Green Papaya Dry Curry with Coconut

Yes. I arranged the green chillies and curry leaves to give eyes and mustache to my dish... Got to let the silly streak out once in a while :)

This recipe is super light, high in fiber, fat and low in calories.

 Ingredients:
1 Small shredded raw green papaya which is approximately 2 cups of shredded material
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
2 tsp olive or coconut oil
Green chillies to taste ( I used 3 and it was mild)
1/4 tsp turmeric
4-5 curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin
A pinch Asafotida

Method:
1. Skin the raw papaya and cut in half lengthwise
2. Remove any seeds and cut the papaya lengthwise so they fit in a food processor
3. Run it through food processor with shredder option
4. Grate fresh coconut
5. In a bowl, mix coconut, shredded papaya, salt and turmeric well
6. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin, mustard, slit green chillies, curry leaves and  and asafotida
7. when the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the papaya mixture, mix well and cover
8. Let it cook on low / medium flame for about 10 minutes

Enjoy as is or with non fat plain Greek yogurt to increase protein content. Eat the yogurt separately or make raita for a cole slaw like texture.

 Serving size: 1/2 cup dry curry. Number of servings: 6
Calories: 50
Protein: 1 gms
Fiber: 1 gms
Fat: 2 gms
I added Fage non fat Greek yogurt (100 calorie pack) to one serving to make a satisfying, high protein (18 grams) lunch.

Skinny Bagara Baingan

Born and brought up in Hyderabad, I love the taste of this spicy eggplant curry. However, it is pretty rich in calories with peanuts, coconut and generous amounts of oil. Determined to make a skinny version of it without sacrificing the flavor, I made a few tweaks to the traditional recipe, included a few ingredients such as PB2 and lite coconut milk to make a pretty low calorie version. A single serving of 2 eggplants and 1/4 cup of gravy is only 79 calories and has 6 gm of protein, thanks to the PB2.

Ingredients:
14 Small Indian eggplants
2 teaspoons Coconut Oil
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
1 cup Thai kitchen lite coconut Milk
6 tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter
3 tablespoons Garam masala (or other bagara baingan masala)
1 Medium Onion diced
2 Medium Tomatoes diced
3 tablespoons Amchur (dry mango powder)
Salt and Chilli powder to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Non stick cooking spray

 Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare eggplants by trimming the stems and making 2 slits in each eggplant
3. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray and  arrange eggplants in a single layer
4. Spray again and stick in the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes. Once done, the eggplants should be tender to the fork.

5. Meanwhile, heat a skillet and add 2 tsps of coconut oil
6. Add ginger garlic paste, onions and tomatoes one by one allowing time for each ingredient to cook
7. In a separate bowl, add PB2, coconut milk, garam masala and amchur and mix so that there aren't any lumps
8. Add this mix to the skillet, add salt and chilli powder to taste and let simmer

9. Once the gravy looks think enough, add the baked eggplants and let the flavors combine
10. Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy with hot rice or rotis

I had it with a hot roti and a bowl of Greek yogurt.

Serving size: 2 eggplants and 1/4 cup gravy. Total number of servings per recipe: 7
Calories: 79
Protein: 6 gms
Fiber: 11 gms
Fat: 3 gms

A note about PB2: If you are not familiar with this ingredient, it is basically the residue of peanut oil. It has the goodness of protein and fiber of peanuts without the fat. It is available at general grocery stores by peanut butter. It looks like this: