Portion: For 2 adults and 1 child
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ease of making: Intermediate
Important Note: This preparation is –
Oil Free
Sugar-Free
Dairy Free [in case you drink your tea without milk i.e. black tea; also tea must not be served to the child]
Egg Free
I. INGREDIENTS
Carbohydrates:
Wholegrain and wholemeal Low Glycaemic Index Bread (3 pieces – dry toasted – hand broken into crumbs) [releases sugar very slowly in blood stream and helps maintain body glucose level]
Vegetables:
- Yellow Bell Pepper (1 big size – full – big diced) [folates, Vitamin C, antioxidant]
- Fresh Red Tomatoes (2 big size – full – each cut into 6 to 8 pieces max) [folates, reduced risk of cancer and heart disease]
- Green Zucchini (2 big size – full – each cut into 7 to 8 pieces in a slanted direction) [power packed with several essential minerals]
- Onions (2 medium size – full – cut into big pieces of up to 4 each) [regulates blood sugar]
- Baby corn (6 to 8 pieces – each one hand broken into two) [low carb vegetable, rich source of folates and fiber]
Herbs/Spices:
Fresh Italian Parsley Herb (3 to 4 twigs – all leaves, stacked and rolled together then cut into small shreds) [Contains Beta carotene which reduces ageing effect]
Seeds/Nuts/Dry fruits:
Pumpkin seeds (2 teaspoons – dry roasted) [contains essential fatty acids that are not produced by body especially Omega-3]
Condiments:
- Salt (add to taste – iodised – low sodium) [provides rehydration and muscle movement]
- Black Pepper (1 teaspoon of freshly grounded pepper) [besides promoting digestion and intestine health, it magically helps in reducing body weight]
Spices:
- Cinnamon stick (1 – full – hand broken into 6 to 8 pieces) [lowers blood sugar and reduces risk of heart diseases]
- Star anise seed (2 - full – as it is) [power packed to reduce digestion related ailments]
- Cloves (4 to 6 cloves – as it is) [anti-carcinogenic, enhances immune system]
- Cardamom (2 – full - as it is) [well known for medicinal benefits]
- Tea leaves (mixture of granular and partially broken leaves - 2 teaspoons) [anti-oxidant] {please drink tea only in moderation e.g. once or twice in a week as it contains caffeine}
II. METHOD
Bread
Toast the bread dry in a pan or oven to make it firm enough to hand break them easily into small crumbs
Veggies
- Put an iron skillet on medium flame
- Season all vegetables with salt and pepper
- After 3 minutes, gently pour all vegetables into the skillet
- Let it cook untouched for 10 minutes
- You may occasionally check on the vegetables that may not have encountered heat and let them get heat
- After 10 minutes turn off the flame
- Wait for 2 minutes and put the pan aside
- Sprinkle parsley, hand broken bread crumbs and pumpkin seeds into the pan
Tea
- In a saucepan pour 1 cup of water and bring it to boil
- Put all the spices and cover the pan
- Let it simmer for 10 minutes
- Put tea leaves and allow it to simmer for 1 more minute
- Add milk as per your desire
- Stir the mixture for 2 to 3 times in between 2 minutes and bring to boil
- Sieve the hot tea into cups
III. RELISH
Enjoy the aroma of herbs and spices as the flavours fill your palette with naturally reduced vegetable stock, share this dish of good health with your family and friends
Keep sharing, keep learning.
Cheers!
- ΞΗΛτιΤΛ