My low cal anniversary dinner

My wedding  anniversary celebrations demand that I invite my brother's  and my sister's families over for dinner so it was the same this time too ---what was different was that it had to be a low cal dinner by  popular demand ---and it had to be delicious too on hubby's demand . It was as if everyone had teamed up against me to test my culinary talent ---one would ask why did I feel they were all against me !! yes!! because how can one specially a Bharatiya Naari  make a delicious celebration dinner which is  low in calories .

But I took up the challenge HUM KISI SE KUM NAHI and I teamed up with Borosil to give these people a. run for their smartness

the menu was

starters

 ---it had to be something piping hot because mine is a december wedding and 14th december is nearly always biting cold --so I had thick tomatoe soup served in borosil cup and saucer  and I had prepared it by boiling tomatoes, carrots ,onions and ginger and straining the puree twice thickened it by adding cornflour and then I heated one teaspoonful of ghee put in some very minutely chopped  onion and switched off the gas immediately ; this  was the garnish which gave the soup the desired flavour but cheated it of any calorie after all how many calories can you get by using one   tea spoonful ghee for 15 people  and just before serving I sprinkled white pepper powder and 3 drops each of cream in the soup cups ---oh yes there were croutons too not fried bread but toasted bread.


I had served this soup in my borosil cup and saucer from my tea set---I had put the croutons  in the saucer and soup naturally in the cups; everyone liked this idea as it made drinking soup easy without sitting down at the table  I had stolen  this idea from a very old Film awards function night where I had seen a picture of Dev Anand tasting the soup served in cup and saucer  It  not only keeps the soup warmer for long it is easy to drink too specially during a buffet as one can even keep the crutons  in the saucer and add them as and when required and the beautiful  Borosil transparent products always enhance the beauty of the food ----it all looked so beautiful bright red soup in transparent cups and croutons heaped alongside in the saucers.

next were the snacks

purely desi

Horse gram soaked overnight boiled with a little salt served both warm and cold with lots  of raw onion, , fresh coriander leaves and chopped tomatoes in borosil transparent bowls ---and GOD were the guests bowled over YESSS ... Chane chatpate to their hearts content I had also kept a bowl full  of salted curd churned nicely ,sweet and sour imli ( tamarind ) chutney and extra onions and tomatoes chopped in case anyone needed ---and a small borosil  katori of chopped green  chillies for hubby dear and yes lots of lemon slices looking so pretty peeping from out  of  the borosil bowls

now wasn't that healthy, low cal ,and pretty too!!


Main course


chhole---made without any oil ----it was made by boiling  soaked chick peas  with  salt and tea leaves tied in a small cloth bag  and pressure cooked  on opening  the cooker one is forced to  smile at the lovely dark brown colour of the chhole then add garam masala powder or the chhole masala powder you get in the market  and empty in a transparent borosil container keep aside ready to eat; before serving heat in a microwave add raw onions dhaniya  patti( coriander leaves) mix properly sprinkle some of these on the top just as a decorative garnish together with lime wedges and green chillies-----hai na low cal ?!!

Now I didn't want to be thought of as a desi cook who doesn't know any foreign cooking ---like the trend where every housewife must know some baked dishes etc etc so I served poached fish.

poached mackarel made with Bangda fish placed head to tail in cooker and cooked by covering with  onions, pepper corns, clove,s garlic and salt a  little  vinegar ,water and bay leaves cooked  in the pressure cooker  for about 3 mts in full pressure  removed from cooker by releasing pressure placed in  Borosil serving dish  and poured the liquid which was left in the cooker by making it into a sauce served really hot garnished with coriander leaves and slit green chillies for decoration only .---and like always borosil enhanced the beauty, what with the sauce and fish looking delicious through the transparent glass and the greens adding colour 

chicken too was made in the same way I used the same recipe and and everyone RELISHED ---only it took slightly more time and the masala had ginger too plus I did not add any green garnish .Chicken drumsticks   don't need any decoration Transparent Borosil is all that they need I had used only drumsticks the rest of the chicken was stored in the fridge for some other day



My sister in law is a vegetarian so it was hariyali gobhi for her ---cauliflower and brinjals cooked in   very little oil about 2 tablespoonfuls  which has  one spoonfull  urad  dal  mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering add chopped brinjals and cauliflower  and for the masala add a paste of green coriander leaves and green chilles cover and cook on slow heat and the aroma is heavenly ---empty this green wonder in a borosil bowl to be heated in a microwave before serving no garnishing required just  enjoy the beautiful green colour showing itself off from inside the tranparent borosil container and watch the guests attack and devour tempted by the beautiful  green colour  and tempting taste enhanced by the extraordinarry   aroma of the dhaniya patti and hari mirch combine ..

Rice was plain boiled decorated with green peas, and a dash of grated orange carrot---  and again no other decoration needed to enhance the white fluffy boiled rice except for letting the green peas and orange carrot flakes peep through transparent borosil.

Wheat was represented by  phulkas hot and fluffy coming one after the other from my kitchen thanks to the maid who had agreed to stay back and help.

There was raita too made of grated cucumber and decorated with circles of red chilly powder, roasted cumin powder , and an outer circle of green chillies very finely chopped and I had made the borosil container have an orange rim by turning it upside down and coating it with a very fine film of chilly powder --so as to not affect the taste but enough to give it a nice look ---


And now the desert ----LOW CAL one

kumdha kheer----rich ripe yellow pumpkin grated and boiled with milk you  don't have to thicken the milk the kumdha is so rich in taste that just  two or three  boils and the taste is heavenly --no need to fry the pumpkin or thicken the milk---just pour the stuff into  transparent Borosil container sprinkle some nuts and raisins for colour contrast  and keep aside so that it can be reheated in a microwave just before serving  and served without any botheration of changing vessels etc.and disturbing the garnish.

frozen cake-----for the foreign touch  ---broke a double pack of marie biscuits into big crumbs rubbed half cup of butter  and two ripe bananas into this I  added  two handfuls of almonds walnut and ,raisins and a few drops of vanilla essence and put it in the freezer it did  freeze but wasn't  very hard because I had added bananas instead of pure butter the bananas helped in binding and keeping the fat content comparatively low sprinkled with a generous amount of pomegrenate seeds just before serving.

 It was the most colourful pudding ( not exactly a cake ) showing off its pink and white hues from  inside the transparent bowl


AND


dahi panchamrit --- dahi sweetened with sugar free (the one for the kids had sugar ) had chopped basil (tulsi) leaves and chopped  apples and pomegranate seeds and this was a surprise item because it tasted heavenly and was an innovation on panchamrit which we make during puja but which has lots of dry fruits in it
The chopped basil gave it a pure and fresh aroma and the various colors of fruits a colourful hue like a rainbow  peeping from out of the borosil 

All  of these were very low calorie dishes --and the gathering agreed to it --and hubby's countenance proved  that the stuff was delicious too and the fact that I had used all transparent borosil products added so much to the looks that it  enhanced the taste . Whatever was lacking in the cooking was made up by the crockery.


Then there was coffee too brewing in the Borosil kettle and brought straight to the table for each one to help themselves .

OH What a dinner and the resulting satisfaction after the victory told me what sibling rivalry was .First they test then I win then they applaud . All in good faith


my entry for Borosil My  beautiful  food contest on indiblogger  link being

 http://www.myborosil.com/