Foodie Workz

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...

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...

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...

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 ad...

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 a...

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 pr...

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...