INTRO

1-Wash thoroughly and soak the green peas and whole black urad for 4 hours.
2-Grind coarsely with green chillies and ginger.Add salt to taste.
3-Let it ferment overnight.
4-Make idlis in the morning by the traditional method and serve with chutney.
Variations-To make it straightaway you can add a teaspoon eno salt to the batter.Let it effervesce and once the batter is fluffy you can make instant idlis.
You can add chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves to the batter.
You can also add finely chopped carrot,beans ,cauliflower and more fresh peas to make vegetable idlis.
Peas and urad dal are NOT fully carb territory.But the fibre from the husk of urad dal as well as the fact that there is no rice at all makes this a low carb alternative. You can also make this into dhoklas or muthiyas.


Low carb mushroom briyani-
In a pot of boiling hot water add the giant cous cous and let it simmer for 8 minutes.Add a spoon of oil to keep them separate.Once done wash in cold water and keep aside.
In a wide bottomed pan add a couple of spoons of oil .Once hot add ur mixed spices then chopped onion followed by ginger garlic paste .When the oil is spitting out on the sides add finely tomatoes with chopped green chillies,salt to taste.When the tomatoes have gone mushy add chilly powder,coriander powder ,jeera powder and fry till oil separates and also until raw smell leaves.At this point add briyani masala if using.Next step is to add a small amount of chopped mint.Saute for a few minutes and add your mushrooms and fry until mushrooms done but remain al dente.You will have more than the required amount of mushroom
So adjust quantities based on how rich you would like your briyani to be.
So in effect add 100 gms of of your cooked
cous cous. Mix well.Leave on low heat for 5 mins.Finish off with coriander.There will be some extra masala which can be eaten on its own for the very low carb dieters.


Low carb yoghurt rice recipe

In a small kadai add a small spoon of oil.Add mustard seeds.Once they crackle add urad dal,green chillies and ginger.Finally curry leaves and optional asafoetida.
Add this to the cooked cous cous.Mix well.Add salt and yoghurt to complete the dish.
My picture has yoghurt raita,Low carb cous cous yoghurt rice.Lowcarb mushroom briyani,plain mushroom gravy and aubergine gravy-Recipe not added to avoid overload.For the strict low carber or keto dieter skil the cous cous. They could just complete their meal with full fat yoghurt and mushroom gravy plus aubergines.
Cous cous is again usually carb heavy.By sticking to 200 gms of cooked cous cous I have managed to combat rice cravings with 32 gms of carbs.If you are someone who has 100 to 150 gms of carbs a day then this is well within limits.But of you are aiming for less than 50 gms then this can be one meal while others have to be really low carb like veg au gratin/paneer tikka /mushroom soups etc.
Low carb adai
Soak all the ingredients except flours and ginger.After 2 hours grind coarsely with ginger and red chillies and salt to taste.My mom always soaked the red chillies too.I usually start by adding the chillies and a small amount of soaked dals and then once ground to a paste add the rest of the dals to keep the batter coarse and ensure red chilli/ginger well ground.Mix in the floirs and adjust the amount of water. It should be a thick and coarse batter.Not smooth and watery like dosa batter.Add finely chopped washed kale leaves and onions.Again you can use grated carrots/spinach/fenugreek leaves/even grated courgettes or paneer to the batter.Make thick pancakes and cook on low heat.Flip over and serve when both sides done.Serve with butter.

Low carb is a minefield.My aim is to adapt and make healthier choices and so am improvising my recipes all .While dals/lentils are not low carb...if that is all is the carbs you are having they fill you up very well.Here we are not only avoiding rice we are bulking up with other low carb flours and also vegetables/greens.

I apolgise if my recipes dont meet the brief.Low carb diet is difficult in terms of the uncertainities and also the complexities attached.I am sharing my recipes as I am hoping it helps atleast a few.....Thanks for conducting this contest....Happy to be challenged and contacted.