I like to eat it with a pinch of salt and lemon juice. Some like it with chopped onions and green chillies. Or you can get a little more fancy by putting a jeera, hing, green chilli ka tadka. Add a pich of salt a lemon juice.

Ingredients

For Pakoras:
1 cup Gram flour.
1/2 cup chopped onion/spinach
1 tsp ajwain.
1 tsp chopped ginger.
1/4 tsp Baking powder.
Chilli powder OR green chillies to taste.
Oil to deep fry the pakoras.
Salt to taste.

For Kadhi:
1 cup curd (yogurt).
1/4 cup gram flour.
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds.
1/2 tsp mustard seeds.
1 tsp turmeric powder.
Pinch of asafetida.
Kari patta.
Dry whole red chili to taste.
2 tbsp oil.
Salt to taste.

Method
To make the pakoras:
Mix all the pakora ingredients and enough water to get it to a slightly thinner than chapati dough.
Make small round balls.
Heat oil in a kadhai and deep fry the small round balls until golden brown.

To make the kadhi:
Beat curd[dahi/yoghurt] nicely to get a smooth consistency.
Mix gram flour to it. Keep blending while adding the gram flour so that no lumps are formed.
Add turmeric and 3 cups of water.
Heat oil in a kadhai.
Add mustard seeds. Once split, add fenugreek, dry red chilli and kari patta.
Stir fry for few seconds, then pour the curd/gram flour mixture on to the hot oil.
Bring it to a boil,all the while constantly stir. Else the curd will split.
Once it starts boiling, simmer and let is cook for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add pakoras and serve with hot steamed rice.
[Optionally, kadhi can be made with just potatoes. Sautee the potatoe in a little oil and add this to the kahi when it starts boiling. Potatoes will cook in that 15 minutes when kadhi is cooking]

This family member is diabetic and had to undergo surgery. It was all the more important to have a strict control over diet to speed up the healing process.

The day was split mostly into chunks of 3 hours. For a typical day spanning from 8:00 AM to 9:00PM, it would look something like this.
6:30 AM - Tea
8:00 AM - Breakfast
11:00 AM - Milk and Snack
2:00 PM- Lunch
5:00 PM- Snack / Tea
6:00 PM - Milk
9:00 PM - Dinner

Listing some sample meal items followed in our household:

Breakfast:
One of..
1. Daliya with moong dal : Two portions daliya with one portion moong dal.
2. Besan Cheela :  One besan cheela with a small bowl of corn flakes OR sweet daliya.
3. Two egg whites : 2 egg whites with a small bowl of corn flakes OR sweet daliya.
4. A bowl of sprouted moong dal[ add lemon, salt and onions for taste] with corn flakes/sweet daliya[or any carb breakfast].
5. Whole wheat or whole grain bread with two egg whites. No white bread.

Mid morning snacks
Mid morning snacks are usually fruits or cucumber with a small glass of milk. Go for low fat milk. Banana is a big NO as it has too much sugar. The best fruits are papaya or guava, as they are very low in sugar. Half an apple every third or fourth day.

Lunch
2 Rotis.
A small portion of salad. [Vary between cucumbers, tomatoes, onions ].
A big serving of dal variety. Dal, chole, raajma, mixed dal, gravy made of soya chunks, egg curry.
A big serving of vegetable to compensate for reduced quantity of carbs[roti's]. Karela, lowki, taroi are some of the low calorie vegetables. No potatoes please.
Once in a white, substitute half a roti with 2 or 3 tablespoons of rice. Can also substitute regular rice with brown rice and increase the quantity as brown rice is low in carbs and sugar. And has a lot of fiber, which is good.

Evening snack:
One of..
- A bowl of salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes with a pinch of salt and lemon.
- Two dal papads microwave roasted OR fire roasted. No oil fry please.
A glass of milk with the snack OR tea with the snack and a glass of milk a little later.

Dinner:
Two roti’s with a protein rich sabzi. Some variations in sabzi like egg curry, raajma, chole, nutrela protein chunks.
Adai once in a while.

Discliamer: I am no doctor, but have supervised based on instructions from my brother in law, who is a doctor. This post is solely based on that experience and some additional research. If anyone would like to add anything to this list, please do let me know. Would be very much appreciated.

Picture Courtesy: http://www.wineinyourdiet.com/

Good reads:
Diet dos and don’ts for diabetics - Part I
Diet dos and don’ts for diabetics - Part II

Alright, wanted to start the new year on a positive note. Will leave the bashing for another time. Their dim sums [ momos  as they call it here ] are awesome. If you like dim sums, you should try their unlimited “Burst Ur Belly” offer for Rs. 150  from 11:30 AM to 7:00pm. I pretty much do dim sums with their honey chilli potato starters. I hear their chicken lollipops are pretty good. Main course is nothing out of the blue, but not bad at all. Pretty decent. Overall worth the Rs 150 offer, though I am not sure it is worth ordering off the menu. [We did order off the menu one time and the check was about 1200 for 4 of us. You do the math].

1 pound boneless chicken(small pieces)
2 tablespoon maida(all purpose flour)
2 tablespoon corn flour
1 egg
2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 tablespoon red chilli powder
1 tablespoon black pepper powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon chicken masala or tandoori masala
1 tablespoon khus khus(poppy seeds)
3 tablespoon lime juice
Red colour(optional)
Salt according to taste
Oil for frying
Onion and lime wedges for garnishing
Chat masala

Method:

Clean and cut the chicken to small pieces.
Mix lime juice,ginger garlic paste,garam masala,coriander powder,chicken masala or tandoori masala,black pepper powder,red chilli powder and salt in bowl and coat each chicken piece with the mixture and refrigerate the chicken for 2-3 hours.
When you are ready to fry,beat the egg and mix corn flour,maida flour,khus khus and the red colour(optional) with it.
Heat oil in a kadhai(wide mouthed vessel) and dip each chicken piece in the mixture and deep fry it on medium flame so that the chicken cooks properly till inside.
Garnish with onion and lime wedges,sprinkle chat masala and serve hot.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes(boiled)
1/2 cup green peas(frozen or boiled)
3 cups maida(all purpose flour)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds(saunf)
Few mint leaves
1 inch grated ginger
4 green chillies
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon red chilli powder
1 tablespoon amchoor powder
1 tablespoon ajvain seeds
1 cup milk
Salt according to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves

Method:

Boil the potatoes and peel off and mash them.
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a wide vessel.
When hot,add cumin seeds,fennel seeds,green chillies,ginger and few mint leaves.
When cumin and fennel seeds splutter add the mashed potato and peas to this and mix it.
Add garam masala,coriander powder,red chilli powder and salt and keep frying till the potato changes colour and is fried properly.
In the end add amchoor powder and garnish with coriander leaves.
Now for preparing the cover of the samosas,add salt,ajvain and 2 tablespoon of oil to the maida.
Mix it well and knead the dough using milk.(The dough should not be watery)
Make balls of the dough and roll it to round shape.Divide it into two using a knife(two semi-circles)
Make a thick solution of maida and water and apply it to the straight edge of the semi-circle using a earbud or cotton on a matchstick.
Fold it bringing the two edges together.It will form a cone.
Fill it with the potato filling and again use the solution to stick the upper edges.
Now fill all the samosas as described above and heat oil in kadhai(wide mouthed vessel) for frying the samosas.
Once the oil is heated,fry the samosas on low flame so that the maida is cooked properly.
Serve hot with green chutney.

Ingredients:

1 cup of urad dal
A pinch of asafoetida powder
2 green chillies(finely chopped)
1 inch ginger(finely chopped)
Dry fruits like cashews,raisins(if desired)
2 cups of curd
Cumin Powder
Red chilli powder
Black salt(if desired)
Salt according to taste
Coriander leaves
Oil for frying

Method:

Soak the urad dal for 5-6 hours after washing.
Grind the dal to a fine paste.(Do not put too much of water for grinding)
Add asafoetida powder to the paste.
Put oil in vessel and heat it.
Take a wet cloth and put one spoon of paste on it.Flatten it with wet hands to make a circular shape.
Put some chilli,ginger and dry fruits in the centre and fold the cloth to make a semi-circle of the paste.
Now take the semi-circular batter on your fingers and put it in the oil for frying.(Wetten your fingers before picking up the batter to avoid sticking to your hand)
Fry it till it turns light brown and put it in cold water.
Now whip the curd and add salt,chilli powder,cumin powder and black salt if desired.
Take the vada out of water after it softens pressing it with hand to remove extra water.
Sprinkle some cumin powder and red chilli powder and serve chilled with sweet tamarind and jaggery chutney.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Daliya [ Cracked Wheat / Wheat Porridge ]
1/4 cup Moong Dal [ Daliya : Dal ratio is 2:1 ]
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 cup veggies [Any veggies like parval, lowki, tindora, kundroo]
Chopped green chillies to taste
Grated ginger to taste
Salt to taste

Method
Wash daliya and dal.
Put daliya, moong dal, tomato, veggies, ginger, salt and water in the pressure cooker and pressure cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes.
[You can also fry the daliya in half teaspoon of oil for added flavor and a more crispy taste ]

For tadka ( sautee ):
Put some oil in a frying pan, add jeera to taste. Add ginger.
Optionally add turmeric.
Sautee onions and green chillies.
Pour the cooked daliya mixture onto the sautee and bring it to a boil.

Serve piping hot. Also makes for a healthy and filling brunch.

Ingredients:

1 cup Besan [ Gram dahl Flour ]
1 cup water
1 finely chopped onions
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped coriander leaves
Pinch of hing [ Asafoetida ]
Pinch of Ajwain
Chopped green chillies to taste
Salt to taste

Optional: Grated veggies like carrot, beet. Anything that does not need a lot of cooking.

Method:
For the batter:
Mix besan with water, adding a little water at a time to avoid formation of lumps. (Remove any lumps from besan by breaking them with hand or a spatula even before adding water).
Get to a dosa like consistency. ( Pancake batter consistency ).
Add remaining ingredients.

To make the Cheela:
Heat a non stick tava. [ Pan used to make dosa / pancakes ]
Pour the batter in the center of the pan.
Spread it with a spatula to get a round shape.
Wait till the edges are slightly golden brown.
Add a little oil around the edges for a crispier taste.
Flip it around when one side is done.
Remove from tava when the other side is done.

Serve with green chutney Or tomato sauce.

My personal Thai favs in the South Bay area is Krung Thai, followed by Amarin Thai.

Krung Thai:
I have been to TheNewKrungThai and the OrginalKrungThai. Not sure if both are operated under the same management, however, I haven’t found much difference in terms of quality and taste. The new one definitely has more dishes to offer, but I usually stay with the tested vegetarian stuff.

Great lip licking food, quick service, reasonable rates. However the staff is not very friendly. Also, Fridays and weekends are usually very crowded, finding a parking spot is a hassle. Staff and the seating arrangement is not very kid friendly.


Amarin Thai:
I have tried the one in Prospect Road, pretty good food. But I would give it half a star less than Krung Thai. Very friendly service, staff, seating arrangement very kid friendly. I am hearing raving reviews about the Mountain View Amarin Thai restaurant. Must check it out.

The only thing that irks me about Amarin thai is their serving style. I have failed to understand why they serve curries in a tiny bowl with the curry spilling over the bowl into the plate. Traditional?


Here are some useful links:
NewKrungThai - Restaurant, Menu
OriginalKrungThai - Restaurant, Menu
Amarin Thai: Restaurant, Menu


More reviews on these restaurants:
Amarin Thai review @ Fun and Food
KrungThai @ UrbanSpoon
KrungThai @ MetroActive


* Choo Chee Tofu: Fried tofu and mushrooms sautéed in light red coconut curry sauce with bell peppers, sweet basils & fine kaffir lime leaves.