Faux Moussaka >> South Beach Specials-3 (Dinner)

I love eggplant! And it works best for any diet thanks to its really low calorie count. Traditionally Moussaka is a layered   eggplant dish with veggies or minced meat. I stuck to makiing two layers of eggplant with just veggies. Also i did away with bread crumbs and other carbs that go into making the traditional Greek Moussaka. And it turned out just fine!

Ingredients:

One big eggplant, thickly sliced into rounds.

Olive oil – 3 teaspoons

Parsley chopped – 1 bunch

1 onions chopped

4-5 garlic pods crushed

1 cup tomato puree

zucchini or any other veggies as you’d like.

Low fat cheddar cheese – 1 slice or 2 spoons shredded

Salt to taste

Method

In a pan roast the eggplant slices with a little cooking spray, till its a little soft- not very soft. Just a wee bit to help make it faster.

Place it in an oven proof baking dish.

Pour oil in a pan and add garlic, zucchini/other veggies, Parsley and onions. Sauté for a few seconds and add the tomato puree. Bring it to a boil. Its optional to add a teaspoon or 2 of light cooking cream. Would taste yum if u do though! I even added a few slices of mushrooms :-). I know, I know, this is a completely faux Moussaka recipe!

Once this sauce comes to a boil, season with salt and some paprika and pour it over the eggplant. You can make two layers of eggplant and sauce. Top it with cheese.

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees c. Bake the Moussaka for about 20 minutes.

Your faux Moussaka is ready! Have this with a salad and finish with sugar free jelly!

(Try the same thing with minced meet of your choice instead of the veggies!)

Happy South Beach Dieting!

South Beach Specials-2

Grilled Chicken and Avocado salad on a bed of iceberg lettuce and sprouts.

A few thin slices of Avocado in Phase 2 is ok. Just don’t over do it. Its good fat and will make your skin shine :). Char grill the chicken breasts or just tawa roast it.  Shred ice berg lettuce, rocket leaves and other greens as you may wish. Add in some moong sprouts, peppers and sundried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. You can also crumble in some low fat fetta cheese. I do that sometimes and it obviously tastes out of this world!

Season with salt and pepper and finish with a dressing of your choice. I used none. If you are not dieting then might as well add some sweet chilly sauce to this!

Remember to add the walnuts to add to the crunch!

South Beach Diet, oh yeah baby! (Part One- Brekky)

The reason you don’t see any yummy activities around this space is because, I am on a diet. :D. It was long due, and its going as well as it promises in the book. I am on the South Beach Diet and I am loving it. Am almost about to finish Phase 1 of the diet which lasts for 2 weeks. Would like to share a few brekky pics here. Will have follow up posts also, but for now lets settle for eggs, which seem like the only brekky I like since I don’t have Ham and Chicken early in the morning churns my tummy. SBD is a low carb diet, not a NO carb one. And is extremely flexible and easy to follow. I’ve tried Atkin’s earlier too, but was very unhappy. I did lose weight but I had cravings all the time and I was so depressed and in an ugly mood most of the time :D. SBD is fun, safe and effective.

Since diets can get monotonous, I took extra care to make my food look good. That way it didn’t one bit feel I was on a ‘diet’.

Follow up posts will have snack ideas, main course and desserts for the South beach diet. I have lost 3 Kgs so far, and for my standards and metabolic rate, its awesome! And its an earnest request that you get on this diet only after having fully read Dr Agatson’s book on the diet.

Top left: Scrambled eggs with tomato and mushrooms in Tabasco and chilly sauce, topped with a tiny dollop of low fat cheese.

Top Right: Omlette topped with sautéed bell peppers and mushrooms. Garnished with olives and low fat fetta.

Bottom left: Simple and lovely sunny side up on a bed of steamed spinach and red bell pepper. Finished with a dash of Tabasco and chilly flakes.

Bottom Down: Boiled and sliced egg on a bed of steamed veggies and sautéed mushrooms in oregano.

(Carrots are part of the avoidable veggie list, but I have it some times in very little quantities).

Have a kickass Thursday!

Barramundi Fish Fillets, Goan Style

  Samar’s blog on Hindustan Tines Blogs, Our daily bread, had this amazingly simple Goan Gish curry recipe, called - ‘The quickest and easiest Goan fish curry’ .  I was pleasantly shocked that a recipe as simple as that could taste so good!

Do try it. I used Barramundi Fish Fillets. I couldn’t find Kokum here, so didn’t add that. And I added a wee bit of Tamarind.

Have it with piping hot steamed rice.

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How to make rice look impressive? :-)

When I make Indian food for a party, I always struggle with rice. I think making a Pulao is too rich and sides can’t be enjoyed with it. Jeera rice is nice, but sometimes it gets monotonous. Here’s something I do, to make the rice look lovely and it goes perfectly with just about any Indian side dish.

In 2 teaspoons of Ghee, add an inch of cinnamon, a few cardamoms and a bay leaf. To that add 2 cups of Basmati rice (pre soaked for about 15 minutes- not more than that) and mix well.  Let it roast a tad bit and then add hot water- 4 cups. Add a little salt- not too much (about 1/2 teaspoon for 2 cups of rice) and 2-3 pinches of sugar. Simmer and cover with lid. Takes about 15 minutes for the rice to cook.

Once done, transfer to the bowl you will serve in.

In a wok, add about 4-5 tablespoons of oil and fry thinly sliced onions (about 2 large ones) and let them brown.  drain on a kitchen towel. Fry a few cashews, raisins, and almond slivers.

Garnish rice with the fried onions, cashews, raisins and almond slivers.

Looks impressive, tastes great!

I’ve also done with by adding a few strands of saffron while cooking the rice, and it gives a completely different flavour.

Either ways, a nice change from the boring fried rice.