Janmashtami or Krishna Jayanthi - the birth of Lord Krishna is being celebrated across the country, today. Also known as Gokulashtami, this festival falls on the eight day of Hindu month Shraavan during the Krishna Paksh phase.

On this day, Hindu households pray Lord Krishna by signing bhajans, visiting temples, playing ‘Kala Handi’ and offering special food. On this festive day, Krishna, the warrior Lord, a spiritual teacher and philosopher for the Hindus, is revered as baby Krishna for his playful nature.

In India, it is a practice to dress up little children as baby Krishna on this auspicious day and treat them to yummy delicacies, after making an offering to the God.

Every child deserves ample nutrition, happy and secured upbringing to grow up into a healthy individual. And on this Janmashtami, treat your little ones to yummy traditional goodies and enjoy the festivities.

Nei Appam

Ingredients:

½ cup raw rice

1 ½ tbsp urad dal

1 tsp rava/sooji

2 tbsp jaggery

1 ripe banana, mashed

Ghee as required

A pinch of cardamom powder

1 tbsp grated coconut

Method:

In a vessel, soak raw rice, urad dal and rava in a cup of water for two hours.

Drain the water, blend all the soaked ingredients in mixer, adding very little water.

Now, further grind this paste along with jaggery, mashed banana, cardamom powder and grated coconut, into a fine batter.

Although Nei Appam is a deep-fried dish, you can alternatively fry it in a paniyaram pan, to reduce oil content.

Heat a paniyaram pan, lace the circular discs with a bit of ghee.

Take small equal portions of the batter, place it in the pan and cook on low flame until both sides turn golden brown.

These Nei Appam can be stored for 2-3 days in a refrigerator.

Nutrition:

Rice provides carbs for energizing cells in the body, urad dal is packed with proteins to build muscle mass and the goodness of ghee consists of omega 3 fatty acids while vitamin A boosts heart health and vision. Jaggery is abundant in iron for normal blood flow and magnesium for strong bones. Bananas contain no cholesterol and sodium, also ensuring proper digestion and kidney function.

Uppu Seedai

Ingredients:

2 cups raw rice flour

3 tsp urad dal flour

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp hing

Salt as required

Oil for frying

Method:

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the rice flour, urad dal flour, butter, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and hing and knead it into a dough, adding a little water.

Take some oil in your palms to avoid stickiness and roll the dough into small circular balls.

Heat some oil in a shallow frying pan, and gently introduce the balls of dough into it, until they turn light brown and pop up to the surface.

Stir for a few minutes to ensure the balls cook thoroughly.

Transfer the cooked balls into a vessel with tissue paper, to absorb the excess oil.

These crunchy and spicy seedais can be stored in airtight containers for up to one week and enjoyed as a snack.

Nutrition:

Rice flour and urad dal flour are both rich in proteins and dietary fibers, helping in weight loss. Chilli powder is packed with the B vitamins and vitamin C to bolster metabolism, signal conduction via nerves and immunity. Cumin powder is abundant in calcium and magnesium to fortify bones as well as antioxidants that function to remove toxins from the body.

Netmeds.com Wishes All Its Customers A Happy Janmashtami