Barley Mint Stoup

"Barley"  is an another ingredient in the quest of my Healthy Kitchen. Now a days I am more concentrating on using whole grain ingredients into my recipes, as these grains all packed with high fiber and protein, which will make you eat less and at the same time fill your stomach. 

You might be wondering which I called this recipe as "Stoup"....If the readers have watched Rachael Ray's show, this would not be a question in their mind anymore, but I will explain it for those who don't know.....
"Stoup" - I call is "a Rachael Ray word" :) because, when I made this recipe I thought it might look like a soup, but it turned out to be little bit more creamy and thick, but still thinner consistency than a stew, so it's not a soup nor a stew, but a stoup. :)
Finally I decided to add mint to the stoup, which made this recipe taste much flavorful with the peppery mint and green action with was colorful and refreshing.

 Barley Nutrition

-------------------------

Barley contains eight essential amino acids. According to a recent study, eating whole grain barley can regulate blood sugar (i.e. reduce blood glucose response to a meal) for up to 10 hours after consumption compared to white or even whole-grain wheat, which has a similarglycemic index. The effect was attributed to colonic fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates. Barley can also be used as a coffee substitute.

Hulled barley (or covered barley) is eaten after removing the inedible, fibrous outer hull. Once removed, it is called dehulled barley (or pot barley or scotch barley). Considered a whole grain, dehulled barley still has its bran and germ making it a nutritious and popular health food.Pearl barley (or pearled barley) is dehulled barley which has been steam processed further to remove the bran. It may be polished, a process known as "pearling". Dehulled or pearl barley may be processed into a variety of barley products, including flour, flakes similar to oatmeal, and grits.

Ingredients:

---------------

1 cup Barley ( I choose Pearl Barley) 

3 1/2 cups Water

1 Onion chopped

3 Tomatoes chopped

1/2 tsp Tomato paste (optional)

1 Green Chili chopped

1/4 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

1/2 tsp Black Pepper powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1/4 tsp Red Chili powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp Olive oil

1/4 cup Mint chopped

1 tbsp Lemon juice

Method:

----------

1. To soak the barley you can either do it for about 3-4 hours or in a sauce pan add water and barley and bring it to a boil and stir it once then off the flame and let it stand for an hour.

2. In a pressure cooker add 1 tsp oil, when it's medium hot add the ginger-garlic paste, saute it until it turns golden brown, add chopped onions and saute it for 2-3 mins.

3. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste along with all the spice powders and salt.

4. Lower the flame, cover and cook the tomatoes and the spice powders for about 2-3 mins or until the tomatoes are soft and cooked.

5. Now add the barley with the water and cover the lid and pressure cook it for 2 whistles or until cooked.

6. Allow it to come to room temperature, remove the lid of the pressure cooker and mix it again and finally add the mint, lemon juice and stir it again and serve when it's hot.

Before posting this recipe, I saw a blogger hosting an event called "Cook It Healthy", so thought of participating for this event by submitting this recipe.

"Cook It Healthy" Event - By Sobha

So wish me Luck!! :-))

Methi Fulka

This is another usual recipe which I make especially for dinner. Instead of making plain roti or fulka's, it's always tastes better and healthy when you add some greens or ajwain or vegetables or even cumin seeds, just a little happy healthy ingredient. Here in this recipe I used Kasuri Methi which is dried methi leaves...I used this when I don't have fresh greens or ajwain which is good for digestion.

Ingredients:

--------------

2 cups Whole Wheat Atta

2 tbsp Kasuri Methi

Water as needed

1 pinch salt

Method:

----------

1. In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients except water and mix well, and then add enough water and knead to a chapati dough. Make sure the dough is not too hard or too soft, else the chapati will not rise and will be hard to eat.

2.Coat the dough with a little bit of oil, just about some 3-4 drops, and with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel cover it and let it rest for about 20 mins.

3. Now make lemon size balls, flatten each ball and coat with flour and roll it to small chapati's or fulka's.

4. Heat a non-stick tava and when it's hot place the fulka and when you see bubbles, turn it over and cook the other side.

5. Now turn the other side again after 2 mins and with a spatula press the sides where it starts to rise, so that the steam will pass to other sides and will help rise all over, as shown. 

6. Now remove it from the tava and place in a hot pack or in a box lined with damp kitchen towel, this will help to keep the fulka's soft.

7. I served these fulka's with Tofu Green Moong Dal Kofta Butter Masala, 

8. You can also serve with your choice of curry, sabji, curd or pickle.

Stove Top Popcorn

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

I don't know if you've heard, but a study just released by researchers at Harvard found that Americans who snack on potato chips pack on the pounds. Frank Wu, one of the study's authors said the results help illustrate that there are in fact 'good' and 'bad' foods.

I love potato chips. But with the obesity epidemic raging across the country, perhaps it's time we found a new national snack food. I nominate homemade popcorn. It's crunchy, filling and fun and possesses the power to release the inner child in even the grumpiest adult.

Let me clarify what I mean by 'homemade' popcorn. I'm talking about popcorn that is made over the stove or in a popcorn popper layered with a bit of oil. I am not referring to microwave popcorn with its musty, dusty aroma. At my last job, I dreaded mid-afternoons when a very kind-hearted colleague would nuke up a bag and perch it on the edge of his desk. A synthetic smell hung in the air for the rest of the day. At one point, our director burned a bagful of popcorn in the microwave. The smell was so piercing that the maintenance man paid us a visit, fearing a toxin had been released five floors away. An off-putting odor plagued the kitchen for weeks.

The experience makes me worry for people who feed on microwave popcorn. Many brands contain partially hydrogenated oil and other spooky sounding items like TBHQ, propy gallate and annato. (I wish I was making this up.) It costs two to three times as much as homemade popcorn, takes nearly as long to make and worst of all, pales in taste. Like a bad toupee, microwave popcorn is an obvious impostor that will leave you craving chips.

Americans devour old-fashioned popcorn at the movies and savor it at the park. It's a shame that we shy away from it at home when all it takes to make the playful, fiber-rich treat is a steel pot and lid, some corn kernels and a dusting of salt. A reasonably priced popper will also do the trick. (I nabbed the Stir Crazy for half price when Carson's closed on State Street a few years ago. I can make a delicious bowl of popcorn with just a dab of oil.) Both options allow you to control the salt and fat content.

The good news is that one you're comfortable making plain popcorn, you can move on to fancier versions. It's lovely popped in flavored oils and encrusted in a sprinkling of sugar. Believe me, once you get going you'll forget the chips.

Susan Pachikara (COPYRIGHT 2011)

STOVE TOP POPCORN

Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup corn kernels
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Coat the bottom of a steel pot with oil. Add corn kernels. Heat on medium-high. Cover.

Allow kernels to pop. Remove from heat when popping slows to about a pop every two seconds. Do not wait until the last kernel pops, as the rest of the popcorn will burn.

Pour popcorn into a bowl and dust with salt.