We love our indulgences in dates and do often to curb our hunger, almost on a daily basis. It's one of those ingredients that goes into our cereal bowl without a second thought! Known for it's health benefits and natural sugars, it pairs well in a few fabulous desserts and is healthy too.

I initially intended to bake a good Date and Walnut Bread. But having run out of good quantity of the dates at hand required to bake the bread, I settled to make these muffins instead. I was skeptical how these muffins would turn out, since it's practically my first attempt at using dates as a replacer for eggs.

To enhance flavors, I used freshly-ground-at-home cinnamon powder. I haven't come across any store selling cinnamon powder here, so I have a few cinnamon sticks ground to powder for these occasions. Though cinnamon is so commonly used in our everyday cooking, it is not my taste in desserts. Saying this however, I have found them to do pretty well with a few fruity cakes which calls for all spices. Apart from this, I haven't exploited them much in desserts.

The muffins came out to be fantastic. Just perfect. These may not require any toppings, but would do justice if opted for. I topped a few of the muffins with a good helping of chocolate-y nutella which went superb as a frost. I got 6 large muffins from these. I also added in walnuts for that added edgy crunch.

Date Walnut Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup pitted dates, chopped
1 cup hot milk
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup minus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp heap of walnuts

Frosting:

1 tsp Hazelnut spread Nutella
1/2 tsp broken walnuts

DIRECTIONS

Place dates and hot milk in bowl and allow it to stand for 10 mins so that the dates soften. Pulse this in a mixer till the dates coarsely combine with milk. I like those few fruity pieces coming through in my muffins as I bite into them. Add the oil and vanilla. Stir well again.

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease 6 cups of a muffin pan.

Sieve the flour in another bowl. Add in sugar, baking powder, soda and cinnamon into it. Mix them well.

Make a well into the dry ingredients. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix till they just combine. Finally add in walnuts. Spoon mixture into muffin pan, bake for 20 minutes until done.

I topped them with a frosting of Nutella which was spread with a butter knife. They made a fantastic topping. Opt for any other alternative of your choice.

The dates have an inherent sweetness, so test the sweetness to your taste before baking. The next time I make these I would like to try them with bananas. Another alternative should be brown sugar which may go very well in these. These are just my assumptions. I will post them here when I try them.

The sweetness of dates and milk came through well. It was mild and mellowed, just went perfect for the warm weather of the day. These freshly baked warm muffins with nutella frosting is my take this week with a warm cuppa homemade almond milk.

My Russian friend blogger, Natalya from Natalya Cooking has shown a kind gesture by sharing this Sweet Friends award with me and I am glad to accept it. Natalya has some great recipes with her blog translated into 3 languages: French, English and Russian, so that it can cater all masses. Take a peep. Thanks a lot Natalya. That was kind of you. The award comes attached with rules:

List 10 things that make you happy. (I would like to keep that for my next post ;))
Pass the award onto other blogs and let them know you have done so. I would like to recognize two bloggers here. Both are fabulous and talented with great recipes to share with all. Keep up the good job guys!

Saswati
Nitya

Note: I will be editing a few of my old posts with new photographs. So do check them out and drop your feedback. You may like to visit this one for now:

Homemade Pizza Dough
Onion Chutney

May is the month for summers in India and summers have set in well in most parts of our country. While many parts of the country have been crippling in scorching heat, we are lucky to have an envious weather even in the month of May. Though mornings and mid-days do face the summer scorch, we have been fortunate enough to receive occasionally scant, pleasant showers in the evenings. But, this does not stop us from dwelling on juices, cool drinks and ice creams on almost everyday basis to soothe ourselves from the heat in the day.

Since my previous stint with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, I haven't posted any ice cream recipes. In fact, I haven't made much at home apart from a couple of flavors. Every time I make, it's gone much before I can capture it for this space! ;) With temperatures at peak this summer season, I have been whipping more ice creams, experimenting with different flavors that I hadn't done in the past.

I recently made this Caramelized Peanut Butter Ice Cream which turned out fabulous. We relished it thoroughly and I thought it's a must share recipe, coz I made it fat free, the gelato way. I made this ice cream from scratch, but I believe using a Peanut bar or Indian Chikki would be a cheat version of this Ice Cream. I haven't tried that yet, so if you have tried, do let me know how it turns out to be.

Caramelized Peanut Butter Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

400 ml milk
1 tbsp corn flour
150 g damerara sugar
100 g roasted peanuts
1 tsp of vanilla essence
A pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Add the corn flour to the milk and heat it through till the milk thickens. Stir continuously. Once the milk becomes thick, remove from flame and keep aside to cool.

Roast the peanuts. Remove their skins. Grind them to powder in a mixer and keep aside.

Next caramelize the sugar. Heat the sugar on a medium low flame with a tsp of water and swirl around gently so that the sugar doesn't burn. Once the sugar has melted keep a close watch on it. Let it brown and caramelize. Turn off the flame and add the roasted, powdered peanuts and salt and mix well. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, grind the caramelized peanuts to a paste in a heavy duty grinder along with the vanilla and 1/4th of the thickened milk. Once the peanuts have released butter and are thoroughly fine, add in the remaining of the thickened milk and pulse again.

Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. In case you do not have an ice cream maker, then try this. Transfer to freezer proof air-tight container. Freeze for an hour or two until the edges have started setting in to ice. Remove and pulse again. Freeze again. Repeat for another 2-3 attempts to break the forming ice. Serve!

To frost the cone, melt some dark chocolate in a double-boiler. Dip the mouth (open end) of the cone into the melted chocolate and invert it. Allow the chocolate to drip down naturally. Before the chocolate sets, coat the chocolate with some crushed peanuts. Allow to set (may be in a fridge if u like). Scoop out the ice cream and serve a nice dollop on the frosted cone. Top it with chocolate chips.

The best part of this recipe is that I haven't used any cream. Being made with milk alone it's a guilt free indulgence. The corn flour worked wonders, making it creamier and giving it a good texture that an ice-cream needed. Without an ice-cream maker at hand, I was immensely glad with the final result. Not being too high on sweetness, it tasted great with bold flavors of peanut butter hinted mildly by caramel and vanilla flavors. I am sure to try various other flavors with ice creams this summer.

So if you are being severely reprimanded by the scorch of the day and if it's only cool treats like ice creams that helps you beat the heat, then you must give this a try!

I doubt if there's any one out there who dislikes Okra or Lady's finger or our very own Bhindi. I haven't met many, sorry any! It's a vegetable that is universally known, commonly accepted with grace and love in many cuisines worldwide. And in Indian homes, it makes a prominence with no compromises. Be it in South India or North India, it's a common vegetable you'll find in most Indian homes.

Both, DH and I are fond of Okra and we make it a point to buy it often, almost on every grocery shopping, at least once a week. Variations with Okra may be limited, but this vegetable surely has a distinctive flavor of it's own that makes it require minimal dressing.

This raita is a take from my mother's kitchen. Not often does she make this as she prefers a good subzi over this one. But this yogurt based dish was often whipped by her at parties where they made an elegant match for many other accompaniments, be it with rotis and parathas or flavored rice. The yogurt lover that I am, you can imagine the crave I have, which I can not resist when these are served.

Bhindi Raita

INGREDIENTS

200 gm Okra or bhindi
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder

Temper:

1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard
A few sprigs of curry leaves

DIRECTIONS

Wash and clean the okra. Allow it to dry on a kitchen towel. Ensure it's completely dry, else it make turn a little slimy while cooking. Chop the okra to small round pieces. Set them aside.

In a pan, heat a tbsp of oil. Add the chopped okra in the hot oil. Do not add any water during the cooking process. Add salt and sauté for few minutes till they soften. They may look slimy, but will reduce once removed from heat. Remove from heat when they look a little crispy. Let them cool.

Prepare the dressing. Take some yogurt in another bowl. Add a tbsp of water to make it a little thin if you like. That's how I like mine. Add in the salt, cumin and chili powder to taste. Whisk it. Add the fried okra to this spiced yogurt.

Make a tadka or to temper, heat a tsp of oil, add in the mustard and curry leaves. As it begins to splutter, remove from heat and add them to the okra in yogurt. Sprinkle a little chili powder on top and serve.

Ensure that the fried okra is cooled before adding into the yogurt. Else, it may turn the yogurt sour, unless you plan to serve it immediately. You may serve this at room temperature or even chill it.

The tempering can be changed. Use cumin seeds instead of mustard. Garnish with coriander leaves or add a dash of chili powder before serving.

I made this for our dinner the other day and we just loved it. The fried okra in mildly spiced yogurt has subtle and simple flavors with the tarka that adds all the glamor to this dish.

For all the mother's out there... Happy Mother's Day! A special Mother's Day wish to the lady of my life, my beloved amma. Happy Mother's Day Amma!

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.