A simple process to grow microgreens at home

How to Grow Microgreens in the comforts of your well ventilated kitchen 

Harvest from seed in a few weeks time. 

A grow light is very helpful , your microgreens will grow faster. I don't keep the microgreens container in direct sunlight but if you have windowsill you can place it. My kitchen get good amount of natural sunshine and the temperature is quite right. 

Microgreens are tiny, delicate, greens that  add texture, flavour, colour to a number of dishes as a garnish or as an ingredient. 

All you need is  a shallow container, a sunny windowsill, some potting mix, a handful of seeds, that's all you need  for growing your own microgreens. 

This is Ragi microgreens growing in a sieve. 

Mixed lentils sprouts and methi sprouts 

Let's understand what are microgreens?

Microgreens are known as vegetable confetti, they are not sprouts, some get confused with microgreens and sprouts

While sprouts are the germinated seeds that are usually eaten root, seed and shoot. Like we have moong dal, methi, chana, lobia. 

Methi sprouts 

While microgreens are a variety of edible immature greens, which are harvested with knife or  scissors less than a month after germination. 

When  the plants are up to 2 to 3 inches tall. We use the stem, cotyledons that is the seed leaves, then the first set of those tiny green leaves which are edible. The are delicious looks beautiful in any dish. 

Seeds which work best in our kitchen? 

Methi, mustard, ragi, moong dal, you can select other seeds too, but these are the seeds for beginners. 

If you have a balcony garden, under shade you can try growing in the outdoors. Make sure they are kept in the shade and not exposed to strong direct sunlight. 

For those of us who have plenty of sunlight in the kitchen, like I get natural light in my kitchen, where I can grow microgreens near the sunny windowsill, in a small clean container. I use sieve, small cardboard containers, mud pots etc to grow them. But make sure you make tiny holes for excess water to drain. 

Step by step procedure 

If you are trying to grow in potting mix or soil, try this method 

In the bottom of the container cover an inch or two of moistened potting soil or mix, don't compress the soil, leave it for air to flow.  Gently spread the seeds evenly on top of the soil. Press  the seeds gently into the soil using your hand. 

Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Leave the container allow the seeds to start sprouted. 

It will take three to seven days for the sprouts to appear. Once or twice a day mist the soil, moist but don't make it wet. 

Once you notice the seeds have sprouted, and continue to mist once or twice a day.

Tips

1. Microgreens  usually need about three four hours daily of direct sunlight to grow, or you can leave them to grow near windowsill. 

2. In the winter months, some may need even more. 

3 Very light, pale greens are a sign of not getting enough sunlight. 

4. A grow light is useful if you don't have enough sunshine. 

Peanut, coconut 9 spices rice with palak raitha

The challenge before me was to create a new dish which integrates the vibrant cuisine and ingredients widely used in our cuisine. Knowing very well how vast our cuisines are from the North to South and East to West.

I took a bunch of commonly used spices in our country. 

They were

Jeera

Coriander 

Cinnamon 

Saunf 

Dry red chillies 

Clove

Green Cardamom 

Black pepper

Turmeric 

Then a handful of groundnut which we get all over the country as a timepass snack. 

A little grated coconut as we use coconut in our cuisine in southern parts. 

Basmathi rice is mostly used for making biriyani and other festival dishes, I make kheer with basmathi rice and some special rice preparations. 

So, here is the recipe I had developed today with the spices, basmathi rice, grated coconut, peanuts, bay leaves. A few basic vegetables like cauliflower, potatoes, onion, ginger, green chillies, beans, peas palak and few cabbage leaves for covering the dishes. 

Ah, that was fun, while roasting the spices, slowly ideas started coming to me, I picked a few fresh vegetables for salad and created a wholesome meal. 

I have served the dish with a few non spicy green chillies, lemon slices and salad consisting of radish, cucumber, carrot, turnip, dill leaves, fresh palak leaves. 

Peanut, coconut spicy rice

Ingredients 

1/2 cup basmathi rice, washed, keep aside for 20 minutes. 

2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped 

1 medium onion sliced

2 green chillies chopped 

1/2 inch length ginger chopped /grated

3 to 4  beans thinly sliced

2 tbsp green peas

1 small carrot chopped 

3 tbsp sliced cauliflower florets 

Spices used in the dish

1/4 tsp jeera

1/4 tsp coriander leaves 

2 red dry chillies 

2 small bay leaves (one add with the basmathi rice while cooking it, the other one add while roasting the spices) 

8 peppercorns 

1/4 tsp saunf (fennel seeds) 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

A pinch of green cardamom crushed 

1 inch cinnamon stick 

2 tbsp raw peanuts 

2 tbsp grated coconut 

Method 

Step 1

*Dry roast all ingredients mentioned in the "spices used in the dish" once they emit aroma add green chillies, ginger, raw peanuts, once the peanuts crackles  add grated coconut and just make it crunchy. Use the smallest mixie vessel and powder the ingredients. Keep aside. 

Step 2

* In a preheated kadai pour little peanut oil and saute all the vegetables, since we are using potatoes make sure it gets properly cooked, add a little salt, if needed sprinkle a little water and use a lid to cook the veggies. Keep aside. 

Step 3

*In a flat bottomed pan add basmathi rice, turmeric powder, salt, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. For 1/2 cup of rice I have added 11/4 cup water. We just want the rice should be just tender, you notice the basmathi rice will become into a curve when its almost cooked. Off the stove, don't stir it, as it may break the cooked rice. 

The final step is to mix in ground coconut, peanut spicy powder, cooked basmathi rice and sautéed vegetables. Gently mix them together, if need adjust salt. You can at this stage add a little chopped coriander leaves if you want. We will serve the spicy rice with palak raitha. 

Palak raitha is quite simple to make. I have used a bunch of fresh palak, wash the palak throughly well and make sure there is no mud, soil in the palak. 

Palak raitha 

Ingredients 

1 bunch fresh palak, washed, chopped into thin pieces. I have used the stalk also as they get cooked very fast. 

1 green chilli

A pinch heeng

1 cup curd

Salt as required 

1/2 tsp jeera powder 

Method 

*wash, clean and remove the roots from palak, thinly slice the leaves along with the stalk. In a pan pour a little oil, saute the palak add salt, heeng and in a few minutes the quantity reduces to 1/5 of what you have added! Off the stove let it cool. 

* Take a serving bowl add curd, add the cooked/blanched palak, adjust salt and garnish with jeera powder. 

*Serve as a side dish for the spicy rice. 

Two small mud pots were used for serving spicy rice and raitha. 

The outer cover of a large cabbage is used for covering the dish. 

I served black grapes in the cabbage leaves. 

Home made face pack - beauty secrets

Home-made face pack with rose petals.

I have made a small quantity with the homegrown pink roses. For face pack I add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp multan mitti, 1/2 red sandal powder, 1 tsp dry rose petal powder, mix it with water/milk/curd. 

Fresh batch of rose petals I have collected from Varanasi, just kept it for drying in the sunlight. Once they are completely dry I will powder it.

A few orange peels are getting dried, will make a scrub out of it.

I use a clam shell from my shell collection for mixing the powders. 

Masala chai at Varanasi and Bodh gaya

When we were at Rana Mahal Ghat the guest house we stayed had a restaurant facing the Ganges, plenty of birds and monkeys were there, we ordered masala chai, before serving the tea, first thing came to our table was the catapult! The monkeys love chai as much as me.

The olden days most of us had charcoal based traditional stoves, saw this with a tea vendor on the streets of Varanasi.

We had our dinner yesterday at Maya Heritage, Bodh gaya, the masala chai was served in kulhad.

Having a cup of hot masala chai in the winter is a pure bliss!

I think I will help myself with a black tea right now!

What's your tea story?

Street food and chaats at Varanasi

Walking through the small gullies of Varanasi we explored the beautiful city. A few chaat places we had visited were Kashi chaat bhandar, Theth Banarasi, we had tamatar chaat, Aloo tikki chaat, dahi bhalle , kulfi today. Yesterday we had chuda matar, magai pan and carrot halwa from different places.

I just loved the tangy tamatar chaat which was something new to me.

The red guavas were sweet and I am having it for the first time.

The beauty of the city and the small gullies of Varanasi makes it a good place for a foodie.

Kulfi falooda at Kashi chaat bhandar 

Tamatar chaat at Theth Banarasi 

Aloo tikki chaat 

Chuda matar chaat 

Magai pan 

Traditional style charcoal stove we had tea at this small tea joint

Allahabadi Amroodh, the sweet Guava 

The mighty Ganges, an evening View from the guest house

केसरिया Malaiyo, it taste good, just like eating air! at केसरी resturant 

Gajar halwa, राबड़ी, rasmalai, we had at the sweet shop near market

Aloo chaat we had at kesariya resturant, Varanasi 

There are not apples, they are red guavas, very sweet and soft. Yum! 

Dhaniya, pudina green chutney /Hari chutney

Dhaniya, pudina chutney /Hari chutney

Tips for retaining the beautiful green colour.

A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, a few stalk of freshly plucked mint/pudina leaves, two green chillies, one onion, roughly chopped, 1 tbsp lemon extract, salt, sugar, a little jeera powder.

Method

In a mixie smallest jar add all the above ingredients except jeera powder.

Blend to a smooth paste, add a little water if required. Garnish with jeera powder, mix well and serve. 

Tips

Lemon extract is the most essential part of the mint chutney, it helps retain the colour, gives tangy taste.

Sugar also helps in balancing the taste

Bagara baingan salan.

We get striped brinjals year around, some varieties of brinjals we grow at home. I like brinjals in any form, especially when mixed with a whole lot of spices. Today I made this delicious dish to be served with peas parathas.

Ingredients 

Step 1

1 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp jeera powder 

2 tsp red chilli powder 

1/4 tsp heeng powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

Salt as required 

7 - 8 brinjals slit

2 tbsp gingly oil

Mix in all the dry powders, slit the brinjals and apply it, pour oil in a kadai place all the stuffed brinjals and roast it till the brinjals are soft and well cooked. Keep aside. 

Step 2

For salan masala

2 tbsp peanuts

1 tbsp grated coconut /few slices of copra(I used the dried ones) 

2 tsp white sesame seeds

2 red spicy chillies 

2 non spicy chillies for colour

2 cloves

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp jeera seeds

One piece ginger chopped 

1 green chilli

1/2 tsp amchoor powder 

Put a little oil in a preheated kadai dry roast all the ingredients "for salan masala' cool them and grind into a coarse paste, add 3 tbsp of water and adjust the consistency. 

Add the ground masala, amchoor powder into the same kadai and add a cup of water, bring it to boil, now add cooked stuffed brinjals. 

Add three slit tomatoes and let it slowly cook in the gravy.  Cook until the gravy thickens and all the vegetables are well coated with the masala. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with roti, rice or choice of your main course. 

Sarson ka saag

SARSON KA SAAG 

Picture courtesy : Bharatiya Jalpan 

It is a popular dish made during winter with the flavours of mustard leaves. We use three types of greens mustard, palak and bathua. 

We get plenty of fresh greens during winter making it a favourite during this season. It's served with makki(cornmeal) ki roti, a little butter, pickle and thinly sliced onions. 

Sarson ka saag

Ingredients 

2 bunch mustard greens

1 bunch palak

1/2 bunch bathua 

6 cloves of garlic

1 turnip peeled and chopped 

1 carrot trimmed, peeled and chopped 

7 to 8 spicy green chillies chopped

1 tsp salt

4-5 cloves garlic

1/2 cup water

For the  seasoning 

2 tbsp  ghee/ mustard oil(I used mustard oil for that authentic flavour) 

2 medium sized chopped onions

2 garlic cloves chopped 

A pinch of heeng

2  whole dry red chillies

A small piece of ginger sliced 

3 tsp red chilli powder 

1 tsp coriander powder 

1 tbsp lemon extract 

Salt as required 

2 tbsp butter/ghee

Method 

*Remove the roots, greens from the bunch, clean them very well, so that all the tiny peck of mud, soil comes out

* Roughly chop the greens. 

* In a large wide pan preferably pressure cooker pan place all the greens,  add salt, green chillies, garlic, turnip and water. 

* Close it with the lid and cook on medium flame. It takes approximately 10 minutes, we are going to retain the green colour, so make sure don't over cook. 

*Now add the cornmeal and use a hand blender to mash all the ingredients together cook it for about 5 minutes on low flame. 

*In a small pan heat ghee add chopped onions, garlic, broken red chillies, ginger and roast on medium flame.

* Pour the tadka on the mashed greens, adjust salt and further cook for another 2 minutes. 

*Add lemon juice, butter, off the stove, serve hot with freshly made makki Ki रोटी, jaggery, pickle, green chillies, sliced onions. Yum! 

Tips

*Buy the fresh greens during winters, make sure there are no holes in the leaves and they have turned yellowish. 

*I used to remove the leaves and stalk and dip them in half a bucket of water for 10 minutes, thus the soil sediments and I remove the greens. Of course the washed water is used for watering plants. 

*Trim the greens, you can used every single lead and stalk. They taste great. 

*Use mustard oil if you prefer, I like it's taste.