A bye bye Shrimp recipe.

I just found out an Asian grocery near my house who sells live, fresh & giant shrimps just for $1.99 a pound. I was so happy about my new invention & bought couple of pounds of shrimp together. whole day I was searching for different shrimp recipes. Right after that, my husband came from office after their regular yearly health check up to tell me that his cholesterol is high & let me tell you one thing, I have seen a lot of patients in my clinic with very low good cholesterol, that is HDL,which in fact should be more than 40 & higher the better. His is lowest I have ever seen.

So, guess I will have to bade good bye to my new invention. But what to do with the shrimp I already bought? Go crazy for a day? OK, this is the recipe I made to wish good bye to buying shrimp to our house at least, temporarily. The shrimp returned the favour & tasted very good.

To share with you, the recipe follows;

Goanese shrimp curry:

Ingredients:

Shrimp- 1 lb (head off, tail on)

Grated coconut- 1 lb,

Finely chopped onion-1 cup,

Green chilies-chopped-1-2,

Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp,

Cumin-1/4th tsp,

mustard seeds-1/4th tsp,

Salt-per taste,

Coriander powder-1 tbsp,

Turmeric pdr- 1 tsp,

Black pepper pdr-per taste,

Finely chopped tomato-1 cup ( I ran out of tomato & used tomato ketchup, the end product was good)

Vinegar 3tbsp,

Whole dried red chilies-2-3.

Method:

Break the red chillies in 3-4 & soak in the vinegar & little warm water.

Clean the shrimp.

Heat oil in a pan. fry the cumin seeds until fragrant.

Now fry the onion in medium flame until brown.

In the mean time, blend the red chili with vinegar & water, grated coconut, mustard seed, tomato/ ketchup to a fine paste.

Now, add 2-3 raw shrimp in the mixture & blend it again until very well blended & smooth,

Once the onion is brown, add turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, fry a little, add salt, add the masala blend. Cook in low flame until the oil oozes out. Now, add coriander powder, sprinkle a little sugar & pepper powder.

Once the mixture looks well cooked, add chopped green chilies, once oil comes to the top add 1/4th cup of water.

mix a little & add shrimps.

Let it simmer for a while until the oil comes to the top one more time.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with white rice & onion raita.

Hansher Kalia- Duck @ it's best.

Now, let me confess that this is not a very healthy recipe. But, to be a successful dieter you should be allowed at least to skip one day in a month to indulge into some good cooking,may not be healthy enough. Just remember to minimize the amount you eat. That way, you can minimize the harm to your healthy eating habit.

My Husband loves to eat duck. We usually do not eat meat other than halal meats. The city we are living in, did not have any store that kept halal duck. So, my husband & another Bangladeshi bhai, our respected Azad bhai used to go to a local farmers market, buy the live Duck & bring home. They used to slaughter it & clean it in our backyard. Let me tell you one thing.............it was not easy as it sounds. But, they loved to take all these pain just to indulge on my Hansher kalia. My this recipe, never disappointed them. As, Azad bhai's wife did not like duck, he told us to keep it in my fridge, & I still remember both of them at work, used to call each other & drool over there cell phone just chatting on when they will come home & eat the duck.

This recipe is beaded with lots of good memories. hope it will make some for you too.

Ingredients:

1 duck with skin on- cut into regular/ small pieces.

Onion pate-1/2 a cup,

Ginger paste-1 tbsp,

Garlic paste-1 tsp,

Turmeric-1 tsp,

Red chili powder-1-2 tsp ( I use two tsp as I love the duck spicy)

Cumin powder-1tsp,

Coriander powder-1 tsp.

Black pepper powder-1/4 tsp,

Bay leaves-1-2,

Cinnamon sticks-2-3,

Cardamom-2-3,

Fenugreek seeds/ methi-1 tsp,

Curry powder-1 tsp,

1 small onion-smashed,

2 cloves of garlic-smashed.

Method:

One very important step in this recipe is to soak & make a rough paste of whole garam masals. It gives a very distinct aroma as well as taste. But, if you wish you can use whole garam masalas also. If you use whole garam masalas, use them during the 1st step. If you are using the paste, use during the frying step.

Put, duck & all the masala pastes, salt & whole garam masalas if you are using it,very little water & mix well. Cook covered until the duck is almost done.

Duck skin usually oozes a lot of it's own oil, so do not use any extra oil.

Once cooked, remove from the heat. Take a pan. Take some oil out from the cooked duck(Hansher tele Hansh ranna). heat the oil in the pan. Fry the methi seeds until fragrant. now put the smashed small onion (it's called shallot) & garlic & the garam masala paste, fry until onion & garlic are golden brown.

Now sieve the meat from the cooked juice & add to the pan. Fry until brown using little bit of juice from the cooked duck, once at a time until all the juice are used & the gravy becomes thick & looks well done. The colour will look like the picture.

Now, sprinkle some curry powder & simmer into low flame for few minutes, until the fragrance of the curry powder comes out.

Garnish with some fried onion/ beresta.

Serve with plain pulao/ bhuna khichuri/chaler roti/ simple roti/parantha along with a cucumber, tomato salad.

Beef Roast- the Healthy way.

Recently there is a buzz that, eating beef helps you loose weight. But, if you eat it with a right combination & cook in the right way.

Here is a healthy beef roast recipe. Combined with Salad or steamed or sauteed vegetable will make a great combination. not only that, you can use it to make a beef sandwich for your next day lunch.

Here in USA or any other country than Bangladesh, you can get different cuts of meat with fancy names. I believe in Bangladesh also you can make these cut if you can instruct your butcher to do so. Last Summer I went to home & I remembered my father bought all these special cut meat, as he himself instructed the butcher.

For these roast, you will need a tenderloin cut. It is the most tender part of meat that lies both side of the cows backbone. Follow the link to learn about different cuts of meat. http://www.seekingsources.com/cuts_of_beef.htm

Another thing you will need is a meat thermometer/cooking thermometer, otherwise you will have to do a lot of guess work.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2lb of beef tenderloin. ( remove all the whitish tough fascias, tendons, fat from the meat. It will be a clean cut meat only.)

Olive oil/ vegetable oil.

Cumin powder.

Coriander powder.

Salt per taste.

Red chili powder.

Ajwain/thymol.

Shahee Jeera

Clean the meat very well. With a kitchen towel, pat dry the meat until no water left.

Massage the meat with oil until oil incorporate very well in the meat.

Now, make a mixture of all the dry spices, along with salt & rub them all over the meat until very well coated & stuck to the meat. It will look like a skin to the meat, when well coated.

Now, cover with a plastic wrap & leave in the refrigerator, as long as you can. Better, if left in the freeze overnight.

Now, preheat the oven in highest temperature.

This part of meat usually comes attached with a thinner part of meat portion.

Tie the meat with threads in 2-3 sections 1 inch apart, so that the meat retains it's shape & don't curl up.

Now put the meat over a rack & place the rack over a baking tray.

Put into the oven on highest temperature, wait until the upper portion is browned.

Now change the side & brown the other portion.

Once both side browned, then lower the oven temperature to 350 & leave the meat until the thickest part of the meat reaches the desired temperature. Which depends upon how rare (reddish part) you want your meat inside.

Here is a guide for this purpose.

Tenderloin Roast,when well trimmed at 425°F oven temperature 2 to 3center cut, to make Medium Rare, it will take 35 to 40 minutes & thickest part of the meat will read 135ºF. For
Medium: 40 to 50 minutes, 150ºF , for a well done roast, that is not pink inside will give you a temperature reading of 145-150.

Once the roasting is done, take the meat out of oven & leave on the rack at least for 10-15 min. before curving, as it helps the meat to retain all the juices.

Now curve the meat with a sharp curving knife & slice it as desired.

Always serve beef with a lot of fibrous vegetables, as it added roughage to the food, & help cleaning out the meat end products after digestion.

Enjoy! healthy eating.

Whole fish- Thai style @ Bangladeshi kitchen

In US one fish is found in abundance & cheap is Tilapia. This is the fish, u can find anywhere in any style. Whole, cleaned, fillet & taste also do not differ much than the Bangladeshi tilapia.

I cooked this tilapias in every style, the one I liked most was the Thai style. By now, in most of our Bangaladeshi cook has cooked some or other Thai dish. Thai food is not only getting popular in restaurants but we are cooking thai foods in our kitchen too.

Following is a fish recipe I have tried with pomfret & Tilapia. Both was tasty. You can use Red Snapper, cat fish or any other fish of your choice, it will come out great.

The recipe calls for Banana Leaf for wrapping, I have tried the recipe in both Banana leaf as well as aluminium foil, I think the aluminium foil one turned out better & safe too. As, my banana leaf was burnt & started creating so much smoke that my smoke detector started alarming.

Any way, it will be your personal choice.

Recipe follows;

Ingredients:

1 whole Tilapia/ or fish of your choice

Oyster sauce-4 tbsp

Soya sauce-4 tbsp

Fish sauce-1 tbsp

Garlic-4 pods smashed & roughly chopped

Thai chillies/green chillies- smashed

Salt- just a little to wash the Tilapia. for the recipe, the sauces will have enough salt, there is no need to add extra salt.

Green onion-thinly sliced.

Vinegar-2 tbsp.

Aluminium foil/ Banana leaf.

Method:

Clean the tilapia/ fish & soak it with salt & vinegar. Leave the fish for 10-15 mins.

Wash the fish again very well. Make two- three deep slashes on each side, till the bone.

Make a marinade with oyster sauce, soya sauce, fish sauce, chili & garlic as well as sliced green onion. marinade the fish for 30 mins, using 1/2 of the marinade.

Wrap in a foil or banana leaf & steam the fish for 15-20 mins in a steamer. U can use a bamboo steamer for this purpose or steam basket. If you do not have any of these, just use a heavy serving dish ( cornigware/ Pyrex), put the fish in the dish. Take a pan big enough to fit the dish & put some water, 1/2 way to the dish, put on the stove & let the water be warm enough to create steam. Once steam starts coming out cover the pan with a lid. Steam for 15-20 mins.

The fat over the slashes will start appearing. be watchful to the water level as it may dry out easily. Add water as needed.

Now put the fish over a baking tray along with the foil, put the oven onto a broiler or the highest temp you have in your oven. put the remaining marinade over the fish & bake/broil until the skin becomes brown. Now, in Bangladesh we don't have these oven but many houses has toaster ovens available, you can bake it in that oven or grill it in the oven or just using a old oily korai & you can fry that. Any method you use end point will be a crispy brown skin on the fish. Turn the fish once to brown both side.

Serve over a bed of sauteed spinach. just brown some garlic clove in little oil & saute the spinach using some salt. you can also put some red chili flakes &/or a pinch of nutmeg. A bed of simple rice or steamed vegetable will also be nice.

Enjoy! healthy eating.

Cucumber Dal-easy yet healthy & tasty recipe with the ingredients you have at home

This is a recipe which is very easy to make yet delicious & good for health. Cucumber is a veggie that everybody usually has in their kitchen everyday. If not, it is readily available. Cucumber is a very good food for loosing weight as this food is full of empty calorie, that means; it has few calories but it takes even more calories to digest.
So, recipe as follows:
Ingredients:
1) Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
2) Cumin whole-1/2 tsp
3) Whole dried red chili-2-3 in no,

4) Green chili- 1-2, chopped

5) Garlic pods-2-3 in no, roughly chopped,

6) Onion chopped-1/4 cup

7) Tomato chopped-1/2 cup

8) Cucumber cubed-2 cups

9) Toor/arohar/mung/chana dal- 1/2 a cup-pressure cooked with enough water.

10) Salt -per taste.

11) Turmeric-1/4 tsp

12) Curry leaves- (optional) 1 sprig

You can adjust any of the above amounts in ingredients, according to your taste.

Butter/ ghee & cilantro for garnishing.

Method:

1) Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seed, when splutter, add cumins, when fragrant add curry leaves & garlic. Let it brown till it is aromatic.

2) Add salt & turmeric, until the raw flavor from the turmeric is gone.

3) add onion, let it sweat. green chillies, fry a little, add tomatoes & cucumber & cook covered until theyr 1/2-3/4th done.

4) Mash the boil dal little bit & add to the masala. simmer in low heat until desired consistency.

5) Finish with a dollop of butter/ghee, 1/2 of a lime juice, & cilantro.

6) serve with roti/chapati/rice.

Enjoy!

A calorie counter...............

Sorry! to be late to post your answer. Since I started writing this blog, I started being busy with so many things but writing. I was even feeling like the big shot writer's block. Heee..........heee...........
Any way, here is a calorie count of couple of vegetables that definitely will help you some or other way.
I also found out that average size chapati or roti has around 80 cals. Just to remind you one more time, always good to use pure atta or the brown atta. Maida or bleached white atta is not good for health at all.
A cup of black tea contains 0-2 calories, but adding sugar and milk Will add at least 35-55 calories more, depending upon how much sugar you are using & how much or what kind of milk, like whole, reduced fat or skim milk.
Another reminder, try to use a cup of green tea with a pack of low cal. sugar & a lemon slice, it is refreshing plus it boosts your metabolism so you loose weight more throughout the day.
Write me your queries, i will be happy to answer. Some time I have to do some research before I write, so i might be late but will be back with your answer definitely.

Artichokes, 1 artichoke 67
Asparagus, canned, 1 10 1/2 oz. can 54
Asparagus, fresh, 1 cup, boiled 36
Baked beans, 1 cup, canned, w/o pork 306
Bean curd, 4 oz. 81
Bean sprouts, boiled, 1 cup 35
Bean sprouts, raw, 1 cup 37
Beets, 1 cup, fresh 54
Beets, canned, 1 can, 10 1/2 oz. 109
Blackeye peas, 1 cup 178
Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup 40
Brussel sprouts, 1 cup, fresh 56
Butternut squash, baked--1 cup 139
Cabbage, cooked, 1 cup 31
Cabbage, raw, shredded, 1 cup 17
Carrot, raw, 1 carrot 30
Carrots, cooked, 1 cup 45
Carrots, sliced, 1 cup 48
Cauliflower, boiled, 1 cup 28
Cauliflower, raw, 1 cup, chopped 31
Celery, 3 small stalks, 5 in. 9
Chard, fresh, 1 cup 32
Coleslaw with French dressing, 1 cup 114
Coleslaw with salad dressing, 1 cup 119
Collards, canned, 1 cup 51
Collards, fresh, 1 cup 42
Corn on the cob, 1 5 in. ear 70
Corn, canned whole kernel, 1 can--10 oz. 360
Corn, cooked, 1 cup 140
Corn, creamed, 1 can, 15 1/2 oz. 320
Cucumbers, each 30
Eggplant, 1 cup, boiled 38
Eggplant sticks, fried, Mrs. Paul's, 3 1/2 oz. 240
Garbanzos, dry, 1 cup 367
Garden medley, Green Giant, 1 can--beans, carrots, corn 158
Garlic, raw, 1 clove 4
Great northern beans, 1 cup 212
Green beans, boiled, 1 cup 31
Green beans, canned, Del Monte, 1 16 oz. can 80
Green beans, low sodium, Del Monte, 1 16 oz. can 80
Green pepper, 1 pepper, 1/5 pound 16
Green pepper, diced, 1 cup 33
Grits, Quaker, 1 cup 133
Hotdog relish, 1 oz., Vlasic 40
Kale, fresh, 1 cup 43
Kale, frozen, 1 cup 40
Kidney beans, canned, 1 cup 230
Kidney beans, dried, 1 cup, cooked 218
Lentils, 1 cup 212
Lettuce, iceberg, 1 cup, shredded 7
Lettuce, iceberg, 1 head 70
Lima beans, 1 cup 189
Mushrooms, 1 cup, chopped 20
Mustard greens, fresh, 1 cup 32
Mustard greens, frozen, 1 cup 30
Navy beans, 1 cup 224
Okra, fried, 3 oz., Ore-Ida 170
Olives, green, 10 large45
Olives, ripe, 10 extra large61
Onions, raw, 1 cup 65
Peas, cooked, 1 cup 115
Pickles, dill, 1 pickle--3 3/4 x 1 1/4 in. 7
Pickles, dill, 1 oz. 4
Pickles, sweet, 1 oz.30
Pinto beans, 1 cup 228
Potato, baked, 2 1/3 x 4 3/4 in. 145
Potato, boiled, medium, pared, 2 1/2 in. 88
Potato, boiled, large, pared, 2.3 x 4.7 in. 146
Potato, french fries, 3 oz. 130
Potato, frozen french fries, Golden Crinkles 3 oz. 120
Potato, frozen hash browns, Golden Patties 2 1/2 oz. 140
Potato, microwave hash browns, Ore-Ida, 2 oz. 120
Potatoes, mashed instant, from flakes, 1 cup 195
Potatoes, mashed with milk, 1 cup 137
Radish, 10 medium radishes 8
Radish, 1 cup sliced 20
Refried beans, 1 cup--Old El Paso 200
Refried beans with green chili, 1 cup--Old El Paso 200
Refried beans with sausage, 1 cup--Old El Paso 720
Rice a Roni, wild rice--1/4 box 110
Rice pilaf, Green Giant--1 cup 220
Rice, brown, 1 cup, cooked 232
Rice, fried, 1 cup 418
Rice, instant, 1 cup, cooked 180
Rice, white, 1 cup, cooked 223
Sauerkraut, canned, 1 cup 42
Snow peas, 1 package, LaChoy 70
Spinach, fresh, 1 cup 14
Spinach, frozen, 1 cup 46
Squash, 1 cup 30
Sugar snap peas, Green Giant, 1 cup 50
Sweet potatoes, canned, 1 cup 216
Sweet potatoes, fresh, 5 x 2 in., boiled 172
Tater Tots- orelda 150
Tofu, 4 oz. 81
Tomato, raw, 1 tomato 26
Tomatoes, canned, 1 can--16 oz. 95
Turnip greens, canned, 1 cup 42
Turnip greens, fresh, 1 cup 29
Turnip greens, frozen, 1 cup 38
Watermelon, 1 cup 42
Zucchini, 1 cup 22

Enjoy! healthy eating.

An Ideal 1200cal/day meal plan, with food we like.

My Dinner: A roti, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup dal, 1/4th cup fish curry.

This post is totally dedicated to my childhood friend who is still one of my best friend, Binni. We are friends since we were in class 3. I still remember the day she came in to our class. Bakht apa, one of our teacher introduced her to us. She was such a pretty little girl from Libya. I mean Bangladeshi but they just came from Libya after living there for a long time.
She was one of the smartest girl I have ever seen. No matter how much fun stuff we used to do we never saw a bit of wrinkle or any kind of spots in her school dress. Her hair was always neat & tidy. It's still a wonder how she always kept her that way. Now my friend wrote me that she needs some help loosing her last few stubborn pound.
After analyzing her height & weight & her weight loss goal I came up with the result that she has a daily calorie requirement of 1906/day.( I am considering her as moderately active person, who exercises at least 4-5 times a week). To loose 1 lb a week she will have to be 500 calorie deficient each day. So, she has net 1400 calories she can take each day. So, I came up with a meal plan which includes 1400 cal/day. Any one of you can use this as a template. I know, in Bangladesh it is hard to count the calories as not all of them has their calorie counts written on the back of the food packet. But now a days you can get everything in the Gulshan market. So, until you reach that goal weight try to eat the food you know the calorie count or buy the foods that has nutrition value written in it.
Here is a meal plan, For Binni or any one of you who is in same need.

Start your morning with a glass full of warm water with a half lime squeezed in it & 1 tsp full of honey stirred, to sweeten.

Breakfast is a must. Buy a box of cereal that has nutrition fact written in it. I use one that is multi grain. Look at the serving size. It says, 1/3 rd cup=one serving or some of them may say 1 cup=1 serving, then they total calorie count will be written underneath. As eg. my cereal has 1/3rd cup= 1 serving & total calorie count is 110 calorie & with a cup of skim milk, it is 150calorie. so I take just 1/4th cup of milk, to reduce the calorie count & add some berries like strawberry or blue berry, which is very low in calorie count but very good source of antioxidant.
If berries are not available you can use banana too. But, be watch full with the banana. A standard size banana has 110 cals. so you can chop half of the banana or a spoon full of raisin to make the cereal a little tastier. Chopped date in the cereal is a good option too. An average size date has 5 calories in it. you also can soak some almond over night & chop it in the morning & eat with the cereal. Around 5 almonds will have 25 calories. So, that way you take-

BREAKFAST:

1 serving of cereal with 1/4th cup of skim milk- 140 cals
1/2 q banana chopped= 55 cals
5 almonds chopped = 25 cals
one water poached or boiled egg=70 cals. ( I avoid using oil to make egg, to avoid some unnecessary cals)
Another tip is, avoid peeling food as much as you can, as they contain essential nutrient or if not can add a lot of fiber, Average person needs 25 gms of fiber each day. Also as fibers are not easy to digest, the help burning fat also. So, do not peel your almond, apple or cucumber next time you eat it.
So, in the above plan you just had only 290 calories.

Mid morning Lunch:

1 Apple or 1/2 of your morning banana , An average size apple contains 80 calories. & 1/2 of your banana contains 55 calories.

Lunch:

1 whole cucumber- slices with peel ( choose the young one) sprinkle some rock salt or beet lobon & some chili powder. You can use two whole cucumber also as an average size cucumber has only 35 calories and they are very good for loosing weight.You can also use 1 tomato, with some lemon juice over your cucumber & tomato mix. One tomato also has same amount of calories, ie 35 cals.

2 slices of whole wheat bread ( 11o calories per bread) with some chicken mix. ( Boil chicken breast, tear it up into fine threads, mix with light mayonnaise, onion, green chili & cilantro or dhania pata, sprinkle some salt & pepper. Use light mayonnaise, which has fewer calories). Average sized chicken breast has 200 calories. 1 tbsp of light mayo has 35 calories. So assuming you made the above mixture with one piece of chicken breast & 3 tbsp of light mayo, & 1 small onion, 1 green chili, salt & pepper) the whole mixture will have around 350 to 400 calories. If you use just 1/4 the portion of the above mixture for your lunch to make the sandwich, it will add hardly 100 calories. Be careful about choosing bread, some of the bread has 220 cals in one slice. In that case just use one slice & make an open faced sandwich.

500 ml of ice water with lemon round floating in it-0 calories!!!!!!!!!

So your lunch was total of 70+220+100=390/ 400 to round up. Believe me you will be full like anything.

Evening snack:

Take cup of green tea with honey & a cup of jumbura/ grape fruit. very good for weight loss. but I know grape fruit is not available in Bangladesh but jumbura is.

Option 2: A small pack of cookies. I know one brand is available in Bangladesh in Agora or any good departmental store, the white & blue packet. the box or tin comes with prepacked biscuit which is 110 cal per small pack.

option 3: Now a days the chicken stock, beef stock cubes are available in the market, just put 2 cubes in 4 cups of water put few ginger pieces & 1 small onion cut into 4 pieces, let it come into a rolling boil, once the soup comes into boil put some cauliflower florets, cut carrot, papaya or any vegetable just handful, cover & turn off the heat. Let it sit there for couple of minutes until the vegetables r little tender but yet crispy. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, lemon juice as needed.

whatever you choose, if you like a heavy dinner, limit your calorie here for the big dinner. try to fit your evening snacks to less than hundred calories.

Dinner:

1 cup of rice-200 cals.
1 piece of chicken leg cooked=80 cals.
1/2 a cup of dal-40 cals. ( try cooking the dal with minimal amount of oil)
1/2 a cup of mixed vegetable curry- 50 cals.
Total=370.

Drink a cup of decaffeinated green tea or just a glass full of plain water with lemon rind.

Grand Total: 290+80+400+100+370=1240. so, we made it very nicely. The extra 40 calories you might have burnt already taking stairs in your office. And for Binni, remember you can take 1400 calories/ day to loose 1lb/week.

Enjoy!

Kurkure Dherosh- A Spicy Okra Fry.

INGREDIENTS:

Okra/ Ladies finger- half a pound.

Cumin or Jeera powder-1 tbsp.

Coriander or dhania pwder-1 tbsp.

Red chilli powder-1 tsp.

A pinch of hing.

Ajwain-1 tsp (optional)

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp.

Salt- per taste.

Lime juice-to mix the above spices.

Gram flour/ Besan-2-3 tbsp/or enough to coat okra.

Method:

1) You can use both fresh or frozen whole okra.

2) Wash okra & pat dry with kitchen towel.

3) Cut tip & end, cut each okra into four pieces legnthwise. It will look like Long thin strips.

4) Mix all the above dry masala powder in lime juice & mix with okra, coat them well.

5) Sprinkle besan & coat the okras, it will not be fully coated. Besan will help to bind the masalas in the okra.

6) Set them aside. You can mix some curry leaf in the mixture too.

7) Heat oil & deep fry okra, until brown in colour & crispy.

8) For healthier version, spread the masala mixed okras in a foil wrapped baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil & broil under a broiler or bake in 450 temp. until crispy.

9) Garnish with chat masala & coriander.

10) Serve with roti or rice along with a dal.

Enjoy.

Dieting for Asians..........

What is the growing problem around the world? Obesity? Challenged with overweight? I've been there, I mean I'm still there, but, I think I've found my way out.
For last couple of years, I've been fighting with the weight. There was a time I used to think, how does people get fat? I don't. Also, I had a descent appetite until I started gaining weight. Once the weight started creeping up, the appetite started challenging it. They both won, I'm the person who lost in the game, result- carrying this unsightly extra amount of weight around my belly. Some time I used to feel like I'm carrying a motor bike size tire around my belly & the tire started growing until it reached the size of a SUV tire. I felt so ashamed all the time, did not feel like wearing nice cloth or even shopping for cloth. When I came to USA I used to buy size 4 cloth, & again there was time when I had to shop size 10 for myself too. I can't believe how I let this happen to me? May be there was a lot of stress in my life, I found comfort indulging into food.
I tried various diet various time, some of them worked really great, lost weight nicely but it was hard to maintain.
So, I started researching on various diet, basic science behind weight gain & find a natural way to loose & maintain healthy weight.

I came up with following principal:

1)As I'm 30 pounds over weight, I'll have to consume total calorie that is less than I require for my basal metabolic work. After calculating that I found for now I will have to take less than 1000 cal/day. But, it will keep me always hungry, I'll lack essential nutrient & not suitable. So, to round it up,I figured I will take 1200 cals & will try to burn up around 200 cals everyday with some physical activities.
2)regular physical activity is very essential to loose & maintain a healthy weight. To get habituated I will have to start a gradually increasing walking or jogging program.
3)Another important thing was to find out a diet made with food of my taste, spicy indo-asian cuisine. Because, as many of the diet plan suggest I could have tried taking broccoli soup or pea soup for couple of days but later on I will start craving for my kind of food & may be I will indulge my craving with a plate of mutton biryani or anything of that kind which can give you A total of 1200 cals in one plate, resulting frustration will lead to another episode of weight gain & A vicious circle.
4) I found calorie counter was the best option. Just count the calorie what you eat, that way you can eat whatever you want with a watchful eye, that way you do not overindulge as you always try to save some calorie for later & after the end of the day when you fit right into the frame of your suggested calorie count, you feel an instant gratification.
5)Omit some of the bad food & substitute with better option. Like, omit white totally with substitute of healthier whole wheat, multi grain option.
6)Do not take sugar until necessary, If really needed try to substitute with low calorie artificial sweetener. Of course, you have to remember that although low calorie sweetener are not full with calories but consuming a lot of them can cause sugar craving. So, it is wise to limit the intake always.
7) Fill your plate with lots of vegetables. eat a lot of legumes, try to get most of your protein requirement from vegetable protein, get at least 2 serving of fruits or freshly squeezed fruit juice.
8) Eating a plate full of salad or soup right before your major meal will help you consume lesser calorie.
9)Start your day with A warm glass of water with a half lemon or lime squeezed in it. It helps to boost the liver & it's detoxification action.
10)Take 1 cup of green tea after lunch & dinner. Use little honey instead of sugar to sweeten the tea.
11) Always set your goal to loose weight in a slow pace, so that your body is well informed about the new status & help you maintain the new weight. 2lb/week will be ideal.
12) Once you reached your goal weight readjust your daily calorie requirement.
13) Drink plenty of fluid- plain water is the best.
14) Never skip a meal, specially breakfast. Skipping breakfast will send a signal to your body that your body is in a starvation mode & body will start maintaining his basic work using lowest possible calorie, so in turn you will not loose enough weight.
15) Grapefruit is a very good energy boosting fruit- substitute one each day.
16) Do some muscle toning exercise, the more you increase your muscle fiber, more you loose fat.

With the above principle, I will try to create a everyday low calorie menu which suits our Asian, Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani taste, As well I will put the low calorie Chinese, Thai, Mediterranean recipes that I liked. hope we all be successful in our goal. Hope we will be able to turn our look to 20s again if not the age.

Best Wishes.