For the past 10 days, we have been trying to improve our intake of uncooked fresh vegetables because we realised that while we do eat healthy, the content of uncooked vegetables is very low in our preparations. I tried re-imagining two of our favourite breakfast items – Sabudana Khichadi and Poha.
Sabudana Khichadi as Bhel –
I made the Sabudana Khichadi as it is made regularly. I only didn’t squeeze the lemon juice on it at the end. I made the “meethi” chutney with lemon juice, de-seeded dates and a spoonful of Palm Jaggery (Karupetti). Just use the small jar of the mixie to make this instant chutney and you can adjust the sourness and sweetness by adding lemon juice or jaggery or dates. I cut cucumber, tomatoes and onions as we do for Bhelpuri. Mixed the Sabudana Khichadi, diced cucumber, tomatoes, onions, a handful of “mixture” for the crunchy feel and added the lemon juice + Palm jaggery chutney to make Sabudana Bhel. It tasted really good ! I was apprehensive so I mixed a small quantity at first, but then mixed all of it as Krishnan and Amma also liked the taste.
Vegetable Poha –
The regular poha made with beaten rice, onions, green chillies and lemon juice is an all time favourite breakfast for us. My friend Geetu made Poha and put “bhujia” on top of it and ever since, Amma will ask me to make Poha whenever she feels like eating “bhujia” !! The way I re-imagined poha was to add OPOSed green peas and corn besides the regular onions and peanuts etc. Once the poha was made, I added freshly grated carrot as a garnish. Again, this vegetable poha tastes as good as the regular poha and since it has some fresh carrots and some more vegetables, its a more healthier option.
Will share some more of these re-imagined traditional food and please do share your comments and ideas. The attempt is to eat fresh, eat more vegetables and incorporate salads into regular food instead of keeping them out as a separate item.