HEALTHY N LITE

Hi ,
      Yesterday I mentioned about my love for cooking, what I didn't say was that I am really not that crazy about slogging long hours in the kitchen. Its just not me, contradictory i know.............so i have some tricks under my sleeves to reduce my kitchen time to some extent. Like when I boil chickpeas for Cholay, I usually do it in a big batch maybe a kilo at a time, I know what you're thinking ..........thats a lot of chickpeas  especially if its for two. Then I divide it in 4-6 equal parts and freeze it, with some of the cooking liquid. And next time when I need to use chickpeas, all I have to do is defrost. Ofcourse while boiling I always add 2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of turmeric.

   This brings me to my latest twist on a lite n healthy lunch, coz if its just me for lunch I usually assemble rather than cook. Icall it the Healthy Hummus Sandwich.

Healthy Hummus Sandwich  Recipe ( serves 1 )

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas with a little cooking liquid
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp of tahini paste or roasted seasme seeds
salt to taste
2 slice brown bread or 1 whole meal pita bread halved ( even better)
1 cucumber thinly sliced
1 tomato thinly sliced
some lettuce leaves
1 boiled egg sliced (optional)

1. Use a hand blender to make a paste of the chickpeas, garlic, a little olive oil , tahini and salt. The paste      should be very fine.
2. Garnish with the remaining olive oil and paprika.This is the Hummus.
3. Slather the the Hummus on the bread slices or in the pita bread pocket.
4. Arrange the veggies and the egg (optional) on one slice and cover with the other slice.As for the pita bread pocket, fill it up with the veggies and egg , yeilds 2 pockets.

There you go a lunch, healthy and light is ready to be savoured. It took me hardly 15 minutes.

Do try it and let me know your verdict.