Pasta Salad with Eggs

Here's a healthy dinner Idea. Easy to make and low on carbs. I made this for dinner tonight and loved it.

Ingredients: Serve 1

1 egg ( use golden yolk eggs)

1/4 cup spiral pasta

1 small carrot

5 green beans

1/2 cup cauliflower florets

3 fresh spinach leaves

1 tbsp mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Peel the carrots and cut in to quarters. Break the edges and de-vein the green beans.

Boil pasta and egg in salted water and put a steamer on top and steam the vegs till bite tender but not mashy. Put the spinach at last for steaming. 

Keep the vegs and spinach aside to cool. Peel the shell off the egg and cut in half.

Make sure the pasta is boiled perfectly and soft. Drain the water and keep aside to cool.

Cut the vegs to desired pieces. Add in the pasta. Season with salt and pepper and add mayonnaise. Refrigerate to cool if desired. Place the halved egg on top and serve.

Crispy Mushrooms with Carrot Ribbon Salad

Mushrooms are a low calorie food rich with B vitamins. I used Oyster mushrooms for this recipe as button mushrooms are hard to find around here. The crispy fried mushrooms along with the citracy flavored carrot ribbon salad would make an ideal appetizer or even as a side dish for a South Asian cuisine.

Ingredients: Serve 4

Mushrooms 250g

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp of melted butter

1/2cup plain flour

1/3 cup corn flour

about 2/3cup of water

salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Make the batter by mixing baking powder, plain flour, corn flour, melted butter and salt along with water. Beat with a whisk to mix well. 

Heat oil for deep frying. (But make sure NOT to heat it till smoke comes )

Dip a mushroom on the batter and to test whether the oil is ready; put one mushroom to the oil.If it sizzles immediately the oil is ready for frying.

Dip the mushrooms in the batter by batches and deep fry till golden and crisp.

Transfer to kitchen paper towel to absorb excess oil. 

Serve in a serving plate along with carrot salad or plain.

To make carrot salad:

2 carrots washed and skin peeled off.

2 green chillies chopped fine

1 medium size onion sliced

1 tsp rice vinegar

lime juice to taste

salt to taste

pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

Make ribbons by peeling lengthwise of the carrot. Mix the ribbons with the other ingredients and adjust the taste to your liking. drizzle olive oil and serve long with the crispy mushrooms. Enjoy!!!

Guacamole

Guacamole is a Mexican originated avocado based dip which can be served with nachos, crackers or basically with anything you like. It can also used as a spread with toasts. Its very easy to make, very healthy and best served chilled. The tip to avoid Guacamole turning brown is to store it in a air tight container and keep the seed of the avocado in the middle of the dip!! Also keep in mind that its all about the taste, do your experiments with ingredients to your liking!! 

 Ingredients:

3 ripe Avocados

1 ripe tomato chopped

small bunch of fresh coriander leaves chopped finely

1 white onion chopped finely

1 tbp of jalapenos ( or 2 green chillies chopped)

1 fresh lime juice

2 cloves of garlic minced 

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the avocados in half, remove the seed and scoop the flesh in to a bowl. Mash the Avocados well with a fork.

Add in the chopped ingredients, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste and mix well and mash all together to form the dip.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

If storing, keep the dip in an air tight container or cover the bowl with cling film. Keep one seed of the avocado in the middle of the dip, to avoid the dip from turning brown. Keep refrigerated.

Serve with chips, nachos or crackers of your choice. Enjoy!!!

Here's Guacamole served with Cream Crackers.

Parsley Salad

''This is a very nutritious lovely side dish for rice. One of our favorite salads at home'' 

Ingredients:

bunch of fresh parsley

4 red onions

1 green chillie

lime juice to taste

pepper to taste

salt to taste

olive oil to drizzle

Method:

Wash and dry the parsley in a colander. Cut parsley finely with a sharp knife.

Cut the red onions and chilie finely.

Mix them together and season with salt, pepper and Fresh lime juice. 

Drizzle with olive oil on top and serve.

Snake Gourd Salad

''A crunchy simple salad''

Ingredients:

Snake Gourd 1

Onion small 1

Green Chillie 1

Fresh grated coconut 1tbsp

salt and pepper to taste

lime juice to taste ( 3/4 lime)

Wash and scrape the whitish skin off the snake gourd. Cut it in half and spoon off the seeds inside.

Make thin slices of Snake Gourd.

Cut the onion and green chillie into think slices.

Mix them all together with freshly grated coconut and add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste.

Mix well and serve as a side dish with rice.

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salads should make fresh 'coz when adding sugar the fruit pieces becomes fragile and mashy. So best way to make yummy fruit salad is to mix in the fruits/ nuts/custards/ sugar or syrups just before serving. What I prefer to do is cut the fruits and store them separately in air tight containers in the fridge to ensure the freshness. But certain fruits like banana or apple can not be stored like this and better use fresh.

Serve 4 

Ingredients:

Mango pieces 1 cup

Papaya pieces 1cup

Pineapple pieces 1 cup

Strawberry pieces 1 cup

Some Chopped Cashew Nuts

Sugar dissolved in some fresh orange juice 4 tbsp

Raisins handful

Method:

Cut fruits in to desired bite size pieces and store in fridge separately in air tight contains till chilled.

Mix the fruits in  large bowl and then add in the sugar orange syrup and mix lightly ensuring not to mash the fruits.

Add in the cashew nuts and raisins.

Serve.

Radish Leaves Sambal (Salad)

''Crispy fresh salad to accompany rice and curries''

Ingredients:

Two bunches of Radish leaves

One onion chopped

2 tbsp of fresh grated coconut

two green chillies chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Lime juice

Method:

Wash, drain and cut the radish leaves and stems finely

Slice the onion and chop green chillies.

In a bowl mix all ingredients and adjust salt and pepper and lime juice according to taste.

Mustard Leaf Sambal

''Lovely crunchy fresh side dish''

Recipe:

Mustard leafs ( a whole bunch)

1 Onion sliced

1 Green chilli chopped

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Black pepper

1/2 a Lime juice

Method:

Wash the leafs well. and cut them finely.

Add in the onion, green chilli, salt and pepper to taste. add lime juice.

Mix well by hand. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve as a side dish with rice.

Gerkin Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium gerkins

3 tomatoes

black pepper ground 1/2tsp

mustard paste 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

lime juice 1/2tsp

Salad leaf bunch

Method:

Wash and peel the Gerkin and cut lengthwise and remove the seeds. Then cut in to cubes.

Wash and cut the tomatoes in to cubes. remove seeds while doing so.

Mix them in a bowl with salt, pepper and mustard paste. add a little lime juice. 

Line a serving bowl with Salad leafs and put the salad prepared in the middle.

Chill and Serve.

Macaroni Salad

''Healthy Dinner Idea :D''

Recipe:

Ingredients

Boiled macaroni
Steamed cabbage leaves or fresh lettuce
Boiled and cubed potatoes
Steamed beans
Fresh tomatoes cut in to cubes
Fresh Onions cubed
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
little white vinegar (1tsp)
and a generous amount of (1-2 tbsps) of Mayonnaise

Method:
Mix all the ingredients together and Serve Chilled.

Tip: can add roasted chicken flakes or boiled and cubed egg or richer taste.