Workout Vratha Pusham ~ Deva Ganneru (Plumeria/Frangipani) from Backyard

Morning:
A glass of ragi ganji without sweetener
Fistful of pressure-cooked chickpeas
Few pieces of apple

Noon:
A cup of Kasuri methi chole
A big bowl of tomato rasam
Carrot-cucumber raita

Evening:
A glass of cold ginger buttermilk

Night:
A cup of homegrown chard sautéed with chickpeas. Simple to make and tasty.
Dear Vijay brought Khaman from local Swami Narayana Temple. Had two pieces of Khaman.
A cup of hot, hot tomato rasam
Dinner was at 7PM. Felt hungry around 10, had a glass of cold buttermilk

Workout:
An hour of kickboxing and an hour of weights and abs class at the gym. Excellent teachers and I actually enjoy attending these classes. – morning
Gardening – evening

In retrospect:
Good day. Thinking of putting a stop to online food diary after day 7. Writing and sharing about daily intake feels monotonous and purposeless.

Homegrown Chard

Chard with Chickpeas

I sowed some chard seeds at the beginning of June. Now they are young plants. The tender leaves have robust spinach like flavor. When cooked with protein-rich chickpeas and Bharath seasoning, they tasted quite good. Beans and greens, I could never get tired of this combination.

Ingredients:
Chard leaves and tender stems – finely chopped about 8 cups
Cooked chickpeas – one cup
Red onion or shallots – finely chopped, about a cup
Red chilli-garlic powder – a tablespoon
Turmeric – 1/4 teaspoon
Salt -1/4 teaspoon or to taste
Lemon/limejuice – 2 tablespoons
From masala dabba: Tadka ingredients

Preparation:
In a big skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. From masala dabba, add and toast a teaspoon each cumin and mustard seeds. Sprinkle a pinch of asafetida and sauté to fragrance. Add the onions and cook to soft.

Add the chard and chickpeas to the onions. Mix well and cover and cook until the chard has wilted. At the end, add the chilli-garlic powder, turmeric and salt. Stir well and cook for couple of minutes. Add enough lemon/lime juice to sharpen the flavor and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve straight from the skillet with rice or roti. Good on its own too.

Chard Chickpeas with Khaman ~ for Meal Today

© Recipe and Photos Copyright 2009 Indira Singari.