Today I am sharing one of my favorite recipes: how to make dates syrup at home. The recipe is very simple. I have no idea regarding the nutrition value
and whether it is healthy. But Lion dates syrup was in much hype in
India, when it initially landed in the market, years ago. It was
considered and advertised as a super food especially for kids. I do not
know the current trend since I do not reside there. However, I consider
this syrup to be better than White sugar and can be used as a sweetner. I have also tried out some cake recipes with this syrup, i will be sharing them shortly. For those interested to know more about the health benefits of dates, you can read it here
Inspite of several requests from mums, Iam unable to post any kids recipes for a long time, I feel extremely sorry for that. It is not that i do not prepare for my kids, but i barely have time to photoshoot the dishes, especially step by step clicks and then for the writeups. Life has been hectic since March. Iam totally stressed out with Personal commitments, managing 2 kids and yet i have to keep this space going, as it is one of my best stress busters. I will be posting kids recipes in the coming days, but before that i thought of putting together some of my best Sweets Recipes for Kids that i have posted earlier
A few important words to my readers and anonymous commenters (critics) who have been questioning me how deep fried & ghee recipes on my blog can be healthy. I have never claimed that all the recipes posted here on Indian Healthy Recipes are healthy. This blog features all kinds of recipes : healthy, unhealthy junk too but with tips to tweak & make them slightly better and healthier. According to me there is no one universally accepted right or wrong strategy to healthy cooking & eating. Different people have different thoughts towards eating healthy. Some refrain from eating fats totally with Zero exercise, while others eat contentedly everything and exercise. I believe the concept of "Moderation" and it is the key to keep us healthy to a major extent. I do post recipes with ghee. Cow's Ghee has been used for 100s of years in Indian cooking and has been revered highly in Ayurveda. I use and recommend ghee for some of my recipes. Next, I do post some deep fried recipes too, my intention behind posting them: homemade ones are far better than the street side fast foods and restaurant foods , where the oil has been heated to very high temepratures and for very long period of time (which can buildup cancer causing agents). I know most mums strive to keep their kids away from these toothsome deep fried foods available at the fast food centers and would love to prepare these at home. So my deep fried recipes could be useful.
so now coming to today's collection of kids recipes, i have used ghee for some recipes. kids need fats. i have seen moms, restricting butter and ghee totalling in a baby / toddler's or kid's diet. But in fact they need moderate amount of fats too for healthy growing. Active kids burn fats faster than we adults do. So try to increase their physical activity rather than putting them on a low fat diet. It is not a good idea to put kids on a very strict low fat or fat free diet, unless they have a obesity problem or other illness (where they need to follow a strict diet). Incase of obesity or specific illness too, doctor's suggestion is crucial ,before the kid is put on a low fat or fat free diet as it can hinder their growth.
My suggested reads on saturated fats are here and here.
Bottle gourd is called as sorakaya in telugu. Sorakaya pulusu is a stew that is prepared in andhra pradesh with bottle gourd. In our family, apart from the Andhra sambar (using pumpkin, bottle gourd), this pulusu is often prepared for festive meals. It is served with mudda pappu (plain tuvar dal) and steamed rice and or papad or its variations. Pulusu can be prepared with most vegetables like pumpkin, bhindi, potato, sweet potato, yam, drumsticks and even with eggs. It can even be prepared with a combination of veggies. It does not need any garam masala or any other powder. It has the natural flavors of the veggies cooked in tangy ,sweet and hot stew. While there are not much variations to these pulusu recipes, some people add coriander powder and methi powder to get a thick stew. But traditionaly no powders were added and is more of a watery consistency.
If interested take a look at my other pulusu recipes I have posted earlier
Gummadikaya pulusu,
Potato | Bangala Dumpa Pulusu ,
Kanda mulakkaya Pulusu | Yam and Drumstick Stew
I have also posted bottle gourd curry | sorakaya senagapappu kura
I have used a potato along with the gourd to enhance the taste of the pulusu. It is optional. Instead of a potato, you can even add boiled eggs at step 7
