PUSH THE ENVELOPE: Savoury Moong Crepes with Carrot, Cucumber & Walnut Chutney ~ a protein rich vegetarian b’fast ~

Its been over 4 months that I started out on my journey to better health. The way I view food, and my understanding of how my body responds to certain food has improved over this time. From worrying if I would make it past a week of no sugar, to being over stressed about my weekly tryst on the weighing scale, I have surprised myself with 18 weeks of change… one day at a time.

Has it been tough?

For me, I was done with my lifestyle, the month of May was a little stressful as I was having sugar withdrawal. But with my change in diet, and switching from a carb rich diet to a protein rich diet, switching from simple carbs to complex carbs, there was so much going on, that I was able to ignore the sugar cravings. Once that was under control pretty much everything else can become a routine.

Listen to this… there are no minuses. On the plus side I have lost 17 kilos, my cholesterol levels – which was skirting borderline – is way within the healthy limit, and I cannot even begin to tell you how optimistic, energetic, and vibrant I feel most of the time. I have zero mood swings – depressive mood swings is something that I have really battled with, and its liberating to be finally free of that tormenting cycle of ups and downs. I was away on this holiday to India for two months, I survived weddings, family get-togethers, travel, loads of rich food, and yet managed to keep my weight loss consistent to about 3.5 kilos a month. This inspite of eating the occasional dessert! Its really simple if you put your mind to it and are determined to change the familiar pattern.

Its all about pushing the envelope!!!!!

Here’s a delicious, savoury crepe with moong dhal, served with a raw chutney of walnuts, and wholesome veggies. Moong dhal is a good source of vegetarian protein, and fibre, and the chutney with its nuts carrots and cucumber is low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and has some good omega 3s, and natural sugars.

For the chilla/crepe you need

1/2 cup yellow moong
1/2 cup split moong with the green skin intact
1 teaspoon cumin
a good bunch curry leaves
Salt to taste
Chilly flakes to taste

Method

1. Wash and soak the moong dhal for about an hour or two, and in your blender, grind to a paste with the least amount of water. Add the cumin, salt, chilly flakes and curry leaves and pulse a couple of times. The batter would be medium thick, and not runny. But spreadable.

2. Heat saucepan to a medium hot, smear with a little oil, and pour a ladel of the batter and spread it – but not too thin. When the top looks cooked flip over, and cook the other side till a little crispy.

For the Walnut and vegetable chutney

6 – 7 walnuts
1 carrot, chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
1 small onion
a little coriander
1 green chilly (optional)
1/2 cup thick yoghurt (preferably homemade)
Salt to taste

Method

1. Put everything in the blender, make a paste, and pour into your serving dish. As simple as that.

Print PDF