Drumstick Leave Fry with Moong Dal | Sajana Saga Muga

The leaves of drumsticks are known as Moringa leaves / Drumstick leaves / Sajana saga (in odia). These leaves are one of my most favorite leafy greens from rest others. These are loaded with valuable minerals, vitamins and proteins which results in a variety of health benefits. The moringa leaves are a great energy booster and are an excellent source of nutrition too. In different types of cuisines, these leaves are widely used as a main ingredient also. But the drumstick leaves are somewhat tough to digest. So it has to make sure that the leaves get very tender while cooking any dish using these leaves. 

Well for current month the event 'A to Z Recipe Challenge' has come up with the alphabet D. That means, there must be a recipe post having the main ingredient name starting with alphabet D. So I opted D for Drumstick Leaves and I have prepared an Odia dish as 'Drumstick Leave Fry with Moong Dal' aka 'Sajana Saga Muga'.

This dish is so simple yet much flavorful with few ingredients. First the drumstick leaves / sajana saga are separated from the stem and washed with plenty of water to discard the dusts which are always on top of the leaves. The moong dal used here is also dry roasted slightly and then cooked till soft, not mushy. The washed leaves and the cooked moong dal are simply fried to get the flavorful Sajana Saga Muga. I always prefer to use only garlic in any Odia style saga bhaja, but if desire some chopped onions can be added. This dish goes very well with some steamed rice dal combo or with pakhala / water rice. The sajana saga muga bhaja is very healthy and diabetic friendly too.

So do try this simple Odia dish as 'Drumstick Leave Fry with Moong Dal' aka 'Sajana Saga Muga'. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook,   Pinterest,   Twitter,   Google+,   Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 10 mins  |  Cooking Time : 20 mins 

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Drumstick leaves (separated from stem and washed)	1 ½ cup
Moong dal (lightly roasted)	½ cup
Garlic clove	3-4 no
Panch phoron	½ tsp
Whole red chili	1 no
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Mustard oil	1 tbsp
Salt	As needed

Method :

1. First wash the lightly roasted moong dal.
2. Then put in a pressure cooker along with salt, turmeric and water (around 1-1.5 cup) and cook until done (the dal should not be mushy).
3. Drain and keep aside the cooked moong dal.
4. Now heat mustard oil in a pan.
5. Add in whole red chili, panch phoron and allow to crackle.
6. Next add slightly crushed garlic cloves and saute till the aroma of garlic comes out.
7. Then add drumstick leaves and saute a bit.
8. After that add cooked moong dal and salt.
9. Mix everything well and allow to cook over low - medium heat by covering the pan with a lid.
10. When the leaves become tender, then turn off heat.
11. Serve hot as a side dish with steamed rice or water rice !

Notes :

• Along with garlic, some chopped onion can be used.
• Keep an eye while cooking the moong dal in order to avoid the mushy stage of moong dal.

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Green Tea Lemonade (VIRGIN)

After Diwali, the major Hindu festive season is almost completed in India. From namkeen snacks to plates full of mithais, everything have indulged by us during that time. Hence the festive season results in the gaining weight. Also after this period, there is always a seasonal change and our body really needs to detoxify in order to be able to handle all those changes and back to normal track. Keeping all these things in mind, the 170th theme of Foodie Monday Blog Hop team has decided as 'Detox Recipes'. So I have shared a detox beverage, Green Tea Lemonade as my contribution.

There are many foods which helps us to detoxify our body. Some are water, lemon, honey, spinach, tomato, green tea, cucumber, turmeric and many more. I have used green tea and lemon for the beverage. Lemons can naturally cure 
everything related to our digestive system which may start from bloating to indigestion. So a post-festive detox must have a good dose of lemons. And the green tea has a number of health benefits which include detoxifying our body and preventing bloating too. The high amount of antioxidants puts green tea on most detox lists. These antioxidants seek out and kill free radicals (known to have a hand in ageing and other diseases) before they can do any damage. So instead of making a hot beverage using the green tea, here I have come up with a cold one as Green Tea Lemonade.

The brewing part of the tea has to be finished first followed by the lemonade part. This lemonade is naturally sweetened with honey. Any other sweetener can be opted if desire. If you are not at all a fond of green tea, then I can assure you that this will be your most favorite beverage after having a sip. This tea infused lemonade is very light and refreshing and is perfect for sipping throughout the day. In any party beverage list, this green tea lemonade surely make its place to love by all.

So do try this detoxifying Green Tea Lemonade (VIRGIN). If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook,  Pinterest,  Twitter,  Google+,  Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 10 mins  |  Cooking Time : 5 mins 

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Green tea bag	2 no
Lemon	3-4 no
Cold water	2 cup
Water	1 & ¼ cup
Honey	As needed
Ice cube	few

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Method :

1. In a saucepan, first boil 1 cup of water. 
2. Turn off heat and add the tea bags.
3. Allow to steep for 3-4 minutes.
4. Take out the teabags and add the fresh lemon juices by squeezing the lemons.
5. Pour 2 cup of cold water, honey and give a nice stir.
6. Now take the serving glass.
7. Put some lemon slices and ice cubes.
8. Next pour the green tea lemonade and serve immediately !

Notes :

• If desire, then some lemon zest can be added along with lemon juice to increase the tartness in lemonade.
• Honey here I have used, any other sweetener can be taken also.

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Thukpa (Vegan Version)

A soup is a flavorful and nutritious liquid food served at the first of several courses which is intended just to whet the appetite. This may be one of many dishes served at the same time or a hearty meal served in a bowl. Soups have been made since ancient times. There are basically two categories of soup based upon the texture of the soup as Thin Soup (ex: clear soup) & Thick Soup (ex: creamy soup), which are further classified into various categories. A clear soup is served crystal clear and the thick creamy soup has a smooth velvety finish. Beside any varieties, soups are always easy one pot meal which are perfectly fit for dinner or lunch or even snack. Some soup recipes from my space are

• Carrot Turmeric Soup (Vegan & Gluten-free)

• Vegan Wonton Soup 

• Coriander Lemon Soup

• Tender Green Pea Stew (Vegan & Gluten free) 
• Roasted Chickpea Soup (Vegan & Gluten free)

Well, Thukpa is such a soup where the main ingredient is the noodle. So this is basically a noodle soup from Tibetan cuisine. These days, the thukpa seems to be hugely popular in North-East region of Indian subcontinent. This soup contains both vegetables / non-vegetables and rice / whole wheat noodles in it. The vegetables used in the preparation are the most common ones such as cabbage, carrot, mushroom, onion etc where as the non-vegetarians mainly consists of either meat or chicken. While making a soup, we usually boil everything in one pot, but in case of thukpa the noodles have to be cooked before hand and added to the soup just at the end. Here I have come up with the vegetarian version using vegetable broth, but some shredded or chopped meat or non-vegetarian broth can also be added to this. This version of thukpa is so simple, easy to make and a comfort bowl packed with vegetables. 

So do try this noodle soup from Tibetan cuisine, THUKPA. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 15 mins   |   Cooking Time : 25 mins 

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Noodle	2 cup
Carrot (thin stripe)	1/3rd cup
Cabbage (thin stripe)	½ cup
Mushroom (thin stripe)	½ cup
Tomato (finely chopped) (medium)	1 no
Onion (thin slice)	1 no
Garlic (finely chopped)	1 tsp
Soy sauce	1-2 tbsp
Pepper powder	¼ tsp
Vegetable broth / stock	3 cup
Spring onion (finely chopped)	Few
Oil	2 tsp
Salt	As needed
Water	As needed

Method :

1. First in a deep pan, boil sufficient water and add in salt.
2. Next put the noodles and cook till AL-Dante.
3. Drain all the water, mix the cooked noodles with little oil. Keep aside.
4. Now heat oil in a pan.
5. Add finely chopped garlic, onion slices and saute till onion turns translucent.
6. Then add chopped tomatoes, carrot stripes, cabbage stripes, mushroom stripes and saute for some minutes till tomatoes as well as other vegetables are soft.
7. Next add soy sauce, pepper powder, salt and vegetable broth / stock.
8. Mix everything well and simmer for 12-15 minutes.
9. Now add cooked noodles, mix well and again simmer for 2-3 minutes.
10. Turn off heat.
11. Pour into serving bowl, sprinkle some chopped green onions & serve hot !

Notes :

• Baby spinach leaves can be added.
• Vegetable broth / stock can be replaced with normal water.

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This 'Thukpa (Vegan Version)' is contributed for 56th Healthy Wellthy Cuisines where the theme is 'Soupy Tales at HW'. Here are more similar recipes shared by our Healthy Wealthy Group members as Wonton Soup, Vegetable Manchow Soup, Creamy Cauliflower Soup, Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup, Bottle gourd soup. 

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Rasabali

Wish you all a very happy Diwali !!!

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights which is celebrated every year in the months between mid-October to mid-November in Indian subcontinent. Diwali is also known as Deepavali and its spirituality signifies 'the victory of the light over the darkness', 'good over the evil'.The celebration of this festival mainly includes millions of lights in the form of lamps, candles, diyas  inside the respective homes and at outdoors also. Although the preparations and rituals of this festival extend up to five days starting from Dhanteras to Bhai dooj, but the main festival of Diwali is celebrated in the night of 3rd day and this coincides with the new moon night of the Hindu Lunisolar month also. 

Since today we odias celebrate Diwali, so I thought to share an authentic sweet dessert from the Odia cuisine as 'Rasabali'. The top most famous sweets from Odia cuisine means either Chhena Poda or Rasabali. I have already shared in my blog the recipe of Cheena Poda, the favorite sweet of Lord Jagannath. So today I have come up with his brother Lord Baladeba Jew's favorite sweet, Rasabali which is offered as the evening snack. The Baladeba Jew temple is situated in Kendrapada district of Odisha (Tulasi Kshetra) and hence the dish is famous from that district and often named as 'Kendrapada Rasabali'.

The preparation method includes some easily available ingredients in our pantry. First some fresh and soft chhena (I have used homemade chhena) are kneaded along with little amount of flour to get a smooth texture dough. The flour acts as a binder and prevents the chhena from disintegrating while deep frying. That dough is then divided into equal small balls which are then flattened as patties, keeping in mind that there should not be any cracks. These chhena patties are deep fried and soaked in a cardamom flavored thickened milk. Few strands of saffron and some chopped dry fruits can also be added to the flavored milk, but traditionally only cardamom is added to enhance the flavor. This sweet dish is also one of the chappan bhogs (56 types of Prasad) which is offered to Lord Jagannath, Puri.

So do try this divine sweet treat, Rasabali from Odia cuisine. If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. You may also follow me on Facebook,  Pinterest,  Twitter,  Google+,  Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

Preparation Time : 15 mins  |  Cooking Time : 40 mins 

Ingredients :        

Ingredients	Measurements
Chhena	1 cup
All purpose flour	1 tsp
Milk	1 Lt
Sugar	3 tbsp
Powdered sugar	1 tbsp
Cardamom powder	½ tsp
Cardamom pod	2-3 no
Oil	For deep frying

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Method :

1. First take the milk into a heavy bottomed pan and start boiling it, stirring in between.
2. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl take chhena, all purpose flour, cardamom powder, powdered sugar and start kneading to get a smooth and soft texture dough.
3. Divide the dough into equal ball shapes and then flatten each one without any crack to give a patty or tikki look.
4. Keep aside and heat oil in a deep pan. 
5. By the time,the milk must be reduced to 3/4th quantity.
6. Add freshly crushed cardamom pods and sugar.
7. Mix well and boil for 2-3 minutes more.
8. Turn off heat.
9. Next deep fry each flatten patty till golden brown.
10. Take out the rasabali patties from the oil and gently drop into the hot / warm milk.
11. Keep aside till the rasabalis soak the milk.
12. Serve these soft and melt in mouth dessert : RASABALI either cold or warm !

Notes :

• Do not over fry the flatten chhena patties, otherwise these'll become hard.
• I don't prefer to add any dry fruits here in the dish like the authentic version. But if desire, some chopped dry fruits can be added.

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