607. Moong dal and Spinach Handvo (Green Gram and Spinach bake)

  Imagine, we’re into the the 3rd week of  the new year. Time flies. We barely breathe a sigh of relief over the weekend and Monday arrives. #FoodieMonday #Bloghop group decided on #Bitesizefood as the 75th theme. It’s a pretty versatile theme as we could make any bite size food right from breakfast to dinner. We normally associate bite size food with appetizers or  starters. But did you know that its a fun way to serve you normal breakfast, lunch, tea time snack or dinner in small sizes? It also in a way helps you control portions if your are dieting. Mini pizzas, mini tacos, mini burgers or sliders as they call them these days, mini vada pavs, mini uttapams, mini pav bhajis, mini parathas. You name it and you can make cute little things.

   For this bite size food theme I decided to make a healthy, gluten free, rich in protein moong dal and spinach handvo. I baked the handvo in muffin cups and some of it I cut into small squares. Serve these cute little beauties as a starter, for cocktail parties or serve them as a snack or as a healthy lunch with some salad.

   We all know that green grams or moong is one of the superfoods for vegetarian. Its high in protein and minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, folates, magnesium and Vitamin B.Its easy to digest moong dal (split green grams) and light on the stomach. Moong helps to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.Helps to decrease PMS syndromes. Helps to boost immunity and fights against infections.

   Spinach we all know is a good source of fiber, rich in Vitamin K, iron, folate, Vitamin A, calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium and so many other healthy nutrients.

    I am still trying to cook healthy this year, so far so good. This nutrient packed handvo was devoured in no time as our dinner meal.

   Here’s the recipe to make a healthy treat for your family.

makes 16 pieces in muffin cups

1 cup green moong dal (split moong dal/green grams) with skin

2 cups finely chopped spinach (lightly packed)

¼ cup finely chopped spring onion

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp green chilli paste

1 tsp ginger paste

¼ cup natural yogurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp clove powder

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)

½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)

 a pinch of asafoetida

1-1½ tsp salt

¼ tsp soda bicarbonate (baking soda)

1 tsp sugar(optional)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp oil

extra oil for greasing

1. Wash and soak the moong dal in warm water for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Grease the muffin cups lightly with oil.
4. Grind the soaked dal(with the skin) without any water into a paste, not too coarse or too fine.
5. Add  ginger, garlic, chilli pastes, salt, sugar if you are using any, spinach, spring onion, yogurt, cinnamon, clove powders and lemon juice. Mix well.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small pan over low heat.
7. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for a bit. Add asafoetida.
8. Immediately add the hot oil mixture into the moong dal mixture.
9. Add the soda bicarbonate and mix the mixture very well.
10. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them ¾ full.
11. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the batter.
12. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick or fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.
13. Let the handvo cool in the muffin cups for 15-20 minutes.
14. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
15. Take the pan off the heat.
16. Remove the handvo from the cups or tray and arrange  on a serving plate. Spoon a bit of the crackled mustard seeds on top of each handvo piece.
17. Serve with chutney or tomato ketchup.

Tips:

• If you want to serve small squares of handvo for a cocktail party then bake it in a tray 8′ X 8′ for 30- 35 minutes. Let it cool in the tray and then cut into small squares.
• Serve handvo with a salad to make it into a healthy lunch or dinner.
• This is a good dish for vegetarians as its full of protein.
• Add other vegetables of your choice.

nachos with mango salsa