How to make Aloo Poha | Batata Poha Recipe

Batata Poha is a very popular breakfast dish from Maharashtra made with onions, potatoes (batata) and beaten rice (poha). Poha is a common breakfast dish made across India, with each state having its own subtle variation and names. There are numerous recipes for making poha, the recipes varying from one family to another, each with their own way of preparing it.

Kanda Poha and Batata Poha were made regularly at home. Karnataka has it's own variation called Avalakkibath which is quite similar to Kanda Poha, but has the addition of urad dal and channa dal in it, with garnishes of fresh grated coconut. Batata Poha though was always called as Batata Poha, and never Avalakki. Mornings with plate full of Poha, tall glass of warm milk and off we went to school full and nourished till noon.

This was also a breakfast made when we had guests over, or on days when mom was running out of time to prepare breakfast. Potato, in general is a loved ingredient by many, so that meant less fuss. I now make this Maharashtrian-styled Aloo Poha / Batata Poha regularly at my home and my family enjoys it well as much as I do.

Batata Poha | Aloo Poha

INGREDIENTS

2 medium sized potatoes, peeled, chopped and diced
2 cups poha/beaten rice (thick variety)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
Juice squeezed from 1 lime
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Wash the beaten rice thoroughly and drain the water. Add turmeric powder and salt, mix well and keep aside. While the poha blooms, proceed to prep the rest of the ingredients such a chopping potatoes and onions.

Heat oil in a fry pan, add in the mustard seed and let it splutter. Add the chopped onions and stir fry for 30 seconds till they are transclucent in color. Next add the diced potatoes, torn curry leaves and green chillies. Stir fry for a couple of minutes till the potatoes are cooked, yet have a bite. Add in the soaked poha/beaten rice. Turn heat to medium low and gently mix all the ingredients. Cover and cook for atleast 5 mins. Once cooked, remove from heat, add sugar and squeeze juice from 1 lime. Garnish with roasted peanuts and chopped coriander leaves.

You can cut down the cooking time by using boiled potatoes before hand. You can add the potatoes into the tempering oil, stir-fry well and allow it to cook. That way the potatoes get a slight crunch. This however takes a longer time and consumes more oil, hence I avoid this version. The one that I make is a quick, healthy and less time consuming since the potatoes are pre-boiled and need no further cooking. Addition of a teaspoon of sugar and lime is optional, but this really adds an edgy flavor, which is typical to Maharastrian cuisine.

An alternate version of this called Kanda Poha, where onions are used instead of potatoes is quite a common breakfast. This breakfast is not just simple and healthy, but also filling to keep you going for long.

*This post was updated and republished recently.*

Vegan Crepe Recipe with Strawberry Coconut Cream.

Vegan Crepes 👆🏼 for your Valentine's Day. Are you looking out for an inspiration to make your Valentine's Day morning better? Or may be a dessert if you don't wish to bake? I have just the right recipe for you. A quick and easy Breakfast Crepe that's eggless and vegan and you can make and serve them under few minutes to please your Valentine 🥰. Crepes are versatile. They can be served as breakfast, main course or even desserts! This recipe I have for you is very adaptable to a savory version and you can serve it with any accompaniment of your choice. Stir fried mushrooms with spinach is my favorite! Think of it as an instant dosa. Slather some Mango Jam or stuff it with Indian styled Stir-Fried Potatoes.

Vegan Crepes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour (can be replaced with whole wheat flour for healthier version, but the taste will differ)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened milk of your choice
2 tbsp neutral flavored oil
1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Allow it to rest for 20 mins. Heat a griddle pan and drop a small laddle of batter on it. Swirl it gently from the center to the edges to form thin crepes (similar to dosa). Cook for a minute on medium low heat. The sides will lift off easily when cooked. Carefully remove and serve it on a plate. Top with Strawberry Coconut Cream (recipe below), sliced strawberries, bananas and drizzle of maple syrup.

Strawberry Coconut Cream

INGREDIENTS

1/2 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated for 24 hours
2 tbsp. strawberry jam (homemade or store-bought)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Beat the cold coconut cream on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. The cream should become light and fluffy. Add in the strawberry jam and vanilla extract, and beat until incorporated. Adjust the jam to your taste and sweetness. Serve immediately along with the crepes.

How to make Cinnamon Rolls with Cooked Frosting | Easy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

With Christmas around the corner and less than 4 days to go before you can sing Hallelujah, the Lord has come, I thought I'll peep in to help you with a lovely classic breakfast for your family to wake up to this Christmas morning. Its typically Western, hearty and sweet to call your morning off to a good start, supple enough that you may want to lay your head on it and snooze again, gives you the comfort of your bestie's company, and is the festive sorts that you can set up on table for your guests to dessert on.

For the longest time, I've had aversion to cinnamon in all things sweet. Let me not even get to the whys of it, for all I know, cinnamon in my arena existed best in the legion of savories, given the exception for a good Christmas fruit cake where it favorably unites with clove, cardamom and other spices, veiled in a way that it does not hit your senses directly and ruin the flavor. But, here it comes finally, the world coveted Cinnamon rolls looming right out of my kitchen to yours. I’m close to being a convert, convincingly not a cinnamon-dessert-hater anymore. These don’t look a lot like the traditional rolls. I mean they are not enormous in size to consume your palm, certainly not the perfect looking rolls that stand flawlessly edged shoulder to shoulder giving them a clean rip, nor do they bask in the sugary coated frosting that sinks into every groove merrily.

I would probably rechristen these as cinnamon pull apart rolls; owing to the pans I had and the amount of dough I made, they ended up this way. But they are cinnamon rolls essentially, so let's stick to that. They don’t snatch away the authenticity from the traditional ones. They smell great in and out of the oven, are near identical in their recipe, forgiving the eggs in the dough. They sat squishing in an eight inch round baking pan, my ideal dish to bake a nice chocolate cake in, but this time around they doubled up as my bread pan too, saving me gracefully from sunken cockeyed bread had I baked them in my ten inch dish instead. They nudged for space as they puffed up on their second sitting, and, by the time they were out they looked glorious in their golden crevices and sugar burnt hunches, flattering into characteristic pull apart rolls that need to be forked by the thumb and forefinger to tear them apart from their siblings. There’s a fun thing to it, to tear it apart in submission in an imperfect way and dunk it in milk over giggles and laughters with our little girl while tapping our feet to the melodies of Christmas jingles. That’s when you know you are up for a good start to a holiday season.

The frosting is purely optional. As for a daily bread, I would stay away from frosting these. They are sweet on their own and make a wonderfully perfect Sunday breakfast with a slather of some salted butter, or cream cheese and coffee by the side. But we are in a holiday season, and that calls for some adornment on the table to give it a festive ring. I have a clean, less sweeter old fashioned cooked vanilla frosting recipe that works really well for me. Since the bread is sweet by nature, a lighter frosting like this one is pleasing to our tastes. Unlike the traditional frosting where you mix milk to confectioners’ sugar till you get a desired consistency, this one is far better version that gives me a similar thick pour-able consistency, albeit far less sweeter than the original version. Give it a try, may be you'll fall for these too.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cooked Vanilla Frosting

INGREDIENTS

For Cinnamon Rolls:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk (I used full fat milk)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp. active dry yeast (or rapid rise)

For the Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
2 tbsp. melted butter

For the Cooked Vanilla Frosting:

1 cup full fat milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Heat the milk and butter in a large sauce pan till the butter has melted into the milk. Remove from heat and add in the sugar. Stir well and allow it cool down to lukewarm. The milk should be tepid enough to activate the yeast, but not too hot, else will kill the yeast.

Transfer the warm milk to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast into it. Let it sit for 10 minutes, so that the yeast can feed on the sugar and froth.

Next, add flour starting with 1/2 cup at a time and stirring well as you go. Once it forms a loose batter, add the next half cup of flour and stir well. This will help activate the gluten in the dough and yield soft supple dough, resulting in a good, fluffy bread. Continue using all of the flour and stir well with each addition till it comes together to form a sticky dough. Knead it for a minute or two till its soft and supple.

Place the dough in an oiled deep dish and cover it with a dish cloth. Let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours. By this time the dough should double in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. I use the clean kitchen counter top that provides me ample space to work my dough on. Using a flour dusted rolling pin, roll the dough into a thin long rectangle. Brush it generously with melted butter. Prepare a mix of sugar and cinnamon powder and sprinkle it generously all over the dough.

Starting at the longer edge side, roll up the dough as tight as you can till forms a long log. To avoid opening up, place the seam side down. Using a cleaned knife dipped in flour, cut the log into slices of 1.5 inch each. Butter a 8x8-inch round baking tin. Place the rolls into the buttered tin, next to each other. Brush the rolls with some melted butter. Set aside to rise again for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown in color. If the top of the bread seems to change color sooner, while the underside still seems uncooked, cover the top with an aluminium foil and continue to bake till done.

Remove from oven and allow it to cool completely. Frost as desired.

For the frosting, combine milk and flour in a saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes. The mixture should thicken and come to a boil. Add in sugar and stir well. Boil till the mixture coats the back of a wooden spatula, i.e. of custard consistency. Turn off the heat. Stir in vanilla essence. Cool completely. Before serving, whisk the frosting really well and swirl using a spoon on the cinnamon rolls.

How to make Healthy Raw Brownies | Easy Raw Brownie Recipe

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. - Oprah Winfrey

Its Thanksgiving tomorrow and under five weeks, we'll be well into Christmas, my favorite time of the year when all else goes still and only food and festivities shall prevail. I am excited and am so looking forward to it. As for now, there isn't a grand event of celebration lined up for tomorrow, but, we'll take joy in the holiday to follow, time for togetherness and bonding over relaxed morning, lazying noon and a slow evening. Hurray to no work, no deadlines, no meetings for a day. We'll wake up late in the bed, follow a laid back routine and lavish a little on a good homemade breakfast. The day calls for my time in kitchen, where get to I play with pots and pans, may be tossing up some flour, butter and sugary goodness into a ton of fruits to come up with something worthy for Christmas. A cake is in store, a Christmas fruit cake that I can hopefully talk about in posts to come. We'll have our family at the table, the three of us, savoring lunch in an austere way, which in itself is a small celebration to do on a weekday - bringing in tit-bits of our weekend-ness, in a little modish way.

Meanwhile, I have these super healthy brownie treats for you to feature on your Thanksgiving table. I made them this summer, though they don't pertain to any seasons. They are treats you can make year round. No seasons attached. You can make them for your Thanksgiving dessert menu or keep them handy to treat your guests over a cup of coffee or just carry them on your hiking trip to give you adrenaline boost. There's no sugar in them, no butter whatsoever, no flour, no guilt too. And no no! I am not on diet if you ask so. But I thought I should be a little considerate and save you from splurging way too much before the year end celebrations kick in. There's a lot awaiting there, Christmas on its way, New Year dinner to follow, so you may want to treat yourself slowly and sanely before getting there. These little treats don't steal away the joy of splurging, mind you. They are delicious as is in small bites or you can make them in a wonderful no-bake pie base with fancy toppings. Hope these make your Thanksgiving table a little more glamorous.

Raw Brownies

Prep Time: 5 mins | Pulse Time: 10 mins + 2 hrs refrigeration | Yield: 12 pieces

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of medjool dates
1/2 cup of roasted almonds
1/2 cup of raw walnuts
3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
2 tablespoons of maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

Blend the almonds and walnuts in a food processor until they form a crumbly mixture. Then add the dates and blend again till dates are pureed. Next add the cacao and maple syrup and blend again. The mixture will come together in form of a dough. If its wet to handle, add in some walnuts and pulse again.

Place the mixture into a baking tray. Refrigerate for two hours or freeze for one hour so that it sets well. Cut into slices and serve. Store in an air tight container and keep them refridgerated for freshness.

So it came finally. The tail-end of September wagging its way out and giving way to the rolling acorns and lazying dawns of October. I feel giddy and selfish at the moment, with all that summer, and its bounty warmth we are parting away. I'm unwilling to let go of the September coziness, its weather so impeccable, yet, October is right around the corner knocking to besiege. For our little girl, it holds promises of play-a game of picking the fallen acorns and bringing them home each evening to fill her jar of what she calls her little craft goodies. She counts by numbers and makes sure no one gets to mess around with them. The sun is up late these day, like us on Sundays, stretching out at ease and retiring to bed sooner than should.

October, my herald, you are finally here! Riding along with Autumn, bringing all things nice and beautiful in its direction. So have I heard, from D and my colleagues, books and magazines. You are D's love more than mine. He lauds you with a twinkle in his eye, like a teenager dizzy in infatuation. You are his season, his reason for admiration. I've been waiting for you eerily, the hallelujah he's been all about. D is a huge fan of you; he's a sucker for colors, the leaf peeper, our foliage tracker, the nature lover, a sincere admirer. "You MUST watch fall colors, there's nothing like it", he'd say all the while. I'd reel in excitement, like in glee of a kindergartner counting on her Christmas gift. With several videos and photographs of autumn spreading its golden hues that D had been aptly sharing with me on watsapp over the past 2 years, I wondered if this was so surreal in pictures, what the heck would it look like in real. I had seen the spring and the summer landscape of New England, narrowly gotten glimpse of winters, their snow capped rooftops and bare tress too. Of what was remaining to witness was this season sandwiched between summers and winters -the autumn, or the fall as they call - the transition - getting into the skin of winters.

So you are here, out of your closet after months of solemnly hiding; playing with my sunshine, my daily dose of Vitamin D. You frisk us with your bouts of chill, make us miss our morning alarms, after all its still gloomy outside, sky blemished with neutral hues of blacks and whites dangling high, it has us snuggling longer with curled toes in our beds. You make people on walks wear boots and scuffle in their coats, their hoods still flapping their backs. You peek-a-boo the sun, filling skies with grays. You daub our backyard with shades of reds, burgundies and browns. You make the poor squirrels run helter skelter, scouring for their hibernation. Those sparrows are gone too. You spill acorns, pluck crisp maples and oaks, line them on our sidewalks to crackle as we tread on.

You know I am excited, I want you around. I've been waiting, waiting this long. I am anxious though about the chill ripples you'll bring soon. I smell your autumn perfume, the air sweet in its giving. I worry for those naked trees, all their browns you'll soon skin away. I worry for the squirrels, hoping they'll stay warm. I worry for the flakes that will come pouring down, the streak of gloom, and the white blanket you'll engulf all things with. I worry about winters, of what I've heard and seen, about shoveling the driveway, of making it to office on time, and being back home. I worry for my daughter burying herself into layers of warmth. I worry for myself. I can't bear cold even as I am prepared. I worry what you'll soon bring along.

I want to hold on to this for a while longer. I fear losing these golden sweet peaches, the last of my summer treasures as you'll soon fill them with apples, winter squash and sweet pumpkins. Not that the apples won't be welcome, but I lament my berries were long gone; what's left of it is a handful of them sought from our berry picking days, clung in clusters, glued by ice, sitting high in my freezer, their box cover identical in color as these navy beauties. Just by chance.

These waffles don't have much to speak for, except that they are belong to realm of classics, and ofcourse have some buttermilk in them like their name suggests. They were made inspired from one of the cookbooks I rented from the library last year, jotted down roughly on scraps of kitchen towels and placed randomly in between pages of a cookbook I own.

I made these a few weeks ago, in a brand new waffle pan that I put to use since I received as a gift from my cousin's wife last year. I met her for the first time after several years, and we bonded very well. I love such gifts that conjure up old memories each time I use it. Peaches and blueberries make a light summery topping. Maple syrup brings the right touch of sweetness to these waffles. Overall its the right kind of breakfast for these days - warm and comforting for those lazy Sunday mornings.

Classic Buttermilk Waffles

Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 5 min each | Makes: 5-6 waffles, 6" in size

INGREDIENTS

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk*
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

To serve:

Pure maple syrup, sliced peaches and fresh blueberries, to serve

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the waffle iron as per your manufacturer's instructions.

In large mixing bowl, beat together all the wet ingredients, i.e., the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla extract until they are light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients well.

Transfer the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir them together gently with a wooden spoon till they are just combined.

Using a measuring cup, spoon out about 3/4 cup of the batter onto center of hot waffle iron and spread it around to spread on the waffle pan. Waffle pan sizes can differ based on manufacturers. Depending on your pan and your first waffle, you can increase or decrease the amount of batter needed for subsequent ones. Alternatively, refer your waffle maker’s manual for the recommended quantity of batter. Close the lid of waffle pan and allow it to cook till the lights go off and the waffle pan stops steaming from the sides. It usually takes about 5 minutes to turn golden brown.

Carefully lift the waffle and serve immediately. Top with pure maple syrup and fresh blueberries and sliced peaches.

Notes: Incase you do not have buttermilk at hand, you can prepare one by mixing 1 scant cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Whisk well and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. The prepared buttermilk should thicken the milk slightly. Use as required.

Alternate option is to use watered down yogurt. Whisk water into plain, unsweetened yogurt until you get a buttermilk-like consistency. The amount of water needed to thin down will depend on the thickness of your yogurt. I like to use 1/2 cup water to 1/2 cup of thick Greek style yogurt.

How to make Pecan, Cranberry and Coconut Granola | Easy Granola Recipe

Another year has arrived and in less than an hour 2015 will be gone. All gone, like vapors transpiring into thin air till there’s none you can see. I see and feel those last few minutes transpire as I sit down to put this post together. The calendar ticked away without notice. Days rolled into nights, snapped to weeks, cascaded till they sprinted into all 12 months. And finally, in a few hours from now we will gallop into the finishing line, calling it a year. A year that will be gone forever. For me, this was faster than anything I have known. Faster than the blink of an eye. Faster than the speed of lightening. Faster than the fastest I know.

My jaws dropped at the crack of this dawn in a sudden realization that something worthy is going away forever. A year made up of 365 well-meaning days. Either you’ve made the best of it or wasted it. There are days that made you laugh hard or the ones that had your faces dug into pillows and weep into nights. If you are like me, you would assume you've hung in neither ends of extremes. The year came and passed by with good measure of mighty highs and lows, in a sweet sour concoction, like biting into a digestive candy that gives you a balanced taste in bits of everything - sweet, salt, spicy and tangy. Though I am unable to concur what it has been sort of, it sure has been a mixed bag of emotions. It makes you think. It worries you. It brings you hope, dreams and aspirations plenty that paves way into welcoming the new year with wide arms. While 2015 has been generous and giving, etching many memorable moments that evoke nostalgia, I’m also thankful for it giving the greater positivity & strength to face the welcoming of the new year.

So let this year come on us. I wish it brings large measures of health, happiness, and prosperity for all. I pray it brings peace on earth. Peace in minds, at heart, in relations, with neighbors, friends, nations and across the globe. Irrespective of what race we belong to, let love be unbiased by color, united by humanity and progressive by nature. I wish your moments are filled with joy, laughter, trust, immense love and happiness. Happy New Year to each one of you for a fantastic 2016 and wishing you have greater prosperity & fortunes to the extent that it increases in great leaps and bounds for this new leap year!!

As I bid adieu to the year gone by and welcome the new year, I share with you a recipe for this Pecan, Cranberry and Coconut Granola that is just the perfect way start the first day of the year with. With the festivities and the week long celebrations gone by, lets make new beginnings with a fulfilling breakfast to treat our families to. Here's a recipe promising ease and health together with home made joy at breakfast table for your family.

Pecan, Cranberry and Coconut Granola

INGREDIENTS

2 cups instant oats (old fashioned oats preferred)
1/2 cup shredded dry coconut
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup broken pecans
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

In a clean bowl, combine oats along with dry coconut, cranberries and pecan nuts. Drizzle the vegetable oil and maple syrup and toss well.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes at 180 deg C till the oats begin to turn golden brown, tossing them once in every 10 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Remove and allow to cool completely before storing them in a clean dry container. Serve with warm or cold milk.

How to make Cheese Swirl Brown Bread | Easy Cheese Brown Bread Recipe

What is it like to experience an earthquake under your feet? Feeling of tremors, panic attacks, the aftermath, heart beat thumping harder than anything else you have heard, home crumbling down to rubble, a piece of land that breaches to shatters, where uncertainly prevails, and much more??? I went through nearly the same plight the night day before.

It happens quite often that I drift away from my system unlocked while I attend to other household demands. This night too, like usual, I was part way through my blog when the clock announced it was time for dinner and hence I headed over to the kitchen to prep the table. Little had I known that I would soon be called for a shock. My little girl saw this as an apt moment of play to wiggle around the mouse and hover over a couple of blogger tabs. It threw me in jolts when I realized that a couple of playful clicks had led my painstakingly customized blog interface revert to plain ol' default layout. It may have been a matter of plain fortuity, but it costed me huge heart aches and couple of sleepless nights in return to see my space, my web home collapse to wreck, much like an earthquake. Or a web-quake?

More than a year ago, I completely revamped the look of my blog and customized it to my preference. It was an interface I loved thoroughly - a simple, 2 columned no frill plain Jane look. I worked through days and nights of editing CSS coding to get its final look. When I wished to go back to the backup file, a lot had been added and modified from my original layout. Over time, social icons and new widgets were added manually, which I had now lost them all.

Anyway, all of this comes as a blessing in disguise. I assume, this space needed a new look to kill that long held monotony. After hours of research and relearning CSS coding, I finally have just the right design and I like it every bit. I am still working through those petty modifications, but I am almost there. I hallowed through the past 48 hours untiringly to reconstruct this new look. Let me know, how you like it? Are you facing any issues? Drop your comments. Constructive, critical, whatever; I welcome them all.

Beyond relearning the bits and pieces of long forgotten CSS coding that has kept me busy these couple of days, our summers have been good for now. Weather is warm and sun shines high up on almost every single day. One of the my favorite pastime this summer has been to rent books from the nearby library and read them by the porch. Apart from the usual splurge of novels, I have dug myself into couple of good cookbooks that have been quite instrumental in my kitchen during this vacation. One such inspirational cookbook that has kept me quite on my toes has been 'The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion'. A book that I have come to adore so much. Of the several recipes that I tried, tested and succeeded, this Cheese Bread has been my current favorite. Ofcourse with some minor changes to the basic recipe, here's my version of the same - cheese swirled into basic bread recipe. They are wonderful as sandwiches or open faced toasts with avocados, cucumbers, onions and lettuce.

Cheese Swirl Brown Bread

Inspired by 'The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion'

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. butter or vegetable oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp. Italian herbs
1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Combine all the ingredients except cheese and knead them together to form a smooth, pliable dough. Adjust the dough consistency with additional flour or water as needed. Cover and let it rise for atleast an hour or two, or till nearly doubled.

Transfer the dough to a well greased work surface and pat it into a 8"x 5" inch long rectangle. Combine both the cheeses in a separate bowl and spread it over the bread dough. Beginning from the closer end, roll the dough along with the cheese to form a tight roll. Pinch the seams together. Place the dough roll into a 9"x 5" inch baking pan, the seam side facing down. Allow to rise again for another 45 mins to an hour. Bake in the preheated oven at 350 deg F for 35 - 40 mins. Should the top brown too quickly, cover the top with aluminium foil and bake till the center sounds hollow. Allow to cool completely and then slice to serve.

It takes me a while usually to compose myself a good deal of writing here, that's if I have stayed too long away from thinking or haven't perched my fingers on the keyboard for a while. Although this not being the case always, I still feel like a sophomoric with words, for today. Where do I begin? What do I tell you?

We are past a week since the 4th of July and I hope you had a wonderful one like we did. Usually, for us, the 4th of July passes by without notice. That's if we were in India, it would have been just another day. Just like how the 3rd of July rolls up on the calendar, follows into the 4th and then into the 5th. But here in the US, it means more than just that.

I did not grow up learning a lot on American history. I don't remember a streak of it either. 4th of July passed as just another date on the calendar. Many years later when I started working, as part of the corporate curriculum, we were trained on the nuances of American lifestyle, their culture, and in general, their ways of life. We were taught, that while dealing with American clients, how one had to roll their tongue to get the 'R's right; a lesson or two that might impress an American and make us sound like one among them. It also preceded into understanding their holidays - the most essential and beneficial part of the training which came with some promises that every offshore engineer had an obligation to know. A promise of leaner workloads on those holidays, one that each of us looked forward to, a promise that one could possibly take a day off and travel far off place to meet their loved ones and share an extra day for the weekend. A promise that we could catch up some extra hours of lunch and coffee breaks that day. There were just a handful few to remember. Those handful that could be counted on fingertips, all defined well by dates and not by planetary movements like ours did. What thrilled us beyond all was the fact that most of these Federal public holidays were observed on the day preceding or succeeding weekend, irrespective of the day of week or weekend it falls in the year.

It intrigues me often why American Independence Day is always greeted with 'Happy 4th of July'. It could well be wished as Happy Independence Day! But like how most cultures are woven through customs and long time traditions, this one still remains to be called Happy 4th of July. So, I ask I hope you had a good one! And, if you know better, let me know why its a 'Happy 4th of July' and not 'Happy Independence Day'!

While the blog-sphere has vast variety of recipes flooding most spaces with the symbolic red and blue colors of the American national flag, I set out to bake some red and blue berry dotted muffins as a tribute to this tradition. My plans to bake Blueberry Raspberry Muffins toppled when I realized I was out of stock on Raspberries and was in no mood to rush out early in the morning. Nevertheless, these Blueberry Muffins were made and devoured for our breakfast, just the American way.

Blueberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup all purpose flour + 1 tbsp to toss blueberries into
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small egg (If using a large egg, suggest to use 1/2 an egg)
1/2 cup yogurt
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Separately toss the blueberries with a tbsp of all purpose flour and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir the mixture gently using a wooden spoon in figure 8 motion. Add the blueberries to mixture, stir them in, reserving a handful of blueberries to be topped on the muffins.

Scoop the mixture to muffin cups and fill up to three quarters. Sprinkle the remaining berries on top of muffins and poke down lightly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, and allow to cool completely. Serve warm or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

How to make Tomato Bread Upma | Easy Tomato Bread Upittu Recipe

Hang around here! It may seem a while since I got down here with a good post that brought along a recipe. But I assure, my inspiration to cook and share hasn't faded. Its just got a little dented, I promise. And I'm on my way to fill those dents. The least, I am making an attempt.

If you are on my Instagram feed, you know what we are up to. We've left behind tropical heat and heavy rains of Bangalore and made our way to wilting snow, chill weather and stark landscape of New England region. Two weeks ago we crossed oceans and nations to join D in the US. Yes, again. And its a 3 month vacation this time too. We are back to the country that seems more familiar and less formal this time around. The chill and the numbness is as biting as it previously was, but far more tolerant; probably due to the onset of spring that's just around the corner. So does the familiarity of the naked leafless foliage piercing high into the skies and that typical smell of cold mist in the air (I strongly perceived this the moment I got out of the NYC airport), the drive-right-culture and all other contrasts.

Over the past year since we took the last break and came back to India from US, I rejoined work and our little girl joined school. I moved later to live with my parents for help with our daughter in absence of D, so that our little girl wouldn't miss her dad as often. Life just got woven into busyness and humdrum of the usuals - wake up, rush to work, return home, retire to bed, wake up, rush to work, return home, retire to bed. In iterations, in constant loop as you can imagine. This, peppered with the common juggles of a homemaker and being a mother to a hyperactive, talkative girl made it more demanding. This break was so needed. To slow down a little and make time for self. To wean away from the usual mundanes of life. This time is for togetherness, for D, our little girl and me. Time, to travel places far and around. Time to live hobbies all over again. Time to live time and the moment. Time to whip up more delicious memories together again.

On another note, I wanted to share a happy news with all of you. Veg Bowl blog has been featured in First Site Guide under the section 'How To Start a Food Blog' guide as a part of their Useful Resources under No.17 - the 'Best Vegetarian Blogs' list. First Site Guide is all about helping you make your blog the best blog it possibly can be. I am thrilled to be listed here and hope this will reach out to many more readers and help them further.

Last month Veg Bowl turned another year older. It clocked 6 years of happy cooking, blogging and sharing. And though it did not come with any customary blog post with the dessert to call for its sweet celebration, I well know through your mails and comments on the loads of love the blog has whipped up over these years. Here goes a warm and huge bear hug to each one of you from me for being supportive directly or directly and motivating me to hang around, even when the tides were not sailing smooth. A BIG thank you to each of you!

My recipe post for today is this simple, yet delicious Tomato Bread Upma that makes up for a great breakfast or a good tea time snack of bread leftovers. Its spicy, tangy, quick and delicious. Hope you make it and love it as much we do.

Tomato Bread Upma

INGREDIENTS

6 slices of whole wheat bread
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, finely diced
2 tsp. peanuts
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. sambhar powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves and chopped green chillies to garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

Stack the bread pieces on top of each other and dice them through using a knife. Tear them into 1 inch cubes. Else tear them roughly using your fingers, crumbling them through into uneven pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the peanut and fry till they brown lightly. Then fry the chopped onions and the torn curry leaves. Fry them on medium high flame till the onions turn slightly brown in colour. Next, add the diced tomatoes and fry them till they become mushy and you see oil on the edges of the pan. Add the chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, the sambhar powder, red chilli powder, sugar and fry further for a minute. Add the diced bread pieces and stir them well. Fry for a couple of more minutes stirring till all the spices and tomato paste has coated the bread pieces well. The bread will soften a little and this is unlike the dry bread upma we usually make. Season with salt to taste. Fry further for 2 more minutes. Remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves and green chillies. Add a dash of freshly squeezed lime juice if required to taste. Serve hot.

How to make Healthy Chocolate Granola | Two Grain Chocolate Granola Recipe

I like to believe that my seriousness in cooking sparked when I got married and moved to live with D. It’s the kind of interest that spurs in any newlywed bride. I had a pretty decent experience being around the stove, but what it marked was, really my first stint at baking. In a pressure cooker, the way with sand and gas. Not neat, but a risky effort I remember. A few months later when my parents moved to Bangalore, my mother handed me over her old oven that had been idling for decades in the recess of her loft, so I could try my hands at making some cakes and cookies and overcome all my baking fads. She was quite certain about that.

An old Racold oven it was. With a round glass top, shiny aluminum rim and base, and as light as feather. It was a legacy thing that could burn anything in its vicinity, but bake a cake. Oh yeah, seriously. It got so hot that it ate up its own wire once. It had a thermostat knob that could not go beyond 180 deg C, that meant I had to bake pizzas over an hour and above for that perfect crust. It electrocuted once, gave me shocks, went on repair and got a brand new cabling. Yet it walked through all odds of its age, like an old granny with loads of wisdom, fraying strength and a sound heart. Each time it tumbled, I had assumed the service guy would tell me it was beyond repair, but it came back crippling to life. Having it around was a bit of charisma for the age it carried along. If it was a thing with life, there could have been a celebration for its silver jubilee. It was still precious. After all it was my mother’s. And all things lovingly handed over by mothers to daughters have a special charm, don’t they? For me, this one did.

Over the years I baked many small cakes, muffins, pizzas and breads in it with much anticipation and content. Even in moments of anxiety, it was my little companion through my journey as much this blog was. This trusted one was such a little thing that I could cuddle in my arms and tip it into my cupboard after use. Despite my keenness to buy a replacement oven, I stayed with this one so long. Because it was probably meant to be around to coach me.

A while ago, I gave this old granny away. Her age, experience and years of worth so rich. With lot of love, hesitation and self-assurance that she’s found a new home. A new home to tutor another new bride, like she did to me. So she could foster her love for cooking and try her hands at baking. She took her along with a hope. A hope that this little granny would impart what she did to my mother and me – to nurture the appetite for baking, teach patience to bear, appreciate the fragrant waft of labor and find happiness in the sweet love of sharing. May be after some trials she may overcome all her baking fads. Though I am not convinced about that yet.

For long I had stashed the thought of investing in a new oven. I don’t bake all that often either, so I stood by convection microwave ever since I parted with my old oven. But that isn’t always my preferred choice, simply because I haven’t mastered the art of baking in them the right way. Though I think they do a good job for cookies and muffins and I have baked several of these with pleasing results. So I gifted myself a brand new Bajaj 35 lt OTG. It came in a new, shiny silver armour, heavy with a promise of convenience. Oven, toaster and grill with settings from 40 to 240 deg C. There’s rotisserie, grill tongs, skewers, and what not. A whole lot of these accessories that I may never even use. Still for a domestic goddess it will be a thing to flaunt.

In this celebration here comes a recipe for Two Grain Chocolate Granola. A thing you can bake in an oven or make on a stove stop. Either ways, they always come out good. And should you prefer to keep it plain, go ahead and skip the dark chocolate. For me though, addition of chocolate is like an icing on cake and there can never be enough with some.

Two Grain Chocolate Granola

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole grain oats (old fashioned oats)
1 cup puffed millets
1/4 cup dry fruits (used here are raisins, cranberries and dates)
1/4 cup dry nuts (used here are walnuts and broken almonds)
1/2 cup 70% dark chopped chocolate
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

In a clean bowl, combine oats along with nuts. Drizzle the vegetable oil and maple syrup and toss well. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes at 180 deg C till the oats just begin to brown. Meanwhile, grate the chocolate in another bowl. Remove the roasted oats from the oven and toss in the dry fruits along with the grated chocolate. Mix well. While still warm, toss the puffed millets. Allow to cool completely and store in a clean dry container.

Notes:

Try to look out for old fashioned oats. If not easily available, I suggest you sieve the cooking oats and use the thicker one that settles on top of the sieve.

Puffed millets are high in nutrition and hence make this a very healthy breakfast. I add them post baking the oats since they tend to easily absorb moisture and become soggy if you bake along with oats.

If puffed millets are not available then substitute with rice cereal or puffed rice or equal measure of oats.

Its three years past since the time our daughter came into our lives as a bundle of immense joy, love and responsibility. There she was, my little tiny tot whom I held close to my heart; so close that our breaths and heart beats felt one when I first cocooned her in my arms. That every laughter or wail of hers was instinctively a signaling feat only I could decipher. She moved out of her infancy far quicker than I had realized. I could carry her around like a doll, cuddle her fondly, swirl around with her in dance and soar her high so she would drop soundly into my arms. My playmate in every sense. I could plant a kiss on her baby cheeks at my will and dress the way I own her. She was my perfect baby doll.

By the time she turned two, she had popped out of my cuddling arms, and learnt to balance herself on foot. Her bunny jumps on our black-brown sofa has a deep dent on it. We've left it behind without mend as a hint of her mischief. She could chuckle by now, mimic her grandpa snoring and babble a rhyme or two. She could feed herself by a cup, but by no means was a neat or willing eater. She loved tender hugs and basked in the joy of being pampered. And she always needed me for her company through nights.

Her regular watch at height and weight tells us she’s tad below the normal range. But then she’s been that way since her birth. She’s now a hyper active kid of age three, in an age ripe for a child to be schooled they say. We pulled it this long home-schooling her elementary basics, avoiding so far any methodical training that would culminate her freedom to enjoy learning or push her to any orderly duress. As a quick learner she’s been way ahead of her peers. She can be friend with you quickly, can walk you through a dozen of nursery rhymes with ease, sing A-Z in phonic rhythms confidently and catch your misreckoning for your count on 1 to 10, pretty much putting many to surprise.

She needs a bit of seasoning though. She loves adults for her company and at times behaves like one. In company of other children, she is timid and demure. For long, she has been around with big folks, growing up in lack of company of children belonging to her age group. She speaks a ton that could tire anyone. Her mind is constantly bustling with dozens of questions every minute; the why-s, where’s, what’s, in constant need to be answered. She gets bored and cranky at the busyness of house and its people. She loves having someone around her every minute to play and keep her busy. As demanding as she sounds, she is a very happy child in company.

Last week, after much forethought, we placed her admissions with a nearby school. So she could wean away from comforts of being winged under parents and grandparents all the time; and find new friends for herself. To make friends with kids of her age group and discover joy in childhood and friendship. So that her curious mind would be busy with fun filled activities and play, instead of grown-up conversations. It’s a charming little place amid the bustling traffic ridden cross roads of Bangalore. With an artificial turf, bracing landscape, couple of outdoor and indoor games for play, and responsive teachers around, there’s enough there to keep her safe, busy and creative.

I was a bundle of nerves on the first day of her school. Worried as I was, several frantic calls went to my parents to know if she was doing ok or if the school had summoned them to pick her before time. In my mind I had expected her to cry her throat out, more in the company of thorough strangers and alien classmates whom she had never known. She came back home dancing happy feet instead. Certainly a joyous news for me. On day two, I accompanied her to drop at school; walking hand in hand, she, ideating about her dress and the matching shoes, and waving a cheerful bye-bye to me. A majority of her schoolmates were seen wailing, as their parents, grandparents, and aayas came to see them off. I expected she would cry for me. Instead she was still a happy child like the day before. It was a big proud moment, a revelation that my little one was adaptable and loved her time at school. Over the past two weeks, she has walked through her nestling period with no tears shed or anxious moments to deal with, making good progress at school. She is slowing getting accustomed to the company of other children, but has certainly got into good books of her teachers, gaining their confidence of being a good child. Soon someday she will wean away from tête-à-tête approach and come back to us with stories, games, learning and activities from her friends at school. She will soon grow up with an aura of her own. An individual with an independent mind who may not require her mommy or grandparents around for her being. A girl with definite thoughts, empathy and strong opinions of her own. I hope this is what good schooling will instil in her.

My little girl now carries a mid-morning snack for her school breaks. Her snack box that has healthy titbits like cut fruits, a piece of sandwich, bites of khakra or paratha wedges excites her, and each day she looks forward to what's being packed in her dabba. Mid-morning snacking was customary to her even during the time we were vacationing in US. That was the time, my little girl and I spent most of our mid-mornings together in the kitchen either chopping vegetables for lunch, baking a quick snack or whipping up berry smoothies to quench our thirsts. She would sit perched on the kitchen counter, while I stayed on my foot near the blender. She would peel bananas and I would slice them for her. The tall blender jar could nearly consume a quarter her height. Yet, she would unyielding adjust them neatly between her tiny legs and throw in ingredients by the order I said, all in for a game when it came to identifying colors and fruits.

This Banana Berry Smoothie was our all time favorite mid morning drink. I could say more deary hers. She has a penchant for bananas. We would gulp tall glasses of it in a single go, sometimes go for seconds. Add in some oats while blitzing and it makes up for a breakfast too. Thick and luscious. Sincerely healthy. And vegan to boot.

Vegan Banana Berry Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

1 cup orange juice, cold
1 big banana
3 strawberries
12 raspberries
A dash of honey / maple syrup, optional

DIRECTIONS

Wash and clean all the berries thoroughly. Peel and chop the banana to rounds. Blitz them together along with orange juice and a dash of honey or maple syrup. Serve in tall glasses.

Note: You may use frozen berries for a cold drink. Frozen bananas work well too. I used chilled orange juice here since the drink was served for a child and was about the right temperature for a toddler.