Masala Thepala- Low fat Ganthiya

In Saurashtra, India very common breakfast used to be Ganthiya, jalebi, sata. All laden with fat.  Now health concious people started avoiding that but still while doing breakfast for sure they will think, it will be fun if to eat ganthiya(but fried, oil, calories, too much salt,...). My husband is one of that type. May be he will eat ganthiya once a year but sundays  he thinks ganthiya would be fun. That's the time when I make them. This one works just fine. Its low in fat, low salt works perfect, less calories still similar great taste. It's never failing breakfast (believe me, I tried with couple of people and it was hit, everytime).

Category : Vegan, low fat
Preparation Time : 5 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
2 ts peppercorns, crushed, medium
1 ts Carom seeds, crushed, medium
1 ts turmeric powder
1/2 ts strong asafoetida
1 ts roasted cumin powder
salt as needed
1/3 c gram flour
1 c whole wheat flour
Dry whole wheat flour for rolling
Oil for spreading

1. Make semi soft dough with flour, spices and water. 
2.  Make walnut size balls of dough.
3. Flatten the balls into disks.
4. Roll the balls into 6" diameter circles.
5. Heat griddle on medium heat and when hot enough (to check put a pinch of flour on the griddle and check if it turns golden-brown) carefully place the thepala on the griddle .
6. After 10 seconds, flip it over, apply oil 1/2+to taste ts each thepala(I use 4-5  drops, but we got used to low oil food and I can make softer ones after years of practice).
7. When it has brownish spots flip over again.
8. When it has brownish spots both sides its done.
9. Serve. Repeat.

*Flipping thepala too many times makes it hard and chewy. (With practice you will know right timings and right temperatures.
*To make soft thepalas adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.

* If you think your rolling speed is not fast you can turn heat on only after rolling 2-3 thepalas.

Greeen Masala Paratha

Category : Vegan, low fat
Preparation Time : 5 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
Paste:
1 green chili
1" ginger
1 ts Carom seeds
1 ts turmeric
1/2 c mix greens(cilantro-1 tbs, 2-3 green onion-white part, 3 tbs spinach, 2 tbs fenugreek,  + 10 leaves holy basil or basil )

1 c whole wheat flour
Dry whole wheat flour for rolling

1. Make soft dough with flour,paste and water(if needed). 
2.  Make walnut size balls of dough.
3. Flatten the balls into disks.
4. Roll the balls into 6" diameter circles.
5. Heat griddle on medium heat and when hot enough (to check put a pinch of flour on the griddle and check if it turns golden-brown) carefully place the paratha on the griddle .
6. After 10 seconds, flip it over, apply ghee(or oil).
7. When it has brownish spots flip over again.
8. When it has brownish spots both sides its done.
9. Serve. Repeat.

*Instead of ghee you can use butter or vegan butter but ghee smells good.
*Flipping paratha too many times makes it hard and chewy. (With practice you will know right timings and right temperatures.
*To make soft parathas adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.
* If you think your rolling speed is not fast you can turn heat on only after rolling 2-3 parathas.

Onion paratha

This tastefully simple paratha is my kids favorite. The tricky part in this paratha is finely cut onions. One really needs to be expert of cutting to make this.  You can use chopper to chop onions but make sure to include no liquid, then process is easier but believe me, hand chopped one has distinctive taste. Every work done to make this paratha is worth for hot out of the tawa paratha with pickle and yogurt on side.

Category : Vegetarian, healthy fat
Preparation Time : 5 min
Cooking Time: 15-20 min
Skill level :  expert

Ingredients :
Stuffing:
1 c Very finely cut, onions
1/4 c very finely chopped cilantro
1 ts red chili powder
1 ts roasted cumin powder
salt as needed

1 c regular whole wheat roti (soft) dough

Mix stuffing ingredients.

Making roti
1. Take a walnut-sized ball of dough
2. Make two disks out of it
3. Roll the two disks into small circles with a rolling pin
4. Now sandwich the two disks with a little ball of filling (a little larger than the size of a walnut)
5. Seal the edges perfectly
6. With the help of a hand or rolling pin, roll it out into a circle
7. On heated griddle lay the roti at medium low temperature
8. After 10 seconds turn it over
9. When its golden-brown turn it over again
10. When its golden-brown both side it's done.
11.Serve warm. You can apply ghee if you like.
12. Repeat the process for all parathas.

*Flipping roti/paratha/thepala too many times makes it hard and chewy. (With practice you will know right timings and right temperatures.
*To make soft roti/paratha/thepalas adjust your heat just right. If its too much you will get burns and spots will quickly turn black and if it's too low it will take longer and will be chewy not soft.
*Applying ghee or butter after roti/paratha/thepla is done makes it softer, in case if you are a beginner.
*Suggestion : Make this paratha crispy to taste even better.
* Mix the stuffing just when you are ready to make paratha, otherwise it will became watery, making hard to make good paratha.

Non-fat fresh salad Dressing

Most of the time I like to use this dressing for my salads. This simple dressing is a sure bet to make any salad tasty! Sometimes, especially in winter, if aged or sick people eat something with vinegar, they will get joint pain, then this one works best.

Category :Vegan, non-fat , gluten free, Nut free

Preparation Time : 5 min.

Cooking Time: nil

Skill level : easy

Ingredients:

1/2 tbs sugar plus more if desired

1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 ts onion powder

2 big cloves garlic, finely grated
1/4 ts lemon zest

1 ts peppercorns, crushed

salt

1. Blend everything together with fork. 
*While making salad add salad toppings likewalnut, pecan, Sunflower seeds, roasted salted cashews, slivered almonds, raisins, cranberries, dried fruits, fresh fruit segments etc.

Low-fat Creamy Basil salad dressing

This creamy dressing will add sweet spiciness of basil to any ordinary salad.
Category :Vegan, low fat , gluten free, Nut free

Preparation Time : 5 min.

Cooking Time: nil

Skill level : easy

Ingredients:

1/4 package silken tofu (3 oz) (I used Mori-Nu organic firm silken tofu)

1/4 c fresh basil

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

3 big cloves garlic

1 ts peppercorns, crushed

1 ts olive oil (optional) 
1 tbs plain coconut yogurt

salt

1. Blend everything together until smooth.

*Keep refrigerated. Use within a couple of days.

*If you can't find silken tofu replace it with soft tofu(silken tofu has creamier texture).

fat-free and very lowfat Salad Dressings

Fat-free Hot, Sweet and sour Chinese Salad dressing
Fat-free Creamy salad dressings
Verde Aderezos para ensalada
Non-fat fresh salad Dressing
Fresh Creamy Basil salad dressing
Chinese Dressing
Peanut dressing

Scrumptious Spreads

Cashew Vanilla spread

Cashew Chocolate Spread 

Cashew Choco-Vanilla Swirl 

Nuts over CHOCOLATE ...homemade Nuttella

Crunchy Cashew Cookie Butter

Orange Cookie Butter

Sunflower seed butter

Peanut Butter