Detox Berry Shake

 

I picked 'detox diet' as the theme for this marathon more than a month ago but honestly, all I had known at that time was the random stuff I heard now and then on health shows. Diets ranging from juice based ones, apple cider vinegar to weird ones where charcoal is used. I am not an expert on the subject and had to go through several articles and posts online to get the gist of the 'detox diet' idea. I have been a vegetarian all my life and I try to eat balanced meals and stay away from junk food as much as possible. That is the only dietary plan I have been following so far in my life. I did not follow any detox plan this week too but surprisingly I realized that the detox meals can be well balanced ones without compromising on taste or flavors.

Detoxification or detox in short is nothing but a form of body cleansing. This approach is followed to get rid of the supposedly  accumulated 'toxins' from the body which may affect an individual's health in the short or long term. The general idea here being that the food we consume in the modern world is filled with contaminants such as food colors, pesticides, flavor enhancers, preservatives and such which are all nothing but unwanted chemicals. The detox diets which are special dietary plans claim to have detoxifying effects on our body and would aid in getting rid of these toxins. Fasting, dieting, avoiding specific foods and colon cleansing are some of the methods approached in detox diet plans. While the medical experts state that cleansing the body is unnecessary as our bodies are capable of doing the job perfectly. (source:wiki and others)

The recipes I picked for this week's theme rely on the idea of aiming towards the consumption of specific foods that are beneficial to body and avoiding certain ones. I am just giving a list from a vegetarian point of view. The detox plans which follow this idea generally avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, fats like butter & mayonnaise, sweeteners (like sugar, honey, maple syrup),  processed foods, caffeine, chocolate, soy products, alcohol, and such. Much emphasis is given to fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains that are non gluten (like brown rice, quinoa, millets), legumes, healthy nuts and oils. I created recipes based on what foods were allowed in the plan.

My recipe today falls under the liquid cleanse which is the simplest form of cleansing and provides the body with nutrients. Liquid cleanses usually involve consuming water, fresh (organic) fruit / vegetable juices, pureed soups, smoothies, and such. This shake can be included as part of the detox plan or can be enjoyed anytime. The berries are rich in antioxidants while mango and banana are rich in fiber. The fruits I picked were sweeter and I froze them in advance.

Ingredients: (Yield 2 servings)
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup mango cubes
1/4 cup pineapple cubes
1 small banana
2 tbsp. flax seeds
Coconut water or unsweetened almond milk as needed
(Using organic fruits would be better if following detox diet because of the pesticides.)

Method:
Blend everything to desired consistency and serve.



This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #64 under 'detox recipes' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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Fresh Pineapple Juice

Fresh pineapple juice used to be a regular evening snack in our home, while growing up. Honestly speaking, I began eating pineapple in fruit form only after my husband came into my life. Thanks to my mother, everyone in my side of the family need a blender to consume pineapple. We were so used to the juice concept that we never thought of enjoying the fruit on it's own. My mother loves pineapple juice and that may be the reason why she chose to go the juice route. Or when I think about it now, it might have been because the fruit was not guaranteed to be on the sweeter side always and probably my mother thought that the juice would be consumed by everyone without complaints. Besides, I have noticed that the fruit available in India makes sometimes our tongues itchy.
 
The fruit available in the local U.S. markets is mostly sweeter and I enjoy the pineapple slices now with a slight sprinkle of salt and red chilli powder / pepper powder. Today, I thought of preparing the juice after a long time and realized that it would also fit my '3 ingredients' themed recipe for the day. And so here it is, the fresh pineapple juice that is quick and easy to prepare, considering that one has the prepared pineapple pieces handy. Otherwise, pineapple needs to peeled and prepared. This refreshing juice makes a perfect drink for hot, summer days.

 

Ingredients: (2 to 3 servings)
1&1/2 cups pineapple cubes
Sugar to taste (I drink it without adding sugar.)
A few pinches of freshly cracked black pepper (optional)

Method:
* Blend pineapple adding about 1&1/2 to 2 cups of cold water and sugar. Taste and adjust the sugar if needed.
* Add ice cubes if needed and sprinkle black pepper powder in juice glasses. (I froze the fruit for few hours so that I didn't have to add ice cubes to the juice.)


This is going to be a part of Blogging marathon #64 under the theme 'Recipes using three ingredients' and check here to find out what other marathoners are cooking today.

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Tuesday Treat ~ Eggless Pineapple - Semolina Cake

This 'fruity' semolina cake is one of my favorites and I keep rotating fruits in the recipe to have a different flavored one each time I prepare it. I have already posted the banana and mango flavored ones. Recently when we got the pineapple home, we forgot to cut it until it went overripe and my husband asked whether I could make a dessert out of it. The request was kinda surprising knowing that he is not fond of sweet dishes and he loves to eat the fruit in it's natural form. I thought he may love some halwa but ditched the idea when I realized that a recipe that can be used for the baking marathon would also serve my purpose. The result was this yummy cake full of pineapple flavor. I prepared a small sized loaf in a one cup capacity pan. The final cake would be soft even though it looks gritty from the surface.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup semolina
1/2 cup pineapple puree (Grind pineapple pieces for the puree.)
1/2 tsp baking powder.
3 to 4 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. melted butter
Few drops of pineapple essence
Few drops yellow food color (optional)
1 tbsp. slivered almonds (or substitute other nuts)
1 tbsp. raisins 

Method:
* Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, reserving about 1 tsp. of almond slivers. Keep the bowl covered for 10 minutes. The final batter should not be runny and if it is, allow it to rest for few minutes more.
* Preheat the oven at 375 deg F.
* Grease a baking pan. This batter doesn't rise much and so the batter can be filled up to 3/4th of the pan. I used a one cup capacity 
baking pan for this quantity. 
 
* Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
* Cool the cake, slice and serve.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Simple Meals ~ Moong Dal Sambhar & Pineapple Rasam

Here is a simple, comforting meal cooked in my kitchen, on this chilly weekend day. A spicy moong dal sambhar, a fruity rasam bursting with flavors and homemade yogurt served along with hot, steamed rice.

Ingredients: (Serves 4 - 6)
1/2 cup moong dal
1 cup mixed, chopped vegetables (I used carrot, beans & tomato)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp sambhar powder
1 tsp chili powder or to taste
Salt to taste
Thick tamarind juice to taste or about 3 Tbsp (a lime sized tamarind soaked in water and puree extracted.)
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida and few curry leaves

Method:
* Rinse the moong dal in water and drain. Cook moong dal along with veggies and turmeric powder adding about a cup of water. This can be done either in a thick pan or a pressure cooker. If using a pan then use water accordingly and cook uncovered. There is no need to soak the moong dal since it cooks faster.
* Heat the oil in another pan and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard & cumin seeds start to sizzle, add the cooked dal mixture, salt, chili powder, sambhar powder and tamarind. Also add about 2 cups of water to reach the sambhar consistency. Check the taste and adjust the ingredients if needed.
* Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes more. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot, steamed rice / rotis.

Now lets move on to today's second recipe, pineapple rasam. This one is a tangy, spicy and sweet rasam that goes well with hot steamed rice, ghee and some papads. A totally comforting meal. All the good stuff is hidden somewhere in that watery broth and is invisible. J

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 cup pineapple cubes
1/4 cup cooked and mashed toor dal
1/4 cup pineapple puree
2 - 3 Tbsp or as needed - tamarind juice
1.5 or 2 tsp rasam powder
Jaggery to taste
Salt to taste
1 /4 tsp turmeric powder
1 - 2 Tbsp Cilantro leaves
For tadka: 2 tsp ghee / oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, few curry leaves, 1 or 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise and 1 or 2 red chilli broken into bits

Method:
* Heat the ghee / oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry for a few seconds and then add the pineapple cubes. Add about a cup of water and keep cooking until pineapples are done.
*  Then add the mashed toor dal, pineapple puree, salt, rasam powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and tamarind. Bring to a rolling boil, lower the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the minced cilantro before turning off the stove.

This to going to Design a Menu - 3 by Harini - Jaya. My menu for the event is going to be

Appetizers:  Aloo tikki and Potato chaklis

Main course:  Vegetable - Coconut rice, Stuffed tindora, Moongdal sambhar and Pineapple rasam.

Dessert: Pineapple kheer

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Ananas Payasa / Pineapple Kheer

For the past few weeks, I have been on a "kheer cooking" spree in the name of neivedyams and several of my recent posts prove the point. J Today’s post also happen to be a creamy, delectable kheer prepared with one of the delicious tropical fruits, pineapple. 
I jotted down the recipe, years ago from a Kannada website since the recipe sounded so unusual. It is prepared with a flavorful combo of coconut milk - jaggery unlike the regular kheer versions of milk - sugar mixture. I prepared it a couple of days ago and thought of sharing the recipe since the kheer was yummy.

Related post: Pineapple - Almond Kheer

Ingredients: (6 servings)
1 cup pineapple cubes
1 cup thick coconut milk (home prepared or store bought one)
1.5 cup thin coconut milk (if not using home prepared one, then substitute with whole milk)
Jaggery powder - 1 cup or according to taste (Sugar can be substituted)
2 Tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp ghee
2 Tbsp cashews
2 Tbsp raisins

Preparation:
* Mix the rice flour with a few Tbsp of coconut milk or water and make a paste. Keep it aside.
* Toast cashews and raisins in ghee.

Method:
* Cook pineapple cubes until done on stove top. Or in a microwave for about 5 minutes. Grind the pineapple into fine paste.
* Add the thick coconut milk, rice flour paste and jaggery powder to the pineapple paste. Bring this mixture to a rolling boil taking care not to scorch the mixture.
* Then add the cardamom powder, toasted raisins, cashews and the thin coconut milk and simmer for few more minutes.
If using milk then don't directly add it to the kheer. It may curdle because of the jaggery used. Boil the milk separately and let it cool. Add it to the kheer when it comes to room temperature.

Linking it to
1. Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday by Priya & Aipi.

2. Design a Menu - 3 by Harini - Jaya

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Aam - Kesar Phirni / & Microwave Pineapple Jam

Phirni, a sweet rice pudding happens to be one of the popular dessert dishes in North India and Pakistan. Though the origins are quite unknown, Mughals probably introduced it to us. Though phirni has a special place in North Indian cuisine, it is relatively an unknown one down in South, where we come from.
A coarse rice paste is simmered in milk until a thick consistency is reached, then sweetened with sugar and flavored with cardamom and saffron and garnished with nuts. This is the basic 'phirni' for you. There are a few delightful variations that takes this basic phirni to new levels.
Add diced mango to this flavorful phirni to end up with this mouthwatering aam - kesar one or the mango - saffron phirni, a true summer treat.

Ingredients: (For 4 servings)
1 ripe mango, cubed (about 1 cup)
8 - 10 saffron strands
4 Tbsp rice (I used Basmati)
4 cups milk
Sugar to taste (I used 5 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp each - Almonds & pistachios (blanched & slivered)

Method:
* Wash and soak rice in water for about 30 minutes or in hot water for about 10 minutes. Then drain and grind the rice to a paste adding water as needed.
* Dissolve the saffron strands in two tablespoons of warm milk.
* Heat the remaining milk. When it starts to boil, reduce the heat and gently stir in the rice paste. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 12 - 15 minutes. Phirni should be fairly thick like custard.
* Add sugar and cardamom powder and continue to simmer until the sugar dissolves. Add the saffron and turn off the stove.
* When phirni comes to room temperature, stir in mango cubes saving a few for garnishing. Refrigerate the phirni.
* Serve chilled phirni in individual bowls garnishing with pistachios, almonds and mango cubes.

Variation:
Mango puree may be added instead of diced mango.

This phirni is on its way to
1. Priya Suresh's Celebrate Sweets - Sweets with Rice, an event originally started by Nivedita.
2. Reva's Healing Foods - Mango, an event originally started by Siri.

Microwave Version Pineapple Jam:

When I have over ripe fruits, I sometimes use them to prepare jams in microwave. However I prepare in small quantities since I don't use any preservatives. This time, I used pineapple to prepare jam and flavored it with cloves and cardamom.

Ingredients: (I got a little more than 1/2 cup)
2 cups pineapple cubes
1 tsp lemon juice (Optional. I just added it for the tang as a small quantity of lemon doesn't contribute towards pectin.)
Sugar to taste (I used about 6 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
2 - 3 cloves (optional)

Method:
* Puree the pineapple cubes with juices (if any saved.) This step is optional but I prefer it to get a jam of uniform consistency.
* Add the puree and the remaining ingredients to a microwave safe bowl and cook for about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring in between.
* Discard the cloves and use.

Note:
Stop cooking before the desired consistency is reached since it gets thicker as it cools down. Don't worry if the jam comes out hard because of the error in timing. Add a few Tbsp of water and reheat it in the microwave for about a minute or so.

This goes to R's Veggie / Fruit of the month - Pineapple, an event originally started by Priya Mitharwal.

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Microwave Pineapple - Almond Kheer

When I was taking out the milk can to prepare payasam neivedyam, I noticed that M had neatly stacked 2 boxes of  leftover pineapple cubes in the refrigerator. Since I use pineapple to prepare halwa regularly, this time thought of using it in the payasam. 
I started with pineapple and along the way, some almonds went in and so the brown specks that you notice in the pic. This simple, quick kheer can be prepared in around 10 - 12 minutes in a MW.
Fruit, nut and sugar combination can never go wrong and this pineapple almond kheer when chilled made a delicious dessert.  



Ingredients needed for about 4 servings:
1/2 cup pineapple cubes
1/4 cup almonds
2 cups full fat milk or as needed
Sugar to taste
1 Tbs dried cranberries (substitute raisins)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Making Kheer:
* Cook the pineapple cubes with little water in a microwave safe bowl for about 7 -8 minutes.
* Grind the cooked pineapple cubes, almonds with a little milk.
* Heat the milk in the MW for about a minute. Add the ground mixture, sugar, cardamom powder, cranberries to the milk and mix well.
* Again put back the bowl in the MW and cook for 2 -3 minutes more.
* Serve warm or chilled.

Note:
For more pronounced fruit flavor, use pineapple essence instead of
cardamom powder. Also yellow food color can be used. 

This goes to
1. Priya's Cooking with Seeds - Cardamom. 
2. Priyanka's MEC - Kids Party Food, the event creator being Srivalli.

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Pineapple - Orange Smoothie

This sunshine smoothie is to celebrate the spring weather we are having for the past two days.



Actually the preparation of this delicious drink is so simple that it doesn't need a recipe. However I am going to mention what I did. For 3 servings, I added 2 bananas, a cup of pineapple cubes, a cup of orange juice (freshly squeezed is better) and a cup of yogurt to a blender (or a food processor) and pureed it till smooth.
This colorful, creamy smoothie can be served as breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

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Pineapple / Ananas Gojju

For novices, Gojjus are kind of stews bursting with myriad, yet balanced flavors and are a specialty of Karnataka cuisine. Those  flavors are a treat for your taste buds. Some gojjus (this pineapple one for instance) are associated with festivities and celebrations and some (like hagalakayi gojju) are cooked at home to perk up the taste buds and escape the humdrum of everyday saaru and hulis (dals from that state.)
The preparation is quite simple and don't be put off by the long list of the ingredients presented here. Some go for tadka and some for grinding. Try this if you haven't earlier and you would not be disappointed.

Ingredients needed for 3 - 4 servings:
1 cup pineapple cubes (if using canned ones, rinse the cubes well)
1 & 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp jaggery powder
1 tbsp tamarind juice (tamarind soaked in water and squeezed)
A pinch of turmeric powder

For tadka: 2 -3 tsp oil, 1 tsp chanadal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, little asafoetida powder, a red chili broken into bits

For gojju powder:
4 Tbsp dry coconut (copra), shredded
2 Tbsp chanadal
1 Tbsp uraddal
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
a pinch of methi seeds 
6 byadagi chilies (red chilies which give color & are less spicier)

Preparing Gojju Pudi / Powder:
Toast chanadal and uraddal separately in a sauté pan till they turn reddish and remove. Add coriander seeds to the pan and saute on low flame till it turns a few shades darker. Similarly toast sesame seeds, methi seeds and chilies for a few seconds. Cool all the ingredients and grind into a fine powder.

Preparing Gojju:

• Take a kadai or a pan. Heat the oil in it and the chanadal and mustard seeds. When the dal start to turn reddish, add the asafoetida  powder and the red chili. Then add the pineapple cubes and a little water. Cook till pineapples are done or the pineapple cubes can be cooked in advance in a microwave with a little water.
• Then add the gojju powder, turmeric powder, tamarind, jaggery, salt and water (I added about 2.5 cups) as needed. Check the flavor and adjust the seasonings, if any needed.
• Cook till the gojju thickens.
• Serve with rotis / rice.

Note:
1. Gojju pudi can be prepared in large batches and can be stored in an air tight container and used whenever needed.
2. Curry leaves are optional in this gojju recipe as there are too many flavors present in the dish.

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Thank You and Pineapple Sheera

Thank you, dear visitor

Veggie Platter has hit the '100' mark. Yes, I have completed 101 posts (including this), since I started blogging from last December. I would have reached this tiny milestone months ago, if I had maintained the consistency and vigor of my initial blogging days. Nevertheless, here I am after seven months of blogging.

I would love to thank you all for visiting my blog and I really appreciate you and your valuable time spent here. Hope you continue to visit and enjoy my blog.
Ending on a sweet note, here is a recipe for pineapple sheera.


What you need:
Pineapple fruit chopped into small cubes- 1/2 cup
Semolina / Rava - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 Tbsp
Raisins & Cashews - 1 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 Tsp
Pineapple essence - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Yellow food color - a little (optional)

Cooking part:
Cook pineapple in 3/4 cup of water in a MW.
Mean while, dry fry the semolina on low flame with constant stirring, till it starts to turn light brown. Keep it aside.
Boil a cup of water in a saucepan or a small wok. Add sugar, cardamom powder, food color and the essence to it and stir once or twice till the sugar completely melts. Then turn down the stove to low and add the cooked pineapple and the semolina. Stir the mixture well so that there are no lumps and there is a homogeneous mixture. Cook till the semolina is done.
Heat ghee in a small pan and add cashews and raisins. Toast them till cashews turn golden brown and raisins turn plump. This step takes less than a minute.
Add this mixture to the cooked semolina - pineapple sheera and mix well.
Serve warm.

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