Japanese Style Fried Rice without Eggs




   Fried rice is an Asian-inspired dish that has become so popular and now available all over the world. I love Japanese people and culture especially I love the traditional dress called Kimono and dolls. My brother bought me that doll after he came back from Tokyo trip last year. Coming to this recipe, this is a yummy and easy Japanese fried rice. I’m a big fan of this rice but it tastes different from Chinese fried rice. This is so simple to make; combine cooked rice with sauted vegetables, sesame seeds and scrambled eggs or meat of your choice, season with soy sauce and ready to serve. Addition of sesame seeds adds a great flavor to the rice. Try it with leftover rice, it tastes delicious.Try this recipe and let me know your feedback.



     Ingredients

          2/3 Cup of Cooked Rice(Cold) / Leftover Rice
          1 Tsp of White Sesame Seeds
          1 Tsp of Mayonnaise / Vegenaise
          1 Tsp of Butter
          1 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
          3 Broccoli Florets
          2 Tbsp of Red Onion, Finely Chopped
          2 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
          2 Green Onion, Chopped
          1/2 Tsp of Red Chiliy Flakes
          1/4 Tsp of  Sugar
          Dash of Salt and Pepper
          2 Tsp of Oil


    Method
   

  • In a pan, dry roast the white sesame seeds for 2 mins until color changes and aroma comes.
  • In a wok / pan, heat oil in a medium flame,  add red chilli flakes, chopped onion, white part of green onion and garlic, saute it for 2 mins.
  • Add broccoli florets, saute this for 1-2 mins until it turns soft not mushy.
  • Add sugar, salt and pepper, mix well with veggies.
  • Add rice and soy sauce, once you add rice to the wok, turn the heat to high, . Your wok or pan has to be so hot that it makes every single grain of rice to jump and dance off in the wok. Stir-fry tossing continuously for about 5 minutes (adding in more soy sauce and black pepper if needed to suit taste). 
  • Add butter, mayonnaise/vegenaise and sesame seeds, mix thoroughly with the rice.
  • Stir in the green part of the onion and serve hot along with green tea.       

   Tips

  • Don’t add hot rice while making fried rice, it should be cold.
  • Adding mayonnaise/vegenaise is optional, you can avoid that.
  • Use a medium or short grain rice, not Jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is better for Chinese and especially Thai food, but NOT for Japanese food, wrong texture, flavor and aroma.
  • You can also add more vegetables like tofu, mushroom, baby corn, carrots, peas and bamboo shoots to get a great taste.
  • If you are non-vegetarian add scrambled eggs or chicken or shrimp or beef to your rice.
  • Soy sauce comes in light or dark. “light” is little saltier than “dark”. If you use “dark” soy sauce, your rice looks dark brown in color also different taste.
  • Basically soy sauce are high in sodium level, for the health reasons, I used low sodium soy sauce.
  • Soy sauce are made of 50% soy beans and 50% wheat. But Tamari are made of 100% Soy beans and no wheat in it. So tamari is ideal for people following gluten free diet .


   Health Benefits of Fried Rice

  • Making fried rice at home is a more nutritious rather than buying a takeout order from a restaurant . 
  • You can boost the vitamin, mineral and nutrient content of your dish by using brown rice instead of white rice to add fiber and get the nutritional benefits of whole grains.
  • Instead of using high fat meat, use a low fat meat substitute, scrambled eggs or more vegetables. Finally, keep salty condiments to a minimum and don’t fry the rice in more than a couple of tablespoons of oil to reduce total fat and calories.
  • Sesame seeds are good in calcium, magnesium, iron, high in dietary fiber and good for heart.


Thakkali Paruppu Dosai / Tomato lentil dosa

 

Thakkali paruppu dosai

 

Dosa is a fermented crepe made from rice and black lentils. It is getting popular around the world because of taste and crispy texture. Thakkali paruppu dosai does not need any fermentation. There are two types of rice, one is parboiled rice and other one is raw rice. In this recipe I used toor dal , parboiled rice, tomatoes, red chillies coconut and spices. Addition of tomatoes gives tanginess and vibrant color, red chillies gives spicy taste, carbs and protein from rice and dal. So this dish gives you well balanced of all nutrients. Best accompaniment for this tomato dosa are coconut chutney or peanut chutney or sambar or podi.

Ingredients

1 and 1/4 Cup of Parboiled Rice
2 Tbsp of Toor Dal
3 Large Size Tomatoes, Chopped
2 Tbsp of Desiccated Coconut Flakes / Grated coconut
4-5 Red Chillies
1 Tsp of Fennel Seeds
Few Cilantro(Coriander)  Leaves, Finely Chopped
7 – 10 Curry Leaves
Salt to Taste
Oil as Needed

Method

  • Soak the dal and rice separately for 5 – 6 hrs. After that wash the dal and rice in cold tap water.
  • In a blender, add toor dal, rice, tomatoes, coconut flakes, red chillies, coriander(cilantro)leaves, curry leaves and salt, Grind it until the mixture turns smooth.
  • Transfer this batter to a bowl, add fennel seeds and mix well. If you need more salt, you can add it at this stage.
  • Add water if batter is too thick. Heat a dosa pan or tawa, take a ladle full of batter, spread it like thin dosa. Drizzle some oil over the dosa or in sides. Cook both sides until it turns crisp.
  • Serve this dosa with your coconut or peanut chutney or sambar or podi. I had it with urad dal chutney.

 

Tips

  • You can add chopped green chillies instead of red chillies.
  • Always cook dosa in medium flame.
  • You can add more tomatoes if your tomato are not tangy.
  • You can avoid fennel seeds, if you don’t want.
  • Adjust the number of red chillies according to your spicy level.
  • You can add little jaggery if you want for a slight sweet taste.
  • If you are making this for breakfast , soak rice and dal overnight and grind them in the morning.

 

Health Benefits

Tomatoes

  •  Tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, C, K and Potassium.
  •  They are a natural cancer fighter.
  •  They are a good source of chromium which helps to regulate blood sugar.

 



Homemade Dates Syrup Recipe



             A dry fruit date each day does miracle to body of a human. Besides nutritional benefits, it provides an instant energy and controls food cravings. When I was a kid, I remember my mom used to give milk with lion dates syrup before going to bed. That gives an instant energy, also helps me to do my home work faster. I have some dry dates which I bought few months back, sitting in corner of my pantry. So I was thinking of making homemade dates syrup.

Homemade date syrup recipe is simple, tastes absolutely yummy and lip smacking. To make homemade date syrup, you simply simmer dates and water together until dates turns soft, strain it with a cheese cloth and then simmer the date water to thicken. Done !! It tastes like “HONEY”. You can use homemade date syrup as a sweetener in oat meal, tea , smoothies or sprinkle at the top of ice cream, cereal, pan cakes, cakes or pudding. Date syrup are good for kids and adults.

No preservative !! No sugar added !!!!! Healthy Sweetener !!! Try this recipe and enjoy !!!!!!!!




   Ingredients

  • 1 Cup (35) Dates, Well Packed, I used Tunisia Seedless dates
  • 1.5 Cups of Water


 

  Method

  • Heat a pan with water , add dates, bring to boil.  Cover it and simmer it for 45 mins in a low flame until dates becomes soft. Mash it with a masher and then allow to cool it.
  • After that, strain it using cheese cloth or any plain cloth or muslin cloth works good.
  • Squeeze well and extract the juice as much you can. Add 2 Tbsp of water and then squeeze it again.

  

  • Once you done that, filter it and bring the juice back to the stove and heat it in a medium flame and wait until you get the thick consistency. Keep stirring in between in order to prevent the burning at the bottom.
  • This takes about 12 mins to thick. At this stage, you can see white curdles and frothy, take a spoonful of syrup, feel it with your thumb and fore finger, somewhat thick and gooey. Turn off the flame. Let it cool for sometime.

 

  • Transfer it to a clean air tight bottle and name it along with a date and refrigerate  it.





    Tips

  • Do not do it in a high flame, always do it in a medium or low flame.
  • Use the leftover pulp to make yummy cocoa coconut truffles.
  • Store it in a clean airtight bottle to avoid contamination.
  • You can substitute dates syrup from baking to smoothies to a cup of tea. 
  • You can add any following ingredients to change the flavor
  1. Cinnamon
  2. Cardamom
  3. Ginger
  4. Vanilla



    Health Benefits of Dates Syrup

  • High in Iron content and Florine
  • Rich in vitamins and minerals and dietary fiber which prevents LDL cholesterol absorption from the gut..
  • They are great energy boosters as they contains sucrose, fructose and Glucose. To get more advantage, add dates to the milk, to make it more nutritious.
  • Cures abdominal cancer and constipation.
  • It helps in weight gain.
  • Good for heart, brain and nervous system.
  • Treats anemia.