indian sweet dish Archives - Indian Vegan Cookbook

Teel Poli (Sweet Sesame Seed Flat Bread)

The combination of sesame seeds and jaggery is a very common one in India and is used to make many traditional sweet dishes.
Sesame seeds contain protein, fiber, and healthy fats and are rich in calcium. Calcium is an essential mineral that supports the health and function of muscles, hormones, blood vessels and nerves. One tablespoon of sesame seeds provides 87.8 mg of calcium. Both the calcium and magnesium in the seeds may help to reduce blood pressure. Sesame seeds also provide B vitamins, vitamin E, and antioxidants. Sesame seeds are eaten as they are or are added as an ingredient to meals. Sesame seed oil is also used in cooking.
Jaggery is made using traditional methods of pressing and distilling palm or sugar cane juice. In India it is mainly made from sugar cane juice. Though jaggery contains more nutrients than refined sugar (which is only empty calories) because of its molasses content, it is still mostly sugar. The nutrients it contains are in small quantities and so any extra nutrients you get from jaggery come with a lot of calories and so should be eaten in moderation.

Sweet Potato Hashale

Sweet potatoes are not only delicious to eat, but they are also very rich nutritionally. The high content of vitamins A and C, calcium, magnesium and potassium all help to improve the immune system and the functioning of organs like the eyes, heart and kidneys. They are also rich in antioxidants that help to take care of free radicals in the body and keep it younger. They may help in reversing diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Apart from that they prevent adding unhelpful and unnecessary weight. They are best had boiled or steamed to keep the glycemic index low.

Coconuts have been grown in India for centuries and have traditionally been used in both savoury and sweet dishes. Coconuts are considered a source of healthy fat, but the fat will add up if they are consumed in the form of coconut milk or oil. Also, they contain small amounts of saturated fats and so should be eaten in smaller quantities. Eaten grated or in pieces, they are a great source of fibre and so help digest the fat in them more easily and also keep the quantity consumed lower. The fat in coconuts is easier for the human body to digest and they don’t contain cholesterol like animal fats Coconut also contains iron, manganese, copper and magnesium, which aid in protecting against disease and ease inflammation in the body.

Moogache Boon (Green Gram Porridge)

Moong dal is packed with protein and is an integral part of the Indian diet. It is rich in potassium, which helps lower blood pressure and protects against muscle cramping. It also contains minerals like magnesium, iron, and copper and dietary fiber. When eaten, moong dal helps produce a fatty acid called butyrate in the gut. This helps maintain the health of the intestinal walls. The dal has anti-inflammatory properties that prevent and accumulation of gas. Rich in B-complex vitamins, moong dal helps your body break carbohydrates down to glucose, and produce usable energy for your body. It cooks fast and is light and easy to digest. So all in all, it’s a great ingredient to include in your diet more often than not.

Madganeh (Bengal Gram Payasam/Karwari Payas)

Recipe credit: Darshana Muzumdar Serves 4 as part of a traditional Indian meal. Ingredients 1 cup chana dal (Bengal gram) 1 coconut ½ cup jaggery

Rice and Green Gram Dal Kheer

Rice is one of the oldest cereal grains in the world which has been grown for at least 5,000 years and almost all of the rice today is cultivated in Asia. It is also a staple food for more than half the population of the world. There are thousands of types of rice and many are becoming rare to find. But mostly rice fits into two groups: white (polished) or brown (whole grain). Though brown rice offers more health benefits, white rice is what is used more commonly. Brown rice comes in a variety of shades, including reddish, purplish, or black. Rice is primarily composed of carbohydrate in the form of starch, which makes up almost 80% of its total dry weight. The body digests sticky or starchy rice faster than other long grain varieties like basmati. During the processing of white rice, the grain loses the bran, or seed coat, which contains most of the fiber, and so brown rice contains a higher amount of dietary fiber than white rice.