Brown Rice Pasta Pudding ~ A twist to traditional paal kozhukattai

Months back, I was following the diet plan from whole living's website. One of the rule in that plan is to have a gluten-free but whole-grain meal. Since I was not fond of eating cooked brown rice, I searched for the alternatives until I found this rice based pasta. I was so excited to try it out and I immediately made my favorite pasta salad with brown rice pasta but my taste buds were reminding me something else when I ate that. That's when my little one pointed out that it tasted like a "kozhukattai" - an India based traditional steamed rice dumplings. Voila, a new idea clicked in my mind when I no longer want to eat a salad version of that pasta. Thats how this sweet tingling recipe was born.

Brown rice pasta - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Jaggery/Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom - 6
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Sliced Almonds/Pistachios/Cashews - 2 tbsp
Salt

Add pasta to boiling water and add salt. Since it is a rice pasta, stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking in the bottom. Cook for 15 minutes and then add milk to the pasta ( Don't drain pasta water). Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Meanwhile make the jaggery/sugar syrup by boiling jaggery/sugar with cardamom (pounded) and 1/4 cup of water for 5 minutes. Filter the jaggery syrup and add it along with grated coconut to the pasta mixture and simmer it for another 4 - 5 minutes. Switch off and serve it warm in a bowl with sliced nuts on top.

Brown Rice Pudding

I hope you love this healthier version as I do.

Note: I used organic version of Tinkyada pasta.

India-Inspired Peach Smoothie

Peach, peach.... I want to indulge in your smoothness and sweetness. That's how I look at a peach, my favorite summer fruit. This vibrant fruit is a good source of fiber and potassium.
An unique blend of peach and almonds for a smoothie came from the idea of street side almond milk I had drunken in India. This nutty and sweet smoothie with a nice cardamom aroma is a quick energy booster and easy breakfast when you are in a hurry.

Peach - 1
Almond milk - 1/2 cup
Cardamom pods - 2
Raw almonds - 12
Brown Sugar - 1 tsp
Water

Remove the pit in peach and cut it into cubes ( include skin). Blend together cubed peaches, almond milk, cardamom seeds, raw almonds and brown sugar until smooth. You need to leave little crunchiness in almond to have that nutty taste while drinking. Water it down to adjust consistency according to your taste.




You will neither regret drinking this smoothie nor will you leave a drop of that smoothie in the cup. It is that tasty....