Foodie Workz

There can be no greater joy of outsourcing the ingredients from your own garden for using in your kitchen.  We started our own karpooravalli or omavalli(tamil names for ajwain) plant from a cutting given to us by my cousin sometime last year just to add to our collection of health benefical plants like tulasi, curry leaves and manathakkali.  Ajwain is more popular in northern India and the seeds are used as seasonings in dal or in the parathas and more so in the snacks.  Who can forget the aromatic taste of these lovely seeds in the very popular "omapodi" in the tamil households. However the leaves in abundance on my plant tempted me to try this dish which I would be making it again and again for sure.  Infact I do not hestitate to add these chopped leaves anytime I make rotis and puris..... /4 tsp methi seeds 1/4 tsp urad dal 2 tsp dhaniya 1 tsp each tuar and chana dal 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 2  long red chillies 15 to 20 black pepper 20 medium s...

Coming back after a long time decided to start on a healthier note with some nutritious twist to the ever preferred idlis... 1 cup jowar 1/2 cup quinoa 1/2 cup whole green moong 1/2 cup idli rice 1/2 cup urad dal 1/4 cup poha 1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds Start off by soaking the quinoa, whole moong and the jowar.  Basically I soaked these three ingredients double the time that I did for urad dal, rice, poha and methi seeds.  Wash everything thoroughly before starting to grind.  Grind the urad and methi in the idli grinder first till it is smooth and fluffy.  In the meanwhile, grind the quinoa, moong and the jowar individually in the blender jar with very minimal water.  You do not want to add too much water which might end up in a runny batter.  Add the rice to this and let it grind to a coarse consistency.  Now add all the other ingredients and also the ground poha to the above batter and let the grinder run till it is mixed t...

A simple yet a tasty and a nutritious preparation made with the simplest of the ingredients 1/4 cup Red Quinoa 1/4 cup Millet 1/3 cup Chopped onion 1/2 cup finely chopped beetroot 1/2 cup frozen green peas 2 green chilies 1 inch piece of ginger 2 garlic cloves few mint leaves 1 tblsp oil Salt to taste 1/2 to 1 tsp garam masala powder Soak the quinoa and millet together after rinsing them thoroughly.  Take oil, splutter some cumin seeds and add the onions to sauté them for 2 minutes.  Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies which have been crushed to the onions and sauté for another 1/2  a minute.  Add the quinoa and the millet which has been now drained completely and sauté for a minute before adding the vegetables to it.  Add the salt which is about a teaspoon and few mint leaves that have been chopped.  Add water in the ratio of 1:2 which would be 1 cup for the above quantity, garam masala and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles....

Celery is one such vegetable which I came to know of only after coming to the US.    Having pretty much used in salads or soups,  my first attempt to include in regular Indian cooking was in the sambar.    In recent times though, I have tried to come up with dishes like Celery Coriander Thokku , Celery and Potato Podimas , and more recently the Celery  Tomato Rice .   Today, I have attempted to camouflage this vegetable in yet another way......   1 cup finely chopped celery 1/2 cup peanuts 1 red chilli 1 tea spoon tamarind paste salt to taste Take a spoon of oil and saute the celery with little salt for 2 minutes. Add the red chillies and the roasted peanuts and saute this again. Add the tamarind paste and little more salt.  Let this mix well.  Grind this to a paste adding little water. Season with mustard seeds

A very simple and common preparation enhanced by these lovely blue berries giving the dish a nice color and flavor... 1/2 cup rawa 1/2 cup sugar little less than 1/2 cup blueberries few broken cashewnuts for garnish 1/8th tsp of elaichi powder 1/4 cup of ghee Roast the rawa in about 2 tsp of ghee till you get the aroma.  In the meanwhile, heat up about 2 cups of water in the microwave.  Slowly add this hot water to the rawa keeping the flame at low.  Turn up the heat and cook the rawa nicely without any lumps.  Once this is done, add the sugar, elaichi powder and half of the ghee.  Let this cook until the sugar is melted completely.  Again, microwave the blueberries quickly to soften them and add this to the rawa cooking in the sugar.  Add the rest of the ghee and cook until it comes together and does not remain sticky to the touch.  Garnish with some cashews roasted in ghee...

Celery was one such vegetable where I was always tempted to add it my grocery cart but was at loss of ideas as to how to use it in the kitchen.   I  used to see that it was a staple in soups American restaurants and served quite often on salad platters in parties.  I have also used the celery for such dishes.   But how many kids would ever go for the celery given its fibrous and stringy texture?  But over the years I have learnt to use it abundantly in my traditional dishes as well.  I have been using it in sambars and oflate used it in these recipes Celery Paratha(to be posted),  Celery Coriander Thokku  and Celery and Peanut Chutney(to be posted). Thus was born the idea of a nice tangy Celery Rice combined with some ground tomatoes.  It can also be made into pulao by including onions and whole garam masala. 3/4 cup finely chopped celery 1 big tomato 1 long green chilli 1 inch ginger piece 1 c...

How about a tasty treat which is relatively guilt free compared to the ones which need lot of  fat and sugar?  This is my second attempt at this,  having made it earlier for my daughter's girl scout event.... Dates 30 nos Milk about 1/2 cup a couple of generous pinches of cardamom powder sugar abt 2 tblsps ghee(not melted) in semi solid state 5 tsp sliced almonds 1/4 cup toasted pista coarsely ground for garnish almond slices for garnish Cook the dates and milk in the pressure cooker.   Once it cools off, remove and grind into a paste. To begin with add a spoon of ghee into the pan and start cooking the paste.  After few minutes of stirring, add the sugar and some  more ghee. Slowly the mixture will begin to change color and also thicken a bit.  At this stage, you can add the coarsely ground roasted almonds and also the cardamom powder.   The mixture is done, once it comes together like a ball and is not sticky to the to...