Multigrain Vegetable balls - A healthy recipe

Multigrain Vegetable balls

The idea of multigrain vegetable balls came from cheese balls. Thought it will be a good and healthy snack for children. Give a try, its simple and very easy to do.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Given measure will yield around 12 to 15 small balls

Ingredients

• Cooked rice - 1 cup
• Finely chopped vegetables: Capsicum, Carrot & Cabbage - 1 cup
• Poha - 1 spoon
• Roasted gram - 1 spoon
• Groundnut - 1/2 spoon
• TCM - 5 spoons
• Turmeric powder,
• Chilly powder,
• Garam masala powder
• Salt for taste
• Cheese blocks (optional)

Method of Preparation

Getting ready

1. Sprinkle water in poha and allow it for 10 mins to become soft.
2. Grind Roasted gram and Groundnut in mixie like powder.

Preparation of balls

1. Smash the cooked rice like paste (do not add water).
2. Add the grounded powder, cut vegetables and soften poha to the smashed rice.
3. Add 5 spoons of TCM to the mix.
4. Add little Ginger Garlic paste, Turmeric powder, Chilly powder and Salt for taste.
5. Mix all the items like crushing, so that all ingredients gets binded properly till you get dough consistency.
6. Sprinkle water if required.
7. Make small balls of the dough.

Frying balls

1. Heat the oil in pan or kadai.
2. Allow it to get hot and keep the flame in medium mode while putting the balls.
3. Fry the balls till it become golden brown.
4. Grate the cheese block on hot balls (optional).
5. Serve hot with tomato sauce or coriander chutney

Notes

You can use maize powder instead of Roasted Gram and Groundnut powder.

Click here to view details about the product Ammae Tasty Cereal Mix in Ammae Estore

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Tasty Cereal Mix Recipe - Breakfast Cereal drink (Porridge for adults)

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Method of preparation:

1. Pour a small quantity (70ml) of plain water in a container.
2. Add 3 teaspoons of Ammae Tasty Cereal mix to the same.
3. Mix the powder thoroughly without any lumps until it gets dissolved.
4. Place the container with the mix in a stove and keep the fire in low mode.
5. Stir the mix continuously to avoid sticking to the pan.
6. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes and pour hot milk to the mix and stir well.
7. Add sugar or jaggery powder to taste and multigrain porridge is ready to drink.

Note:Kindly avoid using hot or cold water to mix initially, that will create lumps and will not disolve powder properly. Use normal water and dissolve it before keeping in stove.

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Tasty Cereal Mix Recipe - Wean Mix (Porridge for babies)

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Method of preparation:

1. Take a small quantity (150ml) of plain water.
2. Add 3 teaspoons of Ammae Tasty Cereal mix to the same.
3. Mix thoroughly without any lumps until it gets dissolved.
4. Place the container with the mix in a stove and keep the fire in low mode.
5. Stir the mix continuously to avoid sticking to the pan.
6. Cook it for 2 minutes and add a pinch of sugar or salt or Jaggery powder for taste.

Note: When you introduce new food to baby, start with 1, 2, 3... Which means initially, start with small quantity like one spoon and increase it two and then three spoons over a period of weeks time.

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Amaranth - Not a grain, more than a that !!!

Amaranth are gluten-free and high in protein, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. Cook amaranth seeds as porridge, popped like popcorn, or added to salads, soups, and baked goods.

What is Amaranth? 

Amaranth is not a grain like quinoa or millet. Amaranth seeds are pseudocereal, meaning that they are not true cereal grains.  but due to this seed's nutritional profile and its usage in casual cuisines, it is a grain. They have a nutty flavor and a crunchy texture. Amaranth seeds are superfoods due to their many health benefits.

One plant can produce up to 60,000 seeds. It is grown and consumed as a leafy vegetable in many countries around the world.

Amaranth, An ancient Grain

The word "amaranth" comes from the Greek "amaranths", meaning "unfading" or "immortal". This reflects the resilience and longevity of the plant. As well as its cultural significance. Amaranth is the common name for more than 60 different species of Amaranthus. They are usually very tall plants with broad green leaves and bright purple, red, or gold flowers. They are grown for their edible seeds. 

Amaranth seeds were first domesticated in Mesoamerica. It was a staple food for the Aztecs and Mayans. They used them for protein, energy, and ceremonial purposes. The Spanish colonizers tried to ban amaranth cultivation. They saw it as a threat to their religious and political dominance. Yet, some farmers continued to grow amaranth in secret. They preserved its genetic diversity and cultural heritage. They use it for medicinal purposes, like treating ulcers, inflammation, and high cholesterol.

In today's lifestyle

 Today, amaranth seeds are gaining popularity in the Western world. More people are looking for gluten-free, high-protein, and nutrient-dense alternatives. Amaranth seeds are a potential crop to feed the world's growing population. They can produce high yields with low inputs and environmental impact.

Amaranth is Nutritious & Tasty

One plant can produce up to 60,000 seeds. It is grown and consumed as a leafy vegetable in many countries around the world. Amaranth is, easy to cook, and palatable. It's also used in snacks and dishes. Cooked amaranth is 90% digestible. Amaranth has a nutty flavor that can complement both sweet and savory dishes. 

Amaranth seeds are not only delicious but also nutritious. Amaranth contains more than three times the average amount of calcium. It is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. It’s the only grain that contains Vitamin C. 

One cup of cooked amaranth seeds provides about 

• 250 calories, 
• 9 grams of protein, 
• 5 grams of fiber, 
• 5 grams of iron, 
• 105 milligrams of calcium, 
• 160 milligrams of magnesium, 
• 364 milligrams of phosphorus, and 
• 2 milligrams of manganese.

Amaranth is rich in lysine. Most grains like wheat are short on lysine, an amino acid. This makes amaranth a complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids. Amaranth is gluten-free and good for your heart.  Amaranth has shown potential as a cholesterol-lowering whole grain. 

Nutrients in amaranth & health benefits

Good for muscle growth and repair

Amaranth seeds are a complete protein source. They contain all nine essential amino acids that our body cannot produce on its own. Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle mass. It is also required for other functions of the body.

Helps in digestion and weight management

Amaranth seeds are rich in fiber. This can help regulate bowel movements and prevent constipation. It lowers cholesterol levels and keeps you feeling full for longer. Fiber can also help control blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of diabetes.

Improves bone health

Amaranth seeds are a good source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. These are all important minerals for bone health. They can help prevent osteoporosis, fractures, and other bone-related disorders.

Enhances cognitive function

Amaranth seeds contain manganese. It is a trace element that plays a role in brain function. Manganese can help improve memory, learning, mood, and mental health.

Has antioxidant property  

Amaranth seeds contain phytochemicals that have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants can help protect our cells from oxidative stress and damage. They can also help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease. It also cures neurodegenerative disorders.

Amaranth, Simple recipes 

Cooked whole: 

You can cook amaranth seeds like rice or quinoa by boiling them in water or broth until they are soft and fluffy. You can then use them as a side dish or add them to salads, soups, stews, casseroles, or stir-fries.

Popped: 

You can pop amaranth seeds like popcorn by heating them in a dry skillet over high heat until they pop. You can then season them with salt or spices and enjoy them as a snack or sprinkle them over yogurt or oatmeal.

Flour: 

You can grind amaranth seeds into flour using a blender or a coffee grinder. You can then use amaranth flour to make bread.

In fact, amaranth porridge is a traditional breakfast in India, Peru, Mexico, and Nepal.

In conclusion

Amaranth seeds are versatile and we can use them in many ways. They are also easy to prepare and cook in various ways. Amaranth porridge, which is a great option for breakfast. It is a famous leafy vegetable in South India.

Amaranth in other languages 

Rajgeera (Hindi), Rajgiri (Kannada, Konkani, Sanskrit), Mulaikeerai (Tamil), thotakoora (Telugu). The Hindi name for amaranth, rajgeera, means “the king’s grain.”  Its other name, ramdana, means “God’s own grain.”

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Well known excuses for breakfast !!!

Common Myths and Misconceptions about breakfast

"I don’t have time to eat breakfast."

- It's a lame excuse. If you are serious about time, plan your day well in advance. Allocate time for food, including your breakfast. Can't you afford to find 5 minutes to eat an energizing breakfast ?

"I don’t need breakfast."

- Every machine requires some form of energy to run. In the same way, your body requires energy to work. If a healthy breakfast is consumed, your body and mind will be really productive.

"Skipping breakfast does not matter – I can cover that in the lunch."

- If you skip breakfast, two things happen for sure: You do not have enough stamina to last the day (as you miss out on the nutrients that a breakfast supplements) . And, you are allowing the stomach to produce acid, without putting it to work. This damages the walls of the stomach, giving rise to painful Ulcers and unease.

"I want to reduce weight, let me skip breakfast and have lunch directly."

- In fact having proper breakfast allows you to keep fit. Further, it is a natural phenomenon to fill an empty stomach, and, human tendency forces us to reach out to snacks and high calories junk food, which is totally unhealthy for a morning hour.

Hence, a Healthy Breakfast is very important and makes sure you are well-nourished to keep you energized for the day.

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Breakfast & Warm up exercise - A comparison

Let us compare breakfast with warm up exercise.

Overview

A breakfast is the first meal after a long night's sleep, where, your body detoxes and repairs itself. It can be compared with a warming up exercise done by an athlete before going for a run or, players preparing themselves before a match,which will make them ready for a stable performance.

What happens during the process?

What happens during warm up? Muscles and tissues stretch and relax, so that it can be more flexible in play. Similarly, anything we eat in the morning should help the natural process of detox and repair/regain to a ready state for upcoming foods of the day.

Can we skip this or Is it essential?

Can we skip warm up?, Will it affect our performance? Yes, Absolutely. Tight muscles and tissues are not relaxed, so it may slow down our response during play. Sometimes you can even sprain a muscle. Skipping breakfast will make you feel hungry, tired and lethargic. This is because the energy required is not provided, so the body start taking the necessary glucose from the tissues. On the other side, your stomach will start producing real acid to enable digestion. Empty stomach with acid leads to heartburn, which is not a healthy sign. It may lead to an ulcer and build up of gas.

Digestive action starts mild in the morning and goes to peak in the noon and slows down by evening.

Does that mean a heavy warm up exercise will be beneficial? Absolutely NOT. Too much of warming up will make us feel exhausted and tired. Warm up exercise should be mild and fresh. Likewise, a heavy breakfast is not advisable in the morning. Foods which contain complex carbohydrates, rich in fibre will be best kind of breakfast.

In conclusion

A breakfast with a variety of choices as mentioned below, is considered healthy:

1. Fresh fruits like bananas, avoid sour fruits.
2. Boiled potatoes and vegetables.
3. Whole grain bread, oatmeal or a porridge.
4. Nuts.
5. Fresh juice (not from a can or tetra pack.)

Do not confuse yourself between a full meal and heavy meal. A full meal is just loading your stomach full with eating more of prescribed foods, but a heavy meal contains fat rich foods like fries, cheese and panneer, which may be little difficult to get digested.

In simple, a breakfast is, Eat easy to digest food and don't over eat.

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Multi Grain Porridge - Nutrients & Benefits

Why should I have Multi Grain Porridge ? How it Helps? What are the Benefits?

Fullness or Satiety

Grain based food have a high amount of dietary fiber. Fibre substance helps to fill you up, which prevents you from overeating. It helps to maintain or even lose weight. Fiber also helps to maintain blood-sugar levels and reduces the risk for high cholesterol. A cup of cooked porridge contains about 4 grams to 6 grams of fiber. Consuming porridge everyday twice is good for men and once is ideal for women . Adding berries, seeds and nuts to the porridge increases its fiber content.

Energy

Multigrain Porridge contains a high amount of complex carbohydrates, unlike simple carbohydrates which gets digested slowly and gives you sustained energy. One cup of porridge contains just over 15 grams of carbohydrates. Adding fruit, honey, brown sugar or milk to your porridge will boost the carbohydrates content of your meal and increase the calories. Milk also contains a moderate amount of protein. Carbohydrates are required for body because they are macro nutrients needed for optimal brain function and energy.

Oxygen Supply

Grains has a generous amount of Iron, which is used for the production of myoglobin and hemoglobin. They join with red blood cells to carry oxygen to the muscles and all other areas of the body. Iron is required very well for Men and women. Consuming it in natural way in the form of porridge adds value.

Strengthen Bones and Muscles

Porridge has calcium and high content of phosphorus. Phosphorus, which is stored in the bones, helps with energy production, filtering of waste through the kidneys and muscle recovery after intense exercise. Making porridge with milk and adding seeds and nuts will create a high-phosphorus content in your meal. Calcium is similar to phosphorus in that it helps strengthen teeth and bones. It also plays a role in hormone secretion, nerve transmission and muscle function. By preparing your gruel with milk, you will boost the calcium content of the meal.

Acts as Immunity Builder

Porridge contains Vitamin A. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that the body needs for vision, cell and tissue growth and reproduction. It is also an antioxidant, which helps destroy free radicals and reduce the risk for chronic disease.

Consuming porridge is healthy practice which is more traditional and including it has a breakfast replacement makes a day more healthy and energetic. Intake of porridge will be a easy way to maintain our daily values.

Added, a brisk walk in the morning help to get the vitamin D with the help of sunlight.

Note: Minimum 15 grams or 3 spoons of powder makes a glass of porridge. Milk will be ideal for children and youngsters and buttermilk will be best suit for elders and diabetics.

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How to make simple Multigrain Atta using porridge powder?

We get variety of multi grain atta in the market, majority of atta are combination 93 to 97 percent of wheat and 7 to 4 perent of multi grain which again a combination of 3 to 5 grains.

We can prepare multi grain atta using Tasty Cereal Mix in a very simple way. Take 5 portions of wheat flour and 1 portion of Tasty Cereal Mix, mix throughly and use it as normal atta for preparation of roti. This is now a combination of 16 grains incuding wheat.

Simple and nutritious food.

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What is the best breakfast to start the day, Cereal flakes or a Porridge?

Ready made cereals Vs Multigrain Porridge

Our Daily food routine begins with a breakfast. There are variety of western choices say, a bowl of cereals, a slice of toast, cup of museli and traditional foods like Idly, Dosa, Pongal along with a cup of milk, coffee or juice as breakfast. At the same time skipping breakfast is not a good idea. If we skip breakfast, we feel hungrier later in the day and ate more food at night, this may lead to metabolic changes and heart disease, also to gastro issues.

Which is a Healthy breakfast?

Before we start the comparison, let us understand what nutrients are really required for breakfast?
The qualifying nutrients are protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium. The disqualifying nutrients are saturated fat, added sugar and sodium.

Ready made cereals/museli

Processed cereals or toast contain high levels of simple carbohydrates, which in turn converted rapidly into glucose. Museli, a combination of rolled oats and dry fruits contains high amount of concentrated sugar due to dry fruits.

These simple carbohydrates produces a short energy boost followed by an energy slump and ends in sugar craving. If you eat this type of breakfast, you will probably start to feel hungry very soon.

To eat too many carbohydrates for breakfast without enough fibre or protein is not a balance diet.

Lot of people suffer from low blood sugar levels by mid-morning. Simply because, they eat too many carbohydrates for breakfast without enough fibre or protein to balance them. Many breakfast cereals are also high in sugar and fat. Eating a bowl of cereal is as unhealthy as having five chocolate chip cookies, according to recent research.

Multigrain porridge

Porridge made out of whole grains are better than highly refined breakfast cereals, such as cornflakes. Whole grains contains complex carbohydrates, which release their energy more slowly into the bloodstream.

Studies have shown that a breakfast that includes protein will release energy at a steady level for hours. A breakfast that contains protein as well as complex carbohydrates, beats anything else. Grains, rich in fibre when consumed as porridge helps to remove cholesterol and toxins.

A breakfast that contains protein as well as complex carbohydrates, beats anything else.

Having Oats porridge is good as it is a whole grain. But consuming Oats everyday increases purine content in body and that has a side effect of Gout (complex form of arthritis, severe joint and knee pain) over a period of time. so its advisable to consume twice or thrice a week and not more than that.

Always combination of various mix of grains enables complete nutrition. In our daily life, we consume some of the grains, not all. So a multigrain powder, where individual grain are handled properly and prepared in powder form is one of the simplest form to get better nutrition. That too with milk is calcium rich.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, multigrain porridge is far better than ready to eat cereals. Added to that, those who ate plenty of fruit and vegetables and drank lots of water were far more likely to feel fit, healthy and happy. Mix and match various cereals and pulses to prepare the porridge mix is best way to get various nutrients.

References: NCBI, Healthline.com

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Multigrain porridge (Sathu maavu kanji), How to prepare at home? - Traditional & Simple recipe

What is multigrain porridge?

Multigrain porridge called with different names like congee, ambali, kanjee. In typical south india it is called as Sattumavu Kanji, which was given to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. It was considered as one of the best source of nutrition for young kids and good food for elders as well. Even today, lot of people prepare this powder traditionally in their home. Combination of ingredients varies for each school of thought.

Boiled rice, Ragi, Wheat, Barley, Moong are some of commonly known ingredients. Some people adds horsegram, roasted gram, poppy seeds, almonds, and cardamom also. Porridge preparation is simple, just mix a couple spoons of powder in a glass of water and boil for a minute or two. Then add milk and sugar or buttermilk and salt as per taste. We can have this with Rasam or prepare delicious payasam with jaggery or make laddus with ghee and jaggery. Its very ideal for breakfast and healthy and nutritious food.

For people who don't like it as traditional food, can try even homemade biscuits and cakes by using this powder instead of white flour. we can make breakfast bars with this by adding honey and dry fruits. Let us see how to prepare this at home with common ingredients. Just to help, some real time tips are mentioned at the end.

Ingredients of porridge

• Cereals - Finger millet, Barley, Whole wheat, Boiled rice - Each one cup
• Pulses - Black channa, Green gram, Roasted gram - Each one cup

Method of preparation

Choosen ingredients needs to be cleaned, sprouted, roasted and then ground to get the nutritious health mix. Let us see each step in little detail. You can check our blog post to know each process in detail.

Step 1: Cleaning/Rinsing of grains

All ingredients need to washed in normal or luke warm water separately. This makes sure any mud particles and unwanted things is removed properly. While rinsing, if any hard particles exist like stones, it get stays in the bottom of the container, we need to make sure to remove it.

Step 2: Soaking/Fermentation of the grains

This step is purely optional. Some of the ingredients can be used directly and other can be sprouted. Sprouting is extra process and time consuming. But it increases the nutritive value of the grains and makes it easily digestible. Especially when you prepare this mix for infants, it is advisable to sprout and then use. If you are not able to sprout at least allow them to be soaked for couple of hours roughly, that removes the toxin from the grains. Overnight soaking is best practice for hard grains, you can take a call based on your convenience.

In our set of ingredients, Finger millet, whole wheat, black channa, green moong can be sprouted. Sprout each grain separately. We need to plan accordingly as it take a day or two. I mean, choose the ingredient for sprouting and start the process one day before, So that it will be ready and we can move to next step for all grains in same day.

Step 3: Roasting of grains

After soaking and sprouting allow the grains to get dry in a dry cloth under a fan or in cool dry place. Once it is properly dried, then we can roast each one separately in the dry pan one by one. Keep the flame of low mode while roasting. Once you feel the aroma of roasted grain, remove it from pan and allow it cool. It may take 2 minutes to 5 minutes depends on the grain. Small grains like finger millet will gets roast faster in compare with chick peas. You can mix all the grains now while its get cool.

Step 4: Ground the mixture

You can get this ground in a floor mill. Allow the powder to get cooled completely and store it in a air tight container.

Some things to keep in mind in the process

1. You can also choose more grains as ingredients based on your choice like Amaranth Seeds, Horse gram, Foxtail millet, Little millet, Groundnuts, Oats grain/ flakes, Sago, Cardamom and Almonds.
2. Combination of grains and quantity of grains is purely choice of us.
3. Each step till roasting should be handled separately for each grains, as the size of grains vary.
4. Request you to ground some plain rice in floor mill before the mixture. In public places, they keep grounding various things, grounding rice first, cleanses the machine and also unwanted or previous grounded things comes out along with rice flour.
5. Hot powder attract moisture that in turn reduce the shelf life of powder and also gives bad aroma and infected faster.
6. Normally if we store in a air tight container, it stays for couple of months. We can prepare this is in small quantities as and when we require.
7. We can change the combination of ingredients however we want to get different taste every time.

How to prepare porridge?

Mix 2 spoons of powder in half glass of water. Mix throughly without lumps and allow it to boil in low flame for couple of minutes. It gets thick and porridge is ready. Milk and sugar can be added upon once taste and consumed. You can also try with salt and buttermilk.

Other multigrain recipes:

1. You can prepare sweet porridge by mixing jaggery and some roasted cashews with saffron and cardamom.
2. Mix the equal amount powder and jaggery with some melted ghee and just prepare balls by holding in hands tightly (like we prepare laddu). This can be healthy snack.

Don't worry, we have followed all this process when we produce ammae products. Check out Ammae's Tasty Cereal Mix (an Multigrain porridge for General nutrition) and Health Mix(an instant porridge).

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