Cracked wheat and vegetable Baath

Heart of the Matter(HOTM) event has a wonderful concept. It encourages us to cook and eat heart healthy food. This month’s theme is “Vegetables”.

As a vegetarian from India, this month’s theme make me feel very happy. I feel elated that I can blog about the way we eat. But, when I jumped into action, I started realizing that we have tons of recipes which will take a lifetime to blog about. So which recipe do I choose for this theme, the recipe has to be simple, easy and tasty.

I have to admit something here. We, people of India have a lot of talent, we also have the incomparable talent of converting the most healthiest vegetables into an unhealthy dish with all our Pakora, Samosa, Tikki and Kofta Recipes.

Even after excluding all of them, I was left with tons of recipes. Finally, I decided a recipe that is very simple – Cracked wheat and Vegetable Baath. Baath means “cooked Rice” or “Steamed”. It is a quick one, that even in a hurry, we can prepare it and at the same time please our good friend too. This is one of the Recipe that says “end” to deep frying. So this is for Fry(fri)+end = Friend…Our heart!

The Recipe calls for “Cracked Wheat”. We can use “Bulgur Wheat” too. The difference between Cracked and Bulgur wheat is that the latter is Par boiled and the former is a product of just crushing the wheat berries. I prefer Cracked wheat even though it takes more time to cook than Bulgur wheat.

The Recipe is:

1 cup Cracked wheat or Bulgur wheat
1 cup shredded vegetables (I used Onions, Carrots, Cabbage, Red Bell Pepper and Snap pea pods),
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper corns, coarsely pounded
1 teaspoon oil
3 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon minced green chili (optional)
3 cups water
a pinch of Turmeric powder

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. (Those who have “Pressure Pan” or small Pressure cooker with lid, use it).
2. Add the Mustard seeds and turmeric powder.
3. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the black pepper and vegetables. Add green chilies, if using.
4. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Pour the 3 cups water and add the salt. Bring to a boil.
5. Add the cracked wheat slowly, while stirring continuously. Stir well to avoid lumps.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Those who use “Pressure cookers”, Reduce heat and put the lid and weight or Pressure regulator on. (lid with the rubber Gasket or Sealing ring). Cook until 2 whistles or 8-10 minutes. Wait till the pressure settles. Open the lid and loosen the cracked wheat with a fork.
8. Those who are not using the pressure cookers, reduce the heat and cook until the cracked wheat absorbs all the water. Check whether it is completely cooked. If not add 1/2 cup of water and cook till done.
9. Serve as is or add juice of a lemon and garnish with your favorite herbs.