When I first started blogging more than a year ago, I restricted this blog to being a personal space. With time, as the recipes accumulated and started piling up, I wondered if this site should go out to all. Then, with a few of my friends approaching me for recipes that they liked of mine, I decided upon to make it public.

These were recipes mostly transitioned to me by my mother or adapted from cookbooks and cookery shows, mostly jotted down in my diary. I hadn't taken blogging seriously then and never even intended to at that point in time. I barely blog hopped, forget even dropping comments. I silently continued to post recipes, with latency in posting at times. For obvious reasons, I hardly got comments. In fact none from food bloggers. And it did not make any difference.

It was during these occasions when my blog was running muted, food blogger, Suma came across my site leaving a comment. An unexpected me can't possibly express how elated I felt from that comment. Hardly had I realized that my blog had opened up to readers whom I had never seen or known. With time, I realized that there was an enormous blog world outside mine, who were more enthusiastic than I was, who've spent couple of years in blogging, guys who have been rocking the blog world! That was the beginning of my 'real blogging' or must I say 'blog hopping'!!!

Living in the same city, it made a difference to me knowing Suma. What began with exchange of comments, then emails and now phone calls, we seem to share common interests. We've exchanged ideas on recipes, baking thoughts, sources for uncommon ingredients, knowing interests, family... etc, etc... We haven't met up yet, possibly some day.

When Suma approached me for a guest post on her blog I was delighted. I posted this recipe on her blog. However, I was in crossroads whether to post that recipe here or not. I settled to do so, with this dedication to Suma, my first first acquaintance in the food blog world. Thanks Suma :)

What I shared with Suma was this healthy breakfast recipe for Granola. This Granola is loaded with nuts and we love it that way. The honey roasted oats and nuts bring out some good flavors while the nuts add a great deal of crunchiness to this recipe.

There are no rules with Granola. Throw in ingredients of your choice, basically anything and everything that you like. Recipe is simple and can be stored fresh in air-tight container for weeks. Served with milk or yogurt, they are the best way to go for a healthy start to your hectic day.

Homemade Granola

INGREDIENTS

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup corn flakes
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/4 cup melon seeds
1/8 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup honey
1 tbsp butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, except raisins. In a separate bowl, combine honey, melted butter and salt. Pour this to dry ingredients, toss to mix well. Transfer to baking tray. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to achieve an even color. Keep a watch. Take care not to burn them brown. Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed. Store them in air-tight containers.

What's good about Granola is that you can throw in ingredients of your choice, basically anything and everything that you like. I like to add in figs at times. Sometimes skip the butter and roast them dry. Or may be replace corn flakes with wheat flakes, they work very good too. Increase or decrease sweetness if this isn't apt to your taste. Combination of 1/4 cup dark brown sugar with 1/2 cup honey would also work fantastic. There are no hard and fast rules. You decide on what you want to throw in!

With loads of nuts in them, I also love to add in fresh chopped fruits while serving. My favorite top ups are pineapples, peaches, oranges, bananas and apples. Seasonal fruits like Mangoes go well too. Serve with warm or cold milk. Try soy milk or even almond milk would be great!"

And as Suma concludes, this is a delicious recipe, for a healthy breakfast which is deliciously luxurious too!!!

After a short break with cookies, I am back again to the cookie business ;) And this time it's different from the previous cookies I have posted. I have made these Almond Pistachio Cardamon n' Saffron Cookies a couple of times now and this one is one of our favorite ever, especially with my DH. He always asks for more of these. I have been itching to post the recipe for long now.

Nuts have always been a part of our diet and our favorites too. We love them in any form, as is or in desserts or even as toppings. I always have a few almonds and pistachios slivered for ease.

Another method in which I like to use these nuts is in Indian Styled Almond Milk (Badam Milk), which is quite common at our place. Roasted almonds, pound to powder and flavored with warm scented cardamoms are kept in well sealed air tight containers to help us with long shelf life. Just mix with milk to serve a cup of homemade almond milk in minutes. Recipe? Here it goes... The thought makes me want to grab a cup of it right away!

Making your own Almond Flour at home:

And if you are looking for a simple recipe to make almond flour at home, this is how you can make your own...

Place 1/2 cup whole, un-blanched almonds in a dry mixer. Pulse just until a fine textured meal forms. Don't over-grind or you will land up with almond butter!

The recipe for cookie is quite simple. Here's what we need.

Almond-Pistachio Cardamom n' Saffron Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup almond milk powder (You can use store-bought badam milk powder as well)
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup oil/butter
Handful of chopped pistachios

DIRECTIONS

The recipe is as simple as just putting all the ingredients together in a bowl and bringing them together with oil/butter till they bind together. Refrigerate for a couple of minutes to handle the dough well. Knead and roll to a flat surface and cut to shapes with a cookie cutter. Place it on baking tray and bake for 10-15 mins till the cookies brown.

In case you do not have almond milk powder at hand, use 1/2 cup each of almond flour and 1/4 cup of fine sugar and add in the pistachios and saffron to it.

I made these cookies using oil instead of butter and they came out very well. Butter will make these richer in taste. Since the recipe does not call for any butter, it's healthier. Use butter for a richer taste. My homemade almond powder has sugar, so there's no added sugar in these. A store bought almond milk powder would also work great. I have made these with them as well and they too produce equally good results. These cookies are fairly simple and can be put together in less than 10 mins.

Did you know what almonds can do to you? Eating almonds in moderation promotes lower cholesterol levels, thus preventing the risks of heart diseases and can help with weight loss. Almonds are a great source of the Vitamin E and Folic acid and excellent to stimulate brain cells for good memory. They are known to benefit beauty by preventing premature appearance of wrinkles, black heads, pimples and dry skin.

At parent's place we were put in practice of regularly eating 4-5 almonds everyday with milk before sleep. Even today they follow that practice religiously. However, I drifted away from that practice. I just pick a couple of these anytime of the day and pop it to kill the hunger pangs.

As an excuse to consume almonds regularly, I recently made a batch of almond milk powder. It's a modest change to the regular tea or soy milk that I consume every morning. Apart from being a refreshing beverage that I like to serve my guests, I have also made some cookies and been using them in many other dessert recipes. The options are unlimited. It is quick and easy and requires few ingredients to make a healthy and deliciously tasting almond milk.

Homemade Indian Styled Almond Milk Powder for Badam Milk

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Sugar
6-8 Cardamoms
1 tsp Saffron strands
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios

DIRECTIONS

Heat a pan on medium low flame. Toss almonds to roast lightly. Allow them to cool well. Roasting almonds helps in removing any moisture in them and this will assist in a longer shelf life and retain freshness in flavor.

Place the roasted almonds, sugar, saffron and cardamom seeds in a dry mixer. Pulse to a fine powder. Do not pulse beyond that as it will turn into almond butter! Cool and store in an airtight container.

To make almond milk, take a teaspoon heap of prepared almond powder and mix it well with warm milk and serve. If you like it cold, mix the almond powder in a little warm milk and then add in cold milk to it and serve!

I like to serve my almond milk for breakfast with homemade muesli and fruits. Again, as I said it's a subtle variation to the regular milk or soy milk. Filled with warm cardamom and saffron flavors, it's not just healthy, nutritious breakfast, but also filled with ample goodness derived from almonds and pistachios. My way to go for a healthy start!

I love Indian festivals not just for the traditional, fun moments we have with family and friends, but for the great food each festival has to offer. As kids, we looked forward to those moments of feasting at home. A wide spread platter of food ranging from feisty meals to dessert treats awaited each festival.

Ganesh Chaturthi meant Modaks (kadabu) made by amma just once a year. Yeah, just once and that too on this day alone. Imagine the torture and desperation that makes us wait a year long! Then, Diwali had treats like Karjikai, Shankarpoli, Payasa, etc... Tulsi Pooja made us wait long for the Panchakajjaya. The Til laddu was the most awaited for Sankranti. While at my paternal grandma's place, festival like Navratri mean huge feasting for 9 long days with 20 odd dishes for each day followed very religiously as a mark of respect, tradition and offerings to Goddess.

This tradition is now slowing drifting away from my hands and I am unable to live up to what my parents and grandparents followed, though I try my best to follow when ever I possibly can. It's my hectic work schedules that seizes away at least 10-11 hours of my time at work, the rest for home chores, while I am drained and left with little sleep for the day. It's no excuse, I know. But with posts like these, I am trying to compensate on what I have lost.

Til laddu is a common traditional recipe for Sankranti, a festival that marks the beginning of Spring or the harvest season. The recipe remains the same, irrespective of the laddus or chikkis. I opted to make these chikkis as they were quicker and easier. Time saving factor, again for ease??? With Ugadi that went by more than 2 months ago or Sankranti about 4 months ago, I do not mind making these again to review those festive spirits again and again. I am here with these simple and traditional Til chikki.

Til Chikki/Sesame Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 cups white sesame (til) seeds
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp butter

DIRECTIONS

Roast sesame seeds in a saucepan till they become light brown. Keep them aside.

Grease an inverted stainless steel plate (flat side) and knife.

Heat 1/2 cup brown sugar and butter so that it melts to a syrupy consistency. Allow it to heat up till it comes to a boil. Remove from flame. Add in the white sesame seeds to the syrup and mix.

Immediately transfer this mixture to the greased plate. Using a rolling pin spread the mixture across uniformly. This needs to be done very quickly, else the sugar will start setting up making it difficult later. While it's hot, run a greased knife across it to serrate it into squares or rectangles as preferred.

Traditionally these are made with jaggery. But getting the right consistency is not an easy task, especially if you are a beginner. It needs a little practice to master. My mom and grand-mom mastered that art well. I have a long way to go till I reach that stage! I opted brown sugar which was the closest I could get with jaggery. They still tasted exactly similar. You may use normal white sugar instead of traditional jaggery or brown sugar, which will work excellent. These caramelized nutty bars with delicate flavors of sesame and cardamom will stay for long when stored in air-tight containers.

Have you ever had a never fail recipe? I do! One of my embarrassing moments dates back to days when D invited one of his close friend home for dinner whom I was being introduced for the first time. Cooking was done to the best, Phulkas, Pulao, Palak Paneer, Lauki Kofta, Salads, etc. I did not leave any stone upturned for compliments, as if I was prepared for it!

His friend hailing from Andhra, loved spices to the core. D hadn't briefed me on this prior! I, on the other hand reduced spices (chillies) in my food considerably not knowing his taste. I have personally experienced moments where spicy food has led me to tears, but on being obliged have been compelled to eat! Considering such sympathetic moments with food ;) I decided to cook with lower spice in food that day.

Imagine my dismay as I served the food, this guy struggled to eat :( Being so accustomed to extreme spices, we could literally see him pushing food down this throat! Having put in so much effort in food with care and concern, I was baffled :( Later, my husband did have to take tantrums on not briefing me his tastes! He admits it ;)

To compensate the spice, I quickly whipped up a Potato Raita laden with green chillies (which surely had me in tears!), but was adored by him. I shall share that recipe some other day. As the dinner ended, I gently brought out this Coffee n' Biscuit Pudding Cake, served it with some gooey, warm chocolate over vanilla ice-cream. Pudding Cake was a HIT! Definitely a flattering moment to see them being eaten to hearts content, sought after for more helpings!

I have always had winning moments with these. Promise! It will not let you down. I have made these on infinite number of occasions, never been let down. It is such a simple, easy, no-bake recipe, quick to put together, melt in the mouth feel, great dessert to serve for any kind of a gathering, even for the worst taste-buds!!!

Coffee n' Biscuit Pudding Cake

INGREDIENTS

Prepare the custard:

1 packet vanilla flavored custard
1/2 litre milk
1/2 cup sugar

Layering the cake:

1 pack sweet-salt biscuits (I love to use Krack-Jack always)
1 tbsp coffee liquor or coffee decoction (see the note below)
Dried fruits & Nuts (Raisins, walnuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios)

Topping the cake:

Chocolate sauce
Chocolate shavings

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the vanilla custard following the instructions from the custard pack. Dissolve the custard powder in a little warm milk. Heat rest of the milk to a boil. Add sugar. Add the custard milk. Heat it on low flame till it thickens and is cooked. Stir constantly to prevent from burning. Consistency of the custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and be able to draw a line. Turn off the flame and allow to cool to just warm.

Line a square cake tin with a layer of cling film with the sides hanging outside the cake tin. Avoid it if you plan to serve the cake directly from the tin in pieces. First, dip the sweet-salt biscuit in warm coffee liquor or decoction for a few seconds. Do not dip the biscuits for long as we don't want the biscuits too soggy. They should retain a light crunch from within. Layer the base of a tin with sweet-salt biscuits dipped in coffee liquor. Avoid liquor if it's not your taste. I avoid liquor and use coffee decoction instead if I am to make this for a gathering. Coffee liquor does make a little difference though. The biscuits will absorbs it. Next, spread a good helping of the prepared custard over this layer.

Repeat with another layer of biscuits dipped in coffee liquor, topped with another layer of vanilla custard. Build about 3-4 layers, not beyond that, as it will not hold shape while serving. Place it in the fridge for few hours (about 4-5 hrs). If you plan to serve it for lunch, prepare it the overnight and let if refrigerate. Remove from the fridge about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you don't prefer using coffee liquor in your desserts, use coffee decoction instead. To prepare the coffee decoction, bring a cup of water to boil and turn off the flame. Then add a sachet of instant coffee powder to it. Allow it to sit for 5 mins and it's ready to use!

If you or your guest love chocolate, top it with warm chocolate sauce or chocolate shavings, as I did. I used Hershey's chocolate sauce here. Garnish with dry fruits and nuts before serving.

And to complete the story above, the Pudding cake did all the justice to the efforts taken in tedious cooking that day!

I am falling back humbly on a recipe that is close to my roots. I am going back to my basics with this post. After a couple of posts with multi-cuisines, desserts, cookies and cakes, I feel obliged to come back to simple everyday cooking.

I am feeling nostalgic as I write this post today. I have spent a fair part my life in my native where summer heats are clammy and pose the biggest challenge. While different parts of world celebrate various seasons with summers, autumns, spring and monsoons, I crib, it's only this part of the world that has seen only 2 seasons. The oppressive humid summers that last 8 long months and the terrific rains lasting meager 4 months. Unfair. It's no joke. And it's for these summers, tamblis would bring respite in form of food. I wouldn't be doing justice if I do not post this recipe here.

I can't stop smirking when I think of how I would often sneak into kitchen even in the brief absence of my mom to quench my coveted thirst for various delicious tamblis prepared by amma for those sultry afternoon meals. I am no better even today!

Tambli is a much loved, uncooked, coconut blended curry revered in the coastal belts of Karnataka. It's a pleasure to serve this with a helping of steaming hot rice and a drizzle of this cool and soothing yogurt based curry. With simple and very basic few ingredients, this does all the justice for the hot summer days.

Menthe Tambli

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp fresh/frozen coconut
1 cup yogurt
3 red chillies
Salt to taste

Seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A sprig of curry leaves

DIRECTIONS

Lightly fry the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies till you get the roasted aroma from them. Don't let them brown a lot as they will turn bitter and lose the taste. It takes about a min or two. Cool and grind them with coconut. Lightly beat the yogurt and this paste to it. Tamblis are usually thin and a little runny in consistency. So adjust by adding extra water if required to bring it to thinner consistency. Add salt to taste.

Temper the Tambli by seasoning it well. Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. As they begin to pop, add in the curry leaves. Let the curry leaves fry for half a minute or less. Pour this seasoning over the Tambli. Serve it cold over steaming hot rice.

My mom adds a tad bit of jaggery to this for that hint of bitter-sweetness. I like to leave that out. Apart from being are excellent coolants in summers, they are good for patients suffering from fever as they are simple and easily digestible. Enjoy this traditional meal with some palya, uppinkai and happala!

I vouch this for one of those ancient recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation, from grandmas to mothers, from mothers to daughters and probably their daughters in future ;). It's one of those kinds which has been preserved, seeing little or no changes.

I must have crossed this place so many times earlier, but never been able to purchase something 'fruitful' really. All owing to the exorbitant costs of imported fruits, I would only glare, probably give a second glance and walk past by it! I recently had a trip again to this place... it's a simple shack-like fruit shop on Brigades that I am referring to.

I am left mused on many of my visits here. More often have I seen a wide variety of fruits arranged in an orderly manner, all tempting to be purchased in a lot. Colored grapes and berries, deep red gleaming apples, bright citrus-y fruits, earthy melons, figs, rosy strawberries, not to forget the kiwis too... it's a pure pleasure to see an assortment of inviting fruits, many of which I may have probably not seen or known. I love to see how these fruits adorn this stall! This time too I was mused. And I had a reason. I picked up some of these. I was all ecstatic to see a box of berries sitting at my favorite counter in this fruit shop.

I picked two packs of it (at a good price of course!) and was curious to know where it came from. Inquisitively, I put the question across to him if they were blackberries. And he nodded saying yes. As I inquired more, I learnt that these were Indian produce and not imported ones. Glad! I would have probably paid double otherwise. I was hunting for some blueberries, but instead got some blackberries :). These were not imported berries, but our own Indian yields from Mahabaleshwar.

As I walked back I knew what to make of it. I was glad I could get hold of these berries which had been grabbing my attention for long now. A little disappointed though, as I have been on lookout for blueberries and haven't been able to get hold of them yet :(. No complaints :). These berries were small, ripe and easily squishy, probably from wild produce. They seemed to rot easily, had I not used them at the earliest. I managed to whip up my longing recipe for Blueberry muffins... ooops, Blackberry muffins ;) Finally! Sigh! I breath relief!!!

I did a frantic search on good recipes for blackberries. On few such searches, I learnt that blackberries are deceptively similar to mulberries. As I did more searches, I discovered what I had at hand was mulberries and not blackberries. I felt a little cheated too. :( Mulberries are commonly grown in Mahabaleshwar along with other produces like strawberries, litchis, apples, etc. I am feeling more confident about making various egg-free versions these days as I have been fairly successful in my recent expeditions with them :D So I have made this recipe egg-free.

Mulberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour (100 gm + 25 gm)
1/3 cup sugar (approx. 45 gm)
1/2 cup fresh mulberries
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil (35 ml)
3/4 cup low fat milk (90 ml)
1 tbsp dry milk powder (20 gm)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

I prefer cup recommendations any day as to me it is much easier than gram measurements. I like to eyeball my ingredients than actual measurements. That's what makes it 'my' characteristic recipe.

Substitute vegetable oil to butter for a richer tasting muffins. Nothing can beat the richness butter imparts to these baked goods. Butter enhances flavors, unless you want to go low on them for health reasons.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt. Make a well in the center and keep it aside.

Mix a tablespoonful of milk powder to a cup of warm milk. Dissolve well. Add 1 tbsp of plain flour (taken from the cup measurement of flour) to it. Heat it through till it thickens. This is the egg-replacer being used and it worked fantastic in this recipe!

Next mix in the oil and vanilla extract to it. Pour into the dry mixture and mix till just combined. Gently fold in the mulberries. I squished a few for flavors and color. Using a spoon, divide the batter equally into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Lightly dust the muffins with some icing sugar and top each muffin with a fresh mulberry fruit. Serve warm!

I am so glad the way these muffins turned out. My dad is a staunch vegetarian and consuming eggs is a big NO-NO for him. The muffins were not too sweet, so my family loved these moist and delicious treats. I got thumbs up from all. Dad relished it the most and that made me happy! I regret, I made very few. I got about 6 large muffins from 1 cup measuring approximately 125 gm. I'm not a big fan of frosting on cupcakes and muffins. I somehow enjoy them as is, especially warm and fresh out of the oven. They're practically bursting with flavors, mild yet significant.

I have confessed this in past how hooked I am to Nigella shows! And that confession is bound to come with a couple of recipes that I picked from hers'. This Rocky Road Bar is one of my favorite pick.

These Rocky Road Bars take me back to our adventurous trip to Goa earlier this year. Late evening in Goa, we headed to the 'Night Market' near Anjuna beach. It left us amazed as we were surprised to see so many foreigners flaunt that place. Almost gave us a feeling that we were in a different country all together. Foreigners selling and buying various stuffs, ranging from art to sculptures, gowns to bikinis, cowboy hats to shoes, handicraft bags to pouches... and many other stuffs.

Food here had cuisines from almost all over the world (disappointed to see mostly non-veg, but I guess the food catered mostly to their needs!). Indian, Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Italian, French, etc, etc, etc. It was here that we first got to enjoy the true chocolatey seduction of Belgium hot chocolate! Our chocolate affair continued with Rocky Road Bars and it was served with scoops of some melted warm Belgium dark chocolate. It was heck of an evening that we had and we would love to go back to this place again.

These Rocky Road Bars had been lingering in my thoughts since long, especially after I last tasted them in Goa. I haven't been able to get good quality marshmallows in Bangalore. So I generally get my pick on trips to hill stations like Ooty, Munnar, Kodaikanal. Our recent trip to Kodaikanal helped me pick up a good batch of homemade marshmallows in a couple of flavors. I got them with an intention of using in a few recipes. But, they were fresh and so good that we almost finished them and there was hardly any left for few recipes, but just 'one lucky' recipe :) And that was saved for these Rocky Road Bars.

Rocky Road Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups best-quality dark chocolate (160g)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp soft unsalted butter (60g)
1 cup rich tea biscuits (100g)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp mini marshmallows (60g)
1 tsp icing sugar, to dust

DIRECTIONS

Break the chocolate into pieces for ease in melting. Heat the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over a gentle heat till the chocolate begins to melt. Remove from the heat and stir the melted chocolate well. Scoop out a big dollop (approximately 60 ml) of the melted mixture and set aside in a bowl.

Place the biscuits into a zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin until we have some have biscuit crumbs and some bite sized pieces. If you don't manage to get mini marshmallows, then tear the bigger ones to smaller chunks like I did.

Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, then add the marshmallows.

Transfer the mixture into a square baking tin. Smooth the top with a spatula. Pour over the reserved melted chocolate and smooth the top again. Refrigerate for about two hours or overnight. To serve, cut into square or rectangular fingers and dust with icing sugar.

The original recipe calls for the use of golden syrup, but I skipped it. This recipe itself was too sweet and adding more sweetness would have ruined it's taste. I did not use warm chocolate for topping, but it's a great addition for a party dessert. We thoroughly enjoyed the crisp biscuits dunked in fudgy chocolate, highlighted by the pillow soft marshmallows. Heavenly!

Believe me, these were so good that as chocolatey aromas wafted through, I completely ran out of patience to photograph them. So all you see here is a little left over bit, which is not my way otherwise! This recipe is a keeper for sure and I'll be making more of this in future, least I have the next batch of marshmallows at hand!

Nithu Bala of Nithu's Kitchen tagged me with a "Tag Award". Thanks Nithu. This award comes with set of rules... The rules are,

1. I should pass it on to 7 friends (This is the toughest job for me! Looking out for new bloggers to be felicitated is a challenge for me!!!)
2. I should post a favorite picture/pictures.

I'm passing this award to 7 of my blogger friends,

1. Suma
2. Sarah Naveen
3. Panchpakwan
4. Madhuri
5. SS
6. Pari
7. Tina

I would also like to share 2 of my favorite photographs.

From my collection, I've posted my favorite picture from our trip to Innovative Film City, Bidadi. This is one amazing place where you can spend an entire day with family and friends.

And another one here... Have you ever been with a tiger so close? This was shot at the Tavarekoppa sanctuary, a few kms away from Shimoga, Karnataka. The place plays a host to few tigers, lions, deers and few other animals. We got to see the Tigers and Lions so closely that it was stunning! I have never been this close to a wild animal (Gosh! I am scared to the love of my life!), that we captured every movement of the tigers on our camera.

A traditional Punjabi food would definitely comprise of Parathas without which their menu would remain incomplete. In a week, this would be a compulsive part of the breakfast, lunch or dinner menu. Travel north and you are bound to be greeted with Thelewalas selling hot Parathas on street side. Loaded with ghee and butter, spiced up well, they are a sure to leave your taste buds lingering for more. Yum indeed! The thought itself leaves me tempting and wants me to grab for some right away! Since wheat is primarily grown in Northern part of India, it forms a staple part of their dietary intake.

Mooli Paratha is one of my personal favorites and I love it for the simple mélange of spicy flavors that it creates with each bite. Almost every weekend, we indulge in various types of Parathas. They are always either on our breakfast or lunch menu and sometimes dinner as well. When ever I have dull, weary looking radish lying in the fridge, I make it a point to use them this way. They never go waste this way. Parathas are very filling and a complete meal by themselves. Although the best and the most tastiest parathas are made when they are cooked with lots of oil (may be almost fried!) and then loaded with butter on top before serving, I try to cut down on oil content as much as possible for heath reasons.

I posted this recipe of Mooli paratha last year, but when I made this a couple of days ago, I thought it would be a good idea to share the step-by-step recipe with photos for the same. This is just an attempt here...

Mooli Paratha

Prepare the dough first:

For the dough:
2 cups Wheat flour
Salt To taste
1 cup Water approximately

Add water to the wheat flour and salt and knead to a pliable dough. A trick that makes it easier to knead the dough is by using a fork instead of digging your hand into it. Swirl the dough in the water using the fork till the entire mass comes together roughly. Drizzle a tsp of oil on the dough and your hand. Remove the fork and knead the dough softly using the heal of your hand till it turns to a soft pliable dough. This prevents a lot of the mess while making dough. This has always worked for me and I hope it helps you too. Cover and keep aside for sometime.

For the Paratha stuffing, here's what we need:

3 Mooli (Radish)
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
2 Green chillies, chopped finely
2 tbsp Coriander leaves
1/2 tsp grated ginger
A hint of Amchoor powder (Mango powder)
Salt To Taste

Wash, peel and grate the radish. Add salt to it and leave it aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze and drain all the water. Use this water to knead the dough as it contains the nutrients. Add cumin seeds, coriander powder, red chilli powder, green chillies, ginger, mango powder and coriander leaves and mix well. Add more salt (if needed).

Roll some dough (about 2 lemon sized) into small flat disk using a roller pin. Place 2 tsp of stuffing at the centre, pull the edges up and cover it from all the sides. Flatten it a little and then roll again into a thick, round flat paratha.

Heat a tava/iron griddle and transfer the rolled dough it it. Cook partially on one side and turn it over. Cook partially on the other side now and flip over the paratha. Now drizzle some oil over the paratha and fry the mooli paratha on both sides till it's cooked well and is crispy brown. Serve the mooli paratha hot with pickle and curd.

It's a boon we have channels like Travel and Living and NDTV Good Times. With programs like these aired, the world has become a much smaller place. I have been hooked to these television shows for long now. These shows have showcased vivid cultures, lifestyles, cuisines and food habits from different parts of the world and it's been interesting to learn and pick at least few aspects, if not many.

With programs from Nigella Lawson and Rachael Allan, I long desire to create delectable recipes like they do, with such an ease. In fact, at a point I was so obsessed with Nigella Lawson's decadent cooking that I had the entire cookery series downloaded to my computer. I would always go back to her series just to learn the know-hows of dessert recipes. It's due credit to Nigella shows that instigated me to fantasy making desserts and cakes in my kitchen. Though I wouldn't dare to cook or bake them often, fearing they would choke my arteries way too soon... and I don't intend to die that way! ;)

As a gesture, I ought to share a recipe of her's that I had jotted down in my recipe book not long ago. I saw an episode of Nigella Feasts where she made figs with a lovely yogurt dressing that looked fabulous. I was lucky to have some red wine at hand that we picked on our trip to Goa earlier this year. Even ingredients like figs are not so common in my regular cooking. So this recipe was apt as I saw the show.

I did try looking for the recipe source on Nigella's website, but despite thorough search, couldn't find it. Instead, I found it the recipe on Food Network.

The recipe is fairly simple, yet flavorsome. This is what I term a 'healthy low-cal dessert'.

Figs in Citrus Yogurt Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp red wine
1 orange, zested
1 tbsp honey
3/4 cup low-fat yogurt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
2 to 3 ripe figs
2 tsp slivered pistachios, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Put the red wine, orange zest and honey into a bowl. Whisk in the yogurt and ground cinnamon.

Quarter the figs and divide them between 2 bowls. Pour the yogurt mixture around the figs in each of the bowls and sprinkle with the pistachios to decorate.

The recipe is simple and fuss-free. It can be served as a dip or a healthy dessert or even as an accompaniment with pastas. I loved the tang of wine yogurt against the simple sweetness of figs. Very satisfying.