Simple Healthy Recipes

KHICHARI (Mung Bean Rice)

This recipe is recommended by Sen Yein, an Ayurvedic Practitioner as an ideal detoxifying and nourishing food, which purifies and rejuvenates the system. 

KHICHARI

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Serve: 4

Ingredients:

140 gm split mung dal (yellow or green)

280 gm white basmati rice

1 inch piece fresh ginger root

1 small handful of coriander leaves

2 tsp ghee or butter

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp whole cumin seeds

¼ tsp sea salt

1 pinch asafetida or hing (available in indian shop)

8 cups of water

Method:

1. Wash the rice and dal together until the water runs clear.
2. Add 8 cups of water and cook the rice and dal.
3. Fry the mustard seeds, whole cumin seeds, hing, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric, with ghee in a separate saucepan and cook in low flame until aromatic.
4. Stir the fried spices into the almost cooked rice and dal.
5. Add salt and cook until the rice is soft.
6. Add coriander leaves before serving.

TIPS:

This recipe can be cooked in the rice cooker.

Other vegetables like carrots, fresh green beans, etc can be added as to your liking.

HEALTHY SOUP

This soup was recommended by Sen Yein, my Ayurvedic Practitioner as a good soup for reducing toxin in our body.  At the same time it is also very nutritious.

AMA REDUCING VEGETABLE BROTH

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time:  20 mins

Serve: 1-2

Ingredients:
1 carrot, cut into pieces
1 potato, cut into pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into pieces
140 g chopped spinach, or any greens

Dash of asafetida or hing (available in Indian Shops)

Pinch of tarragon

 500 ml purified water

1 tbsp tamari, shoyu or Braggs Liquid Aminos

½ tsp of sea salt

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Strain the vegetables for a clear broth, or blend it for a thick soup, or eat it as it is.

TIPS:

If meals are replaced with this broth, weight loss will occur.

You can consider it as part of lunch or dinner, morning or afternoon tea.

ALL-IN-ONE MEALS FOR THE BUSY

OKRA PILAF

Preparation Time:  15 mins

Cooking Time:  35 mins

Serves: 2 – 4

Ingredients:

200 gm of chicken, diced

200 gm okra or lady’s fingers cut into 1 cm slices

1 medium onion, chopped

Half a green pepper, chopped

2 cups of tomatoes, peeled and quartered

1 cup/140 gm polished or brown rice

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tbsp of ghee or butter

1 ½ cups of chicken broth or water

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry chicken until slightly browned for about three minutes.
2. Add okra, onion and pepper and sauté for about five minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, rice, salt, pepper and broth or water and mix well with a fork.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat.  Simmer for 25 minutes, or until rice has absorbed the liquid.
4. Serve

TIPS:

After Step No. 2,  everything can be transferred into a rice cooker and leave it to cook without having to check on the heat.

ALL-IN-ONE MEALS FOR THE BUSY

Traditionally, cooking Chinese Chicken Rice is a long process where the chicken is cook separately and the chicken broth is used to cooked the rice separately.  The recipe below is a quick, fast and lazy way of making it.  The taste is equally good although the chicken may not look as good as the norm.

QUICK CHINESE CHICKEN RICE

Preparation Time:  10 mins

Cooking Time:  25 mins

Serves:  4

Ingredients:

280 g of rice

½ a chicken or any part of the chicken preferred

2 thumb size ginger lightly smash

fried garlic

salt

water

sliced cucumber

Method:

1. Clean and marinate the chicken with some salt.  Leave aside or overnight in the fridge if cooking it the next day.
2. Wash the rice and put it into a rice cooker.
3. Lay the chicken on top of the rice. Add water, ginger, salt and fried garlic.
4. Cook and when it is ready, remove the chicken from the rice cooker and chop into smaller pieces.
5. Fluff up the rice with a chopstick and serve with the chicken and sliced cucumbers.

TIPS:

This dish can be cooked for breakfast for those who like rice in the morning.

Also good for a quick lunch or dinner.