Love and Calories!!

Sun is out, and the Summer is finally here to stay (I suppose). So I thought why not make a lovely healthy, fresh veggie and Couscous salad which can easily pass of as a main dish for vegetarians. And for us carnivores, this yummy Couscous salad is a great accompaniment with our Lamb Tagine or grilled fish. Ingredients: 1 cup  couscous 1 onion 1 cucumber 1 bell pepper / capsicum 1 tbsp thick tomato puree 1 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp cumin 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves 2-3 green or red fresh chillies (finely chopped) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 juice of lemon and its zest salt and pepper to season Method: 1) Toast the cumin in a small fry pan and grind to a nice powder (prefer to use a pestle and mortar instead of a grinder). 2) Place the couscous in a big bowl and mix the ground cumin powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper to it.  Mix well. Then pour some hot water over the couscous until it ...

Last two weeks were so hectic for me that I didn't find time to even open my blog page. Lots of friends coming home, cooking, eating junk, visiting places, our famous festival "Vishu" came up  & finally I ended up getting sick. I am still in bed but was so frustrated doing nothing that I thought let me post one of my healthy salad recipes which I had promised earlier. I saw this salad recipe in one of the BBC cookery shows & was quiet eager to make it. The original recipe suggests the use of Halloumi instead of Paneer. Halloumi is a type of Greek cheese made of mostly Goat's milk. It has the same texture of that as Paneer, hence I used Paneer. Must say, It was quite filling and delicious, perfect for a Summer afternoon. Ingredients: 200 gm couscous 200 ml hot vegetable stock / hot chicken stock 400 g can chickpeas (drained and rinsed) 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 courgette/zucchini (sliced) 200 gm paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese), cut 1 inch length wise 2 medi...

Salads! Salads! Salads! Am going to post some simple, quick, filling yet delicious salads in the coming weeks. Am going to start with my all time favourite Desi salad, i.e the Indian Chickpeas. I love the tanginess of the lime, crunchiness of the onion, sourness of the tomato & finally the chickpeas which helps in combining all these flavours to make your salad absolutely delicious. So let's bring on Summer with some yummy refreshing salads!! Ingredients: 1 x 400g can of chickpeas 1 green chilli (finely chopped) 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 medium tomato (roughly chopped) 1 medium red onion (finely chopped) 1/2 cucumber (cut into batons) 2 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped) 8-10 baby spinach leaves (washed, if necessary chopped) 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp olive oil salt & pepper to season Method: Heat the oil in a non stick pan & add the cumin seeds, garlic & green chillies. Now add the canned chick peas to the pan & toss for a...

This is a refreshing and very nutritious salad. Add the dressing just before serving so that the leaves do not become soggy. The total calories are only 130 and its absolutely healthy and filling. I saw this recipe in a food magazine & thought to share it with all of you. :) Ingredients: 250 gm spinach leaves 2 oranges 1/2 red onion Wash the spinach leaves & dry them thoroughly on a kitchen paper. Remove any tough stalks and tear the larger leaves into half. Peel the orange and carefully slice between the membrane of the orange to remove the segments. Reserve any juices for the salad dressing. Finely chop the onion. Mix together the spinach, orange segments & arrange in a serving dish. Scatter the chopped onions over it. SALAD DRESSING: Ingredients: 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp squeezed orange juice 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp honey 1/2 tsp mustard seeds salt & pepper to season Whisk together the above ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour the dr...

This fresh tasting, Asian inspired noodle salad is speedy & nutritious. I always make this when am super lazy or in a mood to eat low fat food for a change. This noodle salad then comes to my rescue. Its tasty, quick and super filling. :) Ingredients: 100 g medium egg noodles 1/2 cucumber (sliced into thick baton) 1 bell pepper/capsicum (any colour, sliced) 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced) 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (preferably ketjap manis, an Indonesian soy sauce) 1 lime 1 tbsp roasted peanuts (coarsely crushed) 1 egg (soft or hard boiled) 1/2 tinned cannellini beans (this is completely optional. I simply added it to my salad. You can use any other tinned beans or completely omit it) Method: Cook the noodles in boiling water until just tender. Drain & arrange on a serving platter. Top with cucumber batons, sliced bell pepper & onion. Add the beans at this stage if you want. Drizzle over the soy sauce & squeeze over the lime. To finish, sprinkle over the crushed roasted peanu...

We don't always get excited about cucumber, because it isn't always served to its best advantage. This refreshing salad takes just a few minutes to put together, but does a cucumber full justice. Ingredients: 1 large cucumber 1 tsp vinegar 1 tbsp olive oil handful of mint or coriander leaves (finely chopped) a pinch of sugar salt & pepper (for seasoning) Method: Peel the cucumber, halve it length ways & scoop out the seeds. Slice into thick half moons. Place in a dish along with the vinegar, olive oil, mint or the coriander leaves & season it with salt, sugar & pepper. Toss together thoroughly. Leave for 15 minutes & serve.

My last few days at Chesterfield, home alone, cherishing all the happy memories of the last 4 years. Spent whole day flipping through the photographs with a hot mug of Coffee relaxing on my recliner. I was in no mood to cook but then getting hungry is human, so I had to visit my kitchen to see what could be made. I decided to go light today so made use of all the remaining veggies (to clear off the fridge) to make a healthy Vegetable Soup. I finished off making a warm, healthy, filling soup for my lunch just within half an hour & went back to my couch only to get more lazy. Sometimes its good when you do nothing at all!! ;) Ingredients: 1/2 of medium cauliflower (cut into florets) 2 medium carrots (peeled & finely diced) 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas 1 medium potato (finely diced) 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed) 25 gm butter salt & pepper to season Method: Melt the butter in a pressure cooker. Now add the crushed garlic & the chopped ...

Amidst all the moving and packing, I literally am not getting time to write or cook up for my blog. Today, was a bit free and got time to rest for a while but my hands were itching to write something on my blog. I guess, this is what happens when you are addicted to something. But I am liking this. So Putting up a simple recipe which is very easy to make or rather bake. I had stored some from last week's preparation for my evening nibbles. :) Now who doesn't love "croutons" in their soups or salads. I love them and they are the reason why I drink soups. Those crunchy cubes when soaked in a hot creamy soup, just melts away in your mouth giving you that strong garlicky - buttery taste. mmm.... "Croutons", is a French origin where the stale crust of bread was baked and topped it on the famous French Onion Soup. And as usual, once a hit, always a hit. Enjoy baking them at home!! Ingredients: 2 french baguettes or 5 slices of white bread (cut into 1/2 inch cubes...

I rarely diet, but when I do, I still try to eat delicious and not disappoint my taste buds. These days are some of my "am on a diet" days. Dieting for me works or not but I make sure, one week in a month I eat less oil, no fry food, just to silence my inner conscience!! This is a good healthy, light salad which I make along with a vegetable soup (will soon share the recipe) for brunch or even for supper. It keeps your tummy full, also the taste buds are happy & you can still say that "I am on a diet". ;) Check it out!! Ingredients: 1-2 capsicum/bell pepper (green colour preferably, deseeded & diced into 1 inch cubes) 200 gm paneer/indian cottage cheese (cubed into 1 inch ) 1 medium onion (diced into 1 inch cubes) 1 cup pineapple (optional, diced into 1 inch cubes) 1 big tomato (diced into 1 inch cubes) 4 tsp chaat masala 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp olive oil (or any other oil) salt to taste Method: Take a big mixing bowl & pop in a...

Love and Calories present to you some healthy eating options as well. I thought of including some quick to make dishes, which anybody can prepare, in no time and will be a "less oil, no fry" task too. My first recipe will be a "Cretan Potato & Egg Salad". Sounds posh isn't it?? :) Well, I believe that more complicated or sophisticated the name of a recipe, the more easier it is to be prepared. You will know why.....:) The two main ingredients of this Greek Summer salad are the Cretan potatoes and hard boiled eggs. Potatoes grown in Crete (a sunny coastal region in Greece) has a warmer flavour to it, which makes this salad more flavourful. Now we can't go to Greece to get those potatoes but we definitely can use the normal ones for this salad. Because potatoes will be always delicious, wherever it is grown..Right?? ;) Ingredients: 4 medium sized potatoes (cut to medium cubes, do not peel the skin) 3 eggs (hard boiled) 1 big red onion (chopped) 2 mediu...