Amla Sharbhat (Usiri/ Nellikkai/ Indian Gooseberry)

Amla has many health benefits. It is used in many ayurvedic medices. Intake of amla reduces blood cholesterol levels, enhances digestion, reduces cold, cough,&fever, purifies the blood, good for heart & eyes, stimulates hair growth. It is very rich in Vitamin C. Intake of amla improves memory too. Amla is eaten raw or cooked into various dishes. I got this recipe from a TV show  and tried it and wanted to share this healthy recipe with you…

Amla juice-1 ½  cup

*sugar-1cup

water -1/2 cup

lemon juice-1 lemon

honey- 4 to 5 Tsp

ground Cardamom – ½ Tsp

* I used brown sugar in this recipe. Alternatively, regular sugar can also be used.

Preparation:

• Wash and deseed the amlas and grind them with very little water and extract the juice from them.
• In a wide skillet, add the sugar and water and cook till one string consistency (If you take the syrup between the thumb and theindex finger, you should be able to make a string).
• Add the amla juice and cook on a medium heat till the juice is incorporated into the syrup and a thick consistency is obtained (approximately 7- 10min. with constant stirring).
• Add thecardomom powder, honey, stir and cook for 3 min.
• Stir in the lemon juice and cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
• Cool to room temperature and store in  a dry glass bottle.
• Serving direction:
• Take about 2-3 tsp of the syrup in a glass of water, mix well and season with honey and lemon if required and serve.

Ragi malt with Buttermilk

After a tough day yesterday, having nothing but fruits and two cups of soup, I was craving for a nice filling breakfast today morning. So, I started thinking of making and having this even before I got up from my bed. As soon as I got up, I refreshed myself, came to the kitchen and started preparing this wonderful breakfast. It is very simple and satisfying and moreover of great nutritional value. Ragi is rich in protien, calcium, iron and is also gluten free.

Ingredients for servings of 2:

Ragi flour – ½ cup

Water – 1cup

Buttermilk made from 1 cup of mild yoghurt

Salt – optional

I really don’t know if they prepare the malt in this way, but I tried and it came out really great and tastes wonderful. I know that it is common to prepare ragi malt with milk, but as I am not a great milk fan, I thought I would give it a try with buttermilk and here it is…..A very tasty Ragi malt.

Preparation:

First mix the ragi flour in half cup of water, to make it a nice, smooth paste. Then bring the remaining ½ cup of water to boil in a sauce pan. Now add the ragi paste to the boiling water by simultaneously stirring it briskly, in order to avoid the formation of lumps. Now remove the pan from the stove and let it cool for 5 min. At this stage, the consistency would be like a thick paste. Once the paste is cooled, add the buttermilk and whisk it to a smooth paste to a consistency of a Dosa batter. You can add some salt to taste but I didn’t add as I had the malt with lemon pickle. I am very happy to have had given it a try to make this dish and I love it….