Healthy Way to Enjoy Eid

Biryani, shahi tukda, sheer kurma and sevai are foods one generally associates with Eid.  But since these dishes are loaded with calories, they could affect our health and  weight. we created a delicious healthy version of these classic flavours.

Indians love festive food, as it is the perfect excuse to indulge their taste buds. Almost everyone wants to eat a plateful of pipping hot Biryani or a piece of Shahi Tukda on Eid.  However, for those of us struggling to lose weight and get fitter, this could be our downfall. So, here are some easy to follow tips that will make our favorite Eid dishes healthier, without compromising on the taste and flavour.

Healthy Chicken Biryani
If you are a big fan of chicken Biryani, here is a healthier version.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo chicken
• 2 & 1/2 cup rice (here's the trick, use brown rice instead of long basmati rice)  
• half a cup of long basmati rice (to garnish your Biryani)
• 2 medium onions
• 2 table spoons ginger paste
• 2 table spoons garlic paste
• 6 cloves
• 4 green cardamoms
• 2 black cardamoms
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• Saffron
• Low fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• salt to taste
• Refined oil or ghee
• Put saffron in a little water let it soak.

Preparation

• Chop onions and saute till light brown, add a pinch of salt to it so it cooks quickly and consumes less oil/ghee.
• Add chicken, garlic and ginger paste, roast it for 4-5 minutes.
• Put all the ingredients in and mix it well.
• Add the yogurt and let it cook for a while
• Add one cup of water
• Cook until the chicken is ready ,add water if needed, do not let it burn at the bottom ( the burnt smell lingers in the Biryani) let it the water dry.
• In the mean time boil rice with a clove, bay leaves and cardomom, drain, do not throw the broth away.
• Take a big mouth aluminium pan (avoid steel pans)put in a layer of rice, sprinkle saffron water and then put all the cooked chicken. Make another layer of rice & sprinkle saffron water.
• With the help of a spoon make dents on the rice and pour the left over rice broth. Do not add fried onions on the top.
• Cover with a lid and place a heavy weight over it.
• Let it steam for 5-10 minutes.

Shahi Tukda

Or Double ka Meetha as it is popularly called, is a famous Hyderabadi dessert. It is a Mughlai dish and one of our favoruties. The original recipe is made from ghee and condensed milk drowned in bread and topped with dry fruits. However, we have tweaked this recipe to make it more healthy.

Ingredients

• 6 slices of brown bread (air dried for 3 to 4 hours or pan toasted until crisp)
• 1/2 cup ghee 
• 3 ½ + ¼ cups whole milk ( to replace the condensed milk)
• 3 tsps sugar
• ½ tsp green Cardamom powder
• Almonds paste (15 almonds soaked for 8 hrs)
• Pinch of saffron
• A handful of dry fruits of your choice

Method

• Soak saffron in 2 tbsps milk and add this to the 3 ½ cups milk and boil on a low flame unil it reduces to almost 2 cups.
• Grind soaked almonds with sugar, cardamom powder and ¼ cup milk to a very smooth paste.
• Pour this to the condensed milk and continue to boil for 10 mins on a low flame. Keep stirring ( the almond mix tends to get burnt quickly). Set aside to cool. That's Rabdi!
• Cut away the bread crusts and slice the bread diagonally, each slice into 2 pieces.
• On a tawa toast the bread by spreading ghee on the bread until it is crispy. Then set aside.
• Place the bread in a serving plate and pour the rabri over the bread slices and garnish with dry fruits. 
• Serve warm

Hot right now

: Flower power

Adding just a little bit of quirky floral accessories to your wardrobe can make a world of difference.
Style notes

- Play around with floral prints not only on clothes but also on accessories.
- Printed scarves, sunglasses and floral clips are perfect accessories for the summer.
- Don’t overdo it by clashing prints; keep your outfit plain and clutter-free if you are wearing floral accessories.

exergaming

Sweat it out with exergaming

Exergaming is all about playing and losing—the kilos that is. As the name suggests, It involves a video game that gives you a thorough workout while you are playing. Exergames are a happy byproduct spewed out during the rapid evolution of video games. Gaming stores all over the world now brag a fresh pile of exergame titles anchored to various activities: baseball, tennis, bowling, biking, dancing and golfing. All you need is a gaming console like Nintendo, PlayStation, XBox or Wii and the gaming software of your choice. We asked orthopaedic surgeon and exergaming enthusiast Dr Dilip Nadkarni to review three exergaming software.

Just Dance 3
If you love burning up the dance floor, you’ll love shimmying to Just Dance 3. It baits you to match your dance moves and timing to that of a character and song on screen, and thus gain points to move up to next level and unlock new dances and playlists. The vigour of your effort is measured in sweat points. You are awarded a grade for each move—ranging from bad to perfect. This constant assessment spurs you to invest greater effort while the repeating moves, thus burning more calories in turn.
Calorie meter: Upto 380 calories per hour
Workout spots: A great cardio programme that gives you a full-body workout. The joy of dancing also releases mood-lifting endorphins.


Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4 brings you an invigorating game of tennis at home. It comes with a racket that can be attached to the console’s remote. While the player on screen controls the movement, you control the racket. As in an actual tennis match, you can compete with another player and energise things further. An inbuilt fitness test helps you calculate your fitness quotient, based on your stamina, speed and balance.
Calorie meter: Upto 184 calories per hour
Workout spots: Though a tennis exergame offers a good upper body workout, it also involves the risk of injury. In the absence of a physical ball, the force of your racket is absorbed by your shoulder.

XAVIX POWERBOXING
XaviX Powerboxing puts you through the punishing rigours of in-the-ring action and helps improve your endurance. Your boxing moves are wirelessly picked up by optical sensors on the gaming console that detect the swing and direction of your boxing gloves. You can challenge opponents for the championship belt, jump straight into a match, train, exercise or just practise.
Calorie meter: Upto 438 calories per hour
Workout spots: An effective way to tone your back and upper body. It is a great cardio workout that also improves hand-eye coordination.

Pumps!

Fashion for your feet:Pumps!

Lead your way into spring with these sexy yet sophisticated pointed pumps.

Style notes
- Pointed pumps can dress-up a casual outfit and take you from day to night.

- Versatile as they are, they go with everything from dresses and skirts to trousers, shorts and even boyfriend jeans.

- Add some fun by experimenting with colours and embellishments, such as studs and bows.

- For a street-style look, team up pointed ladylike heels with a tough leather jacket, a tee and distressed jeans.

Beauty product of the week

This week we pick: Bourjois Paris Shine Edition Lipstick.

We love: The best thing about the lipsticks in this range are how easily they glide on your lips. Two generous strokes are all you need for a brilliant coat of colour. The soft and creamy texture melts on your lips and provides some much-needed TLC.  And the eight juicy shades can easily go from day to night. 

We wish: The only slight hitch we faced was uneven fading. However, when we tried it on over a good lip primer, it lasted longer without fading.

TIP: Since it’s a creamy texture, make sure to line your lips first and then fill in the colour to prevent the colour from running.

Priced at: Rs. 955. Available in 8 mouth-watering shades

How to Make Milk Vermicelli (Rabbi Sevaian) on EID

ngredients:

1. Vermicelli – ½ packets
2. Milk – 1 ¼ litre
3. Butter – ¼ cup
4. Green cardamom powder – 1 tsp
5. Almond – as you like
6. Pistachio – as you like
7. Raisins – as you like
8. Dates – as you like
9. Sugar – according to taste

Method:
Take a pan and put butter in it, heat it up then fry pistachio and almond a little bit and take it out from the butter, now add green cardamom powder and vermicelli and fry a little, then take it off the cooker and put milk, sugar, dates, raisins, almonds, pistachio and cook on medium heat until thick, but don’t make it too thick, when it will cool down, it will be thick. Now serve with crushed pistachio, almonds and silver warq.

Eid Dish...SHer KHURma

Sheer khurma literally “milk with dates” is a festival vermicelli pudding prepared on Eid ul-Fitr in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Delicious Sheer Khurma

Ingredients:

1. Milk – 3 litre
2. Vermicelli – 1 cup
3. Condensed milk – 1 tin
4. Dry fruits – ½ cup
5. Sugar – ¼ cup
6. Saffron – 1 pinch
7. Dry dates – 1 cup
8. Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
9. Ghee – 2 tbsp

In half liter milk add 1 tsp sugar add soaked dry dates and cook in separate pan until dry dates are tender.

Method:

In a pan, add ghee, heat it up and add cardamom powder. When you can smell the aroma of cardamom, then add vermicelli and fry a little. Then take another pan and put milk and cook until half quantity left. Then add fried vermicelli in milk, cook for 1 minute and add sugar, condensed milk, half dry fruits and saffron, mix and cook until mixture becomes a little bit thick. Then put in serving bowl, add cooked dry dates. Garnish with remaining chopped dry fruits and serve cold or warm, enjoy your Eid.