There is a lot to learn from animals. They don’t eat once they are full or when they are ill. Have breath for breakfast, and remember to breathe a lot before we eat a lot. Mostly whatever we eat nowadays tends to react with our being. We should aim to eat in a way that our body does not react but responds to what we eat. The following are some of my favourite healthy meals:
MICKEY’S FAVOURITE SOUP
RED PUMPKIN, BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARROT SOUP
Ingredients
½ cup 1-inch pumpkin pieces, peeled
½ cup 1-inch butternut squash pieces, peeled
½ cup 1-inch carrots pieces, peeled
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon roughly chopped ginger
1 teaspoon roughly chopped garlic
Olive oil, as required
1 litre vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon to taste
Parsley for garnish
Roasted crushed garlic powder for garnish
Method
• In a heavy bottom pan, sauté onion, ginger and garlic in olive oil till translucent.
• Add chopped vegetables and toss. Add vegetable stock or plain water and bring to boil.
• Once the stock comes to a boil, lower heat and let it simmer. Once vegetables are cooked, remove the utensil from heat and transfer the contents to a blender.
• Blend the vegetables along with the stock and strain the soup.
• Add salt, pepper and lemon to taste.
• Garnish with parsley and roasted crushed garlic powder. Serves 4
MICKEY’S FAVOURITE STARTER
NACHNI PANCAKES WITH DRY COCONUT CHUTNEY
Ingredients
½ cup red millet (nachni/ragi) flour
1 tablespoon semolina (rava)
1 tablespoon Bengal gram flour (besan)
¼ cup finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1½ teaspoons finely chopped green chillies
Salt to taste
2½ teaspoons olive oil for greasing and cooking
Dry coconut chutney, to serve
Method
• Combine all the ingredients, except the salt and oil, along with 1 cup of water in a deep bowl and mix well.
• Just before making the pancakes, add salt and 2 teaspoons of water to the batter.
• Once the bubbles form, mix the batter gently.
• Grease a non-stick pan with ½ a teaspoon of oil.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of batter at a time and spread it lightly.
• Cook, using 1 teaspoon of oil, till they turn brown on both sides.
• Serve with dry coconut chutney.
Makes 6 pancakes
MICKEY’S ALL-TIME FAVOURITE
MULTIGRAIN KHICHDI
Ingredients
1/3 cup wild rice
1/3 cup sorghum (jowar)
1/3 cup pearl millet (bajra)
1 cup split green gram (moong dal)
1/3 cup split black gram (urad dal)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1–2 chillies
6 curry leaves, torn into halves
50 grams finely chopped broccoli
50 grams French beans, chopped
1 small green capsicum, finely chopped
50 grams snow peas, chopped
50 grams Brussels sprouts, halved
1 teaspoon ghee
Seasoning
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon split black gram
1 teaspoon ghee
Method
• Soak rice and other grains in water for about 3-6 hours.
• For the seasoning, sauté the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and split black gram in 1 teaspoon of ghee.
• Add onions, ginger, chillies and curry leaves and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.
• Drain the soaked rice and other grains and add to onion mixture. Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Add vegetables and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Do not overcook the vegetables.
• Add 1 cup of water to cooked vegetables and continue cooking in a thick-bottomed utensil, until all the water has been absorbed.
Add a teaspoon of ghee and mix thoroughly before serving. Serves 4
Excerpted with permission from ‘Lose Weight, Gain Shape’ by Mickey Mehta, published by Westland.