Its Confession time now,and i am about to divulge few food secrets of mine.I hate to drink milk, i gorge on panipuris and sevpuris atleast thrice a month,i drop in a blob of butter in pavbahji while cooking it(my hubby don’t like to have butter,but he wants a restaurant like taste too….duh!),I can’t resist anything deep fried,i love rice more than wheat,i go weak in my knees at the sight of samosas,i love to eat in restaurants,i skip my breakfasts….so what else is remaining to list me in unhealthy eaters…..huh.??Well these pathetic food habits had led me to loads of health troubles,and i am seriously thinking of switching to ONLY HEALTHY DIET….but thats what i do…just think…never act!
But before you all sign me off as a hopeless case,let me count on some good things too,like i have just one cup of tea everyday,no hard drinks or softdrinks,no pastries,cookies,cakes,no sweets ,and yes i love all the vegetables right from turnip to pumpkin,from bittergourd to broccoli.I make it a point to have atleast one kind of pulses everyday,and i eat rice once in two days.So that puts me back in your good books …hopefully ! But still , now when i finally decided that enough is enough, i know i will need tons of moral support and some strict watchful eyes over me to get rid of all the extra pounds that i carry with myself(my weight)
That’s where Mansi of Fun and Food came to my rescue ,when she announced Healthy cooking event.
Then there is Sangeeth of letusallcook who boosted me further with her EAT HEALTHY….Protein rich food event
And ofcourse Pooja of Creativepooja who is hosting VOW-Bottlegourd event ,all together forced me to come up with a healthy meal,which need not be bland ,which is easy to make and yet gave me a satisfying feeling of eating healthy.
Thank you ladies for prompting me to assemble this meal..i enjoyed making it and eating it too… The meal here,consists of rice,dal,roti(wheatflour),salad,kadhoo ki subzi (bottlegourd),Gulabjamuns(sweetdish),and sindhi papad ….i guess its healthy enough,,what say ladies???
Dal chawal recipe is already posted here
Rotis are simple flatbreads made from wheat flour
Salad consists of chopped cabbage,carrots and boiled and chopped beetroot
Gulabjamun ….hmmm…the recipe will be available here soon, i promise(since this goes for Healthy cooking..lets not go into details of this fried -Khoya- in- syrup dessert)
The remaining veggie is Kadhoo,or bottlegourd(lauki)
So lets get into it’s details… Kadhoo(lauki) helps in maintaining blood pressure and cholestrol,helps controlling diabetes,reduces fats so is useful in weight loss.It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals ,it enhance growth of WBC and increases immunity.It has high amount of fibre,which is really necessary for healthy stomach.So just grab this humble veggie ,you will surely be benefited from that(source..alibaba.com) While surfing the net about healthy stuff,i also came across Doctor NDTV.
Here is some important nutrition data ,which gives a rough idea ,about the calories ,protein,carbs,and fats in about 100 gm of each ingredient used in this meal
| Ingredients | Energy in kcal | Protien (g) | Carbohyrates(g) | Fats(g) |
| Wheat flour | 341 | 12.1 | 69.4 | 1.7 |
| Cabbage | 27 | 1.8 | 4.6 | 0.1 |
| Beetroot | 43 | 1.7 | 8.8 | 0.1 |
| Carrots | 48 | 0.9 | 10.6 | 0.2 |
| Bottlegourd | 12 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 0.1 |
| Tomato | 20 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 0.2 |
| Rice | 345 | 6.8 | 78.2 | 0.5 |
The recipe is as follows
Thoom tamate mein kadhoo(bottle gourd in garlic tomato base):(this pic is for you pooja for VOW bottlegourd event)
- Bottlegourd 1 medium sized
- Ginger about an inch
- Garlic 5-6 cloves
- Salt
- Tomato 1
- Greenchilly(es) 1-2
- Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
- Corainder powder 1/2 tspn
- Oil 1tspn
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
Method:
- Wash and peel bottlegourd.Cut it into thick slices or chunks
- Add some salt and shallow fry these in little oil till light brown
- Remove from pan and keep aside
- Now take minimum possible oil in same pan,and add crushed/pounded ginger -garlic
- Saute it ,till light brown and then add chopped tomato
- Add salt(little,as there is already some salt in bottlegourd), chopped green chillies,turmeric powder,coriander powder and mix it properly
- Add fried bottlegourd and cook on medium flame for about 2 mins
- If needed add a tspn of water,and let the flavours mix properly
- Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy this healthy,quickfix veggie
Finally let me apologize medha for holding awards for long,but now i am here to pass these on to deserving bloggers I would like to pass on the BLOGGING WITH PURPOSE AWARD to:
Sailaja of sailusfood
Jaibee of jugalbandi
Mansi of Fun and Food
Susan of foodblogga
And the award of NICE MATTERS to:
Pooja of creativepooja
Sia of Monsoonspice
Shilpa of Ayi’s recipe
Sri of Cooking4all seasons
Then Medha also tagged me for meme:
What are five things on my to-do list for today (non-work related)? Just the usual ones….Ironing,,helping my son with his homework,grocery shopping ,cooking and then just off to ZZZZZZZZZ(yes sleeping is also a work for me…a rather important one …lol)
What are five snacks I enjoy?
paanipuri
Samosa
Mirchi pakora
Bread potato rolls
Vegetable sandwich(atlast something healthy)
What things would I do if I were a billionaire? Well i wish to do loads of things…but the most close to my heart wish is opening a school for kids, where kids will learn important skills and gain real knowledge,not just bookish stuff..that too with lots of fun,no stress,no heavy bags,no unnecessary homework.Just lots of field work and practical knowledge.
Places I’ve lived:
Just Mumbai
Jobs I’ve had: Well i had never moved out of my comfort zone(read ..home)to work for earning money…i opted marrying a dependable guy for that 
So if managing a home(no matter how messy it is),and looking after kid is not a work..then guys …i am unemployed 
And i wish to tag pooja,sia,Sri and shilpa for this meme
That’s all folks,thanks for bearing me all this long !
Lovely plate Alka, yummy .. but I think Gulab Jamuns are healthy too…for the people who have to put on some weigth…not me but there are many…Waiting for that recipe cause they look yumm.
Love tamate mein Kadoo, we make it the same way but FIL likes a lot of gravy with lots I mean is really lots like ras patta… so we add some water and boil and give him.
I dont mind helping out in your sleeping category.. I will sleep extra 2 hours for you everyday.
That’s a delicious looking thali, Alka.
Congrats on the award and appreciate your good thoughts. Thank you for the award, Alka.:)
Being a wife and specially a mom is the greatest and hardest job on this earth, if anybody says otherwise, they should switch place with me!:D That’s the one reason I admire women who are all the above and have full time job outside as well! Kudos them.
I like the way you eat.If I could, I eat chaat once in every week!;D
Thali looks delicious, specially Jamun!
that thali looks perfectly healthy gal! and thanks for the detailed nutrition info:)
everything looks delicious,..ndhealthy
u did it again girl… made my eyes pop out at that gorgeous dhudhi subji… bookmarked to try it soon.
and who says homemakers are unemployed. that is the toughest job on this planet:)
and thanks for the award too…
Hi Alka, Thanks for the visit! Thats a lovely thali and I liked the kadhoo very much:) Thanks!
Thats a great looking thali Alka. If I could, I would eat chaat every week
.
Congrats on your awards and thanks for passing it to me. I appreciate it a lot.
thats is a very tempting thali Alka. I want that now
. Never heard of such dudhi subji, I will try once this month’s vow is over( as manything to try with Bottlegord before 15th 
in my todo list 
) ) will let you know when i will make this one.
You are correct , managing home and that too with a kid is the toughest job among all.
.
And don’t skip breakfasts girl, that the most imp meal of the day. being regular with all meal will is helpful to reduce weight too …
and yeah thank for award, shall post it soon along with the virtual dishes you sent
.
Love the delicious looking thali, and that lauki of yours looks too good !
It’s a delicious looking thal.
That plate full of good food looks awesome. Send it over
..
Alka,
Thanks so much for your sweet comments on my blog. I am so impressed with your work! The pictures are so perfect and looks so realistic. You have kept the pics as is with just your copyright information and not modifying it with photoshops. Very very captivating. I am glad to learn a few sindhi recipes too. They are so mouthwatering!
Such a nice spread . i always love thalis that full fledged meal and the dessert they serve at last this is lovely. Congrats on ur awards.
Alka..thats a great thali..it just stands out and is calling!…:)..your likings sounds so much like mine…congrats on the award and thanks for thinking of me!
That is such a lovely meal…well done
everyone has their food ’sins’, butonly a few confess to them. congrats on your awards and thank you.
Hi Medha,
Ya i will ,for sure,come up with the recipe of Gulabjamuns pretty soon
And pls sleep few hours for me,i m really sleep deprived
Hi sailaja,
Thanks for visiting me,and thanks a million for all the co-operation u provide to put up our posts on ur TOI. Hats off to ur efforts!
Hi Asha,
Yep ! u r right that is the toughest job on earth,and i too really feel amazed at how these ladies manage home,job and kids at one go.I salute them !
Hi Mansi,
Thanks for the appreciation,and waiting anxiously for the round up!
Hi notyet100(sorry i will surely pick up ur name from ur blog soon… rt now my IE is not working)
Thanks for the appreciation
Hi sia,
Thanks dear,and the speed at which u r helding events,i feel dizzy!
Hi sunshinemom,
The pleasure is entirely mine!
Hi Shilpa,
and
U truly deserve this award,coz u were actually the first blogger with whom i had a chat,and on whose blog i participated in event sort of….remember …Lunch box series,my site was just a baby then
after talking to u,i was inspired to come up with my blog.So nupur and urself are the great driving force for me to make this possible
Hi Pooja,
Thanks for coming up with this event.I will surely try to have most imp meal of the day…..need some motivation from u all ladies !
Hi rashmi,
Thanks dear for ur sweet words..they make my day!
For spicy lovers,
Being a lover of spices ,ur id name appears very tempting for me….
Hi lakshmi,
I m in process of inventing some way to actually pass on food thru wires(theres no harm in atleast dreaming so….and dreams wont cost anything too )…..lolz
Hi priya,
Thanks for ur beautiful words,and i will be glad if u try out any recipes from here.Pls let me know how they turned out.
Hi sushma,
Yes thalis are so satisfying!
Hi sunita,
Thank you for sweet words!
Hi bee,
I cant believe its actually u here…..The bee…..I m honored!
Hi sri,
The pleasure is mine dear!
look at that feast. Love the curries.
Btw. T&T round-up is up and running, so is July´s challenge. Hope to see you there …
Hello Alka,
Many, many thanks for the award! I am honored. And congratulations to you–the awards are well deserved.
Cheers,
Susan
Wow, that spreads looks so good!
I was always looking out for a great doodhi recipe and seems like I finally found it. Will surely try this one. Thank you so much!