Cauliflower pakora and tomato chutney are a delightful combination of flavors and textures. And they’re a great informal snack or buffet itme because they’re for dipping and eating with your fingers! (You can make almost any vegetable into pakoras with this recipe. Be sure to cut the veggies small enough to cook through, but large enough to hold up during cooking.)

Cauliflower Pakoras:

1 head of cauliflower 1 cup gram flour (chick pea) flour 1/2 teaspoon asafetida 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon turmeric 3-6 cups of ghee for deep frying in a wok or a sauce pan with a thick bottom.

Start warming ghee over medium heat.

Mix spices and flour; then add water until it makes a smooth batter. Cut the cauliflower into florets and dip into batter so they are completely covered.

Slip a few at a time into the medium hot ghee to avoid splashing. If you put too many they will stick together as they cook.

Deep fry for a few minutes, then turn each over for a few minutes to cook evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon or turning fork and let cool on paper towels to drain excess ghee. They should be crisp and golden brown. Serve hot. Serves 8

Tomato Chutney:

6 ripe tomatoes (chopped small) 1/2 teaspoon asafetida 2 tablespoons ghee 1 teaspoons mustard seeds 1 teaspoon whole cumin 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 stick cinnamon 4 cloves 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger 2 minced green chilies 2 teaspoons ground coriander 3/4 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 2 bay leaves 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 table spoon raw sugar or molasses Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Prepare a masala by heating ghee. Add mustard, fennel and cumin seeds. When they turn light brown, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, chillies, ginger and powdered spices. It will be a slightly pasty, bumpy texture in the ghee.

Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes. Let the mixture cook down for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning and clumping.

Finish by adding salt and sugar. Pour into one lare or several small dipping bowls, then garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serves 4

I always keep a variety of dried beans and other legumes like lentils and split peas around. They are a great source of protein, and keep for quite some time if stored properly. They come in handy when I need a filling meal but don’t want to drive to the store.

Dried beans are cheap, filling and healthy. They are a great alternative to making more expensive meat dishes which has become a lot more important in our house with the recent rise of produce and meat prices. Using dried beans helps me spent less at the grocery store.

That of course brings up the question of how to properly store these dried beans. Most stores sell them in one, two or 5 pound plastic bags. I like to bring my beans home, take them out of the bag and sort them.

The easiest and fastest way to sort through a bunch of dried beans or lentils is to spread them out on a large table and pick through them. Keep an eye out for small rocks that may have gotten in. When you’re done, throw your beans in some ziplock bags or plastic containers with a tight fitting lid. Then move those containers into a dark place. I keep mine in my kitchen pantry.

Dry lentils, beans and peas will last longest at room temperature. That makes your refrigerator or freezer a bad storage solution.

Don’t forget to properly label your container after you add the beans to it. Many varieties of beans look pretty similar. I like to not the type of bean as well as the date when I bought them. This allows me to use the older ones first when I have more than one container of beans on the shelf.

I also like to copy down any cooking tips and recipes that came on the original packaging. I keep a little notebook that I just add to any time I come across something new on a bean bag.

If you don’t get around to using your dried beans for a few months, don’t worry. Stored properly in a container kept in a dark pantry, they will last for decades.

Many of the studies have revealed that obesity has become a major challenge especially to the western countries where in it is estimated that roughly there are around 60 million overweight people in US alone & this number is expected to climb sharply in the coming years. The only solution to this problem seems to be adopting to low carb diets that not only are tastier but helps us to control obesity in a phased manner.

Most of the health gurus have proved that carbohydrates are pretty much essential to our body since they provide major requirement of energy to our red blood cells & the brain. Meaning that carbohydrates are very much necessary ingredient in our food. The fact is that we have a wide variety of foods available to us in form of fast foods & restaurants who provides us with a lot of processed foods rich in carbohydrates & consuming them will surely result in massive weight gain rapidly. The possible solution is to adopt our selves to low carb diets helping in our goal to lose weight & control obesity by step-by-step process.

Basically there are two types of carbohydrates exists namely the simple carbohydrates & complex carbohydrates. Some of the simple carbohydrates are honey, sugar, flour & candy. The negative effect of consuming such stuff is that they drastically reduce our body’s energy levels after they are consumed. On the other hand, it is better to avoid complex carbohydrates since they are absorbed in our body slowly after they are taken in. They consists of starch & fiber rich items like rice, potatoes, corn, wheat & grains to name a few.

Most of the simple carbohydrates do not offer any nutritional value after they are taken in but in turn provide us the negative effect like the cavities & the tooth decay in the long run. On the other hand, low carb diets have high protein & mineral contents along with low fat levels. They are as well very tastier & nutritious and can be adopted as our permanent diet plans.

It is pretty safe to gradually migrate to low carb diets as the perfect solution to our weight loss problem. Many diet programs are followed by millions of people like the Dr. Atkins’ diet, South beach diet, high protein diet, zone diet, etc to name a few & most of these programs follow their own specifications with regard to foods & recipes that are to be considered on a daily basis & it depends on the particular program chosen by an individual for his own diet plans.

Almost all doctors prescribe some of the low carb diet foods to individual’s which contains meat, eggs, pork, lamb, salmon and hard boiled eggs since they are considered to be pretty safe in order to reduce weight in a phased pattern. This diet plan needs to be strictly adhered to, in order to achieve our primary goal.

Low carb weight loss diet plans always propose for vegetables that have high protein levels. Few of the low carb diet recipes include eggplants, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes to name a few. You can always try vegetable salads along with crumbled bacon, boiled eggs or mushrooms that can be garnished with them which form the main vegetarian carb meals since they are proved to be healthier foods.

It is evident that in order to maintain good health conditions as well as escape from major health hazards like high blood pressure or cholesterol, we must & should adopt ourselves to low carb diets and avoid some processed and junk foods like the Pizzas, burgers & colas.