Foodie Workz

This is yet another attempt at using pumpkin which needless to say goes to my ongoing event "Cooking For Kids" ...... 3-4 oz of cubed squash 8 oz dry penne 6 oz chopped spinach(I prefer the fresh) 1 small onion 3 garlic cloves red pepper flakes as per taste 1 tsp maida 1/2 cup of milk Pasta sauce(store bought) according to taste Salt few pinches while cooking the vegetables Cook the pasta according to the box instructions.  Drain and set aside. Cut the onion into thin 1 inch slices.  Grind the pumpkin, 2 garlic cloves and red pepper flakes adding little water and some oil.  Take 2-3 tblsp of olive oil.  When it is slightly hot add the onion and the remaining garlic clove grated.  Once the onion becomes translucent, add the pumpkin puree and let this fry in the oil till the raw smell goes.  Combine the maida in the milk and add this to the pumpkin which is cooking.  Let this come to a boil and cook for a minute or two until it thickens.  Now add the chopped

I just noticed that the linky tool in  my event posting was missing.  This is because, I had a trial membership taken a month ago which had apparently expired.  If you want to send in any entries please drop off an email at krithikar@gmail.com  with the following details.... Name Recipe Name Recipe URL Blog Name Blog URL Please include a picture along with the email.

This is yet another attempt to try something different with the pumpkin/squash.  I prepared these parathas with some butternut squash one of my favorites in the squash group.  This again goes to my own event "Cooking For Kids - Pumpkin/Squash" started off by  Kalyani . 2 cups flour 1 cup of cubed squash 1/2 handful of cauliflower stalk coriander leaves plus stalk handful 1 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 3 big garlic cloves 1 to 2 tsp chopped green chillies 1/4 tsp red chilli powder 1/4 tsp amchur powder 1/4 tsp turmeric 1/4 tsp ajwain seeds salt to taste Process all the vegetables, salt and the spices together.  Leave this aside for few minutes.  Add the flour, a couple of tablespoons of oil and process it further till it comes together like a ball.  There is no need to add water. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll it out into thin circles.  Cook the parathas on both sides without oil on a hot pan.  Smear some oil on the top side

Here I am attempting this pulao for the first time.  This is a preparation that I cam up on my own. 4 ounces cubed pumpkin pieces(or butternut squash which is what I used) 1/2 cup each of chopped carrots, peas, capsicum and potato 1 cup basmati rice 4-5 cloves of garlic 2-3 green chillies 1/8tsp red chilli powder(optional) 1.5 inch ginger piece few coriander leaves cumin seeds salt to taste 1 tsp pav bhaji powder( or more according to taste) Puree the pumpkin  with ginger, green chillies, garlic and coriander leaves.  Soak the rice for 1/2 hr and then drain.  Roast the rice in little ghee or oil until you get a nice aroma.  Take a tbsp of oil, splutter the cumin and add the puree.  Let this fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the vegetables, salt and chilli powder and stir this again 2 more minutes.  Add 1and 3/4cups to 2 cups of water and let this come to a boil.  Let it boil for almost five minutes.  Transfer this to a vessel and pressure cook this for 15 minutes or upt

Most of my friends out here must be aware of the very famous " HLI " event of Kalyani @ Sizzling Tastebuds and I am guest hosting this event for the month of April. The event has been renamed as "Cooking For Kids" .  This is also my first in hosting an event and I must say I am pretty excited about this whole thing.  When the opportunity came up I did not hestitate to take it but at the same I was a little bit skeptical as to what I can come up with for myself because of the theme.  Yes, the theme for this month's event is Squash/Sweet Pumpkin. Pumpkins are squash like fruit that widely range in sizes.  As they both share some botanical classifications, both squash and pumpkins are used interchangeably.  The colour of the pumpkin is derived from the orange pigments in them.  Beta carotenes being one of the main nutrients, these vegetables are rich in Vitamin.  It is no wonder that pumpkin puree forms an important part of  a  toddler's diet apart from

After having made the  Banana Bread (eggless), I am posting this yet another egg free baked goodie as  my 100th post .  Needless to say all my baked goods are and will be eggless.  I choose to bookmark only those recipes wherein I will be able to skip the eggs.   I was not averse to eggs until about a few years back when I started trying eggless recipes.  My first ever attempt during my non blogging days to bake something eggless was the wonderful Banana Bread which has been posted here on my blog a few days ago and later on an eggless apple cake. Since then I have been hooked on to these eggless treats and encourage my kids also to try out baking in the kitchen without eggs.   Suddenly, when they get the urge to bake something, they just simply use my idea of milk and oil combination where the recipe calls for just one egg.  This ofcourse has been borrowed from here  which also lists out very many other ideas.  I find this easy to adapt as I have to correspondingly increase the amo

An all time  favorite of the kids as well as adults.  This is a very simple recipe that I heard from my cousin.  Every time I make this bread I just blindly follow this and it is so simple and easy to remember. The recipe my cousin gave me calls for 3 big bananas for 2 cups of flour.  But the bananas I had were small in size and some portion had to be discarded.  Hence, I decided to halve the recipe and it turned out to be really good. 3 small bananas(I lost some and would have effectively used about two and a half or you can use one and a half big ripe bananas) 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup unbleached flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts pinch of salt Mash the bananas in a small bowl.  Add oil and the brown sugar and combine this thoroughly.  Mix all the dry ingredients in a bigger bowl.  Add the banana oil and sugar mixture to the flour and combine well. Add water if needed to

This was prepared before I went on a vacation during winter break.  I wanted to clear out most of the vegetables in my refrigerator especially the chayote squash.  I could have prepared a kurma or a kootu but decided to try out a stew kind of dish using almonds instead of coconut milk. 1 medium chayote squash chopped 1 med carrot cubed 1 potato cubed handful of peas 1 onion finely chopped 3/4 tsp cumin seeds 2-3 green chillies 3-4 garlic cloves 1 inch piece ginger 1 tbsp oil 3 tsp sliced almond soaked in little milk 1 tsp coconut salt to taste 1/8 to 1/4 tsp chilli powder Take oil splutter the cumin seeds, 2-3 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon and pinch of elaichi powder, small bay leaf.  Add onions and saute it on med heat for 2 minutes.  Add the grated ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute for a minute.  Add all the vegetables, salt, pinch of turmeri powder and stir for a minute.  Add water so that the vegetables are just covered and pressure cook for not more than

Mention soup and Minestrone soup is what comes to my mind.  There cannot be anybody who does not know or like this soup.  I can confidently say that this tops the list of my kids favorite soups and also pull  up my collar for they like the homemade version better than the ones at restaurant. 1 small carrot 1 small potato 1 handful frozen peas 2 trimmed celery sticks 1/2 of a medium onion 2-3 cloves of garlic 1/2 a can of chick peas 3 small tomatoes 3/4 cup of uncooked pasta any kind 1/2 tsp paprika 1 bay leaf 1 tsp of Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp each of coriander and cumin powder salt and pepper to taste some butter and 1 tbsp olive oil Heat up the butter and olive oil.  When it is slightly hot add the onions and garlic and saute for half a minute. Add the bay leaf and all the chopped vegetable.  Add little salt and saute these vegetables for a minute.  Add about 4 cups of water or the amount needed to get the vegetables completely covere

Today we hear of everyone talk about finding alternate ways to keep their carbs consumption minimal.  However, there are these certain dishes which becomes irresistible to our taste buds.  One such dish being the famous Idlis.  Taken with some spicy sambar or the spice powder nobody can say no to these delectable savory steamed rice cakes.  However, the carbs in these do more good than any harm.  In combination with black lentils, it is considered as the most nutritious food providing the necessary carbohydrates, proteins, fiber with minimal fat.  The process of fermentation breaks down the starches so that they are more nutritious and easily digested. Having said all this,  it only makes more sense to enhance its nutrient content by adding more lentils for the calorie conscious people. 3 cups idli rice 1 cup urad dal 1/2 tsp methi seeds 1 cup masoor dal/yellow moong dal Soak the rice, urad dal and methi seeds for about 8 hrs before beginning to grind.   Grind the urad a

Bok Choy also know as Chinese leaf cabbage is a very popular crop in the oriental regions especially in China.  It is well known for its light, sweet flavor, crisp texture and nutritional value.   It is not only high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and calcium, but also low in calories.  Combined with dal and minimal spices, this makes a very delicious and healthy side for rice. 1/2 cup of yellow moong dal 2lb of baby Bok Choy(each is about 3-4 inches in height) Salt to taste 1/4 tsp turmeric hing 1 tsp of cumin seeds 1/2 tsp sambar powder mustard seed and urad dal for seasoning oil or ghee Wash the bok choy thoroughly.  Trim the ends of the bok choy and chop the rest including the stem part. You will lose almost a pound of bok choy after trimming. Pressure cook the moong dal with little salt and turmeric.  Transfer the cooked moong dal to a wide mouthed vessel and add the chopped bok choy salt, cumin seeds to it.  Once it settles and shrinks a bit add the sambar powd

I always like to try out common recipes with some non traditional ingredients.  One such attempt is this thokku with celery.  Though celery is best eaten when raw,  I tried this for a change after having used in salads, soups.   8 stalks of trimmed celery(you can add the trimmed leaves while grinding) 1 big handful of trimmed coriander leaves 4 green chillies 3-4 tsp of tamarind paste 1 tsp each of coriander and cumin powder 1 small ginger piece salt to taste pinch of turmeric powder pinch of brown sugar/jaggery(optional) 2-3 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal nice pinch of hing powder Chop the celery stalk into small pieces and steam cook them for a couple of minutes.  Let this cool down.  Grind this along with the rest of the ingredients to a fine paste.  When you grind this, it is going to be little liquidy.  Take oil in a pan and splutter the mustard and urad dal, add the hing powder and then the paste.  Saute this on medium heat until the paste c

This traditional lentil masala vada has been prepared mainly using dried green peas.  This is equally flavorful but more light and crisp in texture compared to the traditional counterpart. 1 cup dried green peas 2 tblsp each of tuar and chana dal 1/2 of a medium onion 1 tsp fennel seeds 2-3 garlic clove 3-4 green chillies small ginger piece salt to taste chopped coriander leaves Soak the green peas overnight.  Soak the tuar and chana dal 3 hours before grinding.  Drain out the water completely from both the dals and grind with the fennel seeds, garlic, ginger and salt.  You can reserve little bit of the tuar and chana dal to add in the end to the batter and use the rest in the start.  Towards the end add the coarsely chopped onion and coriander leaves. Take about a spoonful of the batter, flatten it into a 1/2 inch thick circle and deep fry in hot oil. Remove when golden brown in color. Enjoy these vadas with some ketchup or chutney.

I am in the habit of mixing in grated vegetables while preparing chapathi dough as it not only healthy but also lets anything go unwasted.  However, I have never thought of using cucumbers in rotis until I happened to watch it on a cooking show on a local Indian channel.  And these turned out to be really good!! 1 cup wheat flour 1/2 cup  chopped cucumber(tender ones with not much seeds inside) 1/2 cup chopped onions(I used spring onions) 1 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/8-1/4 tsp chilli powder 1/2 tsp grated ginger 1 long chilli 1 tblsp oil 1/2 tsp salt or to taste 1/8 tsp turmeric powder half a handful of coriander leaves Mix all the chopped vegetables, ginger, chillies and coriander in a bowl.  Now add the powders and salt to it.  Wait for a few minutes before adding the flour.  Knead well along with the oil.  It is not necessary to add water to the dough.  The vegetables will let out water enough to form a dough.  If needed add by spoonful.  Alternately, i

A very Happy New Year to all of you out there.  I wanted to welcome the new year by posting the Badam Cake which I prepared a couple of days back but as I was not ready with a picture I decided to do this post. I have been seeing and hearing of late about this dish called Methi Mattar Malai that I thought I should try it one day.  I had this bunch of methi leaves which was purchased by my better half without my knowledge and also the paneer which was bought on my request.  I asked for the paneer with the intention of preparing some Mattar Paneer.  So when I noticed this bunch of methi leaves, I could immediately only think of Methi Mattar Malai.  I also had some whipping cream waiting to be used up.  So I decided why not use up all three in one dish and hence ended up with this dish. After looking at some recipes on the net I decided I was going to start off the way I would do Mattar Paneer and add the methi leaves towards the end.  Eventhough I have my own way of preparing the gr