Monday, December 31, 2018

Goodbye to 2018 & Hello to 2019

      Wishing you all a Happy and Colourful New Year 2019!!!

2018, what a year with loads of ups and downs,though i can still say that 2018 was a good and fruitful year. So many changes happened in my both professional and personal life. Professional life became a priority now, obviously blogging took a back seat. However i managed and planned everything as usual earlier not to give up anything regarding blogging. Sometime because of my hectic working days, i truly want to quit blogging but blogging is one of my passion and passtime to forget all my daily chores. 2018 went very much faster than i imagined, few of my dreams came true during this year. One of my favourite tourist destination was Greece and its happened this year during summer, yes had a fabulous summer vacation. One more dream is get a kitchen gadget which i have been longing for, finally H gifted me a Kitchenaid gadget to knead my bread doughs and whisk my cake batters with less efforts. Cant ask more na.

As much as every year, i blogged three days per week, all credits goes to Blogging marathon and tried posting upto 15-18 posts for a month. Not to forget that i have blogged successfully two whole months of Mega marathon with two different themes during this year which was quite a challenge for me. Thank god, i finished both mega marathon brilliantly as i planned everything earlier to stick with theme i picked for.

Dont forget to check 26 days of Mega marathon:

April 2017 - Explore the Flavors with 4 different themes for 4 weeks

September 2017 - A to Z International Flatbreads with some traditional and unique flatbreads from around the world.

I kicked started 2018 with a Srilankan Sugar Buns aka Kimbula Banis and i have blogged 208 posts during this year and my blog counts 3723 posts now.While in my another blog Cook N Click i have posted  81 posts and its counts totally 621 posts.

Let's take a glimpse of my top recipes with highest views during this whole year.

January - Carrot & Oats Kozhukattai/Steamed Carrot & Oats Dumplings


February - Chocolate Gulab Jamuns/Dark Chocolate Gulab Jamuns


March - Mushroom & Spinach Balls/Kaalan Keerai Kola Urundai


April - Vitumbua/Tanzanian Doughnuts/Gluten Free Coconut Pancake Balls


Mai - Andhra Style Mint Rice/Pudhina Annam


June - Club Kachori/Kolkata Style Club Kachori


July - Ring Shaped Vegetable Samosas


August - No Churn Frozen Mixed Berries Icecream


September - Warqi Paratha/Lucknowi Warqi Paratha


October - Cassava Murukku/Maravallikizhangu Murukku/Tapioca Chakli


November - Cashew Coconut Milk Pulao


December - Santa Claus Shaped Brioche Bread


Hope you enjoyed this post and am very thankful to each and everyone for being part of my blogging world, nothing is possible without you all.

This year's cooking resolution is going to be More Millets & Less Refined Sugar.

Sending this post to Srivalli's Best of Year 2018.


Cornflakes Chocolate Brownies/Cereals Choco Brownies

You might already tried cornflakes cookies, but today's recipe is completely a different one.Cornflakes chocolate brownies is definitely a must to try if you have leftover cornflakes sitting sadly in your pantry to get finished.  Yes i used leftover cornflakes for baking out some chocolate loaded brownies instead of trashing them. I grounded cornflakes as coarse powder and used them in a brownie batter to bake out some incredible brownie out of it. I hate trashing, obviously i will think twice to make use of anything which is leftover aside for many days before their expiry date. Even my H used to blame me that i dont trash anything easily than giving them a second life.

Cornflakes Brownies, Chocolate & Cornflakes Brownies

Friday, December 28, 2018

No Maida, No Sugar, No Butter Christmas Fruit Cake

You may wonder how can one bake a rich looking Christmas fruit cake without Maida, sugar and butter. Trust me, even i was skeptical before baking this incredible cake. Its quite an interesting Frutis and nuts loaded Christmas friendly cake to carry with you if you are visiting friends or family. I have prepared fruits and nuts soaked in jaggery syrup before 20 days for baking this Xmassy cake. Yes you heard it rite, this cake is completely sweetened with jaggery. Varieties of dry fruits and nuts are soaked in a thick jaggery syrup is used to flavor up this fruits loaded rich looking cake. Actually my initial idea to make this rich fruit cake was with usual ingredients as much as every year. When i opened the fridge, i noticed that there was no butter, obviously i opted for Olive oil, then comes to idea to make this fruit cake without all purpose flour/maida. Finally i baked this cake with Spelt flour, jaggery syrup and olive oil.

No Maida, No Sugar Christmas Fruit Cake

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Pastry Cream & Chocolate Chunks Brioche Wreath

Christmas is not complete without wreath, either its edible or decoration you can find wreath everywhere during this festive season. Its been quite a yearly tradition for me to bake as wreath and am trying to keep this since three years. However we dont forget to decorate our entrance door with a wreath as well. Coming to this brioche wreath, its quite a dangerously addictve bread swirls which is definitely easy to shape and bake. Apart from preparing pastry cream and brioche dough, this wreath is quite an easiest bread to give a try without any hesitation. Usually we wait for an hour to dig these sort of breads once they comes out of the oven but my kids went completely crazy when they smelled the aroma of this bread. Best part of this wreath is just to pull a bread and enjoy it immediately.

Brioche Wreath, Pastry cream & Chocolate Wreath

Dal Maharani/Queens of Lentils Gravy/Maharani Dal

Dal Maharani which is also known popularly as Queens of Lentils gravy have its origins from Punjab. This dish is a nutritious and very protein rich gravy which calls for Black urad dal, channa dal and Kidney beans. These three dals are cooked and enriched with couple of spice powders and fresh cream hence this dal have a very rich taste.However if you are looking for less rich and no cream gravy, you can replace the cream used in this dish with milk, yogurt of else with no dairy products. This aromatic dish can be served very much with any sort of pulaos, rotis or else simply with bread slices. Yes you have numerous choice to enjoy this rich gravy. However i served this gravy with coconut pulao which turned out our lunch more healthy and tasty as well. Obviously we had a tummy full meal and everyone at home enjoyed this nutritious dish.


Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Eral Masal Vada Kurma/Eral Vada Masala Kurma/Prawn Channadal Fritters Gravy

South Indians makes ultimate gravies with different variations with different ingredients. Coming to my today's post, this Masala vada kurma is one of my favourite dish which makes me nostalgic. Masala vada is quite a crispy channadal fritters which is prepared with a soaked channadal grounded with a combination of spices which is later fried in oil. And this fritters are often prepared at home for any occasions or for festivals. However leftover vadas are dropped the next day in a masala gravy to serve along with rice for a lunch or with dosas or idlies for a dinner. But my today's post is completely a different one which is prepared with prawns. We Pondicherrians makes vadas with seafoods especially with prawns, its quite our speciality. Obviously i prepared this prawn vada kurma for our lunch few months back for our sunday lunch. My kids love prawn vada hence i prepared this gravy with them.

Prawn Vada Kuzhambu, Masala Vadai Kurma

Monday, December 24, 2018

No Onion No Garlic Curry Leaves Gravy/Karuvepillai Kuzhambu

Though i cant imagine making kuzhambu aka tamarind based gravy without onions and garlic cloves, i love to make atleast once a while to dish out some fingerlicking gravies without onions and  garlic cloves. If you are fasting or dont have onions or garlic at home, you can still make this fingerlicking gravy in an ease with easy cooking process. This gravy is one of a delicious, easy breezy and flavourful dish to make without any fail. Since i want to make a flavourful and aromatic gravy for our lunch few days back, i couldnt think more than dishing out this fingerlicking dish with curry leaves. Curry leaves is a must in South Indian cooking, its one of the flavourful leaves which gives a subtle flavor to anything they are cook with.

Curry Leaves Kuzhambu, no garlic no onion Curryleaves Kuzhambu

Santa Claus Shaped Brioche Bread

Christmas eve kick starts tonite, obviously i want to share some Xmas friendly baked goodies for this week's Bake-a-Thon event am running for this whole month. Though am bit late in posting some delightful Xmas bakes, its better late than never na. Am kicking starting this week with an ultimate brioche bread shaped as Santa claus, yea you heard it rite. I baked a beautiful brioche bread as Santa claus. I have bookmarked this bread long back and this bread was in my to do list for more than three years, finally i baked this bread for this year's Xmas. Since i want this shaped bread more rich and delicious, i couldnt stop myself baking with a super rich bread dough aka brioche dough. Brioche dough calls for eggs, butter and milk along with usual ingredients. The addition of eggs and butter makes this dough more rich than the usual bread dough.

Santa Claus Brioche Bread

Friday, December 21, 2018

Eggless Orange & Poppy Seeds Bread Rolls

Once winter starts here, one can see varieties of citrus fruits in our farmer's market. I love to bake with citrus fruits, especially with dark chocolate. However i want to bake a simple bread rolls flavoured with orange and its was in my to do list since a long. Once oranges showed their heads in our nearby farmers, i couldnt stop myself gathering all the ingredients to bake out some spongy and soft bread rolls with them. Black poppyseeds is added to this bread rolls to bring some nuttiness and flavour as well. Obviously these bread rolls are super aromatic which can be enjoyed with jam, nutella or else simply with honey. However one can have this bread rolls with any sort of spreads or drinks for their breakfast to snacks.

Eggless Orange Poppyseeds Bread Rolls

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Channa Puri/Mauritian Bengalgram Yeasted Dumplings

Looking for a different deep fried snacks for your evening snacks, dont forget to check my today's post.I have crossed this delicious, yeasted dumplings while googling for an easy breezy deep fried snacks. And the stuffing caught my attention as it calls for our famous Bengal gram aka Channadal. And the best part of this dish is the stuffing, its completely spiced with our Indian spice powders. Obviously, why should i think twice to give a try to this popular and well known Mauritian street food. I gathered all the ingredients to make this channa puri which is completely different from our Indian snacks. As i told earlier, Channa puri is prepared with a spiced channa dal stuffing and a yeasted batter. Though this recipe may sounds bit long to prepare, trust me this dumplings are dangerously delicious to munch.

Channa Puri, Channadal Yeasted Dumplings

Eggless Homemade Subway Sandwich Bread

Have you ever enjoyed having subway sandwich bread with your favourite filling, do you know those spongy sandwich bread can be made easily at home with simple ingredients. I would have went twice to Subway that too long back, yet i still remember their sandwich bread which are oblong in shape with spongy crust. While i was googling for a simple loaf bread recipe i crossed this site. Obviously i have bookmarked it and baked those soft crusty loaves for this year's Bake-a-thon. A baking event i will running during this whole month of december only on Mondays, wednesdays and fridays. Coming to this subway bread, this recipe calls for basic ingredients which we usually go for baking bread at home. And trust me its one of the easiest bread i have baked till now.

Eggless Subway Loaf, Subway Sandwich

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Collabrating with Organo Cold Coffee Products

WHAT IS ORGANO GOLD COFFEE?
If you’re not already familiar with Organo Gold, allow this article to provide you with a brief overview of the company that is, by all accounts, changing the perception of coffee and tea, especially amongst those who enjoy these beverages as an early morning pick-me-up. Founded in 2008, Organo Gold has made it their mission to bring to market a brand of gourmet coffee and teas that are not only delicious but also chocked full health benefits as well. The company’s line of beverages is marketed to the health-conscious consumer who, regardless of age, has made a conscious decision to improve their life. To help put this all into context, let’s take a look at Organo’s background. The company was founded by Bernardo Chua, an enterprising businessman who found a way to marry an amazing product with a direct to consumer business model that delivered real value to consumers.

Although branded has gourmet coffee and teas, Organo’s products are actually much more than that. They contain Ganoderma Lucidum, an herbal mushroom commonly found in Chinese medicines. According to an article in CrunchBase, a platform for finding business information about private and public companies, the herbal mushroom has been shown to reduce the death rate in individuals who have been diagnosed with a myriad of diseases including


Diabetes

Cancer

Kidney disease


WHY ORGANO GOLD-BRANDED COFFEE IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL COFFEE
Additionally, Ganoderma Lucidum has shown an above average efficacy rate when it comes to helping those with insomnia, high blood pressure, and anxiety. Lastly, the very same herbal mushroom has been shown to be a tremendous benefit for those who have suffered a stroke, hepatitis, asthma, and bronchitis. For most people, drinking coffee is in no way a life-changing event, but that is not the case when it comes to Organo Gold products. In fact, many people have referred to the product as "the perfect start of the day." An estimated 64% of Americans admit to drinking at least one cup of coffee per day and consider it to be an essential morning ritual. Cognizant of this statistical data, Organo is committed to delivering a product that exceeds their customer's expectations by offering more than a mere jolt of caffeine.


COFFEE AND MORTALITY RATES
A study conducted by the University of Southern California lends credence to Organo’s assertion that coffee can be more than just a delicious caffeinated beverage. The study conducted by the university concluded that those who drink a minimum of two cups of coffee each day reduced their chance of death by 18% when compared to those who do not drink coffee at all. Organo has taken it upon themselves to capitalize on this study, and others like them, by creating campaigns that tout their products ingredients as being superior to competitors.

HOW ORGANO STREAMLINES THEIR PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION
Additionally, the company has made it a point to market their products directly to consumers, which reduces overhead and allows for fair pricing. Currently, Organo has operations in more than 39 countries and is distributing their products through a network of independent distributors. Needless to say, the company routinely looks for ways to not only expand their operations but also to streamline them; in fact, they recently made their coffee and tea products available through a coffee connoisseur club, a customer-centric convenience program that enables independent distributors to sell directly to consumers by offering access to Organo’s full product line via online ordering.





Purple Cabbage Masal Vada/Purple Cabbage Channadal Fritters

If you are making often just some crunchy coleslaw or else some easy breezy salads with purple cabbage, you should definitely have to take a look to this crispy fritters aka TamilNadu style masala vadais. Masala vadas are quite a streetfood which can be found easily in every corner tea shops all over Tamilnadu. Masal vadas is usually prepared with channadal along with few spices, however many sort of variations do exists. One can add some grated vegetables or greens to make vadas more delicious and healthy to feed kids easily with vegetables or greens. And my today's post is one among those vegetable loaded fritters aka purple cabbage masala vadas. Cabbage is one of my favourite vegetable but at home its quite a struggle to feed my kids with this leafy vegetable.

Cabbage Masal Vada

Monday, December 17, 2018

Homemade Boston Cream Donuts

Honestly am trying to keep myself away from deep-frying, but the weather in Paris is getting much worst nowadays. Obviously our tastebuds were craving for something deep fried and crispy to munch with a cup of coffee or tea. And this week's blogging marathon theme is 'Deep fried Love', hence this week's posts are going to be three different deep fried beauties. Needless to say how everyone at home enjoyed this theme. Yes after more than a month my family members had a chance to indulge some deep fried dishes as evening snacks. Am kick starting this week's theme with an ultimate homemade Boston cream donuts. Donuts are yeasted dough which is fried and enjoyed when tossed with cinnamon sugar. Coming to this Boston cream donuts, its a round, yeasted donuts with chocolate frosting and a pudding filling which is a miniature donut version of Boston cream pie.

Custard cream donuts, Boston Donuts

Vegan Mixed Seeds & Spelt Flour Dinner Rolls

Spelt flour is my recent favourite, i accidently picked a packet of spelt flour instead of gluten free flour. But trust me, though i did a mistake, i seriously enjoy baking out some incredible bakes with this very ancient grains. Spelt is known as hulled wheat which is a species of wheat cultivated since a long. Spelt flour breads are important staple in few parts of Europe since bronze age. As much as like Wheat, barley and rye, Spelt is also a gluten grain. You might have know about gluten, its a protein that gives breads and other baked goodies their texture. Obviously spelt flour replace very well whole wheat or whole grain flour in most of the breads. Spelt is an excellent healthy whole grain, eating spelt in your diet gives the fiber content. Fibre is essential for healthy digestive system. Hence spelt flour may be very much helpful as a part of weight loss diet. Spelt flour contains little more protein than the usual wheat.  Keep in your mind, that spelt flour is not suitable for a gluten free dieting people.

Vegan Mixed Seeds & Spelt Flour Bread rolls

Friday, December 14, 2018

Eggless Chocolate Chunks & Whole Wheat Butter Biscuits

Kids were asking for something buttery and chocolatey since few days as the weather in Paris is seriously nasty. If kids requests for chocolates loaded bakes, i cant say 'no' hence i baked this ultimate buttery wheat biscuits. Why i used whole wheat flour, coz i have already baked butter biscuits with all purpose flour. Since i want to bake them much healthier than the usual butter biscuits, i opted for whole wheat flour which works awesome to bake out some scrumptious biscuits out of it. Also i baked this cookies with roughly chopped chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips which gives an excellent texture to this ultimate cookies. Everyone at home went crazy when i finished baking this wheat butter biscuits.

Chocolate Chunks Wheat Butter Biscuits

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Eggless Coconut & Cashew Cookies

Dunno why, i just love coconut flavor in cakes,muffins and in breads. Whenever i feel like munching  coconut flavored baked goodies, i dont think twice to bake something coconuty. Few weeks back, i couldnt stop myself baking out some dangerously delicious cookies with both coconut and cashew nuts. Cashew nuts is one among my favourite nuts which i never fail to cook with often. Obviously i combined both coconut and cashew nuts together for baking some cheat version of the popular Good day biscuits. I still remember how delicious those cashew nuts loaded good day biscuits will be. I can never forget the taste of this biscuits as much as like the popular bourbon biscuits. Even now, whenever i go to India, i dont forget to grab a packet of these biscuits. Few biscuits are seriously very close of our hearts na.

Eggless Coconut & Cashew Cookies

Alouda/Mauritian Alouda Cold Milk/Alouda Glace

Today am taking you all to an another dream destination of many, yes my today's post is from Mauritius. Mauritius cuisine is a real mix of French, Chinese and Indian cuisine,however this cuisine is very much influenced by our Indian cuisine. While googling about this Mauritian cuisine, i was surprised to see that their most popular dishes are always prepared with an Indian touch. Am running this week's blogging marathon with Cook by capital as theme. Hence i picked the alphabetic letter 'P', after Paris and Prague, i couldnt stop myself to pick Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Port Louis, is very much known for their street foods. And i picked one of the most known and popular drink which quite common in Central Market in Port Louis. And this drink is easily available anywhere in the island.

Mauritian Alouda, Chilled Alouda

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Livance/Czech Yeasted Pancakes

You might have noticed that am running this week's blogging marathon with Cook by Capital as theme. And i picked 'P', obviously after Paris, today's capital i have picked is Prague Prague is Czech Republic's capital and i seriously want to visit this beautiful capital atleast once in my lifetime. And i have been looking for an opportunity to visit this place though its not far from France. Since i picked Prague, i googled for some interesting dishes from this amazing country, many Czech dishes are loaded with meats. However i looked for something different, definitely a hassle free dish from this cuisine. While googling, i crossed Livance, a fabulous Czech yeasted pancakes. Livance may sounds as much as like American Pancakes but trust me these pancakes are dangerously delicious.

Livance, Yeasted Czech Pancakes

Monday, December 10, 2018

Besan Tarkari/Besan Ki Sabji/Gramflour Dumplings Curry

Regional cuisines of India shares many delightful dishes with pantry friendly ingredients. Am amazed to see our own Indian cuisine is loaded with varieties of dishes you can cook in an ease. Our Regional cuisines rocks, and whenever i cross a new dish from any part of India, i dont forget to bookmark them. Obviously my bookmarked lists is overflooding since a long and i have couple of dishes to dish out very soon. You might have noticed that i dont hesitate a second to try new dishes as i love to explore other style of cuisine than sticking with my usual cooking style. Am a person who love to try and test especially if the recipe calls for simple ingredients. One of my recent trial from Odisha cuisine is this Besan Tarkari which means as gramflour dumplings cooked in spicy curry.

Besan Tarkari, Besan Ki Sabji

Eggless Spelt Flour Chocolate Chips Cookies

Life is full of experiments and experiences, obviously we learn tips and tricks ourselves either by fail or by succeeding those trials. Culinary experiments are one among those. Experiments in cooking or in baking makes you to come up with some creative dishes or bakes. Trust me, few culinary experiments will definitely pull you to learn and correct your mistakes. To be honest i have been baking since few years especially once i started blogging and am a self learned baker. Never went to cooking classes or baking classes, however blogsphere teach you every nooks of baking. I love baking, i wont hesitate a second to try bakes with different ingredients. And my today's post is one among those experiments which turned as some dangerously delicious cookies. Spelt flour, this is one of my recent favourite flour which i have been using recently in most of my bakes. Spelt flour works awesome for making beautiful breads and cakes. However i gathered all the ingredients to try a simple yet a delicious cookies with.

Spelt Flour Chocolate chips Cookies

Tarte au Flan Parisien/Parisian Flan/French Custard Pie

French desserts/pastries are quite popular around the world and their pastries are seriously a must try if you have a chance to visit this beautiful country. I must say that am lucky enough to live in this country since 23 years. Obviously French desserts are my favourite. Now i try to replicate them at home whenever i get a chance to dish them out by myself. Though some of the French pastries are seriously hard to learn and cook at home, few pastries are quite easy to prepare. I have been dishing out some of the easiest French pastries since a long, and thank god till now everyone at home approved that my French Pastries are best and tastes very much like the store bought ones. Whatelse we need, however  i learned baking myself and am proud to say that all my French pastries never went wrong.

Tarte au flan Parisien, Parisian Custard Pie

Friday, December 7, 2018

Eggless Semolina Pav Buns/Semolina Bread Rolls

I have been baking with fine semolina since few weeks as am able to make some incredible breads with them. Working with semolina is not a tough job as they tends to work as much as like bread or all purpose flour. Fine quality semolina are just prefect to bake many tremendous breads out of them. Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian uses Semolina as the main ingredients in most of their flatbreads or leavened breads. Since my family members like the texture and the flavor of semolina breads or bread rolls, i couldnt stop myself to make some simple bread rolls at home just to please some hungry tummies either for breakfast or for evening snacks after a hectic day at school. These bread rolls came out extremely spongy and ultimately delicious eventhough this bread rolls are completely eggfree.

Semolina Bread Rolls, Eggless Semolina bread rolls

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Butterless Whole Wheat Kiwi Upside Down Cake

Kiwi, these fruits are loaded with many vitamins and right now here its peak season of this ultimate fruits. Obviously how can i forget to get them whenever we go to farmer's market. Recently i got a huge bag of farm fresh kiwis from my next door friend who carried all the from South France as her uncle is a farmer who owns some kiwi plants. Seriously, i was overwhelmed by her nice gesture and i want to make something delicious with those kiwis. After making some smoothies and fruit salad, i baked a fabulous upside down cake with the leftover kiwis. As much as like apples, i cant take kiwis raw, and unfortunately kiwi is one of my favourite fruits, hence i baked this cake to enjoy the goodness of this incredible fruits.

Butterless Kiwi Upside Down cake

Khaliat Nahal/Cheese Beehive Buns/Savoury Honeycomb Buns

Nothing can beat the aroma of freshly baked breads at home and obviously homemade breads are the best without any preservatives. Home made breads are very much tastier than the store bought one and they are damn cheaper and doesnt take much time to prepare at home. If you ask me to bake a bread everyday, i dont hesitate a second at all. Coz bread making are definitely a stress burster, if you want to get rid of  your stress just bake a bread at home.Homemade breads are more nutritious when compared to store bought ones,needless to say that we can mix and match the ingredients according to our wish. And you might have noticed that am running a month of baking marathon which is known as Bake-a-thon, obviously i will be posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during this whole month of december. Stay tuned to have a look on my baked goodies for this years's Bake-a-thon.

Honeycomb Buns

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Glaced Cherries Pound Cake

Pound cake are everyone's favourite at home coz these cakes are prepared usually with equal weights of 4 main ingredients. Flour, eggs, butter and sugar are the most needed ingredients to bake this incredible cake. Flavored or prepared with fruits, dry fruits this buttery pound cake tastes extremely delicious to please your tastebuds. Pound cakes are best to enjoy for snacks or for desserts after a meal depending upon how they are served. For a dessert, top a slice of pound cake with some scoops of icecreams or else with whipped cream and chopped fruits like strawberries, figs or raspberries etc. Though i have already baked varieties of pound cakes, its been a while i seriously want to bake a pound cake with glaced cherries as my H was asking for this cake. He just love fruits loaded pound cake, obviously i couldnt stop myself to bake this cake just to please him.

Cherries Pound Cake, Glaced Cherries Pound cake

Monday, December 3, 2018

Eggless Chocolate Chips Milk Buns

Breads or buns, these baked goodies are must for us to kick start our day. Since ever i started working, i couldnt make our usual south Indian style breakfast on week days coz of my super duper busy schedule. Obviously i cant think more than baking breads during weekends for our weekly breakfast or else we stick with store bought breads. Most of our breakfast goes for bread toast with butter and jam along with a cup of tea or black coffee. You might have guessed now why i have been baking quite often at home. Neeldess to say that i just love baking breads at home as they calls mostly for basic ingredients with no preservatives. Homemade breads are always the best though their shell life is very lesser than  compared to the store bought breads. Coming to today's chocolate buns, i baked these buns few months back for our weekend brunch and its was sitting in my draft since a long.

Chocolate Buns, Chocolate Chips Buns

Butterless Chocolate Apple Cake

Once fall season starts here in Paris, farmer's markets will gets loaded definitely with varieties of apples, pears, clementines, kiwis etc.  Apples are the prominent Fall fruits here, obviously we make use of it in many bakes especially in cakes. Am running this week's blogging marathon with Make them as cakes as theme, hence this week's posts are going to be some kid's friendly cakes. I love to bake cakes than grinding idly batter, yes dunno why. My mom used to pull me coz of this, i hate grinding idli or dosa batter than preparing cake batter. If any occasions presents, i look for an opportunity to bake a cake to please my cake loving kids at home. Though my space have varieties of cakes, some are yet to bake and post in my space.

Chocolate apple cake

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Malvani Kakdi Vade/Malvani Cucumber Vada

Malvan is a town in Sindhudurg district on west coast of Maharashtra, and this town have its own cuisine which is fondly called as Malvani cuisine. Its a standard cuisine of South Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa. Malvani cuisine is dominated with non vegetarian dishes however many delicious vegetarian dishes do exists. My today's recipe is a fabulous dangerously addictive fried breads or pooris whatever you want like calling is an interesting dish i grabbed from Suma's Space. And this kakdi vade calls for grated cucumber with usual flours and spices we often use in our daily cooking. These kakdi vade are served along with a non vegetarian curry which have their important part in most of festivals especially in weddings among the Malvani community. Usually the flours used in this vade are prepared by toasting the dals and rice, which is later powdered for making this vade. If you have all the flours in your pantry, trust me you can dish out this vade in less time easily at home.

Kakdi Vade, Cucumber Vada

Monday, November 26, 2018

Vegan Spelt Flour Hamburger Buns

Spelt flour is one of my recent favourite flour which i have been using in most of my bakes in recent days. Spelt flour works awesome to make some bakes especially breads. We just love homemade breads as i love baking breads at home. Bread baking is definitely a rocket science if yeast god doesnt behave good to you. Earlier i have been using active dry yeast and failed most of my bakes coz of taming the yeast beast. Hence since three years, am addictive to instant yeast which makes my life easier as they are seriously easy to handle. If you get instant yeast near you, dont forget to grab a box as they are very simple to work with. Coming to this spelt flour buns, the addition of spelt flour make this bread more interesting and nutritious. With simple and easy ingredients, one can bake this vegan hamburger buns easily with less efforts. Shaping buns is not a hard task rite, dont forget to take a look to my today's post.

Vegan Spelt Flour Buns

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Luqaimat/Lqeimat/Emirati Yeasted Dumplings

Its been a while i made some deep fried snacks for kids, kids were pestering me for donuts but i dont want to make them as i dont want to spend much time in my kitchen. While looking at my bookmarks, these Emirati yeasted dumplings caught my attention. I have bookmarked them long back from Rafeeda's space, since am cooking from bookmarks for this week's blogging marathon, i gathered all the ingredients to dish out this ultimate Luqaimat. After going through Rafeeda's post, i came to know that this dumplings are very much liked by the Emiratis and its quite a popular dish of UAE. Seriously her intro tempted me to bookmark this dumplings long back and finally i tried them few days back at home for our sunday snacks.

lqeimat, Qeemat


Saturday, November 24, 2018

Lolo Buns/Eggless Fijian Coconut Buns

Usually whenever i cross a completely new or different bakes/breads from fellow bloggers, i dont hesitate a second to bookmark them. One among those bookmarks is this Fijian coconut buns which is popularly called as Lolo buns. Am cleaning up few of my bookmarks for this week's blogging marathon, you might have guessed my theme now. Yes am running this week's blogging marathon with Bookmarked recipes as theme. I crossed this Lolo buns at Sowmya's space, since this buns are completely new to me, i couldnt stop myself trying them at home. The particularity of these Fijian buns is they are smothered with coconut milk while baking. And they are simple to make with a subtle coconut flavor which is very delicious to eat with your favourite spreads or jams.

Eggless Lolo Buns, Coconut Buns

Monday, November 19, 2018

Vegan Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Herbed Finger Millet Bread Rolls/Herbed Ragi Bread Rolls

I have been baking for a long at home with healthy ingredients. Baking breads or cakes at home is definitely one of my favourite passion after cooking and crocheting. Baking makes me happy, its quite therapeutic and definitely a fun to knead and shape the bread doughs as you desire.Today's post is one of my recent bread rolls which i baked few days back for our dinner as i couldnt grab store bought bread rolls. Since i came earlier to home, i prepared a millet based bread dough to bake out some easy bread rolls with some herbs and sun dried tomatoes in it. I simply love adding millets or millet flours in my cooking quite often just to feed my family members easily without their knowledge. Obviously making breads or bread rolls out of the nutritious millets is definitely a wonderful way to sneak them in our diet.

Sundried tomatoes Ragi Bread rolls

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Barnyard Millet & Semolina Laddoos/Thinai Rava Laddus

Who will say no to Semolina ladoos aka rava laddus, definitely not me, everyone at home enjoy this incredible Indian sweets. One of the most popular Indian sweets is rava laddoos. Yes we, Indians usually prepare this easy breezy sweets quite quickly with simple preparation. Usually with just three ingredients, one can make these dangerously sweets with less efforts. Even in my Diwali sweets list, rava laddoos have their own place.However my today's post is definitely a must to try, if you want make these tremendous laddoos with an healthy twist. Adding millets to the usual rava laddoos makes them more interesting, healthy and nutritious as well. Kids enjoy these cute laddoos, as the addition of millets makes its more aromatic and dangerously delicious.Apart from adding barnyard millet aka thinai in this sweets, i didnt make any changes.

Thinai Rava Laddoo, Barnyard millet Laddoo

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Ragi Halbai/Fingermillet & Coconut Halwa

Halubai or Halubai, this sweet is quite popular in Udupi,Mangalore and Malnad regions of Karnataka for festivals or celebrations. Often made with rice, jaggery and coconut, this sweet can be prepared well with Semolina aka Rava and Fingermillet aka Ragi. I have already tried making this Halubai with Semolina and you can find here for an another event. And my today's post is going to an another version of Halubai cooked with a millet which is quite interesting and healthy to add in our diet. I have been cooking with ragi flour aka fingermillet flour for a while. I do add them in my parathas, in most of my bakes and not to forget that this millets have their own place in my pantry. Healthy and definitely a nutritious millet to add often in our weekly diet, this millets are one of my favourite. However this millets are used for making many traditional village style sweet dishes like ragi jaggery adai, simli etc.. Coming to my today's Halubai, its a must to try as this sweet is definitely a delicious one.

Ragi Halbai, Ragi Halwa

Monday, November 12, 2018

Cashew Coconut Milk Pulao

We love briyani during anytime of the day, obviously i will definitely make biriyani atleast twice a month especially on week-ends. Most of our Sunday lunch will be either biriyani or pulao. Served along with a rich, creamy curry or side dish, one can finish their lunch or dinner happily without any fuss. I have already dished out couple of pulao and my space have varieties of pulao cooked either with vegetables, seafoods or meats. However my today's recipe is one of easiest pulao one can dish out quickly without any hassle. Even if you ran out of vegetables or meats, this dish will make everyone happy as this dish is full of flavors. With a handful of cashewnuts, garam masala and homemade coconut milk is quite enough to prepare this pulao.


Sunday, November 11, 2018

Gluten Free Masoordal Quinoa Khichdi

If you are looking for a simple, gluten free and no garlic and no onion dish for a quick meal, dont forget to check this ultimate quinoa khichdi which i simply cooked with masoor dal. Masoor dal works tremendously prefect to make some comforting meal which can be cooked along with any sort of grains. Masoor dal is rarely used in my cooking, however i dont forget to grab a packet of masoor dal just to combine along with toor dal to make some South Indian style sambar. If you are a regular follower of my space, you might have noticed that i love to cook often with Quinoa. Quinoa is my favourite wholegrians which is completely gluten free and healthy as well. Coming to my today's post, if you want to cook something quickly for a busy lunch or for a lazy evening dinner, just go through this ultimate comforting khichdi which can be cooked in an ease.

Masoordal Quinoa Khichdi

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Vegan Aloo Pulao/Gluten Free Potato Pulao

Hectic days doesnt need an elaborate meals, however you can dish out some super filling dishes in an ease with our Indian cooking gadgets. Indian style pressure cookers are real blessing especially when you have time to make something special to pack either in your lunchbox or else for a quick meal. I have been cooking with Indian pressure cookers since a long as they are seriously very handy to cook dishes quickly without any difficulties. My today's post is one of the quickest pulao i have dished out few days back for a meal. Yes easy peasy Aloo pulao with mild spiciness and aroma. No tomatoes, no ginger garlic paste is needed to dish out this vegan and gluten free one potmeal. Just spiced with garam masala,turmeric powder and chilly powder, this delicious pulao is a prefect dish to pack quickly and easily with less cooking process.

Vegan Aloo Pulao

Monday, November 5, 2018

Mkate Wa Ufuta/Zanzibar Sesame Bread/Vegan Sesame Bread

While i was doing September Mega marathon with International flatbreads as theme, i was totally surprised to see numerous varieties of flatbreads do exists in many cuisines. Obviously my fellow bloggers shared so many tremendous flatbreads and my bookmarking list was overflowing. Hence i couldnt stop myself to dish one among those bookmarked recipes. Here comes the Zanzibar sesame bread which is bookmarked immediately at Gayathri's Space, the simplicity of this bread pulled me to put them in bookmarked recipes. However i love the aroma of roasted sesame seeds in my breads, obviously i immediately want to try this bread. This bread is a fabulous one as coconut milk is used for kneading this bread dough. This bread is definitely a must try and i enjoyed making them. I have to say a big thanks to Gayathri for posting this ultimate bread as everyone at home enjoyed thoroughly.

Mkate Wa Ufuta,Zanzibar Coconut & Sesame Bread