Food for 7 Stages of Life

Does a Woman hate to shop for Clothes? I did. Every time I visited the store I had to look for a bigger size. I hated to try those pants that didn't fit. I had to let go those cute dresses because they stopped looking good on me. Hope you understand the kind of frustration and disappointment. TH doesn't like me to feel disappointed. He gets upset so easily when I undergo this pain. So we both agreed that we will not shop for clothes until I could fit into my old dresses.

This Sunday we decided to visit a restaurant with our friends. I just got little greedy and picked up my jeans that I had concealed in my wardrobe (last Summer). I was little skeptical to try it but then I gave it a shot. And to my surprise I fit in to my Size 10 stone washed Calvin Klein jeans after many months. I literally jumped out of joy and got into a mood of dressing up. I picked up my favorite sleeveless kurti and a ear ring to match. When I stood before TH he shouted out of amusement. TH was very happy because I was happy :) But it doesn't end here. Still there is a long way to go to reach my goal weight.

I was not sure if I should post these pics. They were taken in the poor light settings in my kitchen:( So excuse me for these lousy clicks. BTW, Happy Earth Day to all of you. Last year I had posted Palak Tofu Soup on the same day to celebrate this occasion.

How it tasted
I am not a big fan of Asparagus. But I love this vegetable in Usili and Aviyal. Since I don't steam Asparagus it is crunchy like the grilled ones which makes it perfect for usili. This dish makes a protein and fiber rich meal and you can have this during all phases of South Beach Diet. Traditionally Usili is served with White Rice, Sambar or Rasam.

Ingredients

Chana dhal - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few

    Add Chana Dhal, Toor Dhal in bowl. Wash it thoroughly and soak it for 1 hr. Drain the water.
    In a mixie/blender, add the Dhal, Red Chili, Hing, Salt and grind it to a coarse paste.

    Wash Asparagus thoroughly in running water. Discard the wood like bottom part.

    Chop the asparagus finely just like you will chop Beans for Beans Usili.

    In a skillet add 1 tsp oil. When it is hot add chopped asparagus and fry it until the raw smell disappears.Keep it aside.
    In the same skillet add 2 tsp oil. When it is hot add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
    Add cumin seeds, chana dhal. When chana dhal starts changing color add urad dhal curry leaves.
    Add the coarse chana dhal toor dhal paste and saute for a while. As you fry it will start disintegrating.
 Add Asparagus, salt and saute until the dhal blends with asparagus (for 3-4 minutes on a medium low flame). Ensure that Asparagus doesn't shrink too much.
    Traditionally Usili is served with Rasam or Sambhar rice.
 

I enrolled into a neighborhood gym to burn those extra pounds and even registered for a Personal training with an instructor who was no good (which I found later). To add to my frustration I didn't see any difference in me. This is when I read about the South Beach Diet in Sig's 'Live to Eat' Blog. I was little hesitant to join this programme until I read about the success stories of Sig and fellow South Beach dieters. It was intriguing, then I asked myself. Can I keep up this commitment? Can I follow all the rules? Can I adapt Indian food to my diet? Then I remembered the quote above (first line of this post). So I decided to go on a South beach diet. After registering on SBD website and reading all their articles I fairly had an idea what I should do.
To me, the most important aspect of the diet is to eat what we enjoy. So I am trying to create meals that will suite my Indian tastebuds at the same time I ensure that they are healthy and meet the SBD norms. Indian style Baked Chicken is one such improvisation to the Chicken fry. Hope you enjoy this as we did.
How it tasted?
      The aroma of Indian spices filled my home and I couldn't wait to take them out of the oven. Remember I am on diet so ate a small chunk to suppress my cravings. For TH, I sauteed the onions and tomatoes with little indian spices and added the diced chicken to make a simple and quick curry for the roti. I added the small chunks to my salad and savored it as a Indian style Chicken Salad for my lunch. YUMM.

Canola/Olive Oil - 1-2 tsp (Optional)

Method
1. Cleaning 
Clean the chicken breast thoroughly with vinegar or turmeric powder. Pat dry to remove the excess water.

I had 3 huge chicken breasts, so I cut them in to halves. Also It was little thick so I created a small slit in the center(along the breadth). So the chicken breast looked like a (pita) pocket. This will ensure that the marinade gets in to the center of the chicken. If your chicken breast are thin, then I wouldn't suggest you to make a slit along the breadth. Instead you can create couple of .5 cm slit along the length.
2. Marinade

Take a baking tray/cookie tray and line it with a Aluminium foil. If you want you can drizzle some oil/cooking spray on the foil.
Using a brush or your hand spread the marinade to coat the chicken well. If you are creating a slit do spread the marinade inside the pocket.

Using a spatula carefully remove them and place it on a plate. Garnish it with cilantro and serve it lemon wedges and onion (sliced into full moon). Serve it immediately as an appetizer with Green chutney or Yogurt dip.