Grilled Pineapple & Cottage Cheese Bites - Desi Health Bites!

In a country where most recipes begin with heating oil in a pan and end with a tempering of oil and spices, disseminating information about cooking oil is a welcome idea. Fortune Foods invited food bloggers to come up with healthy recipes as part of an initiative to highlight some facts and bust some myths about rice bran oil. 

The company launches a 100% rice bran oil, Fortune Rice Bran Health. This oil is extracted from the thin brown layer (or bran) of unpolished grains. The bran contains lots of vitamins and other micro nutrients, making it the most nutritious part of grains.

 Some benefits of rice bran oil : 

1. Helps reduce bad cholesterol: Fortune rice bran health oil has a key micro nutrient called

“oryzanol”, an antioxidant found only in the bran of rice. It helps reduce bad cholesterol, 

increase good cholesterol and keeps your heart healthy, making it a healthier choice. 

2. Keeps your heart healthy: FRBH contains more antioxidants than blended oils or pomace

olive oil. They fight harmful free radicals, which cause heart disease and other chronic 

illnesses, keeping your heart healthy. 

3. Helps to have better skin: Squalene is an organic compound naturally produced by human skin cells and is a natural moisturizer. Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil contains good amounts of it which prevent the ageing of skin.

A couple of myths related to rice bran oil 

1. Darker Oils aren’t good for health. It is a myth that colourless or transparent oils are healthier than dark oils. FRBH is refined optimally to keep all the essential micro nutrients 

intact. It has a darker appearance primarily due to Oryzanol. 

2. Rice Bran alters the taste of food: Rice Bran leaves no aftertaste. It does not have a

taste of its own, so it doesn’t interfere with the taste of food.

Here comes  a delightful tango of hot-sweet flavors, Grilled Pineapple & Cottage Cheese Bites. Light enough to be served as a summer appetizer, enough spices to tickle the Indian palate.  

Grilled Pineapple And Cottage Cheese Bites

Ingredients : 

Cottage cheese - cut into 1'' cubes - 200 grams (please read note)

Fresh peeled pineapple - cut into 1'' cubes - 1 cup
Red capsicum - 1, cut into 1'' cubes

For the marinade 

Fresh red chilies, slit - 15-20  

Fresh coriander, chopped - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 5 pods
Oil - 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
Roasted cumin powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Fresh, thick hung yogurt or low fat set dahi - 6 tablespoons

Chat masala - 1 teaspoon

Roasted chickpea flour - 1.5 tablespoons
Kasuri methi, toasted and crushed - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Plus extra oil for grilling

Method : 

To make the marinade 

• On low heat, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan. Tip in the chilies, saute till lightly blistered. Now add the coriander and saute till just shriveled. Transfer to a plate, let cool. 
• Grind the sauteed chilies, coriander, garlic, cumin powder, a tablespoon of oil and salt to a smooth paste. At this point, you can store the paste in an airtight jar for a day in the fridge.
• Whisk 3 tablespoons paste with the yogurt, besan, chat masala, kasuri methi, going easy with more salt as chat masala already has salt in it. Taste, adding more marinade if you want it to taste more assertive. 
• Take the paneer, pineapple and capsicum in a bowl, scrape the marinade on top . Mix gently, coating the pieces well. Marinate for at least half an hour or longer in the fridge if convenient. Thread so that pieces of paneer, capsicum and pineapple alternate on the skewers. 
• Heat a non stick tawa. Brush generously with oil. On medium heat, grill till lightly charred, brushing oil lightly as needed. Take care not to overcook or the paneer will become tough and chewy. Serve immediately. 

Succulent pieces of sweet pineapple, soft cottage cheese and crunchy red peppers, I thought is a winning combination! You could even skip the cottage cheese to make it a really low calorie version!

Please note: I have used home made cottage cheese made with 3% milk. You can use store bought paneer or even pressed and drained firm tofu. 

Any remaining ground paste can be simply whisked into fresh yogurt, add a simple tempering of mustard and curry leaves. Enjoy with hot steamed rice or parathas. Or even tossed with cubed chilled cucumber as a snack!

This blog post is in association with Fortune Foods as a part of their Desi Health Bites activity– The Hunt for the Best Rice Bran Oil Recipes. For more updates and healthy recipes using Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil, follow Fortune Foods on Facebook and on Twitter