Besan Chilla (Eggless Vegetable Omlette) for a chilly night!

Hey Everyone!

I don't know about other cities but here in Pune the weather has been really cold especially in the night time. I haven't seen sun in days and feels like winter already :( I hope the sun comes out soon! Anyways in such dull and damp weather I really get lazy for cooking and often make something which is quick and easy and can be made under 15 mins flat!

Moist Butter Cake

Hi All,

I was craving for some home made butter cake from a long time! Even though I bake cream cakes a lot these days for orders pouring in but the aroma of freshly baked butter cake is out of this world! This recipe is definitely a keeper! The cake turned out so moist and buttery! Its not too oily or heavy at all. The added vanilla takes this cake to another level! 

Its a perfect cake to be enjoyed lazy sunday afternoon with some hot coffee and a book! It perfect cake to be served as snacks for kids or even pack it in tiffin for mid day meal.

I have adapted the recipe from The Little Teochew
Serves 6 to 8
Moist Butter Cake
Ingredients:-
- 195g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 170g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar, 200 gms
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 12 tbsp whole milk


Procedure:-
- Preheat the oven to 175 degress C
- Sieve flour, salt and baking powder.
- Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 mins
- Beat in one egg at a time in the sugar and butter mixture until well mixed
- Add in vanilla and mix well
- On low speed add the flour alternating between milk in the egg mixture. Make sure no lumps are there.
- Pour the mixture into greased and floured cake pan.
- Bake for about 40 to 45 mins until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool completely before cutting the cake or else you'll end up with lots of crumbs.
- Always use a serrated knife to cut the cake.
- Serve with coffee or tea as snack or add a dollop of cream fresh and some fruits to serve it as dessert!
- All in all a perfect butter cake!

Just look at those fine cake crumb! Isn't it gorgeous? You can omit vanilla and add in any flavor you like - lemon, butterscotch, orange, cardamon etc or throw in some chocolate chips!. It's very versatile recipe so do try it out and let me know how it turned out!

Until next time take care!

Love,

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Dear all,

This cake was on my to do list since a long time! Who doesn't like gooey chocolaty chocolate cake which is easy to prepare and is ready in less than 30 mins!! I think the first time I tasted this cake was from Dominos and to be honest never liked it a bit! It leaves weird oily taste behind..yuk!!! I have seen this cake floating around a lot in blogosphere and finally made it this weekend! It's a fool proof recipe though I would like to reduce the sugar a bit as don't really have a sweet tooth but of course you can use the same quantity of ingredients :)

I have adapted this recipe from ShowMeTheCurry.com. I really like those two gujju gals blame me for being biased :P and also most of the recipes tried from their blog has always given me great results! Both Hetal and Tanuja are quite sweet and explain the recipes really well.

Recipe adapted from ShowMeTheCurry.com
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients:-
Bittersweet chocolate - 113gms
Butter - 113 gms (I used amul)
2 eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour - 35 gms
1/3 cup sugar - 70 gms

Procedure:-

• Grease 6 ramekins with butter and keep them aside.
• On a double boiler or microwave melt the chocolate.
• Once completely melted remove from heat and add in the butter and mix well until butter is completely melted.
• In a separate clean bowl beat together sugar and eggs until light and fluffy for about 3 to 4 mins.
• Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.
• Now gently fold in the flour until its well incorporated.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C, fill in 6 ramekins till 2/3 or max 3/4 cup and bake these for exactly 10 to 13 mins! If you bake any longer the gooey center might become hard. Adjust the time according to your preference shorter for gooey and longer for hard center.
• Immediately serve these with fresh cream or sprinkled some strawberries and icing sugar!
• Best serve them with vanilla ice cream!

This is gonna be permanent in my house and will be making every week I suppose! Nothing wrong to pamper yourself every once in a while :)

Hope you guys enjoyed the post, incase of any questions or doubts pls post in comments section and I'll get back to you asap!

Thank you and until next time, tc!

Love,

Coconut Coriander Chutney

Dear All,

Today I am going to share with you all a quick and easy recipe which I have been making every since I entered kitchen! I love love South Indian food! Dosa, Idli, Vadai, Uttappam, Rasam, Sambhar, etc love all these! What's common between all these? Yes Coconut Chutney! Its my favorite and to go recipe for dosas and idlis and make it quite often!

Stuffed Chillies/Bharleli Mirch - Step by Step

Dear All,

I have always loved the dishes made using different kinds of stuffing like besan/coconut or peanuts! Peanut stuffing is very famous in maharashtrian homes. My favorite stuffing would be with besan! After my bharela kanda recipe I had been dying to make stuffed chilies. These chilies i believe are seasonal and you don't find them throughout the year in the market. I found these only during the winter time here in Pune. You can also use the Jalapeno Peppers in place of these.

Lets go ahead with step by step instructions on how to make this wonderful dish!

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:-
8 to 10 chillies or jalapeno chillies

1 cup besan

1 cup roughly chopped coriander

3 tbsp of oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1 tsp sugar (optional but recommended)

Procedure:-

1) Wash and clean your peppers properly.

2) To make the stuffing, take 1 cup of besan, add in turmeric, hing, sugar and salt to taste.

3) Now add in 2 tbsp of oil and chopped coriander. Mix well.

4) Using you hands mix all the ingredients well, DO NOT add any water moisture of oil should be enough for the mixture to come together.

5) Form oval shape balls similar to the size of your chillies.

6) Slit the chillies vertically, do not slit it completely.

7) Stuff the besan mixture into these chillies, be careful to not to tear up the chillies while stuffing.

8) Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan, add in mustard seeds. Once these start to splutter carefully place in the chillies.

9) Cover and cook the chillies for 15 to 20 mins. Carefully roll the chillies in between to make sure it gets cooked evenly from all sides.

10) Serve as side dish with roti or rice with some curry. I love eating these all by themselves!

Hope you all enjoyed this recipe, please feel free to leave your comments and suggestion below.

Till next time..tc!

Love,

Methi Malai Mutter Revisited

Dear All,

I am back with another one of my favorite recipes ie Methi Malai Mutter! I have learnt this recipe from my mom who obviously is the best cook in the world (as per me all the moms are the best cook!!!) The recipe is absolutely simple and can be made within 20 mins..yes you heard it right...provided you have all the stuff handy :D

Homemade Malai Barfi / Malai Peda under 15 mins

Hi All,

I am back with another mouth watering recipe which can be made under 15 mins!! I am sure everyone of us have tasted Malai Pedas or Malai Barfi's some or the other time in our lifetime :) Any special occasion and we have a box of delicious pedas ready. May it be Diwali or Rakshabandhan or a Birthday or if your child has scored good percentage in 10th....pedas and barfi's are served on almost all occasions. With just 3 ingredients used these are so much easier to make than the original version and absolutely no compromise in taste! 

This weekend I had a small reunion of my college friends, the menu was very simple as in such hot weather none of us were really interested in having a heavy meal. The menu was kept simple, Methi Malai Mutter(my updated version coming up very soon) with parathas and for dessert homemade version of Malai Barfi. Everyone enjoyed the barfi's a lot and went back with the recipe :) This recipe can be made in microwave as well as on gas stove. I made these on gas stove.

Recipe adapted from ShowMeTheCurry site
Malai Barfi/Malai Peda
1 stick unsalted butter (113 gms)
2 cups milk powder, 240 gms (I used Everyday)
1 tin sweetened condensed milk, 400 ml (I used Milkmaid)
Masala milk powder for garnishing / silvered almonds / pistachios etc

Procedure Gas Stove Version:-

• In a heavy bottom pan or a non stick pan melt the butter on low heat.
• Once melted remove the pan from heat and add in the milk powder and condensed milk.
• Mix the mixture properly with a spatula.
• Heat this mixture on slow heat for about 2 mins with stirring constantly. Be gentle while stirring.
• Again remove the mixture from heat and mix well.
• Repeat the 5 and 6 steps twice more, do make sure the mixture does not get burnt.
• Once the mixture is thickened and starts to loose the sides of the pan.
• If you are planning to make barfi than grease a plate with some butter or ghee and immediately spread the mixture on the plate smoothing the top. Sprinkle masala milk powder evenly on top and keep it in fridge to firm up. Once cooled you can cut slices and serve them.
• If you want to make pedas, cool the mixture for 15 to 20 mins until it comes down to room temperature. Take one spoonful mixture in your greased hands and gently roll it to form a ball. Press it lightly in middle to flatten the ball. Similarly make pedas of the entire mixture and decorate with silvered almonds or pistachios.

For Microwave version check out this

Verdict - These were a BIG hit in my house and so easy to make! Its a must try for everyone who has a sweet tooth and I am sure you wont be disappointed!


Lots of Love,

Pan Sauteed Asparagus

Hi All,

First of all I would like to thank all my wonderful readers and friends who reached out to me when I really needed the most. Honestly some of the emails I got really touched my heart and brought tears in my eyes. So a BIG THANK YOU to everyone, I really am lucky to have you all with me!

Cooking home cooked meals is not easy, especially when you are traveling to different countries and living out of a suitcase. At such times we need something which is easy and can be ready in minutes and of course it has to be extremely satisfying. Today's dish is simple and satisfying Pan Sauteed Asparagus, I learnt this dish from a colleague and I was pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to prepare and how delicious it tasted with all that butter, salt and pepper.

Pan Sauteed Asparagus
Ingredients:-
1 bunch of fresh asparagus (about 15-20)
1 tbsp of unsalted butter
Salt to taste
Freshly grounded black pepper to taste

Procedure:-

•  Chop off the ends of the asparagus and give it a good rinse in cold water.
• Heat a non stick pan, add in your butter, once melted throw in your asparagus.
• Season with some salt and pepper according to your taste. 
• Cover and cook for about 5-7 mins, until crispy and cooked.
• Serve hot as an appetizer of side dish.

Verdict:- I love these! Its so simple and is ready in mins, perfect when I am tired from long day work and really need something satisfying to dig in! If you love butter and asparagus you will definately love these. Try it for yourself today!

Feeling Blue!!

Dear All,

I know I owe you all an explanation to my unexpected disappearance. I havent updated my blog in last one month and there is a reason behind it. Lots of things have changed in last one month at work front and in personal life. Let me ask you all a question..have you ever felt so alone in life as if you were living on a different planet with no one to talk to and share your feelings with? with no friends and family? Do you question yourself upon the decisions you make and when those decisions go wrong and makes you feel miserable and guilty? When someone you love breaks your trust and you cannot forget and let go?  It hurts so bad that you want to scream your heart out? Honestly I feel like I am going through that phase in life. I feel sad, disappointed, betrayed and probably lots more!!

I think I am going through some kind of identify crisis. Its like you think you know what you are doing and you know what you want in life but suddenly life takes you down to a path which you never thought you would walk on. It makes you question yourself and the worst part is you dont have an answer for that! Its when you feel even after doing all things right still everything goes wrong. It makes you question your beliefs and your moral values. I always knew life's tough and the world is cruel but a part of me always believed that there are good people out there who would feel the same way as I do. I always thought that if you didnt do anything wrong to anyone else nothing can go wrong with you but now I am not so sure about it. I always thought that whatever happens..happens for good, I wish I knew what good its gonna bring out to me. I wish we knew answers to all our questions...life would be so much better..isnt it?

So what do you do in such situation? Of course apart of getting all emotional and giving a big lecture just like I did above :) For me CHOCOLATE is probably the best way of making myself feel better..ah forget the extra pounds for a while! Some chocolate brownies with creamy vanilla ice cream on top! Yup thats what I am having right now while writing this post :) And what better way than sharing a delicious chocolate cake recipe with you all especially if it has lots of sour cherries in it...hummm and some chocolate chips as well! Chocolate+Cherry is one of my favorite combo and I always wanted to bake with sour cherries. So when my dear roomy got some sour dried cherries from US I baked this gorgeous cake for my colleagues who never disappoint me in finishing any of my baked treat in record time :) 

Chocolate Cherry Cake to make you feel better!
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp of rich cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk
90 ml vegetable oil
1 cup chopped dried sour cherries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla essence or seeds of one vanilla bean scrapped

Procedure:-

• Grease amd flour a pound cake pan, preheat the oven to 180 degress C.
• Sieve all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
• Dump together the above dyr ingredients with sugar, cherries and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
• Now in a measuring cup mix together 1 cup of milk, 90 ml oil, vanilla seeds/essence and 2 eggs.
• Thoroughly mix the wet ingredients well until fully incoporated.
• Now pour the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients while mixing well with a spatula in between the additions. Donot use a beater, a spatula or a wooden spoon is more than sufficient. 
• Be careful to not to over mix the batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cups chocolate chips.
• Bake the cake for 45 mins or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from oven and let it cool completely.
• Slice and serve with some warm milk or even with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

The cake was deliciously moist and everyone in office enjoyed it! Will definately be making this cake more often as I am sure my little sister R would love it! So now you know what to make in case you  are feeling blue or even just want to pamper yourself :)

Love,

Kanda Sev Tameta Nu Shaak - A Gujarati Speciality

Dear All,

I enjoy simple pleasure in life, from walking on sand without footwear to sipping filter coffee during rainy season, from reading a romantic novel to watching a kid playing with balloons and from having roadside pani puri to cook for someone special and watching them eat, I bet there is no site more satisfying.  My mom is blessed in having a daughter who is not at all fussy in eating, oh yeah I am talking about myself :-) Of course we all have choices but I dont remember being fussy about any food or not liking a vegetable...of course there are exceptions and karela is not a vegetable in my dictionary!

I too am blessed to have D who is not at all fussy in food habbits, poor guy majority of my experiments in switzerland were done on him and what choice he had?  Today's dish is one of his favorites and I still remember the expression on his face when I served this curry. Sev in curry? I am sure he must have thought I am nuts but after tasting..lets just say he chew on his own thoughts :) After Bharela Kanda (Cilantro stuffed onions) this is one of my favorite dishes as well, its quick and extremely  tasty! 

Serves 2
Kanda Sev Tameta Nu Shaak
Ingredients:-
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup Sev (increase or decrease acc to taste)
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander seeds powder
1 tsp cumin seeds powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Procedure:-

• Heat oil in a pan, add in asafoetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, as it starts to splutter add in chopped onions and tomatoes.
• Cook on slow gas for about 2 to 3 mins, add in 1 cup water and rest all masalas - turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt and sugar.
• Cover and cook for 10 mins, until onions and tomatoes are cooked properly.
• Finally just before serving add in sev and mix lightly, serve immediately with rotis or phulkas.
• Enjoy this delicious and tasty dish whenever you want, lunch or dinner, its perfect on both the occasions!

I love to make this during night time as I enjoy having this curry hot with some rotis, its perfect for a winter evening!  If you enjoy Gujarati cuisine then you will love this as well, try and let me know.

This dish is off to Flavors of Gujarat event by Nayna.

Until next time, take care and have a relaxing weekend!

Anzac Bicsuits for my 100th post !!!

Dear Foodies,

Finally I have reached my 100th post. The journey till here has been quite a roll-a-coaster ride sometimes slow and sometimes with lots of bumps but I cant complain as this has been one of the most beautiful and enriching journey for me and my blog. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you who have supported and encouraged me, a very big heart felt thanks to all of my readers!

If you have been following my blog closely you would know I am not a big cookie person in fact the only cookies I love to munch are Chocolate Chip Cookies and very recently I have fallen in love with Anzac Biscuits. Anzac biscuits are very popular in Australia, made with oats, flour, sugar and golden syrup, it has been said that wives of soldiers used to make these biscuits during the WWI. These biscuits are extremely easy to prepare and taste extremely delicious, if you like your cookies eggless, mild in sweetness and chewy then these little drops are for you!

Recipe adapted from here
Recipe yields 24 cookies
Ingredients:-
1 cup (240 gms) all purpose flour
1 cup (90 gms) rolled oats, I used quacker
1 cup (85 gms) dessicated coconut, I used 100 gms
3/4 (155 gms) cup brown sugar
1/2 cup + 1tbsp (125 gms) unsalted butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp water

Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 160°C, line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Sieve the flour in a bowl, add in oats, coconut and sugar, mix well.
• Put butter, honey and 2 tbsp water in a pan, stir over medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add in baking soda.
• Pour the butter mixture on the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
• Roll a tbsp of mixture into small balls and place on the baking tray 5cm apart from each other.
• Using a fork, flatten the top of the cookies lightly.
• Bake for 12 to 15 mins until lightly browned. If you like your cookies crunchier than bake them for 2 to 3 mins more than the specified time.
• Remove the cookies from oven once done, let them cool down for 5 mins and then transfer them to a cooking rack. After 20 mins store these in air tight containers.

Verdict? These cookies were fantastic in taste, not over sweet and just perfect for some tea time munching. I did not have golden syrup so i substituted honey and it worked like a charm! I love my cookies a little crunchier so I baked these for close to 17 to 20 mins or until the top was golden brown. I shared these cookies with my friends and colleagues and got great reviews, everybody loved these! 

These were so easy to prepare, no heavy beating or mixing required, just fold in all the ingredients and you are ready! I urge everyone to try these wonderful cookies once, do share your experiences with me and you can always email me if you have any questions or doubts and I will try to answer them to best of my knowledge! Until next time thank you an wish you all a wonderful week ahead!

Classic Vanilla Beans Muffins

Dear All,

Vanilla has always been apple of my eye when compared with other universal flavors. Did you know vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, due to extensive labor required to grow the vanilla seed pods. And still I am sure we all love vanilla flavor for its oure and delicate flavor which is described by author Frederic Rosengarten Jr as "peculiar bouquet". The most common types of vanilla pods are Bourbon or Madagascar vanilla, Mexican vanilla and Tahitian vanilla.

Vanilla beans are not easily available in India though few super markets do sell them but one really needs to search a lot. My sources say that the only place in india where you can find Vanilla pods is Kerala so if any of your friends and family coming down from kerala or visiting kerala dont forget to request them to get a bunch of fresh vanilla beans for you! I probably dont mind visiting Kerala only to buy vanilla pods, I am sure its worth it! Or if anyone coming down from US or EU you can request them to get vanilla pods from there as well as I too got mine from Switzerland, a little expensive but I have no complains! Planning to request few more, hope D is listening :-)

Recipe is adapted from Deeba's blog, which can be found here
Recipe yields 12 medium muffins
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of vanilla sugar
2 tsp  baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk
*1 vanilla bean or use 1 tsp vanilla extract

* Tip - Slice the vanilla bean from middle and scrape the sides using back of a knife to remove the seeds

Procedure:-

• Gease and line 12 muffins cups or muffin pan.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
• Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• Beat butter and sugar together in a seperate bowl for 2 to 3 mins until light and fluffy.
• Add in one egg at a time and beat well between each addition.
• Add in flour and milk alternatively in 3 additions. Beat well after each addition.
• Add in the scraped vanilla seeds and mix well.
• Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake them at 180 degrees for 15 to 20 mins, until tooth pick inserted comes out clean/
• Remove from oven and cool them completely, you can see the muffins leaving the side of the pan.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, its a perfect tea time cake!
• Enjoy!

Bhindo Do Pyaza in a very different style!!

Dear All,

“So few people eat okra (more radishes are grown in this country) that it never even makes it onto the lists of Top 10 hated foods.”

- Julia Reed

Okra/Bhindi/Lady Finger's was not on my list of favorite vegetable until recently. Bhindi Do Pyaza is a famous North Indian dish where okra is cooked along with almost equal amount of onions. Okra is slit in half and cooked on slow heat with very minimum spices. This way of cooking brings out the crunchiness in okras which blends well with the taste of onions and together its an delicious combination best served with rotis or phulkas. 

I personally havent met many people who dislike bhindi well I am one of them! Its true I am not a big fan of okras. While growing up my mom tried all different ways to make okra either stuffed or with onions but somehow I never liked it. Recently while doing grocery shopping my roommate picked up 1kg of okra...dear oh dear were the only words which came out of my mouth. She loves okras in any form, I dont know why always two opposite people are forced to stay together by nature, nah dont get me wrong she is adorable but completely opposite to me! Thats the reason why she is one of my closest friend. 

Ok before I bore you guys to death, lets get back to today's special. Bhindi Do Pyaza but cooked with khoya! Exactly my reaction when i first heard it..Okra with khoya? Hmmm now thats something different isnt it? Addition of khoya or mava as we call it increases the richness and taste of this dish, it takes the dish to completely different level .If you love Bhindi Do Pyaza you got to try this recipe! I promise you will ask for more just like we did :D

Bhindi Do Pyaza with Khoya
Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients:-
1/2 kg Okra, washed, dried, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup mava/khoya
1 big onion, finely sliced
1 big tomato, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 small cinnamon sticks
3 cardamon pods
2 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 dry red chili broken
a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar

Procedure:-

• Heat oil in a pan, add in cloves, cinnamon, cardamon pods, bay leaf, red chilli and asafoetida.
• Now add in onion and tomatoes and saute for 5 mins until onions have become soft.
• Now add in okras and rest of spices and mix well.
• Cover and cook for 15 to 20 mins, dont forget to sprinkle some water in between if okra starts sticking to the pan.
• Finally add in mava/khoya and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 mins.
• Serve hot with rotis or phulkas.
• Enjoy!