Sunday, December 13, 2009

Buckwheat - Two in One

Lately, I have been extending my pantry's whole foods repertoire to a greater extent. Last weekend, I spent nearly an hour in Wegmans just exploring the whole foods section. I brought home some whole grains and flours from Wegmans.

Buckwheat Groats or Kasha :






Buckwheat doesn't belong to the wheat family and it's a seed that belongs to rhubarb family. It's gluten free and ideal for people who are allergic to wheat because of glutens. It helps prevent arteriosclerosis (the hardening of the arteries) because of its high rutin content. It is high in potassium, phosphorus, vitamin E and calcium. It's said to be good for diabetic people and for those who are having problems with digestion system. It has a nutty, earthy flavor.

Buckwheat husks or hulls are used as fillings for pillows.



I tried Adai with Buckwheat Groats. The taste was really good but I had hard time pouring as they didn't bind very well. Once I perfect the recipe, I will post it.

Buckwheat Flour:



Buckwheat is famous for its pancakes and Japanese Soba noodles.

I tried Buckwheat Pancakes and Buckwheat dosa. Both came out really good.





Ingredients

Pancake Mix - 1 Cup (or all purpose flour + 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and pinch of salt)
Buckwheat Flour - 1 Cup
Eggs - 2
Milk - 1 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 tbs

Method:

Combine both flours in a wide bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk and oil in a
separate bowl. Add the egg-milk mixture to the flour and stir gently to make a smooth batter. Heat a non-stick pan or a griddle over medium heat. Grease the pan with little oil. Ladle the batter onto the hot pan. Cook until the bottom side is golden and gently flip it to the other side and cook for another minute.
Serve immediately with maple syrup.





Multi Grain Dosa - Really a good thing!

Nowadays, I am trying to sneak in the whole grains (any form) in our regular diet so my kids doesn't feel much of a difference. When I grind batter for Idli , I make idli for the first day and make dosas the next day. If the batter stays for few more days it becomes uthapam or rava dosa with added ingredients. This time I added some whole grain flours to the sour batter to make multi grain dosa.





Buckwheat flour - 1/2 cup
Spelt flour - 1/2 cup
Dosa or Idli Batter - 3/4 cup
Salt

Method

Combine the flours, salt and mix with water to make a smooth batter. Mix it with the sour dosa or idli batter and make dosas.



Serve hot with Chutney.