suit. 

However, soon I realized it was a task easier said than done. Managing two small kids, office and household chores meant a mad race with the clock, so boiling and cooling water seemed a tedious task. Hence, I began to look for other convenient options. While the age old filters was a known option, a little bit of online research told me it was no longer the best method to have the purest drinking water as there may still be heavy metals, harmful chemicals, and excessive salts left in the water. 

Thankfully, we live in a technologically advanced world. Discussions with friends and online research told me that RO purifier is the best and safest way to ensure purest water. RO purifier uses Reverse Osmosis technology to purify water. Yes, the very same Osmosis that we studied in school is now helping us keep our water safe! 

Source

Unlike the conventional gravity based water purifiers or water filters, RO purifier uses fine osmotic membranes to filter out the smallest of the impurities dissolved in the water supply. This makes them ideal for home and office use. There is a wide range of RO purifier depending on the level of product testing and the quality of filters used to assemble the purifier.

Source

A little bit of research and online comparison helped me pick the best ro purifier and life is a lot easier now. There is a wide range of RO purifiers available in the market and one can compare the RO water purifier price online.  Considering the quality, features and price, you can choose the bestRO water purifier in India and keep your family safe from water borne diseases. 

Source