Spring is here and it is time to celebrate everything vibrant and colourful. In fact, it is that time of the year when nature is at its best with flowers blooming all around. And this pleasant weather gives us multiple reasons to raise a toast - one surely being the festival of Holi. We just marked one of the most popular festivals in India with gulaal, water guns, music, dance and of course, food. The festival brings along an extensive range of delicacies including malpua gujiya, thadai, and more. But, if you thought these amazing dishes are just restricted to one day (the festival day), then you are absolutely mistaken. If you ask us, we indulge in all these amazing dishes throughout the season. While each of these dishes taste absolutely delicious, the hard part is - they are often high on fat and calorie. Much relatable?
(Also read: 5 Healthy Chaat Recipes Under 15 Mins; You Won't Mind Having These On Repeat)
What if I say, I have perfect solution to this classic problem?! You heard me. I have got some healthy, low-fat recipes that will help you enjoy your favourite snacks without any guilt. Moreover, these dishes will also countermand your fear of entering the summer season with bulging fat. Sounds perfect, right? So, without further ado, let me take you through the recipes.
Here're 6 Healthy Snacks Options For You:
1. Baked Whole Wheat Gujiyas:
Take whole wheat flour in a bowl and knead the dough with salt, ghee and stevia syrup. Give it a nice mix. Make sure the dough is soft; keep the dough aside for 10 minutes. Add all the filing ingredients like dried coconut and dried fruits.
Now, give a final knead to the dough and roll outsized puris. Stuff one teaspoon filling to small rotis made out of this dough and apply little water on the sides and fold it in half. Using a fork give a press on the sides. This will give nice design on the sides and will help to stick it. You can even use gujiya mould to give the gujiyas a shape. Place baking sheet on a baking tray and arrange the gujiyas. Make sure to brush the baking sheet beforehand. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Bake the delicious gujiyas on 160 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.
After you're done baking the gujiyas, set the grill option on top and grill it for 5 minutes. Change the settings to grill on the bottom and grill it for 5 minutes. This will give a nice brown colour on both then sides. Take it out and let it cool down completely. Voila!
2. Date Thandai With Skimmed Milk:
Ideally, thandai is prepared using full-fat milk, a lot of sugar, and dried fruits. How about replacing this classic thandai recipe with a low-calorie one?! All you need to do is make a few basic changes to the recipe. Firstly, use low-fat skimmed milk for preparation. Boil the milk with four dates and five strands of saffron. Turn off the heat once the milk is completely boiled.
Now, add crushed dried fruits, crushed cardamom seeds and fennel seeds in the milk. Refrigerate the milk for an hour and serve it chilled.
3. Makhana/Foxnut Bhel
In a bowl, add approximately 300grams of roasted foxnuts, one finely chopped onion, one finely chopped tomato, one finely chopped cucumber, one tablespoon of peanuts (optional), and mix everything well. Add spices as per taste and enjoy. Easy, quick and calcium rich bhel is ready in just no time.
4. Coconut Ladoos
For this recipe, all you need is a pack of dried coconut and one small can of condensed milk. In a mixing bowl, add in both the ingredients, mix well, make small ladoos, and voila! It's that easy. This is an ideal recipe for the ones who are looking for quick recipes to curb sugar cravings.
(Also read: Post-Holi Detox: This Lemon-Pink Salt Water May Help You Detox After Holi)
5. Sprouts Dahi Bhalle
Yes, you read it right ! Here, the flavours of dahi bhalle is blended with sprouts to make it both healthy and tasty. In this recipe, we will be replacing the normal dal vada with sprouts vada. For this, all you need to do is add in boiled moong dal sprouts and spices in a bowl and mix well. Now take a bread slice, sprinkle some water on it. Add sprouts on the bread slice and wrap. There you go! Non-fried, non-greasy sprout vadas are ready to be added to dahi, Now, take dahi, mint and coriander chutney, tamarind chutney, roasted jeera powder, dried mango powder and spices. Dip the bread and sprout vada in dahi, and top it with the chutneys, bhuna jeera, dried mango powder and spices as per taste. Enjoy!
6. Baked Sugar-Free Malpua
To start with, preheat the oven at 350 degrees. For the batter, we need one small bowl of whole wheat flour, fennel seeds, one serving of skimmed or almond milk, one crushed cardamom and one tablespoon of malai or fresh cream. Mix everything well. If you feel that the batter is thick, make sure to add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Whisk everything well.
For sugar-free syrup, all we need to do is, in a pan, add two small cups of water and five-six servings of sugar free syrup or stevia syrup, a pinch of saffron and a few cardamom pods. Let the syrup come to a boil. Once the syrup boil, simmer and let the syrup thicken a bit.
The final step would be making the pancakes. Now here's the catch - you have to make the pancakes the same way you would make a dosa or pancake. Cook the malpua pancakes on a non-stick pan. Once the malpuas are half cooked, place them on the oven tray and let it bake for 5 minutes or until crispy.
Now, the last and final step is to dip the malpua pancake in the sugar syrup and it's done. Enjoy your scrumptious malpua guilt-free!
Now that you have these amazing recipes handy, try them out and enjoy an indulgent season, without any guilt.
Author's bio: Saloni is a life coach and a practicing dietician, based in Delhi.
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