Barley Kheer

Barley Kheer

I do not know why but I do seem to have been left with a liking for sweet dishes after both my pregnancies. While I would not say I have a sweet tooth now, I am not all that hesitant to try sweets. To me, moderation is the key and being clever about what I add to my food makes all the difference. I normally make a kheer or any other simple sweet on Fridays and recently I tried barley kheer. It was ok but not that I would have blogged about. I then decided to refine the recipe to make it more similar to almond kheer and did some modifications, bingo! The use of barley, I think, would make this suitable for diabetics as well as people on 'diet'. Barley has plenty of good fibre, an important part of a healthy balanced diet. It also has a low glycemic index and that in simple terms, just means it will not shoot up the blood glucose soon after you eat it. A food with high glycemic index, like white bread, polished rice etc. would cause the blood glucose to rise soon after consumption. For diabetics, it is very important to avoid the fluctuation in blood sugar.

If you want to replace the dairy milk with any other milk, like almond or oat milk etc., you may do so but make sure it is okay to let that milk boil, if not just add it before serving. Adjust the quantity of sugar to taste. I like it less sweet so I get to enjoy the flavours from saffron and the nuts. If you like it thicker, add some more barley.

For one serving:

1 tablespoon barley, pressure cooked or well cooked by any other method

Sugar to taste

2 teaspoons of powdered nuts like cashew, almond, pista

Some chiroli seeds

Pinch of saffron

1 cup milk

Grind the barley well and pour it into a sauce pan, add some water and bring to boil. You need to stir often else it will stick to the bottom and burn

Add the milk and required sugar and allow to boil

Add the ground nuts and saffron and boil for couple or minutes. If you have the time, steep the saffron in some hot water so it releases its flavour quickly before adding.

Garnish with chiroli seeds and serve chilled

Vegetable Soup

Vegetable Soup


I am not a big time soup maker but I do love soups. Somehow a soup alone cannot make a meal for me as I have in my mind that it is not substantial enough, it may very well be in my head. With this thinking, I try to keep the calories low in the soup as I know I will be having more food after the soup. I try to load nutrient rich ingredients like vegetables so it contributes to one of five a day but usually have almost no oil/butter or very little of it. I made this soup with another intent, to use up the stock cubes in my stores as part of my ingredient use up effort. It is not just easy to make but will make a filling supper and give you enough energy to prepare your main meal. It is especially wonderful during winter as the lime juice and blackpepper powder are quite soothing in the cold weather and also help relieve from cold.

2 carrots, finely chopped
Handful of green beans, finely chopped
2 tablespoon coriander leaves
2 stock cubes
1 teaspoon blackpepper powder
1 teaspoon cornflour
Lime juice as required

Boil about 3 cups of water and dissolve the stockcubes

Add the beans and carrot and cook until they are done to desired level and then add the coriander leaves and black pepper powder

Add the corn flour or dissolve it in water and add to avoid forming lumps, simmer for five minutes, add more water if desired

Serve with a wedge of lime so desired quantity of juice can be added

Peshawari Paneer

Peshawari Paneer


Paneer is a popular Indian cheese that adapts quite well in the sense that it fits itself into most recipes. One could make paneer pulav by adding some fried paneer, paneer fry with spices as a starter, put it in kebabs, stuff in paratha, make desserts like rasmalai and so on. The other way of lending paneer different flavour is by choosing the ingredients for the gravy it will be in. Peshawari paneer is a fairly simple dish as we just need to bring most of the ingredients to boil and then blend. I have used coriander-red chilly powder freshly ground at home to enhance the flavour. You could either prepare this fresh when you make this dish or keep it handy as you could use it in a number of other dishes. I used a combination of red onions and white onions as teh former gives great flavour and the latter helps retain a light colour for the gravy. I have also tried the same recipe with tofu instead of paneer and had good results. Here is the recipe:

1 onion, large, chopped
1 tablespoon cashew nuts
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon melon seeds
2 cloves
2 green chillies
1 piece of cinnamon stick
3 dry red chillies
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 to 1 ½ cups paneer, cubed
¼ cup milk
Salt to taste
Cooking oil (optional)

Put the onions, melon seeds, poppy seed, cashew nuts, green chillies clove and cinnamon in a sauce pan and add enough water to boil until onion is soft

Cool and grind the above to a fine paste

Roast the coriander seeds and dry chilly and grind to coarse/fine powder (depending on your preference)

Heat oil, if using in a saucepan and add the paste and fry briefly

Add salt, the coriander chilly powder and also the paneer. A dash of kasoori methi will also add flavour but is optional

Add the milk, little water if needed and simmer

Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice

Apple Parsnip Soup

Apple Parsnip Soup

It is the time of the year when a hot soup is by far more comforting than an ice cream. For that reason, I have made up my mind to make more soups. While I was a young child, it was my father that introduced me to soups. He told me how they are usually called appetisers and served as starters. The choice of soups in many Indian restaurants was limited and my favorite was tomato soup. Now that I am in the western world where soups are more popular and by themselves make a meal, I have more options and opportunities to explore. Some days the main meal barely has any vegetable (like idlis etc.) and in those days I think soup is a great way to increase nutrition intake and also fill the stomach with less calories.This is a zero oil/butter dish and here is how I made it to serve two people...

1 apple, cored and peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 brown or white onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Any herb of your choice for garnish (I used coriander leaves)

Boil apple, parsnip and onion together until all are well done. Remove or add water based on desired consistency. I would rather not add too much water initially as I may lose some nutrients if I get rid of some before blending

Blend this in a food processor and season with salt and bring back to boil

Garnish with some chopped fresh herbs and serve hot with some black pepper powder on the table.

How easy was that?
If you want to inrease the richness, you can add some cream or milk after blending. My husband added some dried Italian herbs to the soup and quite liked it. I used eating apple and not cooking apple for this recipe.