bathua is chenopodium album and is so rich in calcium and iron that it leaves the spinach far behind in this field.............the calcium, phosphorus and iron contents per100gm, spinach has 73mg of Ca, 21mg of Ph, and 1 mg of I in it while bathua leaves have 800 mg of Ca, 50 mg of Ph, and 22 mg of I in it ...........not only this , it is as tasty as spinach and can be used in many ways to get a nutrient boost. ........one thing which is very important while consuming these Ca and I rich super foods is that, to absorb all the mineral in it we have to eat them in combination with tomatoes , lime or curds.
this recipe has a story attached to it.......bathua raita was a personal favorite and my husband arvind also liked it when i started making it after marriage, so in winters it was prepared frequently with parathas or with rice preparations. as i like curds in all it's forms, i like kadhi very much but arvind had a major aversion to kadhi........i made a twist in the bathua raita one day and converted it to a kadhi........arvind ate it happily and since then it a regular in my kitchen..........now i take it with my mixed cereal chapati and like it very much.
ingredients for bathua raita
bathua leaves with all it's stalk chopped and microwaved 1 cup
green chillies finely chopped 1 tbsp
garlic cloves chopped 1 tbsp or more
whole jeera seeds 1 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
hing or asafoetida a pinch
mustard or any other oil 1 tsp
curds 2-3 cup as you like
salt to taste
preparation
heat oil in a pan and put in the hing n jeera to it and when it starts sputtering, add in the chopped garlic and green chillies, let it fry a little and then add the bathua leaves and salt and cook covered for 5 minutes.......let it cool and mix with the beaten curd and pepper powder and serve at room temperature.
procedure for kadhi
the only additional thing needed for making it's kadhi is gram flour or besan(2 tbsp) and buttrmilk instead of curds, though beaten curd is also fine.
while cooking the bathua leaves as above, i use whole red chilies instead of green chillies for the kadhi, meanwhile whip the curd with besan and 1 cup of water and cook on low flame.........stirring all the time to avoid lumping.............after cooking this mixture for 10 minutes or so, add the cooked bathua leaves and give it a good boil.......it is ready to serve.
as an optional tadka heat 1 tsp ghee , put 1 tsp red chilly powder in it n quickly put it into the kadhi n serve immediately.
this recipe has a story attached to it.......bathua raita was a personal favorite and my husband arvind also liked it when i started making it after marriage, so in winters it was prepared frequently with parathas or with rice preparations. as i like curds in all it's forms, i like kadhi very much but arvind had a major aversion to kadhi........i made a twist in the bathua raita one day and converted it to a kadhi........arvind ate it happily and since then it a regular in my kitchen..........now i take it with my mixed cereal chapati and like it very much.
ingredients for bathua raita
bathua leaves with all it's stalk chopped and microwaved 1 cup
green chillies finely chopped 1 tbsp
garlic cloves chopped 1 tbsp or more
whole jeera seeds 1 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
hing or asafoetida a pinch
mustard or any other oil 1 tsp
curds 2-3 cup as you like
salt to taste
preparation
heat oil in a pan and put in the hing n jeera to it and when it starts sputtering, add in the chopped garlic and green chillies, let it fry a little and then add the bathua leaves and salt and cook covered for 5 minutes.......let it cool and mix with the beaten curd and pepper powder and serve at room temperature.
procedure for kadhi
the only additional thing needed for making it's kadhi is gram flour or besan(2 tbsp) and buttrmilk instead of curds, though beaten curd is also fine.
while cooking the bathua leaves as above, i use whole red chilies instead of green chillies for the kadhi, meanwhile whip the curd with besan and 1 cup of water and cook on low flame.........stirring all the time to avoid lumping.............after cooking this mixture for 10 minutes or so, add the cooked bathua leaves and give it a good boil.......it is ready to serve.
as an optional tadka heat 1 tsp ghee , put 1 tsp red chilly powder in it n quickly put it into the kadhi n serve immediately.
Hi Sangeeta,
ReplyDeletechecked out your blogs too now...you have done a great job...admire everything you do...my husband loves bathua so much but somehow I was not able to get it here till now :-(...keep going..