Egg Puffs and Veg Puffs are very common in South of India and these are found quite easily in all he bakeries, small or big. During my singlehood days in Bangalore, Egg Puffs used to be my fav weekend breakfast. I would walk to the local bakery, packed a couple of egg puffs, come back home and enjoy with piping hot cup of tea. When I moved here, I obviously started missing those local bakery treats and that’s when I started making Egg Puffs at home....

An authentic kulfi recipe requires reducing the milk for a couple of hours until you get that thick cream-like consistency. It is then finally sweetened with sugar and then flavored with cardamom powder. No churning. Just pour in a steel container or paper cups and let it freeze. It’s that simple! Of course, if you look for kulfi recipes, you will find various different ways to prepare kulfi. Some like to add solid milk (Khoya) and some prepare it with condensed milk....

This dish is so much preferred in India that you will find it in almost every other restaurant, buffet menu, wedding menu or for any gathering that plans for a North Indian meal. I hardly order this dish in a restaurant because the ratio of the gravy with the paneer is never balanced and so, I always prefer to make it at home. It’s also a great weekday meal as it takes less than 30 minutes from prep to finish....

What is Mawa Gujiya? Mawa Gujiya is a very popular Indian festival dessert, prepared mostly during Holi and Diwali. Maya is solid milk. It is either prepared by simmering and stirring milk for several hours, until it thickens and turns into dough like texture. These days it is very easily available in Indian stores in the frozen aisle. Gujiya are cresent shaped, fried dough that is stuffed with maya, semolina (optional) and assorted nuts....

We eat pasta quite often. Most of the time, it’s light with some lemon and fresh herbs. This particular Orecchiette pasta dish has bold flavors from the goat cheese. The mild tangy taste from the cheese with fresh sage balances quite pleasantly. The flavor of goat cheese can be sensitive to certain taste buds. So, if you are trying goat cheese for the first time, I would suggest try a good brand....

Tomato Khejur Chutney Bengali Tomato Khejur Chutney is very popular and a must at all special occasions, from Bengali wedding feast to Pujo Bhog (food offering to Gods and Goddess). Bengali cuisine has a wide variety of chutney prepared with seasonal fruits and vegetables. But this particular Tomato Chutney with dates we prepare all year round. If you like a sweet and spicy Tomato Chutney, then try this Tomato Chutney....

Making puff pastry at home was out of the question until I saw the pastry sheets in the frozen section of the grocery store.. where they were rolled and packed neatly. This is what the blogging world is doing to me. I learn something new every day.. a new recipe, a new technique or a new cuisine. How ignorant was I to think that these puff pastries could only be baked in professional bakery shop!...

What is Dahi Kebab? The first thing that will probably come to your mind when you think of Kebab is meat. But Dahi Kebab is vegetarian and it’s unique. Key Ingredient of Dahi Kebab is hung yogurt! Dahi in hindi is Yogurt and hense the name. I learned of these North Indian special Vegetarian Dahi ke Kebabs just couple years back. Not sure how I never tried these when I used to live in India....

We are in the middle of the Spring, and I was getting all ready for light meal, but the sudden change in weather and all the unpredictable rainy days got me craving for soup and my no-knead bread. Why you will love this Mushroom Soup The recipe doesn’t call for all different varieties of assorted mushroom, just a mix of white button mushroom and brown mushroom. My family loves button mushroom, and we make it various different ways, like this quick Mushroom Masala....

Ginger Cinnamon Molasses Cookies - 2 Ways I don’t think I have ever baked cookies as frequently as I am doing this year. Last weekend, I baked these Ginger Cinnamon Molasses Cookies with my little elf. It was crunchy, crumbly and the ratio of ginger with cinnamon was just perfect. At first, I was a little worried if Avyan will approve of these cookies because he wants chocolate or frosting all the time....

Homemade Custard Growing up, my Ma made custard very often loaded with fresh fruits. It is a very common Indian desserts from my generation. But it was always from store bought custard powder. I still love the taste of that custard and yes, I still make it at times. Having said that, I needed to learn how to make custard at home and not depend on that custard powder all the time....

We Indians love yogurt! And when peak summer hits, we enjoy yogurt in several different ways, like this light Soya Kadhi. A glass of Mattha or Chaas post lunch and dinner helps to keep the tummy cool and digest your meal. There is no strict recipe for this spiced buttermilk, and we all give our own little twist to suit our taste bud. Ingredients I used for Mattha Plain Yogurt - I like to use thick greek yogurt, but regular homemade yogurt will work fine too....

The last 2 months were anything but relaxing. We saw lots of new places, visited our relatives, ate out and then of course, the shopping! We spent the days running around, managing some sleep at night but it was FUN 🙂 I shared some photos from our trip in the last post and will tell you more about it in my future posts. Stay tuned for that. Now, lets enjoy some oranges....

Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Pasta Salad Tomato and Eggplant together is such a great combination. It is amazing with rice, risotto, on toast and pasta too. Sweet juicy cherry tomatoes with the creamy eggplant makes the dish so delicious. The best part of this Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Pasta Salad is that it tastes great even at room temperature. You can pack it for your Beach Picnic, or potluck party. If you like chicken and got some left over roasted chicken, add that for extra bite....

On those days, I even break rules and take out the shiny Asus Zenpad 7. He loves it. We downloaded a few toddler apps that he enjoys playing. And the audio cover even makes it more fun specially since the little fella loves to dance on peppy music. When I received the Asus Zenpad 7, I was super thrilled to see how lightweight it is. Perfect to carry it around in my already loaded diaper bag....

Aam Panna | Aam Poda Shorbot On a hot summer day, just water is very important, but it can get a little boring. So we find different ways to stay hydrate through healthy drinks. Aam Panna is the term used in most part of India, while Aam Poda Shorbot is the West Bengal version. The difference is that in most part of India, they would boil the green mango. While in West Bengal, we make the Aam Poda Shorbot by charring the green mango in open fire....

What is Kadhi - Chickpea Yogurt Soup? It’s a popular yogurt based gravy curry, very popular in the state of Gujarat and Punjab. You make the gravy with chickpea flour and yogurt, and add crispy dumplings to the gravy. Based on the region you are from, the kadhi will have its own version. You then serve the kadhi with rice, hence most often you will hear the term “kadhi chawal” being used where Kadhi is the curry and chawal is steamed white rice served along....

There are various different version of Masala Chivda/ Poha fry and it is one of those dishes that doesn’t really call for exact measurements. My Mom often makes it really simple with just flattened rice/ chira toasted with little oil and nigella seeds, some dry red chili and peanuts. This simple version is what I often make too. Somedays however I like to go overload with all things I could think of adding for the perfectly crunchy chire bhaja....

While proper breakfast became a regular thing, the menu didn’t change much for weekdays, until I found this Idli recipe in a small booklet. I didn’t grow up eating Idly everyday; hence to discover a recipe that could get ready in less than 15 minutes was a you-got-to-be-kidding moment for me! For people who are not aware, Idli is a famous traditional South Indian breakfast. It’s steamed, savory cake served with condiments like coconut chutney and/or a lentil soup called sambar....

Rosemary Honey Simple Syrup Rosemary Honey Simple Syrup is an easy-to-make syrup that barely takes any effort. All you need is fresh rosemary, good quality honey and water. To prepare the rosemary honey simple syrup, you’ll need an equal part of water with honey. To that, you add several sprigs of fresh rosemary. Let it simmer slowly for about 15 minutes and then let it cool down completely. The syrup tastes even better the next day once the flavor blends beautifully!...