Foodie Workz

I am very happy to announce the first event that I am doing as a guest host for  Sanjeetha of litebite .  It is part of her Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking monthly event for which the chosen theme for Jan 2012 is Bulgur wheat or broken wheat for dinner. Benefits of Cracked Wheat... Cracked wheat is made by cutting or crushing whole raw wheat berries into small pieces.  Even though bulgur wheat is interchangeably used with cracked wheat, it is processed slightly different from cracked wheat.  Also a whole grain, it is partially cooked prior to crushing.  Both bulgur and cracked wheat are excellent sources of fiber, minerals and vitamins.  Cracked wheat has all the benefits of wheat flour and since it contains the outer bran and germ of the wheat, it is a good source of fiber.  It fits well into a low fat diet as a quarter cup contains just 1 percent of  daily value for total fat and has no trans fat or cholesterol.  It is also a good source of iron and protein. About the event..

A very simple and a healthy lunch box dish for the kids which can be prepared even in the busy morning rush.... 4 slices of bread 2 ounces of frozen chopped spinach 2 ounces of grated cheese(used four cheese mexican) salt and pepper to taste 1/4 tsp paprika powder 1 table spoon of chopped spring onions Cook the spinach in the microwave and squeeze out the water.  Combine this, the cheese and the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.  Spread this mixture between two slices of bread.  Apply butter on the outer side and toast on a medium hot tawa until golden brown on both sides. Sending this to  Breakfast Club  event hosted at  Krithi's Kitchen  and to  HLI - Spinach  event of  Kalyani  running at  Sin-a-Mon . Tip:  Add a spoon of flax seeds to the filling mixture for added nutrition

A snack cannot get any better if it is just steam cooked with lot of vegetables and these Muthias are all about this.  Muthias is one of the most popular Gujarati recipes which is traditionally made with vegetables like lauki or methi leaves and gramflour. They are  just steam cooked with very little oil added for binding the dough.  Ever since I came upon this recipe on Manjula's Kitchen , I have been a fan of this simple and healthy delicacy.  Having tried these using cabbage and methi leaves, today I experimented with some radishes.  As always, the taste was just awesome!!!    5 oz red radish( I used 6 oz but felt could have used less - hence 5 oz) 1/2 cup besan 1 tblsp wheat flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 green chili chopped 1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi 1/2 tsp jeera 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1 tbsp oil Seasoning 1 tbsp oil 1/4 tsp mustard 1 tsp sesame seeds chopped coriander leaves 1 long red chili Process the radish.  A

Ragda Patties, a very popular Indian street food, is typically made with dried white peas.  But I have made these using some dried green peas.  This makes a wholesome and a healthy snack for the kids coming home hungry from school.  This dish goes to CWS - Peas event of Priya  and  HLI  event hosted @  Veg Junction  originally started by  Kalyani . For the ragda: 1 cup green peas 1 small tomato 1 small piece ginger 1 green chili 1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander powder 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp black salt(I did not have any) 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/8 to 1/4 black pepper powder salt few sprigs of coriander leaves chopped finely chopped onions green chutney and sweet chutney if preferred Sev For the patties: 2 medium to large size potatoes 4-5 green chilies grated 1 tsp grated ginger 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves some lemon  juice salt to taste Oil for frying Preparation of the Ragda: Soak the green peas overnight or for at least 6

Many a times I have used the pumpkin that is available in the Indian grocery store to make soups, gravy dishes,  sambars and even in mixed vegetable curry .  But recently, I picked up this huge butternut squash from a local grocery to prepare soup for a potluck get together.  The appearance of the inside and the texture of the squash looked very similar to the pumpkin that is available in the Indian store.  To get things clarified, I went on the net to see if they both were the same but found out that they were obviously not the same but the names are frequently used interchangeably and they can be easily substituted in recipes.     Butternut Squash also known as butternut pumpkin in Australia is a type of winter squash and has a sweet nutty taste similar to that of pumpkin especially the sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkin.  It is a good source of fibre and Vitamin C apart from being an excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin E .  I made this payasam on the day of Karthigai Deepam as

Asparagus is quite a commonly used vegetable in our household when in season.  My typical Indian preparations have been dry sauteed curry to go along with rice or rotis.  My mother, however, has tried making kootu or poricha kootu with it while she visited us many years back.  Today, I came up with this chutney recipe using the leftover asparagus sitting in my fridge. Asparagus is low in calories, low in sodium apart from being a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.  I have always thought of it to have a nutty flavor similar to that of peanuts.  Even though the chutney had the distinct smell of the asparagus, to me it tasted like a coconut or peanut chutney.  To bring about more flavor I added some onions and used tomatoes to keep off the tamarind. Chutney is one of the dishes where you can try to play with the ingredients according to your taste buds..... including what you add on with the main ingredient and the kind of spices or seasonings you decide to use. Th

Peas and paneer combination in these parathas make it really enjoyable than the plain peas parathas.  I usually add potatoes but today used these low fat paneer for a change. 1.5 cups wheat flour 1.5 cup green peas thawed 4 oz paneer few coriander leaves 1-2 green chilies 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp ajwain 1 tsp garam masala salt to taste small handful of spring onion leaves(great flavor because of these) Process the peas along with spring onions and all the spices and salt.  Saute this in little oil for a few minutes.  Add the finely crumbled paneer to this mixture. Let it cool. Divide the filling into equal sized balls and make the same number with the dough as well. Roll out the dough into a small circle, place the filling, cover and roll out into a bigger circle making sure not to tear.  Cook the paratha on a hot tawa both sides and then with some oil again till brown spots appear. Served this parathas with some Mooli Muthia Kadhi for a fulfilling meal,the reci

I came upon this simple recipe on the net, while I was just looking for some recipes with dates.  They turned out to be really wonderful and I could never tell that there were dates in them.  It is one good way to get the kids to eat dates which are known for its essential nutrient, mineral and vitamin contents.  I just felt I should have gone with my intuition of toasting the chopped walnuts before adding them.  That would have really brought out the nutty flavor in the cookies. 1.5 cups flour(combined all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour equally) 100 gms softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg(substituted with a tbsp of milk and 3 tbsp oil combined) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon powder(i used 1/2 tsp) 1/2 cup tightly packed chopped dates 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips(optional) pinch of salt Cream the butter and the sugar in a bowl.  Add the egg to it and beat it further.  In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder and the pinch o

This is one of my favorite ways to eat cabbages with rotis.  The addition of bell peppers give a nice flavor to it, the green one being the best. 12 oz cabbage chopped 2 medium size potatoes chopped 1 orange capsicum chopped 1 small onion chopped(optional) 2 garlic cloves ginger piece 1-2 green chili 1/2 tsp each of cumin and dhaniya powder 1/4 tsp chili powder salt to taste 1/2 tsp garam masala Take a table spoon of oil and splutter 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds.  Add the onions and saute for about 2 minutes and add the ginger, green chili and garlic all finely chopped.  Saute further for a minute and add the potatoes.  Saute these for about 2-3 minutes before adding the cabbage and the orange peppers.  Add salt, dhaniya jeera powders and the chili powder and stir together well.  Lower the heat and cook the vegetables covered until soft.  Add the garam masala in the end and stir everything well. Enjoy these with some nice hot chapathis!!! I

This is a very easy preparation which I usually come up with whenever I have some squash at home like the chayote or lauki or yellow crooked neck.  I prepare this in combination with potatoes or sometimes with more vegetables like carrots, peas and beans.  I usually add some milk in the end but instead used some leftover cream which I had in the fridge. This cannot typically come under the category of kurma as I am not grinding any coconuts or cashews.  However, since I am using some cream to enrich this dish I would like to think of this as a kurma. 1 chayote squash 1 potato 1 carrot small handful of frozen peas 2 tbsp cream 1/4 tsp turmeric salt to taste 1 onion chopped 2 tomatoes blanched and pureed few sprigs of coriander leaves 2 green chili( instead used some chopped green bell peppers about 2 tblsp) small piece ginger 2 cloves of garlic 1 tsp paprika powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp garam masala powder 2-3 pinches of kasoori