plaintain and beans...making healthier subzis

I have been getting a lot of queries about light subzis , both curries and stir fries ....and i realised that though i make such subzis on a daily basis , i haven't posted many of them , i keep taking pictures of them and listing the ingredients in the drafts but somehow while posting i get impulsive to post something else......mostly something which we liked as a weekend lunch ...he he...

Blogging about the day to day food here has given me immense satisfaction , many strangers have become friends and chat with me and mail me regularly, it was not in my wildest imagination when i started with these blogs........it feels good that somebody is trying your recipes and wants more ideas about healthy cooking on a day to day basis.....many restaurant like curries with fancy ingredients are abound on the net but what is cooked in an average middle class household in India is very different from that , especially when we want to eat healthy yet tasty food day after day ....and with our regular ingredients.....incidentally the first criteria of a middle class homemaker going to cook a daily meal for her family....

Having said that , i must admit that cooking healthy subzis ( especially low on fat ) is a big challenge for a traditional Indian homemaker ( anybody who cooks on a daily basis for that matter)...our curries are made with deep fried vegetables cooked in a masala paste which is again cooked in a fatty medium , resulting into a bowl of curry which comes to your table with a thick layer of oil or ghee floating on top........most of us want healthier options.....many of us cook healthier versions too.........a light subzi for me is something like a warm salad or a light stirfry which is meant to be eaten like a main course with minmal grain consumption ( grain is roti or rice for us).....you get more vegetable and less grain in each meal this way........

My way of cooking a low fat subzi is based on cooking on low flame, with lid to shorten cooking time , avoiding gravies which essentially requires fat to be made , using spices and herbs liberally to enhance flavors and cooking the subzi just at the time of serving to get the most flavorful experience....though some of the subzis keep well in the fridge ....

Apart from making the subzi low fat i try n include more fiber into them and try new combinations regularly , using fresh seasonal veggies is the key to get it right always.......i sometimes replace potatoes with plaintains for example , making the subzi healthier .....read on..

Plaintains are a tasty substitute of potatoes for me sometimes , i cook them with skin on which is a surprise for many , but the taste and the texture of the finished recipe is good , we like the plaintain bhujia very much ...though i have never tried fried plaintain chips with skin on but whatever stirfry preparations i make with it , the skin tastes yumm...and when i make the kele ka kofta , i just peel a thin layer with a potato peeler , boil it and mash to proceed, the fiber in the skin makes the kofte more spongy to absorb more flavor from the gravy......( not a low fat subzi we are talking right now).....

I thought of substituting potatoes with plaintains mainly because Arvind likes potatoes so much that it should be regularly on his plate....after realizing that he eats plaintains with equal interest i started thinking of using it more often , as we make a lot of subzis using potatoes in combination like aaloo matar , aaloo baingan n aaloo sem etc. , i started using plaintain here....so plaintain matar and plaintain sem ( we call it kaccha kela sem though)....the combo is so yummy and healthy , full of fiber and goodness of plaintains ( potatoes are good too but there should be a change )...

Plaintains are rich in low GI carbohydrate ( good for diabetics), dietary fiber, Vitamins ( A, B6 and C) and minerals ( Potassium)...........it is so rich in potassium that it is prescribed for those having low levels of potassium in their blood, Potassium in plaintain is good for heart and helps prevent from hypertension and heart attack. It is also rich in Magnesium and phosphate ...............the Vitamins ( A, B6 and C) help maintain vision , good skin and immunity.

On the other hand the sem or indian broad beans are rich in Vit A, B6 and C along with some micro nutrients too , has very low GI and loads of dietary fiber....it's much like the french beans...low cal health food...

I make a very basic n simple stirfry with these two veggies .....just split into two and then slice the plaintain , with skin of course....i used 3 medium sized Indian plaintains...

chop the sem too into small bits....i used a cup of them.....

heat mustard oil 1 tbsp in a kadai( i used a cast iron kadai so the subzi turned out dark in color...i love it this way) and throw in a tsp of cumin seeds n let it splutter , throw in the chopped veggies into the kadai and stir to coat with oil......add salt to taste and keep stirring to cook evenly...

 after about 3-4 minutes add 2 tbsp of ginger - garlic and green chilly paste  a pinch of turmeric powder and a tsp of cumin powder...mix well and add a tbsp or two of water so that the subzi doesn't get burnt ( if using oil liberally it will not be needed )..

cover the kadai for 2-3 minutes to cook properly , open the lid and mix .....mashing the plaintains a bit if you wish...........i like it that way......fry ( bhuno) some more till it is a dry stirfry subzi and serve hot with roti n daal or chawal n daal ...you may like to add a bit of amchoor powder in the last...or lemon juice....i use it occasionally with this....

  and finally the ingredient list  
plaintains 2-3 (250 gm)
sem or broad beans 1 cup ( 200 gm)
ginger-garlic and green chilly paste made with equal quantity of all three 2 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
cumin powder 1 tsp
amchoor powder 1 tsp ( optional)
mustard oil 1 tbsp
whole cumin 1 tsp
salt to taste

.........a healthy subzi which is light and can be made as hot as you wish , simple but flavorful......

.......................more low fat and light subzis are coming soon.....stay tuned............