Low Fat Dessert

Being a diabetic,I decided to create a dessert so that it  will not bring about a spike in my sugar levels.This is a low fat,low  carb dessert,which I created recently.I used jaggery and date paste for mild sweetness.It is very light and healthy.All the same,eating in moderation is recommended.

Ingredients

^{10 gram  agar agar china moss/grass}

1 litre low fat milk

½ cup jaggery scrapped

1 cup date paste

½ tsp cardamom powder

A few nuts shredded ( optional)

1 1/2  cups water

Preparation

Wash and soak the china grass in water.Add milk and bring to a boil.Mix in the jaggery,date paste,cardomom.Keep stirring till the jaggery melts.Strain the contents into a pudding dish.Sprinkle shredded nuts.(optional) Keep in refrigerator to cool Cut into squares or desired shape and enjoy.

Spicy Gotukola Porridge

This is a herbal porridge eaten during breakfast.This is usually made without any spice and eaten plain or with a piece of jaggery.I made my own twist to this divine porridge by adding up some spice.This porridge is commonly known as Kola Kenda. This also could be made with a mixture of leafy greens.Kola kenda is known to boost the immune system.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked red rice

1 cup Gotu Kola (centella leaves)

1 ½ cups  thick  coconut milk

3  cups Water

1 Teaspoon  chopped ginger

1 pod  chopped garlic

½ juice of  Lemon

Salt to taste

½  teaspoon chilly flake

¼ teaspoon fenugreek ( methi) seeds

Method

Wash Rice.Add  garlic,ginger,fenugreek seeds,chilly flakes and salt and boil with 2 cups of water.

Blend gotu kola leaves  using 1 cup of water ( strain the juice  and keep aside)

When the Rice is cooked,stir in the  coconut milk and  the gotukola juice and bring it to a boil.

Season with  lemon juice.

* Once the porridge cooled I   pureed  the  porridge in a blender. 

Coconut Cake ( Bibikkan)

Bibikkan is  a delicious, dark moist cake made of shredded coconut, jaggery,dry fruits and semolina. It has got a very distinct taste and savoured by most foodies  in my country.This wonderful sweet treat was apparently introduced to Sri Lanka during the Dutch/Portuguese  rule.It is very  popular during the festive season.Recently I took an effort to make  this delicious delight from scratch.Due to Diabetes  my husband and I need  to  keep our sugar levels  under control, hence it was   essential to make a few changes in the recipe.Therefore I  omitted the jaggery and used treacle and date paste and also left out the   sugary  ginger preserves winter melons and the candied peel, which the original recipe called  for and substituted with unsweetened  dry fruits and the zest of citrus to cater to our taste.Regardless it turned out fabulous.

 Ingredients

40 ml  bottle of treacle

2 cups shredded coconut

50 g semolina  slightly roasted 

50 gram whole wheat flour

1 cup dates  chopped  

½ teaspoon fennel  crushed

2-3  cardamom crushed

50 g cashew nuts

1  cup  dry friuts/prunes,raisins( (chopped)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon mixed lemon/orange zest

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Extra cashew nuts for decoration (optional)

Method

Mix the coconut with the treacle ( I also used  1/2 cup of date paste). Stir in the semolina, dates, fennel, cardamom, the dry fruits,lemon/orange zest, cashew nuts, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.

Separate the egg white and york. Beat it separately and fold into the mixture.Now pour the contents into  a greased baking tray(9 inch*12 inch).Decorate with cahew nuts (optional).Bake in a moderate oven (160°C ) for 2 hours.Cool completely and cut.

*If you are using jaggery ,melt the jaggery in 375 ml water in a pan, add the coconut and  set aside to cool and then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

This can be wrapped individually and  stored in an airtight container in the freezer for later use.

Please note-This particular coconut cake (Bibikkan) was prepared to suit a diabetic's palate,using,treacle,date paste and whole wheat flour.There is an original recipe for this specialty cake using a varied of ingredients.

My Nutella Story

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Chinese Spring Rolls

For the last many years,I have been trying to make  perfect spring rolls  from scratch  but have failed on many occasions.Recently my sister suggested to me  to improvise the batter preparation.So taking that advice into consideration, I decided to try my hands at making Chinese rolls,as it is commonly called in my native country,which is not all related to China.Don't ask me why it's known as the Chinese rolls,because honestly I don't know it either.Thank God,the new technique worked for me.They were not the perfect rolls but were deliciously good, as told by  the critics at home- my children.
Chinese rolls are  made with crepe/pancake batter and stuffed with some spicy filling,then  rolled and tossed in bread crumbs and deep fried.They are very popular at iftar,during Ramadan.They make lovely tea time snacks or  just  wonderful  at birthday parties and any other occasions.

Savoury Chicken Buns

This is an easy to make recipe.I have used chicken to stuff the buns but a meat of your choice or even  fish too could be used in the filling.You could also make the filling a day ahead and refrigerate.I know there's plenty of smiles in my home when  the aroma  of freshly  baked buns wafts through my kitchen door.

Ingredients for the buns

3 cups all purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon powder milk  3 tablespoon oil  1 ½ cups lukewarm water

Method -In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients and then add the oil and water ( use the water little by little till you get the correct consistency) and knead it to a soft dough.It should feel smooth and elastic to the touch.If its too wet add a little flour and knead again.Grease another bowl and place the dough in it covering with cling film or cloth and leave it to activate in a warm place.When it doubles the size in 1-2 hours,Divide the dough into golf size balls .Flatten out each ball into a small tortilla/chapatti.Place approximately 1 and  ½  tablespoons of filling in one end ( edge ) of the tortilla/chapatti Roll over once, tuck in the sides, and then continue rolling. Seal the top.Leave to rise again for 15 minutes. Glaze the buns with egg yolks Then bake it in a pre heated oven at 350F for approximately 25 minutes

You can make a dozen or more  buns

For the filling ..

250 grams boiled chicken (shredded )

1  large potato boiled and mashed

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

2-3  cloves of garlic,/ a piece of ginger

2 green chillies chopped

*½  tsp back pepper powder,

*1 tsp curry powder

*¼  tsp cumminpowder

(* you can adjust the spices according to your preference)

2 tablespoon oil

A few coriander leaves chopped

A little  lemon juice to taste

salt to taste

Method -Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and sauté the onions till light brown.Ad garlic/ginger green chillies and the spices and cook for few minutes. Add the chopped tomato.Cook till soft.Next stir in the shredded chicken and mix it well ( break the shredded chicken as you mix).Add salt according to take.Once cooled.Mix the mashed potato and the coriander leaves. (the filling has to be dry)