Anjeer Basundi Healthy Recipe
Festivals are the cornerstone of Indian culture and tradition. And as rituals, customs and traditions are an important part of Indian festivals, in the same way no celebration is complete without a sweet dish! Laddoos, kheer and basundi are some of the well-loved Indian sweet dishes. However, today with the rate of diabetes going up people are becoming more and more health conscious and are steering clear of sweets. While cutting down on sweets definitely has its health benefits, staying away from sweets is harder than it looks!
So if you find yourself craving something sweet and do not want to consume a sugar laden pastry or super sweet halwas, we have just the thing for you! In the video below India’s top nutritionist, Anjali Mukerjee and Chef Shantanu Gupte will teach you how to prepare a healthy and delicious anjeer & dry fruit basundi!
Sugar vs. Jaggery
This anjeer basundi is completely free from any kind of artificial sweeteners. However, instead of refined sugar we use jaggery, which is unrefined and naturally sweet. While sugar may help sweeten up your tea and desserts, sugar contains no essential nutrients at all. Jaggery on the other hand has numerous health benefits. Jaggery helps improve digestive health, boosts immunity, protect against anemia and detoxifies your liver. Therefore, the next time you are preparing a dessert or simply want to eat something sweet, opt for jaggery instead. It will satisfy your sugar cravings, minus the calories.
Milk vs. skim milk
Milk is another essential ingredient in most sweet dishes. In this recipe skim or low fat milk is used instead of normal full cream milk. While whole full cream milk may contain a higher amount of minerals and mineral compared to skim milk, if you want to cut down on calories while cooking you should definitely opt for skim milk. Skim milk contains fewer calories and is higher in calcium. So the next time you are preparing a dessert or a dish which requires the use of milk, ensure you have a carton of skim milk available.
How to Prepare Anjeer Basundi
Ingredients:
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1 cup chopped dry figs (anjeer)
• 1 cup chopped dry fruits (cashews, pistachios, almonds)
• 1 tablespoon grated jaggery
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• I tablespoon hung curd
• Chopped dry fruits to garnish
Method:
• In a pan pour in the milk and allow to simmer on a medium flame.
• Add in the chopped dried figs.
• Add in the chopped dry fruits and stir well.
• Add in the grated jaggery.
• Add in the cardamom powder.
• Add in the hung curd.
• Mix well and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes.
• After it is done put off the flame and allow to cool for a minute.
• Serve hot and garnish with chopped dry fruits.
