Baked Red Velvet Donuts!

My kitchen drawer where I keep my bake ware is almost always in a disarray. All the different shapes and sizes of pans and trays oftentimes do not play very well together when it comes to staying organized. Then to top that I just cannot resist buying a baking pan or tray that I come across and it catches my attention. The donut tray I used for this recipe was another such thing that I had to have when I saw it the other day at the store. It was a Wilton brand pan and this recipe was in fact right on the packaging itself. They make the perfect shaped donuts and whats better is that you can actually eat a few since they are baked and not deep fried. To kick it up another notch, if the donuts are the red velvet kind, what's not to like, after all who doesn't like red velvet cake. These came out really nice and soft and velvety and then with that cream cheese glaze on top, you just go 'yummm'. They are perfect  treat for the upcoming Valentine's day too.
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English Muffins!

Another ode to my love for bread. As much as I love eating different kinds, I love making them too. Take a look at the 'Breads' category and you will know what I mean. Talk about some serious bragging rights. Bread baking for me is almost therapeutic. The kneading is the best part (if you are mad at someone, this is the best way to calm yourself down. Yes, it works every time for me... lol). To be able to get out a loaf of delicious bread from a few everyday ingredients is a wonder - not to mention the smell of fresh baked bread that fills the house. The excitement to see the dough rise and then finally cut into it and see how perfect it came out... aah it is almost a high for me (I know I know this is probably the hundredth time I am writing this)... but its true :)
The english muffin got my curiosity only recently. It is not something that is commonly known in India. That one day when hubs got it for us at the mall food court I have wanted to make it ever since and am proud to declare they came out really good.
With some butter or jam spread, they are perfect for a quick breakfast and can even be quickly made into a burger for a light lunch. Whats more is that you do not need and oven to make them, they can be made right on your stove top in a regular pan. I had a batch ready when my little one got back from school all exhausted and hungry. She ate a couple before even getting her shoes off and invented a new kind of sandwich while she was at it, english muffins with cheddar slice and butter!

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

I must have made at least a couple of dozen different kinds of muffins in the last couple of years. Back when I started baking, what started as a 'let me see if I can bake a muffin of my own' has now almost become a chore. Especially so since every afternoon as my hungry kindergartner gets back from school, more often than not, her demand is to have a muffin for a snack. That makes my job to keep it interesting for her by mixing it up. This recipe is another variation that is derived from one of my own previous muffin recipes from here. Needless to say it worked great and also is just in time for fall.

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Mango Coconut Ice-cream

ango is undoubtedly the king of summer fruits for me. Now summer is not my most favorite of seasons but there are a few things that make the memories of summer good. Be it the long vacation away from school, being allowed to just go out and play, visiting grandparents, all the pampering, several of these things that I often talk about in my posts. These along with a lot of fun and cool food and fruits and berries - jamun, lassi, a million varieties of kulfi, soda pops, ice-chuski and the list goes on. The mango definitely figures in there somewhere as well. For some strange reason these things are what I think of first when I think of summer (of course followed by the reminder of the scorching Indian sun that I used to hate). Any conversation on food and summer is incomplete with mango featuring in it. Especially with its versatility, the mango is a fruit well loved in my family. Eat it raw, just peel it, chop it up, mix in a little salt and red chilli powder and tantalize your taste buds, or roast it, pulp it and make a nice cool drink with it or chop it up and cook with brown sugar to make a nice sweet and sour chutney... and then the 'achaar' of course, pickle it if you can't think of anything else to do with it. When in ripe form it of course can be had as a fruit but its pulp is also used to flavor many dishes.
Ice-cream is one such dish. It can be made using different kinds of mangoes however the pulp of Alphonso works the best. Use a sweet, ripe and a non-fibrous mango for best results. This time around I wanted to try the classic combo of coconut with mango to give it a nice tropical twist.The best part with this recipe is that it is extremely easy to put together without the need of an ice-cream machine.

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Homemade Ferrero Rocher

ot a lot has to be said about this iconic chocolate delight. We all know it and love it. The extraordinary chocolate fanatic that I am, it has a special place in my heart. So when I saw the recipe here I could not believe that it can be attempted to be made at home. I always believed something that tasted so exotic must have a grand secret recipe that was guarded very closely. I just had to try it. Valentine's day was around the corner and that was all the excuse I needed.
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Mirchi Ka Salan/Green Chillies in Spicy Tangy Sesame Peanut Sauce

 
es you read it right. A curry of green chillies! If you take my word for it, this curry is utterly lip-smacking and delicious besides of course being... yes... hot! Mirchi, in hindi, means chillies/peppers and salan is hyderabadi lingo for a creamy curry or sauce. This curry is not just something I made up on a day I was overzealous. It in-fact is a very popular curry from the hyderbadi cuisine. So much so that this curry was popular as a favorite of the royalty of the yesteryears.
Hyderabadi cuisine, the cuisine from a region in the south-eastern part of India is highly inspired by the Mughlai cuisine. The word "Nawabi" is as synonymous with the Hyderabadi cuisine as "Shahi" is with Lucknowi. Hyderabadi recipes are famous for their rich taste and unique use of ingredients, roasted spices and aromatic flavors. This  dish has all these components and more... chillies simmered in roasted peanuts, sesame, coconut sauce with lots of indigenous spices cooked to perfection give this curry its unique spicy, sweet and tangy taste. It is very easy to put together and has a very rich creamy taste that will compel you to make it over and over again.It is nutty with peanuts, has a distinct taste of sesame seeds and the  bite and heat from the chillies... ahh.

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Zafrani Zarda Pulao with POM!

t gives me great pleasure to let you know that a scout team from POM Wonderful apparently liked my work that I publish through this blog of mine and contacted me the other day. They offered to send me a case of their wonderful juice. The best part, there was no catch. All I had to do was what I already love to do, come up with some recipes; and with a great product like POM it was not too difficult a task.

You guys most likely know about POM. Yes, the deep purple-pink juice in the cute double spherical looking bottle that you can find in the juice aisle of practically every grocery store.

As I sat down searching through my brain for ideas, my first instinct was a spiced juice blend, or ice-cream or the like. I wanted to go with something more original and exotic so I set those ideas aside and stuck to my roots. Hence came the idea of using a POM reduction in an exotic rice. When I asked hubby for his feedback after he had this rice for dinner, he summed it up aptly as a 'Dish fit for Royalty'.

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Vegetable Seekh Kebab with Green Chutney

he word "Kebab" has always fascinated me. I don't know... just the sound of it is so sophisticated and exotic that whether you have ever even seen it or not, you want to try it when you hear it... and believe me you will love it when you do :) But sadly for me they have always been synonymous with meat based preparations and being a vegetarian I just never could have any. Lately I came to know about veggie kebabs. I was elated by the thought that I could now eat kebabs and tried to recreate these beauties and it was exactly as I though it would be... exotic, elegant and heavenly tasting. These are perfect appetizers for get-togethers and pot lucks. Super easy to make and your guests will definitely go WOW when you serve these. 
You may find several recipes for kebabs if you look around but in my opinion this is an easy and no-fuss version that you will want to make over and over. Also, traditionally they are made in a tandoor or deep fried but I just shallow fry or broil them in the oven so they are very healthy too... lots of veggies and very little oil. As everything that goes in it is already cooked so very little oil is needed.
If you are making a large batch of the kebabs say for a big gathering, you can also bake them on a baking sheet. Just spray the sheet with cooking oil and broil them on high in your oven for 5-6 minutes on each side.
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Orange Olive Oil Loaf Cake

ey again folks. So my story this time is as simple as... I just felt like baking. Baking something nice and flavorful and... citrusy. The only citrus flavor I felt like was oranges. But then I felt a real urge to include chocolate. On second thought though I decided against it... and I am glad I did. This loaf cake came out so perfect with such nice and clean yet with a burst of citrusy flavor that it could even be a mood lifter when you are feeling a little blue. On a more technical note, I do want to point out that with this bake I realized that the EVOO really does wonders to a fruity cake while being healthier than regular oil, and as you will realize from the recipe below, it is really really easy to put together.

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Paneer Tawa Masala

ot starting with my usual gaga about my fascination with paneer everytime I post a paneer dish, let me cut straight to the chase. The idea occurred to me when I was making my Tawa Pulao dish that I posted a few days ago. Why not make paneer with the same masala combination! This gives the dish the sophistication of paneer yet the charm of street food, making it taste like paneer bhaji chaat (drooling yet?) and equally suitable as a snack as it would for dinner. The other cool thing about this dish is that it is ridiculously easy to make, literally fifteen minutes from start to finish if you had all the ingredients. The fact that you can whip up this flavorful dish in a jiffy makes it a very suitable roadside street food. If you walk the streets in India, you would find road side food vendors with huge iron griddles on open flame cooking this away with reckless abandon for a queue of hungry people that have their eyes fixated on the sheer skill with which the chef tosses the dish around on the griddle while they talk about the movie they just came out of. So without further ado, here goes.

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Methi Thepla/Fenugreek Flatbread

ubby has officially declared me the "Methi crazy gal". I secretly do a happy dance when I see fresh methi ( fenugreek) bunch in the Indian grocery store, grow them in my backyard when they stop selling them in the stores and with all this always make sure I have the biggest stock of kasoori methi in case I run out of both options... lol :)) Lately I have been getitng lucky with the fresh methi. My local Indian grocery seems to carry it everytime I visit, and everytime I get two big bunches. As you can imagine, I've been cooking and eating a lot of methi based dishes lately.

Last sunday for dinner I was not in the mood to cook something elaborate and thought of making some methi thepla. It is a well known Gujarati bread which is thankfully a full meal in itself :) and of course my family favorite.

Fenugreek/Methi is very common in Indian cooking. The leaves are used as herbs, the fresh leaves are cooked like methi dal and aloo methi curry, parathas are made of these and even ladoos of methi seeds. The dried leaves which are popularly known as Kasoori methi are often used to flavor a lot of dishes, mainly creamy paneer and non-vegetarian gravies. The seeds are used as a spice.

The popularity of the fenugreek is not just for the numerous medicinal properties it has to offer. The seeds and the leaves are subtly bitter but offers a very strong unique and distinctive flavor to any recipe they are added to. 

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Minty Cantaloupe Salad with Caramelized Walnuts

t was the day after Valentine's Day and the taste of the chocolate cake still lingered. Along with that thought there was obviously this feeling that I probably should've eased up a little on my sugar intake... lol... anyway so the following morning was the perfect occasion to start the day with a light yet absolutely flavorful fruit based breakfast. Hence the idea to make this cantaloupe salad. This salad not only looks pretty, the taste does its looks justice too. It obviously has the refreshing taste of fresh cantaloupe and watermelon and it becomes a complete meal with the added flavor of mint and the crunchiness of lightly candied walnuts. If anything, hubby and I are not big cantaloupe and melon fans and we absolutely loved it.

Here's how you make it.

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The best chocolate cake ever!

The celebration of Love is the most special kind of celebration. Love is eternal and omnipresent. It needs no special day or moment to be enjoyed but still having a day a year in our lives when we take time out to sit back and marvel at its wonders, express it in our own unique ways to show our loved ones that they are special is very welcome.
You might think I made my favorite chocolate cake this year; well you are right, this is my favorite chocolate cake but the reason for me making it this year is actually hubby. Believe it or not, he is not much of a chocolate lover (the one thing I don't understand!) but this chocolate cake he totally loves. At a good time, he can eat a couple of whole big slices. This cake was in fact the one that actually get him a little interested in chocolate since when I first made it (I owe you Ina for this one big time). The coffee and chocolate with the yummy butter-cream frosting is actually enough to create magic but throw in a couple of pink and red hearts and sit down with a slice each with your beloved and then tell me if you don't experience magic!

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Kathal ke Kofte/Jackfruit kofta curry

I speak to my mom in India quite often. We talk about a lot of things. The other day she happened to mention that Jackfruit was back in season in India. This time of the year they have the small raw ones that are really good for curry (aah my mouth waters just as I think about the it). I cannot find fresh jackfruit anywhere in stores here but they carry the canned ones in the local oriental markets. While I was talking to her, I got reminded that I had a few cans sitting in my pantry and I'd made up my mind I would make these koftas. If you remember my kathal spree from a few moons ago, I'd gotten a whole ten pounder from a local farmer except I had to drive a couple of hundred miles to get it. Believe it or not I tried calling the guy but it appears that they are not in season yet here in the states. I keep a few cans handy as I like to make different things with jackfruit and they come in handy. And handy they came indeed as I succumbed to my kathal craving.

Kofta (as they are usually referred to in the South Asian Subcontinent) have a heavy presence over various cuisines. The concept of the kofta (or kufteh, köfte, keftes, kufta, ćufta…) is that a ground form of particular ingredients are spiced (according to what herbs and spices are predominantly available in that country) and rolled into a certain shape. Kofta can be fried, steamed, grilled or baked according to what ingredients you added to the mix. Koftas are traditionally made of minced meat however it is not uncommon to find koftas made of paneer, bottle gourd, mashed potatoes etc.

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Chocolate cupcakes with nutella frosting ( wholewheat and eggless)

omorrow, February the 5th is named as the 'World Nutella Day'. Needless to say I felt the urge to make something to pay my tribute to this fabulous on-of-a-kind spread. Since I discovered Nutella some time back, I have been totally hooked. For a while I thought I was one of very few who was totally crazy about it. Little did I know that practically anyone that likes chocolate and has had a taste of Nutella is a fan. This became more obvious from all the feedback I got from my Nutella based recipes. Here's another one in the line. Also, as a tribute here's links to some of my other Nutella based recipes.
Nutella brownies, Nutella cold coffee, Mini chocolate bundt cake with nutella ganache, Dark chocolate nutella Truffles, Molten Chocolate Nutella Cake :)

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Beetroot cutlets

utlets is a famous street food that is found almost all over India, with minor differences in ingredients here and there. It is often overshadowed by its close and notoriously famous cousin, the Samosa. I personally have always preferred these over the samosas. Whenever I think of them, I go back to my college days and to my college canteen, they served the meanest cutlets.. they were to die for.. yum! Hubby also remembers it as his favorite street food from his home town. An absolute favorite with everyone, they are very versatile too; serve them with some ketchup or chutney as an appetizer or for a change, stuff them inside a bun and it morphs into an amazing veg burger and a quick fix meal. You can also serve them as chaat with some chhole and chutney and enjoy the compliments. They can be made using different vegetables or whatever you have in your refrigerator (except I think the beets are a must, its a beet cutlet after all ;) Perfect for a rainy day they are addictive.

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Coconut rice

If you saw my Yogurt Vadai post from a couple of weeks ago, you will know about the my cool new possession, my new cookbook 'Dakshin'. From the different recipes that I had bookmarked and in keeping with my promise, here's another one of my favorite ones from the book.
I'd heard about this rice a lot. At first it didn't seem like a big deal, after all it was rice mixed with shredded coconut. However, I wanted to make it the authentic way so I followed the recipe and let me tell you, when done right, it is far more than just coconut mixed with rice. Also, it is a perfect way to use the leftover rice with a very quick yet elegant makeover.

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Yogurt Vadai / Thair Vadai

I've had my eye on this cookbook for a while now. 'Dakshin' by Chandra Padmanabhan. I finally found it online and bought it in a heartbeat. The UPS guy brought it yesterday evening (I checked the door several times during the day wishing he would hurry it up :) and here I am with one of my most favorite recipes from the book I made this morning. I went through almost the entire book and have bookmarked several fabulous dishes which... you guessed it... you will see me posting soon.

It also is my effort to venture into the vast and tasty world of South Indian cuisine. I do make a few south Indian dishes but I wanted to learn it the methodically through an authentic source. So friends here it is exactly recreated from the book and watch out for several more.

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Butter Garlic Naan

his being the first recipe in my blog, I will start with the recipe for one of the most famous and loved Indian bread, the one and only NAAN. It's our (me and my hubby's) all time favorite bread. Soft yet toasty leavened bread soaked in butter.. then dipped in curry of your choice.. ahhh.. out of this world :) just yum!! We used to always order this whenever in any Indian restaurant but never tried making this at home. For me it was just something only a restaurant chef can make, just so out of my boundaries...Then i got married, came to the US with my dear hubby started my cooking adventures (burning roties, making overly salted sabjis, using salt in place of sugar in desserts, etc :)). Slowly and gradually with the support and trust of dear hubby I started getting comfortable in the kitchen tweaking, experimenting with different recipes and here I am with my very own food blog.
One thing that we miss here in the US is the luxury of having good Indian food available at any street corner you turn which we used to take so for granted in India. We used to crave for good naan, paneer butter masala.. (especially given my cooking expertise) and also didn't have the enthusiasm to drive 10 -15 miles every time for getting to the nearest indian restaurant in the area. So one day I just decided to make these at home and you guessed it I failed miserably. I started looking for recipes on the internet tried and tweaked some. In the process I finally learned how to make really good naan. I have tried making naan using a pressure cooker, grill, oven and even stove top. On regular basis at home I usually make this with atta or whole wheat flour and avoid butter. It tastes awesome and is also figure friendly (see notes).
Naan is basically a round/oval shaped bread made with maida (all purpose flour), salt, yeast culture and yogurt, cooked in a clay oven or a Tandoor. Here I am giving the recipe for traditional Indian naan using maida cooked in an American oven SO enjoy and hope you like the recipe.

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