My Top Ten List of Healthy and Tasty Evening Snacks
Cooking meals is different from preparing evening snacks. I actually find the later a bit tough. Not the effort but the planning. Yesss!! Most of the snack options turn out to be deep fried ones,while healthy ones are not so popular (with both kids and elderly!!). Even so, the few healthy and tasty ones that you know don't come to mind at the proper time.
So here is my list of few healthy and tasty snacks. I wish making a list would help me remember them.
1. Bhel
Ingredients
4 Cups -Murmurra
1 big onion
2 tomatoes
Coriander leaves
Two green chillies
Sev- half cup
lemon juice - 1tsp
groundnut - 1/2 cup fried
Method
Add murmura to a big dish of water and remove immediately while squeezing out water. Keep aside.
Then fry ground nuts in a kadai on a low flame till they change color.
Remove and add oil to the kadai. Fry onions and chilies and fry for 5 mins, then add tomatoes and fry for 5 mins. Remove from stove.
To the above mixture add salt, haldi, mirchi powder, half tsp pav bhaji masala, and coriander leaves.
Then add murmura and lemon juice. Mix all.
Now add groundnut and sev.
note: If available one can also add a little sweet chutney made with dates, tamarind, mirchi powder and jaggery.
2 Popcorn
This is another simple and tasty evening snack. However, It is better to buy corn separately and make popcorn at home. The instant packs available in the stores might contain dalda.
Ingredients
Corn - 1 cup
Ghee or butter - 3tbsp
salt - little
pepper powder little
Method
Take a dry cooker.
Add butter. keep the stove knob at sim level. add salt and pepper pwd and corn. mix all.
Then close the lid and wait for few mins, meanwhile you can increase the heat level to medium. Keep shaking the cooker slightly for even distribution of heat and ghee.
Once you hear popping sound just shake the cooker to allow all the bottom ones to pop.
Wait till all the popping stops.
Remove from stove
Homemade popcorn tastes really yummy!
3. Simple Sandwich
Ingredients
Onion - 1 big
tomatoes- 2 medium
green chillies - 2
coriander- half cup
sooji - 3 tbsp
Whole wheat Bread slices
salt
Method
Chop onion, coriander, green chillies and tomatoes to very tiny pieces.
Mix them all with sooji. Add salt.
Take a tbsp of this mixture and apply evenly on a bread slice.
Then fry the bread slice on both sides on a tava.
One can enjoy this without needing any sauce or chutney.
4. Oats dry fruits laddoo
Ingredients
Oats - 2 cups
Bran flakes, corn flakes - 3 tbsp
Ragi flakes - 3 tbsp (I use 24 mantra flakes)
Almonds -3 tbsp
Cashews - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Watermelon seeds - 2 tbsp
Sesame (till) seeds - 3 tbsp
Honey - half cup
Ghee or butter - 1tbsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Method
Fry oats for up to 7 or 8 mins.
Remove and then fry all the above dry ingredients separately for about 5 mins.
After frying, one can crush almonds and cashews to small pieces in a hand mortar or you can also put them in a blender if you wish to. However, the laddoo tastes good when u make them into small pieces.
Transfer all the fried ingredients to a broad vessel and keep aside.
Now add ghee/butter to the kadai.
Then add water and once it starts boiling add honey.
Once the mixture starts boiling (say after 2 min) switch off the stove and add all the fried ingredients and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the broad vessel and using a spatula press hard so that the mixture settles well.
Once it cools slightly, wet hands and make small balls of the above mixture.
Let them cool.
Transfer to an airtight container.
5 Garlic Bread
Ingredients
whole wheat bread slices
Garlic pods - 4/5
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Chillies - 1/2
salt - a little
Butter - 2 tbsp
Method
Take garlic, coriander, butter, salt and chillies blend to a fine paste.
Apply a thin layer of this paste on a bread slice and fry on a tava. (fry both sides)
Alternatively, you can grill them in an OTG.
Take all slices (with the garlic paste), arrange them in a loaf and wrap them it in an aluminum foil.
Keep in a pre-heated oven for 15 mins.
Remove and serve hot.
6 Sprouts Tikki
Ingredients
Sprouted moong dal - 1 cup
mint leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped
coriander leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped
besan - 1 tbsp
green chillies - 2 finely chopped
little hing
oil - 2 tbsp
Method
Blend the sprouted moong dal to a smooth paste with little water.
Take in a bowl and add mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt, chilly paste, hing and mix.
Make small balls roll into flat thin tikki shapes.
Roll each tikki in coriander and mint leaves.
Heat a tava, cook each tikki with little oil on both sides.
Once they turn brown remove and serve hot.
7 Spicy Corn
Ingredients
Whole Corns - 4
Onion - 2 Big
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
salt
turmeric
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
oil
Water
Method
Cut corns into 2-3 inches size and keep aside.
chop onions and fry in a kadai
add GG paste and fry for few mins.
add salt, turmeric, garam masala powder
take the corn and the fried onion mixture in a pressure cooker.
add about two cups of water.
put the pressure cooker on the stove and let about 8-9 whistles.
switch off the stove and wait till the cooker cools.
the corns cooked in onion paste are soft and taste great.
8 Poha Cutlets
Ingredients
Poha - 2 cups
potato - 2, boiled and mashed
green peas - 1/4 cup boiled
green chillies
Coriander - 1 bunch
salt
amchur - 1/4 tsp
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 1 tsp
oil for shallow frying
Method
Soak poha in water for 15 minutes. Remove from water and add poha to boiled potatoes. Mix all other ingredients. Make small balls and flatten the poha mixture. Take about 3 or 4 cutlets and shallow fry on a tava with oil.
9 Wheat Rava Pulihora
Ingredients
Wheat Rava - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Tamarind paste - 3 tbsp (thick)
Chillies - 3 cut lengthwise
curry leaves - a few
chana dal - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
red chillies - 2
groundnuts - 1 tbsp (dry roast)
oil - 4 tbs
hing
salt
turmeric
Method
Boil water with little salt and turmeric. Add rava to the boiling water and cook covered on a low flame for about 5 mins. Remove from stove and keep aside. Place a kadai on stove, add oil, dals, mustard seeds and red chillies. Once they start spluttering lower the flame and add green chillies and curry leaves. add little hing and remove from stove.
add the tempering to the prepared rava. now add tamarind paste and mix well. check for salt.
Note : To prepare tamarind paste.... add water to a small ball of tamarind and let it stay for 10 mins. extract the pulp and simmer it on stove till it reaches a thick consistency.
10 Ragi Dosa
Ingredients
Ragi flour - 2 cups
Rice flour - 2 cups
Wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Butter milk - 3 cups
Water as needed
Salt
Oil as needed
Green chillies - 3 cut into small pieces
Coriander - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Method
Mix all flours, salt and butter milk in a big vessel. Add cooking soda and let the batter sit for 15 mins. You can check for the consistency and add water if needed. The batter should be like a dosa batter and you should be able to slightly pour the mixture on the tava.
Unlike regular dosas, you cannot spread the batter easily and hence you may use a small tumbler or a ladle to carefully pour the batter on the tava.
Meanwhile, grind ginger, chillies, jeera and coriander to a smooth paste using water if needed Add this paste to the batter and mix thoroughly. You can also add chopped onions for enhanced taste.
Take the batter either in a ladle or a small tumbler and spread carefully so as to cover the tava entirely. You can use little oil (even if using non-stick tava). Cook on both sides and enjoy with coconut chutney.
Simple Coconut Yogurt Chutney
Take few chillies, 2 bunches of coriander, 1 cup of grated coconut and run in a blender. To this add yogurt (about a cup), salt, haldi. Temper with jeera, rai and red chillies. This chutney tastes great with dosa, idly and rice as well.
There is one quick and healthy item I forgot to add to this list!!
Boiled Peanuts
The whole peanuts available in the markets (esp. in winter season) are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can be boiled in salt water or pressure cooked for 4 whistles. Boiled peanuts are an excellent evening snack.
Cooking meals is different from preparing evening snacks. I actually find the later a bit tough. Not the effort but the planning. Yesss!! Most of the snack options turn out to be deep fried ones,while healthy ones are not so popular (with both kids and elderly!!). Even so, the few healthy and tasty ones that you know don't come to mind at the proper time.
So here is my list of few healthy and tasty snacks. I wish making a list would help me remember them.
1. Bhel
Ingredients
4 Cups -Murmurra
1 big onion
2 tomatoes
Coriander leaves
Two green chillies
Sev- half cup
lemon juice - 1tsp
groundnut - 1/2 cup fried
Method
Add murmura to a big dish of water and remove immediately while squeezing out water. Keep aside.
Then fry ground nuts in a kadai on a low flame till they change color.
Remove and add oil to the kadai. Fry onions and chilies and fry for 5 mins, then add tomatoes and fry for 5 mins. Remove from stove.
To the above mixture add salt, haldi, mirchi powder, half tsp pav bhaji masala, and coriander leaves.
Then add murmura and lemon juice. Mix all.
Now add groundnut and sev.
note: If available one can also add a little sweet chutney made with dates, tamarind, mirchi powder and jaggery.
2 Popcorn
This is another simple and tasty evening snack. However, It is better to buy corn separately and make popcorn at home. The instant packs available in the stores might contain dalda.
Ingredients
Corn - 1 cup
Ghee or butter - 3tbsp
salt - little
pepper powder little
Method
Take a dry cooker.
Add butter. keep the stove knob at sim level. add salt and pepper pwd and corn. mix all.
Then close the lid and wait for few mins, meanwhile you can increase the heat level to medium. Keep shaking the cooker slightly for even distribution of heat and ghee.
Once you hear popping sound just shake the cooker to allow all the bottom ones to pop.
Wait till all the popping stops.
Remove from stove
Homemade popcorn tastes really yummy!
3. Simple Sandwich
Ingredients
Onion - 1 big
tomatoes- 2 medium
green chillies - 2
coriander- half cup
sooji - 3 tbsp
Whole wheat Bread slices
salt
Method
Chop onion, coriander, green chillies and tomatoes to very tiny pieces.
Mix them all with sooji. Add salt.
Take a tbsp of this mixture and apply evenly on a bread slice.
Then fry the bread slice on both sides on a tava.
One can enjoy this without needing any sauce or chutney.
4. Oats dry fruits laddoo
Ingredients
Oats - 2 cups
Bran flakes, corn flakes - 3 tbsp
Ragi flakes - 3 tbsp (I use 24 mantra flakes)
Almonds -3 tbsp
Cashews - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Watermelon seeds - 2 tbsp
Sesame (till) seeds - 3 tbsp
Honey - half cup
Ghee or butter - 1tbsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Method
Fry oats for up to 7 or 8 mins.
Remove and then fry all the above dry ingredients separately for about 5 mins.
After frying, one can crush almonds and cashews to small pieces in a hand mortar or you can also put them in a blender if you wish to. However, the laddoo tastes good when u make them into small pieces.
Transfer all the fried ingredients to a broad vessel and keep aside.
Now add ghee/butter to the kadai.
Then add water and once it starts boiling add honey.
Once the mixture starts boiling (say after 2 min) switch off the stove and add all the fried ingredients and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to the broad vessel and using a spatula press hard so that the mixture settles well.
Once it cools slightly, wet hands and make small balls of the above mixture.
Let them cool.
Transfer to an airtight container.
5 Garlic Bread
Ingredients
whole wheat bread slices
Garlic pods - 4/5
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
Chillies - 1/2
salt - a little
Butter - 2 tbsp
Method
Take garlic, coriander, butter, salt and chillies blend to a fine paste.
Apply a thin layer of this paste on a bread slice and fry on a tava. (fry both sides)
Alternatively, you can grill them in an OTG.
Take all slices (with the garlic paste), arrange them in a loaf and wrap them it in an aluminum foil.
Keep in a pre-heated oven for 15 mins.
Remove and serve hot.
6 Sprouts Tikki
Ingredients
Sprouted moong dal - 1 cup
mint leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped
coriander leaves - 4 tbsp, finely chopped
besan - 1 tbsp
green chillies - 2 finely chopped
little hing
oil - 2 tbsp
Method
Blend the sprouted moong dal to a smooth paste with little water.
Take in a bowl and add mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt, chilly paste, hing and mix.
Make small balls roll into flat thin tikki shapes.
Roll each tikki in coriander and mint leaves.
Heat a tava, cook each tikki with little oil on both sides.
Once they turn brown remove and serve hot.
7 Spicy Corn
Ingredients
Whole Corns - 4
Onion - 2 Big
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
salt
turmeric
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
oil
Water
Method
Cut corns into 2-3 inches size and keep aside.
chop onions and fry in a kadai
add GG paste and fry for few mins.
add salt, turmeric, garam masala powder
take the corn and the fried onion mixture in a pressure cooker.
add about two cups of water.
put the pressure cooker on the stove and let about 8-9 whistles.
switch off the stove and wait till the cooker cools.
the corns cooked in onion paste are soft and taste great.
8 Poha Cutlets
Ingredients
Poha - 2 cups
potato - 2, boiled and mashed
green peas - 1/4 cup boiled
green chillies
Coriander - 1 bunch
salt
amchur - 1/4 tsp
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 1 tsp
oil for shallow frying
Method
Soak poha in water for 15 minutes. Remove from water and add poha to boiled potatoes. Mix all other ingredients. Make small balls and flatten the poha mixture. Take about 3 or 4 cutlets and shallow fry on a tava with oil.
9 Wheat Rava Pulihora
Ingredients
Wheat Rava - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Tamarind paste - 3 tbsp (thick)
Chillies - 3 cut lengthwise
curry leaves - a few
chana dal - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
red chillies - 2
groundnuts - 1 tbsp (dry roast)
oil - 4 tbs
hing
salt
turmeric
Method
Boil water with little salt and turmeric. Add rava to the boiling water and cook covered on a low flame for about 5 mins. Remove from stove and keep aside. Place a kadai on stove, add oil, dals, mustard seeds and red chillies. Once they start spluttering lower the flame and add green chillies and curry leaves. add little hing and remove from stove.
add the tempering to the prepared rava. now add tamarind paste and mix well. check for salt.
Note : To prepare tamarind paste.... add water to a small ball of tamarind and let it stay for 10 mins. extract the pulp and simmer it on stove till it reaches a thick consistency.
10 Ragi Dosa
Ingredients
Ragi flour - 2 cups
Rice flour - 2 cups
Wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Butter milk - 3 cups
Water as needed
Salt
Oil as needed
Green chillies - 3 cut into small pieces
Coriander - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Method
Mix all flours, salt and butter milk in a big vessel. Add cooking soda and let the batter sit for 15 mins. You can check for the consistency and add water if needed. The batter should be like a dosa batter and you should be able to slightly pour the mixture on the tava.
Unlike regular dosas, you cannot spread the batter easily and hence you may use a small tumbler or a ladle to carefully pour the batter on the tava.
Meanwhile, grind ginger, chillies, jeera and coriander to a smooth paste using water if needed Add this paste to the batter and mix thoroughly. You can also add chopped onions for enhanced taste.
Take the batter either in a ladle or a small tumbler and spread carefully so as to cover the tava entirely. You can use little oil (even if using non-stick tava). Cook on both sides and enjoy with coconut chutney.
Simple Coconut Yogurt Chutney
Take few chillies, 2 bunches of coriander, 1 cup of grated coconut and run in a blender. To this add yogurt (about a cup), salt, haldi. Temper with jeera, rai and red chillies. This chutney tastes great with dosa, idly and rice as well.
There is one quick and healthy item I forgot to add to this list!!
Boiled Peanuts
The whole peanuts available in the markets (esp. in winter season) are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can be boiled in salt water or pressure cooked for 4 whistles. Boiled peanuts are an excellent evening snack.
