Some healthy Indian foods you should start eating today!

Eating healthy never meant that you have to sacrifice on taste. India is a land of diverse cuisine, and there are plenty of food options that are rich in nutrients and tasty too! If you don’t like bland food like corn flakes, oats, etc. – then these 6 foods are perfect for you.

Idli:

First up is the unpretentious Idli from the south. Idlis are a great source of carbohydrates and proteins. The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of proteins and enhances the vitamin B content of the food.  As it is steamed, fat content is low and it is easily digestible. Use of dal and rice in idli is a good combination as the amino acids in them complement each other.

Here’s a simple recipe for Idli:

Soaking Time: 2 to 3 hours.

Preparation Time:15 minutes

Fermenting Time: Overnight

Cooking Time:45 minutes.

Makes 30 idlis.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups par-boiled rice 
• 1 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
• salt to taste
• oil for greasing

 Instructions:

• Wash and soak the rice and urad dal in lukewarm water for 2 to 3 hours.
• Drain, wash and grind to a smooth paste. 
• Cover and keep aside overnight to ferment. 
• Add that salt and mix well.
• Put spoonfuls of the batter into greased idli moulds and steam for 15 minutes.

 

Sattu:

A staple of the north sattu was  originally made of roasted gram flour but has now evolved to include other nutritious flours like barley, wheat etc. It is prepared in several ways including parathas, laddoos, litti chokhas and more variations. Here is a recipe to cook a Sattu:

Preparation Time: 30 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Makes 6 to 7 pieces

Ingredients:

For Covering

• 2 cups wheat (gehun) flour
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 2 tbsp refined oil
• 3/4tsp salt
• 2 tbsp of ghee

For Stuffing

• 1 cup roasted bengal gram flour
• 2 to 4 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds (jeera)
• Ginger (adrak) , finely chopped
• 1/2tsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander (dhania)
• 1 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
• 1 tsp stuffed red chilly pickle masala
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped onions (optional)
• 2 tsp mustard (rai /sarson) oil
• water
• salt to taste

For Chokha

• 2 medium sized boiled potatoes
• 1 medium sized brinjal (baingan / eggplant)
• 3 medium sized tomatoes
• 2-4 finely chopped green chillies
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
• 1 tsp mustard (rai /sarson) oil
• salt to taste

For Litti use refined oil for frying

Method:

For casing

Sieve the flour and add salt, ajwain, kalonji, refined oil. Knead the dough properly with water and make stiff dough. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside.

For stuffing

Take sattu or roasted gram flour in a bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well. In case the stuffing is dry, you can add little water but don’t make it too soft either.

For litti

Take the dough. Make 6-7 medium equal sized balls. Take each ball and flatten the ball a bit with your palm and make depression. Fill a portion of the stuffing, close the balls by lifting the sides by hand and flatten the litti a bit by pressing your palm. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick kadhai. Fry the litti till golden brown.

For chokha

Boil the tomatoes and keep aside. Half-cut the brinjal and roast on the fire from both the sides until it becomes soft. Take a bowl of cold water and put the roasted brinjal in it. Peel of the burnt skin of the brinjal. Mash boiled potatoes, brinjal and tomatoes together. Add finely chopped onion, coriander leaves, salt, green chillies and oil. Add all the ingredients.

While serving cut the litti in equal halves and serve hot with chokha.

 

Dhokla:

The staple Gujarati snack, dhoklas, is made with gram flour and subsequently steamed. The fermentation of the flour enhances its nutritive value. Dhokla has a low glycemic index (it releases glucose at a more sustained rate) which makes it good for diabetics. 

A simple recipe for preparing healthy Dhoklas courtesy tarladalal.com:

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Makes 2-3 servings

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup besan (Bengal gram flour)
• 1 1/2 tbsp semolina (rava)
• 3 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp ginger- green chilli paste
• 1/2 tsp citric acid (nimbu ka phool) or 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp fruit salt
• 1/4 tsp oil for greasing

Other Ingredients:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds (til)
• 2 green chillies , chopped
• a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 2 to 3 curry leaves (kadi patta)
• Garnish with 2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients together, except the fruit salt in a bowl and mix well adding water as required (approximately ¾ cup) to make a thick batter.

• Just before steaming, add the fruit salt and add 2 tsp of water over it.
• When the bubbles form, mix gently.
• Pour the batter immediately into a greased 125 mm. (5′) diameter thali and shake the thali clockwise to spread the batter in an even layer.
• Steam for 12 to 15 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in small pan and add the mustard seeds.
• When the seeds crackle, add the sesame seeds, green chillies and asafoetida, mix well and sauté on a medium flame for a second, while stirring continuously.
• Remove from the flame, add 2 tbsp of water and mix well. Pour the tempering over the dhoklas.

Bajra:

Bajra also knowns as pearl millet is very popular in Rajasthan, this humble food has been eaten in India since the pre-historic times. It  is mostly consumed in the form of rotis or khichdis, especially in the winters. 

Here’s a healthy bajra preparation you can cook at home

Preparation time: 5 mins.

Cooking time: 10 mins.

Makes 8 rotis.

Ingredients

• 2 cups bajra (black millet) flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
• salt to taste

Method

1. Combine the bajra flour, wheat flour and salt and add enough hot water to make a soft dough.
2. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
3. Roll out each portion into a thin roti of 150 mm. (6″) diameter.
4. Generously dust the rotis with dry bajra flour to make the rolling easier.
5. Cook the rotis on a hot tava (griddle) till both sides are light brown in colour.
6. Brush one side of the roti with melted ghee and serve hot.

Daliya: 

Daliya is a popular breakfast cereal in North India and is made with whole wheat grits or broken wheat. It can be made either as a sweet daliya kheer or as savoury daliya. Being a complex carbohydrate, the rate at which it gets digested it slow thus releasing glucose on a slow and sustained rate. This makes it an ideal food for diabetics, people wanting to lose weight or those who have high cholesterol levels.

Here’s a simple but healthy recipe for daliya upma:

Preparation Time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients

• broken wheat (dalia)
• cumin seeds (jeera)
• carrot
• potatoes
• onions
• ginger (adrak)
• salt to taste
• a pinch turmeric powder (haldi)
• chilli powder
• coriander (dhania) for garnishing

Heat a little in a pan. Addjeeraand onions. Adddaliyaand roast it. Add chopped vegetables and stir for 2 min. Add salt ,haldi, red chilly powder  and water. Cover it and cook till the vegetables are tender.

Sprouts:

Though not a traditional Indian favourite the health benefits of sprouts are immense. Sprouts have gone through a germination process during which all its nutrients are broken down into their simplest forms making them ‘predigested’ and easily absorbable by the body.  Sprouts are a rich source of vitamins, proteins, minerals and fibre.

Here’s a healthy sprouts chaat recipe. Gram dumplings have been added to it for extra protein:

Ingredients

•  1 1/2 cups sprouted moong (whole green gram)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp oil
• Salt to taste

 For the dumplings

•  1/2 cup besan (Bengal gram flour)
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 1/8 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 2 to 3 tbsp low fat curds (dahi)
• a pinch of baking soda
• salt to taste

 For the garnish

1 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

 Method:

Combine all the ingredients and knead into a smooth dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion to make a thin roll approximately 6 mm. (¼”) in diameter. Steam the rolls for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely and cut the rolls into very small pieces. Keep aside.

How to proceed

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds crackle, add the onions, turmeric powder and green chilli and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the moongsprouts, salt and ¼ cup of water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the prepared dumplings, chaat masala, sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot, garnished with the coriander.