Immunity Tea

This naturally sweet and sour tea is a great immunity booster. When it's the flu season or changing season, drinking this immunity tea helps the body to fight against attacking viruses and bacterias.

Category :Vegan, fat-free
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: nil
Skill level : easy

Ingredients:
2- 1 cm  liquorice (Yashtimadhu)
1" Cinnamon
10 leaves holy basil
1 ts Fennel seeds
1" tamarind
1/2 ts salt
10 Peppercorns

2 c water

1. In a pot mix everything, cover, and allow the contents to soak in the water.
2. Warm it whenever you would like to drink it.

3. Enjoy!

* I would suggest to take this tea warm to get more benefit of it but if its just to enjoy, you can try it chilled too.

* These are general guidelines but everyone has different "TASIR" (nature of body), so follow that also.

*Best approach is to eat variety of nutritionally dense food rather than concentrating on one.

*Good things are good only when used in moderation, when overdone it is not good.

Liquorice tea

This naturally sweet, spicy, and smoky-flavored tea cures severe coughs and colds. It improves immunity, is anti -inflammatory, and is an anti-diabetic. It also helps to clear the voice, and cures sore throats.

Category :Vegan, fat-free
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: nil
Skill level : easy

Ingredients:
2- 1 cm  liquorice (Yashtimadhu)
1" cinnamon

2 c water

1. In a pot mix everything, cover and allow it to soak.
2. Warm it whenever you want to drink it.

3. Enjoy!

* I would suggest to take this tea when warm to get more benefits out of it, but if you are taking it just for the sake of enjoyment, you can try it chilled too.

* These are general guidelines but everyone has different "TASIR" (nature of body), so follow that as well.

*The best approach is to eat a variety of nutritionally dense foods rather than concentrating on one, no matter how good you find a single food to be.

*Good things are good only when used in moderation, when overdone it isn't good.

Wheat Biranj

Black cardamom and mustard seeds adds smoky and pungent flavor to dish while cinnamon provides sweet spicy fragrance. Cloves and peppers add spice to the dish. This dish gives satisfaction of rice but with lower glycemic score for diabetic people. I make this one with added veggie, and it's family favorite easy meal.

Category : low fat, Vegetarian

Preparation Time : 5 min.
cooking time : 30 min.

Skill level : easy

Ingredients:
1 ts ghee/oil

3- 1" cinnamon
5 cloves
10 whole peppercorns
2 big cardamom, whole
1 ts mustard seeds
1 Red chili
1 c  chana dal
1 c crackled wheat(course Dalia)
1 ts Turmeric
3-1/2  c water
salt as needed

1. Heat ghee in stainless steel cooker at medium heat.
2. Add whole spices. 
3. Until  it starts popping move them around with spoon.
4. Then add turmeric.
5. Add water and let it boil.
6. Add washed chana dal and boil it for 5-7 min.
7. Add Crackled wheat and salt. Cover let it cook until 2 whistle.
8. let the cooker cool down for 15-20 min.
9. When you will open the cooker you will see some water on top, but keep it open and in 5 min. it will show nice texture.
10. This one taste good with Raita and kachumber.

*Oil is fine but ghee adds lots of fragrance in this dish.
*If you are not using pressure cooker...
Chana dal takes much longer to cook so add crackled wheat when chana dal is half way cooked. It should take 35 to 45 min to cook.
*If you like you can add 1-2 c of chopped veggie like bottle gourd, potato, carrots

Sweet and Sour Chinese Eggplant

Category : Vegan, low fat Nut free
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: 20 min
Skill level : Easy

Ingredients:
Sauce:
1/2 recipe Fat-free Sweet and sour Chinese dressing
1 tbs thickener
1 c  water

Stir fry:
1 ts sesame oil
1 ts ginger paste
1 tbs garlic paste, 
1 ts chili powder
2 tbs finely chopped yellow onion
3 Chinese eggplants
1 ts dry basil
Salt and pepper as needed

Topping:
1/4 c chopped basil
2 tbs chopped green onion
1 ts chili flakes

1. Wash and cut eggplants in to 1" rounds slanted. Sprinkle salt, pepper and dry basil on it.
2. Steam eggplant until they are cooked (it should take 7-10 min.)
3. Keep it aside, covered.
4. Mix the sauce ingredients and keep aside.
5. Heat oil at low heat.
6. Saute ginger and garlic
7. After 15 seconds add onion.
8. After the onion turns translucent, add the eggplants and cook for 2-3 min. Move the    contents around very gently, while taking care not to let them stick.
9. Pour sauce mix.
10. Cook for another 5 min.
11. Turn the heat off.
12. Add toppings, mix.
13. Serve on the side with one of these (cooked)-barley/farro/oats/brown rice.

*I make this recipe sweet sour and mildly hot but according to taste you can adjust salt, sugar, chili and vinegar. *For thickening, you can choose a thickener like, tapioca starch, arrowroot, potato starch, corn flour, rice flour etc.
*Traditionally, eggplants are fried but since my family loves this preparation, I began steaming them.
*Traditionally this recipe is cooked on high flame but since we use very less oil, it will start burning, so for this recipe, you will have to cook at low flame.

Fat-free Hot, Sweet and sour Chinese Salad dressing

Category :Vegan, low fat Nut free
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: nil
Skill level : easy

2 ts chili powder
3 small green chili, chopped (mild)
2 tbs, soy sauce 
1 ts pepper
2 tbs sugar

1 tbs dried basil 4 tbs+ apple cider vinegar
4 tbs brown sugar or liquid sweetener +to taste
1 tbs roasted sesame
salt as needed

1. Mix the ingredients and store it in refrigerator. Use within couple of days.

*This dressing makes excellent sweet, sour and hot curry base or gravy base

Roti Pizza

This simple pizza is delicious and crispy but very less cheese works well. It gives fun of having pizza low fat way. Believe me after I started making pizza this way my family don't want to eat outside pizza. This makes quick dinner too.

Category :Vegetarian, low fat Nut free
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: 2-3 min. each
Skill level : easy

Ingredients:
4 leftover thick roti
2 tbs pizza sauce
1 tbs tomato, diced
2 ts onion, diced
1/2 ts garlic
1 tbs pineapple
1 tbs orange segments
2 ts capsicum
2 tbs cheese + to taste
1 tbs fresh basil
1 ts mix of  pepper, oregano, chili flakes
salt as needed

1. Heat the griddle over low medium heat.
2. Spread pizza sauce over roti 
3. sprinkle toppings and cheese.
4. sprinkle seasoning.
5. Arrange roti over griddle gently.
6. Cook till cheese starts to melt and roti is golden brown from bottom.
7. Serve immediately.
8. Repeat.