Dr. Mantena's Kitchen

Today’s recipe in Mantena’s Kitchen is a special Chat. Usually chat at Bhandars and roadside stalls is prepared by adding oil, salt, spices and masalas. Eating such items usually leads to indigestion and many other health problems. The chat we are making here is without oil, salt and spices. You not only find the chat delicious but also healthy. A great effort is put in by Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju to experiment and introduce this healthy chat.

Tips while Eating Mantena’s Dishes:

• It is essential to inform you an important point here. Eating salt free food is obviously difficult for all. You may find salt free dishes very difficult to eat for about 10 -15 days. After that you may get used to it gradually. This is because the taste buds of our tongue lasts only for 10 days. After 10 days the new buds are formed. What ever the kind of food you provide to these new buds they used to get complied with it. Therefore, if you follow Mantena’s dishes for about a fortnight, you may enjoy it thereon.

• Never compare this dish with the one available in the market. Serve it hot. The tongue may not feel the need of salt when served hot.
  

• Remember that you are eating for your good health.

• Keep a lemon aside while eating salt free food. Peel off the juice on the food to make the tongue feel happy.

• Biting green chilly while eating also makes the tongue happy.

• Eat for your body not for your tongue.

• Do not satisfy a 2” tongue at the expense of other vital parts of your body.

Ingredients:

The ingredients we took for chat is for 7 to 8 members. You are advised to adjust the ingredients in proportion to the members of your family accordingly.

1. ¼ Kg Kabuli Chana (chick peas)
2. ¼ Kg Batana (green Peas)
3. ½ Kg Tomatoes
4. ¼ Kg Green Chillies (If too spicy use less chillies)
5. 2 Carrots
6. 2 Onions (medium size)
7. 2 Lemons (Big size)
8. A big glass of sour buttermilk
9. A small bowl of Curd
10. 1 Bundle Mint Leaves (Pudina)
11. 1 Bundle Coriander Leaves (Kothmir)

Procedure:

1. Soak the peas (Kabuli Chanas and Batanas) in water for about 6 to 8 hours.

2. Chop Tomatoes, Onions, Carrots, Green Chillies, Mint and Coriander Leaves into small pieces and keep them aside.

3. Take the soaked peas in a pressure cooker and boil them with a glass of buttermilk for about 10 minutes under pressure on a sim flame. The boiled peas usually taste insipid. Boiling with sour buttermilk adds a little flavour to it. After boiling the peas for about 10 minutes remove them and put aside in a separate pan.

4. Take ¾ of chopped Tomatoes, Onions and Carrots in to a pan and cook them for 5 minutes. Now remove them from the stove and add ¼ of boiled peas to it and grind them in a Mixer Grinder into a paste. This paste is used as gravy to our chat.
   

5. Remaining ¼ of chopped Tomatoes, Onions and Carrots are left a side for garnish along with Mint & Coriander Leaves.

6. Take the pan of Boiled Peas (Chanas & Batanas) and put on the stove for cooking.

7. Now add the paste made for the gravy into the pan and stir it well to mix it properly.

8. Add Lime Juice of 2 Lemons, Chopped green Chillies, ¾ of Carrot, ¾ of Mint and Coriander Leaves into the pan and mix it well. ¼ of Carrot, Mint and Coriander Leaves are kept for garnish.

9. Now the delicious, hot and healthy chat is ready to be served. Garnish this special chat with the remains of Carrot, Onions, Mint & Coriander Leaves and serve with lemon slices for additional flavour.

This special chat is made without oil, salt & masalas. I bet you find it delicious. More importantly the dish is very nutritious and healthy. You don’t find any issue of indigestion or formation of gas in the stomach with this dish. Hope you enjoy it. Do send in your feed back after a try at home. Keep on watching the space for more updates….

# posted by Ram Godar : 9:19 AM