Foodie Workz

After making those yummy vadas, I was still left with some more sprouts that I decided to use it up for my dinner preparation.  Just made this simple pulao using these and some bell peppers.... 1 cup basmati rice 1 cup sprouted matki or moth beans 1 medium ripe tomato 1 small onion 1 small yellow capsicum 1 tsp paprika powder 3 garlic cloves small piece of ginger pinch of turmeric powder 1/2-1 tsp pav bhaji powder(this gives a different flavor to the dish...I have added this to some of my quick subzis using pumpkin or zucchini) Cook the basmati rice and let it cool. Heat up a tablespoon of oil and splutter the cumin seeds.  Add the onions along with the garlic and ginger and saute till they are translucent.  Add the capsicum and do a quick saute before adding the tomatoes.  Add   all the powders and little bit of salt and cook the tomatoes for a minute or two before adding the sprouts.  After this cook for further five minutes.  Ad...

I had these sprouted moth beans sitting in my fridge for a few days now.....hence decided to make some vadas in combination with green gram.  And they turned out to be the perfect snack for a cold day!!! 1 cup sprouted moth beans 1/2 split green gram with skin 1/4 cup of chopped spring onions(white part) handful of small broccoli florets processed 4 green chilies(about3/4 inch in length) few corinader leaves small ginger piece salt to taste Soak the green gram for 2 hrs.  Drain the water completely and grind into a coarse paste along with moth beans, chilies and ginger.  Towards the end add the coriander leaves and process it further.  To this paste add the onions, broccoli and salt and mix well. Take a small portion of the mix, flatten it in your palm and deep fry in hot oil till a nice golden color. Enjoy these crispies with some chutney or ketchup!! This one is off to CWS-Mung Beans event  at Priya's blog.

I found this lovely bunch of collard greens last week at the farmers market and brought them home(for the first time) thinking I will make a simple south indian type of dal with this.  Whenever I buy some bok choy I like to combine them with moong dal which is to be cooked directly on the stove top after soaking them for half hour to one hour.  I decided I was going to prepare these greens  in the same manner. However, I changed my mind later on and decided to go ahead with a dry preparation.  Along the way,  I decided to add some onions and garlic. Some facts on Collard greens.....widely used in Southern US cuisine it is widely eaten in the Kashmir region of India and Pakistan.  A common dish of that region is haak-rus a soup of whole leaves cooked in water, salt and oil and consumed with rice.  They are a good source of Vitamin C and soluble fiber with potent anti cancer properties. 1 bunch collard greens trimmed and chopped as fine as pos...

I was suddenly tempted to try this paruppu usili dish out using spinach as I was bored of cooking the same old spinach preparations in South Indian style.  I cannot recall having eaten the spinach in this manner, but when we have spinach in dals, adais and vadas,  I thought why not in Usili.  And here I was giving a pat on my back for this little innovation after the dish was made as I could not get enough of it. 3/4 cup toor dal and chana dal together combined  equally or in 2:1 ratio 5 ounces of spinach leaves(trimmed) 3-4 chillies long variety salt to taste pinch of turmeric powder oil pinch of hing powder 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal Soak the dals along with the red chilies for at least two hours.  Drain the water completely and grind into a coarse paste with salt, turmeric, red chilies and hing.  I also added about a table spoon of oil while grinding.  Grease a container in which you are going to cook the paste.  Spr...

Of late, we are seeing a growing need to switch to more healthier options in our diet especially the breakfast that being the first meal of the day.  However, it is treat to have sumptuous dishes once in a while for breakfast like the traditional aloo parathas .  This becomes a winner with the addition of some mint leaves especially the ones that come from your very own garden.  We harvested two grocery bag full of mint leaves that were  waiting to be used.  I first tried this mint and coriander rice using double the amount of mint to coriander.  Unfotunately, I do not have a click of the rice.   I will have to post this if I get to make it again.  Next thing I made were these parathas which turned out to be tasty and flavorful.  I decided to add the leaves raw without sauteing.  But you can saute them if you wish to after processing it.  As the mint was not sauteed there was a nice freshness and a little crunch inside  the...

This is a very simple easy breezy pasta preparation with a slight twist.  Instead of the regular tomato or basil pesto sauces, I have used a spinach based sauce.  I made this for my husband's lunch box one day and hence this small quantity.  I am surely going to make this again for all of us to enjoy!!  This is such a fulfilling meal with the all the goodness that you can have. 1/2 cup orzo pasta cooked according to packet instructions 2 handfuls of spinach 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 long zucchini quartered and sliced 1 tbsp walnuts 2 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove salt to taste pepper to taste Grind the spinach, walnuts and garlic in a food processor with a tbsp of olive oil.  Take the rest of the oil in a pan and saute the onion lightly.  Add the zucchini pieces and saute until they are translucent with little salt and pepper.  Add the spinach pesto sauce and saute it for not more than a minute before adding the orzo pasta. Stir everyt...

I came across the recipe for this dish when I was in India this summer in a local magazine.  The recipe called for 200 gms of cashews for 3 ridge gourds and curry leaf sprigs but did not have any tomatoes.  I correspondingly adjusted the recipe for 1 ridge gourd but  significantly reduced(used only half of what I should have used for 1 ridge gourd) the amount of cashews.  Nevertheless, the dish turned out to be very tasty and flavorful thanks to the addition of kasoori methi.   Try it out and you will like it too!! 1 long ridge gourd 1/2 of a medium size onion finely chopped 25 gms cashews soaked in water for half hour 1 small tomato 1 green chili 1 garlic clove 1 small piece ginger 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp chili powder(non spicy one) 2 pinches of kasoori methi First peel and cut the ridge gourd into cubes.  Saute the garlic, ginger and chili slightly in very little oil and grind this with the cashews into...