Creating a low calorie dish does not call for a whole lot of determination, but limiting the portions and thereby restricting your daily intake of calories sure require some. A low calorie meal lives up to its name, only when enjoyed within the suggested serving size. When everything is crunched back down to the basics, dieting is all about attitude, of convincing the body about the requirements of the mind. If you are perplexed about this sudden deviance from my usual “sugary” culinary inclinations, this post is for My Dhaba’s VCC 2 event with “Low calorie Food –Indian or Chinese” as the chosen theme.
My entry for the event is a dish for the Main Course category, is not exactly based on any existing recipe that I know of and was rather conjured in the spur of the moment. Green Spinach –wheat dosa ( or just call it a Spinach crepe) , appear in this dish in a slight geometrical aberrance from its usual round self. A plate of this recipe is a serving equivalent of 1 medium size dosa with 2 ½ cups of mixed vegetables and some added proteins per person for a filling lunch or dinner. Spiced up like a traditional Indian fare, this recipe is not too dietary sounding as a Jell-O meal and has proteins, carbs, fibers and other essential nutrients going well together. If you can afford to enjoy 350-400 or so calories for a lunch or dinner, this is going to work well along with some vegetable raita served on the side
For two servings
Per serving ~ 350-400 Cal (when served with 2 -3 tbsp of vegetable raita )
Whole wheat Flour – ½ cup
Fresh Spinach, chopped – 2 cups
Chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, green beans, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.) – 3 cups
Bell pepper cut into tiny squares – 1 cup
Chopped onions – 2 tbsp
Minced ginger – 1 tsp
Minced Garlic – 1 tsp
Green chilies chopped (optional) 1 tsp
Green onion chopped – 2 tbsp
Powdered Cumin –3/4 tsp
Crushed paneer – 1-2 tsp
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Cilantro- 2 tbsp
Oil – 1 ½ tsp
Water – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Puree spinach with 1 cup of water,1/4 tsp cumin, 2 pinches of salt and ½ tbsp lemon juice. Add wheat flour and mix well to make a thin batter. Make three medium size dosas ( or crepes) . Cool and cut into long thin strips to resemble fettuccine. Heat 1 tsp oil till smoking hot, add chopped onions, and cook for ½ a minute. Add ginger, garlic, green chilies and mix well. Add bell pepper, chopped vegetables (except tomatoes). Add salt and cumin, sprinkle with 2 tbsp water, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, dosa strips, cook in high heat with constant stirring till the mixture is dry. Remove from fire, add chopped cilantro and paneer. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot with tomato raita.
Calories per serving calculated based on data obtained from www.thecaloriecounter.com
You can always improve on the calories by adding a diced hardboiled egg or spoonfuls of spiced cooked meat to this recipe.
