Sunday 22 December 2013

Banoffee Pie

I happened to just scroll the list of desserts in my space here. I believe like me there are many who crave very much for sweets and own a sweet tooth. I never tried Banoffee Pie till date and as a part of challenge in SFC this month we had Banoffee Pie under fusion dessert. And this is the first time that I prepared it and I enjoyed alot, best part is that my kiddo gulped a bowl full leaving me only a teaspoon to taste. It tasted wonderful. I believe this is the easiest dessert if all things are readily available. Caramel or Dulce de leche is prepared from condensed milk. We do get caramel readily but my search in supermarkets here went in vain and finally had to retort to condensed milk to prepare the caramel. Usually Banoffee Pie is topped with chocolate shavings but my dislike to that made me top them with dryfruits,nuts. Here goes the simple recipe.

Saturday 21 December 2013

Chum Chum

A speciality from the region of  Eastern India is Chum Chum. It is made similar to rasgulla except for the toppings done. Also the shape usually is oblong or tear shaped. I tried following my Rasgulla method, except for the toppings done and also slight variation in the amount of sugar used unlike rasgulla. Rasgulla is served with syrup and this chum chum is served without syrup so preferably the chum chum needs to be more sweeter when compared to rasgulla as there is no sugar syrup to accompany while serving, so I just varied the amount of sugar being used and rest is the same. For better understanding with pictorials I explain below the steps to prepare Chum Chum. This recipe is the challenge for the current month in SFC.

Thursday 19 December 2013

Baked Onion Samosa

Am I health conscious is the question that keeps arising in my mind when I fry certain appetizers. But can't afford to miss enjoying them. Now I have an alternative so that I could be guilt free even after eating a whole lot. Samosas are something that I love to munch any time, these baked ones are perfect for weather and health, it will be more healthy if I skip all purpose flour and use wheat flour I believe.
I had no potatoes in my pantry hence first gave a try to baked version of Onion Samosa, fried version of Onion Samosa I had shared long back in the space. It tastes heavenly for sure, but this baked version too is not bad, I would say definitely it cannot reach the level fried ones in terms of taste but yes, as it serves our purpose of keeping us healthy and still allowing us to enjoy, is something I loved about the baked version. Enjoy this Christmas with these Baked Onion Samosas. Here goes the simple recipe.

Monday 16 December 2013

Aloo Bun and the round up of the giveaway 'New Year Special'

Sorry for the delay to publish the result of the giveaway, better late than never. I am up today with the simple Aloo Bun Recipe. I am not much crazy about baking but yes definitely at times I love to. It gives me lot of happiness. I was trying this the first time, so was little skeptical and hence only tried just 4 and the outcome was perfect bun as we get in bakeries, I was not much satisfied with the aloo/potato mixture inside as I didn't add any seasoning/tadka when I prepared the potato filling inside. But my first attempt on bun was just perfect. I was very happy. It was a blind attempt with my own measurements and well happy that it came out just perfect. I just jotted down the recipe once I did it, just because I didn't want to forget the measure when I update the post.

Monday 9 December 2013

Orange Rind Soup/Kittale Sippe Saaru

Season of clementine here and I wish not it ends, I love eating them. Unique and traditional recipes do make use of each and every part of a fruit and vegetable unless and until it is not edible. A recipe which I learnt as a part of Havyaka traditional cooking from one of my closest sister Shri Kripa is Orange Rind Soup//Kittale Sippe Saaru. It is actually called kittale sippe gojju too, but as the consistency is watery I preferred calling it as saaru. It is a perfect combination for rice along with ghee, also tastes best when rice is eaten with this soup and curd. Here goes the recipe.

Friday 6 December 2013

Matra/Matar/Dry Peas/Hara Vatana Chat

It started snowing here, the first snow of the season and you can imagine the temperature here. It is going down day by day, making us difficult to move out of the house. It is fun to watch snowing outside and enjoy something hot, spicy and tangy that tickle our tastebuds. Today evening it was a Healthy Chat that we enjoyed with a cup of tea spiced with ginger and cardamom.
Wondering what that healthy chat is? It was Matra/Matar Chat, made out of cooked dry peas/vatana.Yes, it is indeed healthy with no oil used except for the thin nylon sev that is sprinkled on top, which could be rather skipped if not desired.
Simple recipe to be followed is as here.

Saturday 30 November 2013

Knol Khol Stir Fry

No wonder nowadays there is no co-ordination between what I prepare and what I post. I, at times feel lost, when I see so many pending posts yet to publish. Wish I had one full day that was free to write and schedule. Well, my half day goes with my language learning class and rest of the day managing the household. How I wish I had an extra 5-6 hours a day. Well, today on post is Knol Khol Stir fry. It was never ever brought until late September this year. Once by chance brought that vegetable and prepared this stir fry. From that day on, never it failed to be up to on the table to go with rice once in a week atleast, permanent veggie in my refrigerator. It tasted delicious and perfect. Here I share the simple and humble recipe of mine.

Friday 29 November 2013

Bell Pepper Rice/Capsicum rice/Paprika Rice

Flavor of capsicum is something I am madly in love with, the colors, they tempt me. At times I get the Bell pepper/Paprika mix and use them in different dishes from raita to rice items. One rice item that I often prepare is Bell pepper rice. This tastes heavenly with mild crunch of Paprika. I normally prefer cooking such rice delicacies over the plain steamed rice with normal sambhar, dry side dish, as it eases out the task leaving me with less items to be prepared to set my dining table. Won't you love to know the way I prepare? Yes, there are ample number of ways it can be prepared and here I share my easy way, it would be ideal to prepare if you have left over steamed rice too. It is a post which was pending from long in my drafts. Here goes the recipe.

Thursday 28 November 2013

Calling all Great Cooks for a Giveaway!

A month and 3 days more left for opening yet another book, a blank page of the 365page book of our life. Time rolls out, never knew I would ever be blogging in my life. I had been in this field from almost 8 months now. I had been from last month a bit on a lower pace in blogging, with just few recipes coming up a week. But I do spend time bloghopping whenever possible and leaving behind comments. I firmly believe they are moral boosters. They definitely double up your energy within to try out more and share more. I am really fortunate to have so many friends today in this world of blogging. Needless to say they are the reason for my existence here. For the 1st time I would like to share something in the form of giveaway with my blogger and non blogger friends who support me in one or the other ways. It is Just Eat India that is sponsoring the vouchers for 3 winners.
These vouchers would be valid in all restaurants with Just Eat India in the cities of Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.Won't you love to win this giveaway?, Gift a friend/relative and make them feel happy this new year or enjoy yourself if you are in these cities.

Friday 22 November 2013

Plain Pannacotta with Orange sauce and Strawberry Jam

A most wonderful dessert that I ever had was Pannacotta. Never in my life did I ever have this exotic dessert. No wonder, my sweet tooth will never stop me from trying out desserts from Indian to International. To be upfront, I never ever prepared this dessert nor tasted in my life. As a part of challenge in SFC-Sweet Fantasy Club this month we were given Pannacotta as a fusion dessert and Malpua as Indian sweet. I'm happy to be a part of this group and to get a chance to try these beautiful desserts. I enjoyed the very authentic Indian sweetmeat malpua which I posted yesterday, to talk about Pannacotta, I was worried and became little edgy, hence tried to prepare as less as possible, still I ended up with 3 cups filled half with this fantabulous lip smacking dessert. I'm happy for that now as my kid just gobbled the entire one cup and was asking for more. I was scared to offer her more though. I too enjoyed it alot, so not to complain much about her. Pannacotta is an Italian Dessert believed to have originated in the Northern Italian region of Piedmont, although it is known worldwide. Pannacotta which literally means 'Cooked Cream'. In earlier days this dessert used to prepared by cooking cream along with fish bones which contain collagen that act as gelatin to help set the cream when cooled to room temperature. But nowadays lots of ways are found to make it vegetarian with the use of agar agar, a sea weed(vegetarian Gelatin it can be called). Even vegan Pannacotta can be prepared with the use of soy milk/ almond milk/ coconut milk instead of regular milk and cream. So here I share without any delay the recipe of Vegetarian version of Pannacotta.

Thursday 21 November 2013

Malpua

A month passed and today is 21st  again and here I'm with one of the challenges decided in SFC(Sweet Fantasy Club) for November 2013. I love the authentic Indian desserts for sure, I infact have no dislike towards any. Today's challenge for this month with regard to Indian sweets is Malpua. It is made in different ways with varied ingredients and my hands on Malpua this Diwali was a successful one with my kids and Mr. S eating one after the other that hardly I had time to arrange a plate and click few photos. I prepared mini malpuas and I even got a chance to offer them to my Kid's day care where all small cute kids enjoyed this with Rabdi. I got a lovely feedback from a German lady who looks after my kid along with others at day care. I was super excited when I heard such great feedback from her.Another great news is that on Nov 5th 2013, this year my space had 1 lakh pageviews. I wanted to celebrate the occasion with this delicious Indian Sweet.
I was so very happy. Malpua is a north Indian sweet which usually is accompanied by Rabdi. It is common during festivals or any functions. So here I share today Malpua.



Thursday 14 November 2013

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup- A diabetic awareness post

An awareness campaign was planned by Swathi Iyer of Zesty South Indian Kitchen. Today Nov 14th is celebrated as World Diabetes Day. She asked for my willingness to join in, and I was so glad, and said YES to her request. Diabetes, as all know is a dreadful metabolic disease where a person suffering will have a high level of blood sugar due to either of the reasons, one is due to lower secretion of Insulin or due to the absence of a response from the cells to the Insulin produced. They correspond to Diabetes Type 1 and Type 2 respectively. There is something called Gestational Diabetes which occurs in pregnant woman which may or may not disappear after delivery but it is an indication that there are high level chances of getting a Type 2 Diabetes in the later stage of life. I am grateful to God for saving me till date form this monster and glad that none in my family have this. As now Insulin and other oral medications are available all forms of Diabetes is treatable.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Cauliflower Masala/Gobi Masala

A weekend definitely calls for something different and delicious. We at home don't mind a bowl full of muesli in the morning, some rice item for lunch and a mild dinner with rotis and curry or rice and dal. But weekend is full of cooking cooking and cooking, and every time when it is something new and different we enjoy. So today our lunch was with Cauliflower/Gobi masala and rotis. Wow, a bliss indeed it was. I used Kashmiri Lal mirch powder to get a bright red color to my dish and well color itself increased our hunger to some extent and no wonder the taste was so nice that I couldn't stop eating just 3 rotis and had another one just to eat this delicious side dish. Well, my intention behind trying this was SYS-W series for November by Viji. This month's hidden ingredients chosen by me were 1 and 4 and they were Onion and Cauliflower. Hence I gave this dish a try and would keep preparing this anymore to accompany the rotis for sure.

Saturday 9 November 2013

Sweet Corn Rice

Guest posting was something very new to me.I had quite a number of times seen Be My Guest option in Rafeeda's space and when I saw this for the first time I too wished that I do a guest post for her beautiful space.I was initially very much surprised and used to think as how this exactly happens. We were friends over Facebook and had a chat with her about this guestposting. I was such a dumb that I even asked Rafee that could that post be an old one when it comes to guest post. Well it was she who explained me so patiently about this guest posting concept. I guess anyone will get irritated with such silly questions that I had put forward and won't like to explain such minor concepts. Isn't it? But I could see the difference in her approach. She patiently explained her concept and I felt honored when she gave a warm welcome to my request and said Yes to guest post my recipe there. When asked for the type of recipe she would prefer, she was like any recipe of your choice and happily agreed to guest post my humble recipe up in her place. I'm feeling honored for sure.

Tuesday 5 November 2013

Wheat Flour Laddu/Atte ka Laddu

Diwali celebrations are still in the air and as I write this post I couldn't resist myself and gobbled one laddu. I had thought of preparing in large quntities and was little skeptical and worried as how it would be like, so ended up prepaing only 40 and to my surprise they turned awesome. With the goodness of homemade ghee, roasted flour, sugar and flavour of cardamom it was heaven indeed. I was shocked to see my kid coming over and over again and leaning over me and asking me for a pinch of the laddu mixture as I was binding them. I just couldn't resist my laugh. Me and Mr. S were watching her. She was loving me more for I had the laddu mixture in my hand. So I felt as though ball was on my court and was purposely delaying in passing her the laddus just to get the sweet kisses from her and to enjoy her overpouring love.
I had around 40 laddus done and stored in container and now only very few are remaining. Let me share the recipe with you all so that you could try them out soon.

Saturday 2 November 2013

Khova / Mawa

Diwali is here and many Indian sweets do call for mawa/khoya but it definitely is very tedious to prepare as it takes time and it is something which you cannot prepare in hurry and it is best to prepare 2-3 days ahead of your preparation and then store in airtight container. I had to prepare Rawa aur Mawa Gujiya (will update in my next post already updated Rawa aur Mawa Gujiya/Ghughra Recipe my very first post in this blog) and hence I wanted mawa for which I couldn't rely on Indian stores here as most of the time it happens that they get out of stock or not upto the mark and hence best is to prepare at home for me with the help of full cream milk. I used a litre of full cream milk to prepare a cup of mawa. It took me around an hour to get the final one cup. Had it been with litres and litres I would have exhausted by the time I prepared mawa. But somehow it feels good when we have home made. Well here I share the steps to prepare one cup mawa.

Friday 1 November 2013

Alu Bhujiya Sev

Diwali is a festival celebrated with full enthu in India, I miss the fun and enjoyment we have when we are together with families during such occasions. But well to compensate that I started preparations for Diwali here and having together those delicacies with family and friends is something I enjoy. With many to do lists in my hand and I find it extremely difficult to blog, not because I feel lazy but due to the fact that as days have gone, with improved blogging and other few inevitable commitments are just pulling me down from writing up a post. Have loads and loads of recipes in drafts, but somehow when I sit to write I end up with some other work leaving my baby blog unattended. Well yesterday I prepared Alu Bhujiya Sev and the best part was as I was going to prepare Mr.S was like 'why you are straining yourself?' and later he ended up eating a bowl. I was determined as I had already boiled potatoes. If not I would have felt lazy and left the idea of preparing them. Well felt satisfied after piling up 2 big plates full of Alu Bhujiya Sev. Without any further delay I share the recipe for the same

Sunday 27 October 2013

Moong Dal mini Samosa

Last year same time I had prepared around 6-7 sweets and savouries for our Diwali here in Germany. Best part which I loved was 5 days before I had started with my preparations and on the day of Diwali I distributed among so many families and many many bachelors here those sweets, that gave me an inner feeling of satisfaction and happiness having give everyone a plate full of these. But at that time I din't have this blog. Hence din't bother to click photos. Hope this time I'll click all those which I missed and update here with pictures all the recipes. Today I share a new recipe which I learnt from Nishamadhulika that is moong dal mini samosa. I have altered the basic recipe a bit with minor addition of cashewnuts and dry grapes in the filling. They are so delicious that you can't just stop munching one.  Almost similar to Haldirams mini Samosa. Or I would say much more as it is homemade. Here goes the recipe without much delay.

Thursday 24 October 2013

Cabbage Kofta in Creamy Gravy my 200th post

Have many recipes pending in my drafts, but this one lovely curry which I prepared yesterday was so so delicious that I couln't just stop myself from posting right away. I just wanted to share this recipe you would love to try and surprise your guests. I was wondering at around 7pm in the evening yesterday as what to prepare, first my plan was to prepare palak gravy and chapathis but how forgetful I could be. I had no spinach in my refrigerator. I do agree forgetfulness is a part of aging! but is not this too early for me? I had finished almost entire spinach 3-4 days back and I was believing that it is still left. Then all of a sudden I had to change my mind and prepare something else. I had an opened whipping cream pack. Had solid plans to finish that. Had a small cabbage piece with me. Something out of cabbage but with a gravy was my wish. So thought of preparing Cabbage Kofta in Creamy Gravy . I was so happy for having successfully executed my plan. Here I share happily today my 200th post. When it comes to 100th, or 200th or so on, the post is highlighted, indicating a milestone being reached. Well when I look back, I feel it had been a splendid journey till date as a blogger and hoping to continue the same way. And very happy that this is a kind of e-book for me. I often check the measurements and also few recipes which I myself have blogged to prepare it again or so. Best part is that may be it would be of great use for my kid when she grows up. By then I wish I should have blogged some 1000 recipes atleast.
Well let me move on to the recipe now.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Hot Chocolate Fudge

Today as per the challenge in Sweet Fantasy Club we have to reveal Hot Chocolate Fudge. I am not a chocolate lover neither is Mr. S. I'm glad because I never have to try anything with chocolate. My regular readers would have guessed that by now as till date there were no posts with chocolates as an ingredient. But as it was a part of the challenge given I had to attempt. As I'm a great fan of icecream, just pampered myself on a lazy afternoon four days back and attempted this delicious hot chocolate fudge. Very simple dessert which will be ready in no time. I am not a chocolate lover hence the less amount of hot chocolate is seen, but couldn't resist adding whipping cream. I used readily available vanilla icecream for this dessert. I'm yet to try a home made version of vanilla icecream. With all the ingredients readily available I could prepare this in no time. Here goes the recipe.

Monday 21 October 2013

Kesar Rajbhog

Rajbhog is a delectable dessert from North India.You might have observed recently a badge in my space stating member of Sweet Fantasy Club. Yes you guessed it right, I love sweets and hence immedietely expressed my willingnesss to join this group when Preeti Garg asked me. The challenge here is in the beginning of the month two desserts, one Indian and another international will be revealed. We are having solid 20 days to prepare them and put them up here on two days, i.e 21st and 22nd of every month for that corresponding month's challenge. Interesting isn't it? Yes,I was so happy when the challenge for this month was revealed. I'm a big sweet lover and hence joined. This month we got Kesar Rajbhog in Indian Dessert and Hot Chocolate Fudge in international dessert. I have tried Rajbhog and I'm here with many cautions and tips as I have faced few problems when I prepared it the first time. I actually followed same recipe of rasgulla to prepare this and hence used a pressure cooker. But as rajbhog involves stuffing inside we never know when it gets cooked if in pressure cooker. Hence the 1st time I prepared it was a big flop with all the rajbhogs fully broken. I had prepared 10 and in that 10, one was without stuffing. That one rasgulla was fabulous which indicated that my Rasgulla recipe is a keeper one. the pressure cooker recipe of rasgulla never fails if followed correctly. But for rajbhog never ever try cooking in pressure cooker. Secondly a thin boiling and bubbling sugar syrup will help the rajbhog cook well. If thick it will turn hard and also the syrup will not reach deep inside.Well stories apart here I share the recipe the way I prepared. I will tell few tips in the notes section. So read till the end.

Sunday 20 October 2013

Moong Dal Khichdi with Cabbage/Moong dal Porridge with Cabbage

My little girl now has sound knowledge with regard to taste I believe. I can see her eyeing on the transparent glass cup of tea that I serve in the morning or evening to myself and Mr. S. She then just makes her face when I serve her a glass of milk with Almond powder or a teaspoon full of Junior Horlicks. She will ask for a sip of tea and if I tell no, she deliberately goes and gets a piece of bread and asks me, ''Amma, dip this in tea and give me''. Don't you think we need to prepare daily something delicious and different so as to make her like what she eats. Yes hence my plight to prepare daily something different for her ended me up with this nutritious khichdi. I added a small amount of garlic, ginger just to enhance the taste and make her drool as she eats. To my surprise it turned out so well that not only she even I liked it to the core. Here I share the simple recipe for your growing toddlers.

Recipe adapted from Tarla Dalal's recipes for toddlers

Ingredients:
Rice-2 tbsp
Moong dal (split skinned green gram)-2 tbsp
Chopped cabbage- 1/4 cup
Capsicum-1/4 chopped
Shallots-1 chopped
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Asafoetida (hing)- a pinch
Grated ginger-1/4 tsp
Garlic-1 chopped fine

Turmeric powder - a pinch
Ghee-1/2 tsp 
Water-1 3/4 cups
 Salt to taste
Cilantro/Coriander leaves to garnish
 
Recipe:
  1. Clean both moong dal and rice under running water.
  2. Soak them with enough water for 20-30 minutes.
  3. In a pressure cooker add ghee.
  4. When hot add cumin seeds.
  5. Add hing/asafoetida after cumin seeds splatter.
  6. Add chopped garlic at this stage.
  7. Now once garlic is well sauteed, add in shallots.
  8. Add grated ginger too.
  9. Saute everything well.
  10. Now pop in capsicum, cabbage and saute.
  11. Add turmeric powder and give a mix.
  12. Now add the drained mixture of soaked rice and moong dal.
  13. Saute well and add water, salt to taste and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.Once pressure releases, transfer it into a serving plate and granish with cilantro.

 
 
 
Notes:
  1. If the khichdi or porridge looks dry add little say 1/4 cup boiled water and again simmer for 4-5 minutes.
  2. Serving suggestion: Can serve as it is, or with a dollop of curd.
 Enjoy the dish! n don't forget Eat and Eat little MORE.. :)

Friday 18 October 2013

Ghee Rice and Plain Kurma

I was thinking yesterday night as what to prepare. Daily night I will be in a dilemma as what to prepare for the dinner. Morning and lunch will be in a hurry, but for dinner preparation I get enough time to think and hence I end up with so many options that I prefer asking Mr.S as what shall I put up in the platter for the day's supper. Yesterday's choice was this Ghee Rice and Plain Kurma. Ghee Rice is a fragrant special rice among the exotic rice varieties. It is very common in South Indian auspicious occasions for Lunch. I got the recipe of basic Kurma from Anusha Bare Krishna, but I tweaked in the recipe a little and brought in some changes. It was an awesome dinner must say. Ghee Rice is prepared in many ways. I have my own variation to prepare Ghee Rice. Here I share both the Ghee Rice and Plain Kurma Recipe.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Aloo Matar Paneer Restaurant style

The world of Blogging is so beautiful, I never knew. It gives immense pleasure to me. I enjoy cooking a lot. I really pat my back myself when I hear that a particular dish is nice from Mr. S or any one who tastes it for that matter. I had recently joined a group of bloggers SYS-W Show Your Styles to the World. I was not aware when the group started but recently Viji who announced about this event and was very happy to know the rules and regulations of the event. I just intimated her that I wanted to join and she readily included me to the group. I was little late to join hence missed the thrilling part of the event, that was choosing a pair of numbers of hidden ingredients and later knowing the ingredients. As I was late, got assigned a pair of numbers and to my surprise both the hidden ingredients were loved by me. They were Potatoes and Green Peas. As I learnt the ingredients, the very first thing that struck my brains were Aloo Matar Paneer. It is an exotic flavorful curry that involves potatoes, tender green peas and Indian cottage cheese in a mild cashew nut gravy. Here I share the exotic restaurant style Aloo Matar Paneer. 
 


Thursday 10 October 2013

Butternut Squash Soup

Never in India I knew there existed a veggie called butternut squash. Here, whenever I visit supermarket I used to see this veggie which almost looked as though it belongs to pumpkin family. I got this home and tried varieties which I used to prepare with pumpkin. All were simply splendid. I recently tried a soup out of it. Marvellous must say. It tasted heavenly and was easy to prepare too. Unlike other soups I din't even need corn flour to thicken as by itself it thickens, the very nature of pumpkin genus called Cucurbita. Here goes the simple recipe.


Ingredients:
Butternut squash-1/2 peeled and diced
Coriander leaves/cilantro-2 sprigs chopped
Black pepper corns-15
Garlic-2-3 pods
Bay leaves-1
Oil-1 tsp
Whipping Cream to garnish
Water-3 cups
Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste

Recipe:
  1. Add chopped pieces of the squash into a pan and add enough water say 1 1/2 cup and cook the pieces well.
  2. Once cooked, allow them cool and then grind them well to a smooth puree.
  3. In another pan add oil and when hot add black pepper corns, bay leaves and chopped garlic and saute.
  4. Once they are sauteed well, add the pureed squash to it. Add cilantro and cook for a while.
  5. Once cooked, cool, remove the bay leaves off and grind again followed by filtering.
  6. Once filtered, add remaining water, again boil it adding salt to taste, black pepper powder adjusting the spicyness.
  7. Garnish with whipping cream and enjoy it piping hot with bread pieces or as it is.
 
 
 
 
 
 Enjoy the dish! n don't forget Eat and Eat little MORE.. :)
 
Sending this to Guru's Cooking
 

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Orange Kesari/Orange Flavored Sheera

I had an orange in hand and was not willing to have it as such. Was over Google to get some ideas. Finally refrained myself from baking as I had one single orange and then thought of preparing a dessert out of it. Recently had got a recipe for Orange Kesari from Vinutha Rao, friend of mine. I was very much eager to try out this dessert. It was simply splendid. I hence decided to share it here. Just the normal sheera is prepared but with added orange juice. It gives a mild tangy orange flavor to the normal sheera. I must say it is a must try dessert which is so simple to prepare. Here goes the recipe.

Saturday 5 October 2013

Broken Wheat Vegetable Khichdi / Bulgar Wheat and Vegetable Porridge

Off late came in touch with a website associated to Sambhrama.celebrateinnocence. It provides holistic education to children providing very good initial childhood development by encouraging the leadership spirit as well as enhancing the potential of kids. It is an organization providing value added education to children without any stress. It has a play group, Nursery, LKG, UKG. I being a mommy of a toddler do very well understand the importance of such organizations which help children learn a lot form each other and also get accustomed to social life. With such organizations children learn more than making kids stay at home. I very much appreciate the work this institution does. Have seen lot of pictures being shared in Facebook that reveal the zest and spirit of the small kids. They are the future and need to be nurtured well. I found it really interesting. Do visit Sambhrama for more information about them.
I was excited on receiving a guest post request from Sambhrama. I must first of all convey my sincere thanks for their choice. I'm really honored. Thanks to Sambhrama team. I shared Broken Wheat Vegetable Khichdi / Bulgar Wheat and Vegetable porridge recipe meant for toddlers. Do visit Sambhrama.celebrateinnocence for the recipe.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Avial/Avilu

Avial/Avilu is a famous side dish of South India. I used to love this whenever my mother used to prepare. Almost all our functions used to have this as one side dish. Even for Onam this is a famous side dish without which an Onam Sadya is incomplete. As I couldn't get good raw bananas as well as yam, I didn't prepare avail for my Onam Sadya here. Now that I managed getting good varieties of veggies I decided to prepare this side dish at home. Without much blabbering let me take you to the recipe. Here goes the recipe.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Balekkayi Palya/Kacchhe Kele ki Sabji/Raw Banana Stir Fry

I'm used to eat any dish that my mom makes. May be out of veggies that we get from farm at my grand mom's place or store brought ones. She knows all traditional dishes may be because of the lifestyle they followed when she was a kid. And I very much love those dishes when compared to modern ones. One such favorite dish of mine is using raw banana, balekkayi palya as we call in our language. Whenever I used to ask what are the variations in certain dishes that she brings which make the dish more tasty, she clearly explains me saying the reason behind of adding or not certain ingredients to a curry. It is individual taste which matters but in case of dishes almost me and my mom used to share similar. So never got bored of what she prepares. She tells, for balekkayi palya the seasoning given should be generous else it doesn't taste good. I followed the way she used to prepare and I was very happy with the outcome. It tastes fabulous with rice, I can even eat them as filling for sandwiches replacing potatoes. Anyways lets move on to the recipe.

Thursday 26 September 2013

Olan

If you are my regular reader you would have been definitely waiting for me to finish up writing the Onam delicacies. If you have noticed I had left out Olan recipe and hence the post is up today. I had never ever prepared this olan prior to Onam till date. This was my first try and had got the recipe from a malayali friend of mine. I tried this with Cowpeas and Schmorgurken/Braised cucumbers (a type of cucumber we get here) I started using this type of cucumber lately and started enjoying them in my diet. I hence tried them in Olan on the day of Onam. It was awesome and with minimum spices I could offer this curry with rice to my kid happily. Here I share the recipe.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Shahi Paneer restaurant style

At times I like to pamper myself by visiting restaurants especially Indian restaurants and eat tummy full of meal, starting from soups till desserts. I love the way I get hot curries to eat with Indian flatbreads, all hot. This is just because I never get to eat anything hot especially after I cook as I spend time either taking snaps or serving family. Finally I will end up eating as it is without even warming it up again. Well, not only me, I know all my co-bloggers too would be facing the same. Germany we do get Paneer in supermarkets called as 'hirtenkäse' meant for salads, but I tried it here and it worked like a wonder for me. Yesterday I prepared Shahi Paneer in restaurant style. This time I tried with store bought paneer. In  But I usually make use of home made ones. I had already shared Home made Paneer cubes recipe. Do try this recipe. I bet you would be licking your fingers for sure. I loved it and here goes the recipe.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Cabbage Thoran

I usually prepare cabbage stir fry with chopped cabbage which are not too fine.I have already in my space a way to prepare palya/sabji from cabbage, i.e. Cabbage Palya. For thoran, as the Keralites prepare requires us to chop the cabbage very fine, or grate them or even make use of a food processor to serve the purpose. I grated the cabbage. As grating is involved, it requires no extra water to cook not it takes much time to get cooked. In cabbage thoran usually shallots are used. Even they are chopped fine as the cabbage. But since I'm no to onions on festival days, I avoided onions/shallots in thoran. I prepared it in a very simple way as below.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Puli Inji

A must part of Onam Sadya is an appetizer made out of tamarind and ginger known as Puli Inji. I somehow fell in love with this when I got to eat Onam Sadya for the first time when I was a 3rd standard student in a place called Kanjangad where I did my initial schooling. In a temple nearby we were offered Onasadya meal during Onam. I came home and did enquire my mother about this appetizer as it was very new one for me. For me and my family Onam is just the Onam feast we enjoy may be because though our hometown is in Kerala, we are not Malayalees and hence never knew its significance other than the feast part. Well from past one week I was really not in a mood to blog for my kid was not keeping well. Now that she is getting well I, as promised, writing up for you the puli inji recipe. I apologise for having not updated it one by one then after displaying my onam thali in my previous post of pazham pradhaman. Here goes the recipe for puli inji.

Monday 16 September 2013

Pazham Pradhaman

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala, celebrated to commemorate the memory of Mahabali, the Great King. It marks with the annual visit of Mahabali from 'Patala Loka'. This is a festival which is celebrated by all irrespective of caste and creed. Most important part of Onam is Onam sadya, meaning Onam feast. It involves many array of traditional dishes along with desserts mainly payasam. It is served on a banana/plantain leaf. Being away from parent's place after marriage has made me miss one such awesome feast I used to enjoy. I was staying in a residential colony where every year Onam is celebrated with fun and fervor. There used to be many fun games and at the end a delicious feast to dig in. I really missed eating this sadya after I left my parent's place. Never got a chance to visit them during Onam, so as to be a part of this sadya and Onam celebration. Well, now that I couldn't just miss preparing them. We don't have any holiday today as people in Kerala enjoy. So I planned out a small menu for my family to mark Onam sadya yesterday. Well I must say I couldn't prepare much. Just prepared few dishes in small quantities in 2-3 hours that are part of Onam feast and enjoyed. I couldn't miss making pazham pradhaman, semiya payasam, cabbage thoran, olan, puli inji. These things accompanied our lunch yesterday. I'll write up recipes one by one starting from Pazham pradhaman. Semiya payasam I had already updated long back. So here goes the pazham pradhaman recipe.

Friday 13 September 2013

Sapaada Bhakshya

Satyanarana Pooja is performed in Hindu communities generally on any occasion such as marriage, a house warming ceremony. It is not confined to any festivals. It can be done any day. Most auspicious is doing it on a full moon day. It is believed that for this pooja, even if we do not get any invitation, just if you got to know pooja is there, we should go and hear the katha/story behind this pooja and at the end we should have the Prasad of this pooja and return. I used to love Satyanarayana pooja in my childhood for one main reason, i.e the Prasad we get at the end of the pooja, even now I crave for those sweet cute small dumplings. We are served the panchamrit as well as sapaada bhakshya after the pooja ends. This is a heavenly delicious sweet. It is believed that we are not supposed to do this sweet/Prasad at home if we are not performing the pooja. It is also believed that we are not supposed to prepare this sweet in large quantity. It should be prepared only with specified measure. But I crave for this every now and then. Recently I happened to ask my mother if I could prepare this sweet to satisfy my cravings, but she was like NO, you should not. I remember mom telling me, if at all we are so much desperate to eat this, we can skip any 1 ingredient and prepare this sweet. It makes use of Whole wheat flour, Banana, Cow Milk, Sugar, Ghee. But I was like if we skip banana, no actual taste, cant substitute wheat flour as I won't get the original taste, again can't avoid ghee. Now only thing left was milk and I got an idea as to replace milk with water. Soon called 'amma' as I call my mother, and asked if I could substitute milk with water and prepare this sweet. She was like yes you could if you crave so much. I was relieved. Hence prepared them and enjoyed. I must say they almost reached the original taste as I just skipped milk alone and substituted with same amount of water. Here goes my recipe.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Cream of Sweet Corn

Around a week back I had prepared Cream of Sweet Corn. With one corn I could just manage getting 2 cups of soup. I wished I had prepared more. It was so delicious with the flavor of corn, black pepper and in between the corn kernels to munch, was really refreshing our chilled rainy evening the other day. I love sweet corn in any form. I just need no reason to enjoy them. Now corn is in season and hence I try out all possible delicacies out of them. Here I share a simple recipe for the cream of sweet corn soup.

Monday 9 September 2013

Panchakajjaya

Every Havyak Brahmin will definitely have this prepared in their house on this day of Ganesh Chaturthi as Prasad. It is prepared and offered to God and then served among family members and friends. Either Panchamruta or Panchakajjaya is prepared. As the name indicates, panchakajjaya is a mixture of 5 ingredients roasted and ground into dry powder which is served as Prasad. Usually in Ganesh temple panchakajjaya is common Prasad. As the tradition goes we are not supposed to have anything without offering to God, the Prasad. Everything fresh needs to be prepared and hence first dish I did was Panchakajjaya for Ganesha today. Very simple yet the most loved by Lord Ganesha. I had a Ganesha temple nearby our house in my childhood, known as Madhur Siddivinayaka  temple in Kerala. The appam and panchakajjaya we get here as Prasad is something we can never replicate at home. Even if we try to prepare we can never achieve the same taste. I as kid and even now love them. Today I wanted to try panchakajjaya and did my prayers in the morning with that as naivedhyam. Here I share my panchakajjaya recipe.

Sunday 8 September 2013

Wheat Flour Modak

'Vakratunda Mahakaaya
Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva
Sarva Kaaryeshu Sarvada'

Ganesh Chaturthi -  Birthday of Lord Ganesh is one of the most popular Hindu Festival. It is celebrated on the 4th day (chaturthi) of  the bright fortnight month of Bhadrapada (August-September) in Hindu Calendar. The celebration continues till Anantha Chaturdasi which is for 10 full days. I have a simple sweet modak recipe for you that could form a naivedhyam for Lord Ganesh. This recipe I learnt from my mom. My childhood days I really miss, esp. festival special dishes by mom. I just couldn't stop myself when I remembered them the other day and hence rang her up to get the recipe of this modak she used to prepare for Ganesh Chaturthi. Here goes her simple sweet wheat flour modak recipe.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Steamed Modak for Ganesh Chaturthi

Modak is something which is a must for Ganesh Chaturthi. I cherish the old days when we had no responsibilities tied upon us, but were just free birds enjoying life. Childhood is the best part of life. Festivals and celebration were fun, best part was eating and eating varieties of sweets and savories prepared for the same.Still remember the days when my mom used to say 'Chauthi dina Chandrana nodabaradu', meaning on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi, we are not supposed to look at Moon as there is a superstition associated with it. Some things I believe for simple reason that it is followed from ancient past by our anscestors. There is a small story associated with this belief.

Thursday 5 September 2013

Indian Butter Cookies/Nankhatai

Who doesn't love these mouth melting butter cookies? Well I guess it would be everyone's favorite. It is mine too. Lately I'm here with an oven for myself. I hence tried these mouth melting cookies in my oven. Was very much apprehensive as this was my very first try in oven. I must say I had a wonderful experience baking these lovely cookies. I felt today is Teacher's day and I should prepare something to mark this special day as what we are today is all due to our beloved teachers who sacrifice their life in moulding us. I got the recipe from my dear sister Shri Kripa. Thanks to her for this awesome recipe. Here I share the recipe for the mouth melting Indian butter cookies.

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Soft Mysore Pak

I have had never a day in my life after coming here to Germany that I let go a day without eating a dessert or sweet. You could very well imagine how much am I fond of these sweets from the very drop down list showing the list of desserts in my space. It is much more than any other lists, if you glance my Recipe Index. Well I have no regrets till date for consuming so many desserts. I ensure that I stay fit. That way I am safe even if I have strong cravings. Just the other day I tried soft mysore pak, the way we get in Adyar Anand Bhavan or in Cochin bakeries. They are mouth melting but very high on calories due to the amount of ghee, oil and sugar in it. Heart patients cannot try this even. But others could definitely if you follow perfect exercise regime which may be just a long walk even. As I'm writing this post I'm enjoying the small bite of this sweet. Here I share the recipe of soft mysore pak.

Sunday 1 September 2013

Bread Upma

I can say after coming to Germany, bread has become a staple food for us. Early morning with tea it so happens that even if I have a dosa/crepes batter ready Mr. S will be like 'give me bread'. He says 'I'll eat dosas when I come in the evening from office'. I feel it is only in my case. Are there anyone like me? May not all follow same. He says early morning he doesn't feel like eating a plate full of hot dosas or similar heavy breakfast. Rather he prefers either a toast or two or even milk bread or sandwich bread with jam. A land where the bread dominates, it is no surprise seeing varieties of bread available in the market here. Some have exotic fillings, Some are plain yet tasty. I had recently brought big packs of sandwich bread and they had to be cleared up soon. Thought for a while as what to do and hit Google. Vahchef whom I simply adore gave me a brilliant idea through his bread upma video. Hence the post. It was a hit in my family. I bet that instead of preparing this bread upma to clear the pile of bread in the rack you would start to get sandwich bread exclusively to prepare this stuff. Here goes the simple recipe.

Friday 30 August 2013

Kodubale

Just passed the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, very soon many more festivals are queued up for the year. Coming next is Ganesh Chaturthi. India is a land of festivals, no wonder in that as it is a Secular Country housing main four religions with each religion having sets of festivals throughout the year and are celebrated with immense fervor. Not only in India even abroad the Indians try their best to celebrate these festivals. Well as promised I had to put up the recipe of Kodubale today.
Kodubale as the name goes is a savory snack from the state of Karnataka. As the name suggests 'Kodu' means Horn and 'bale' means Bangle. Though not sure why the dish is named so. This recipe calls for patience and effort. Here goes the recipe.

Thursday 29 August 2013

Maida Burfi

Janmashtami was celebrated yesterday throughout. I had kept all you readers in suspense by asking you all to stay tuned for my maida burfi and Kodubale recipe.
My daughter's nakshatra or star is 'Rohini'. It is believed to be Krishna's nakshatra. So whenever she does any mischief I call her telling 'looti krishna' as in our local language meaning naughty Krishna. She loves specific sweets only. This is something which she will like I felt and hence on the Janmashtami night,after offering to God, I offered them to my sweet cute Krishna, Shreeya my daughter, and she was like wow, 'one more amma'. I was happy. Even my better half said 'This is something very delicious and I'm loving it'. Wow, what more do I need? Both gave me good compliments. I was happy.  As promised today I'm sharing maida burfi recipe. Kodubale recipe will be up tomorrow is up. Until you wait try out these mouth melting burfi.