Recipe: Rose & Cardamom Cookies Rose & Cardamom Cookies are so easy to bake, flavourful and perfect for any festival season. I bake these for Diwali, Weddings, Tea Parties, Eid,etc. I simply love the combined flavour of rose and cardamom. Trust me, it is so exotic. Adding a different kind of flavour to the basic nankhatai recipe. Cookie, A Must With Tea Or Coffee Isn’t it intriguing that many feel like having a cookie with their cup or tea or coffee? I am one of them. My afternoon tea is always served with cookies. I mostly stick to one cookie though I get tempted to reach out for another 🙂 But the good thing is that since hubby has retired, he has taken on…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: CHRISTMAS COOKIES AROUND THE WORLD RECIPE: KARACHI BISCUITS Karachi Biscuits are soft and melt in the mouth kind of cookies or biscuits. Easy to make, they are studded with tutti frutti and flavoured with cardamom and rose essence. Generally, these cookies are enjoyed throughout the year with a cup of masala tea. However, I love to make them for Diwali and Christmas. In fact, they are perfect to gift to friends and family. Why Are They Called Karachi Biscuits? To begin with these biscuits or cookies are not at all from Karachi. They are famous biscuits from Karachi Bakery that is located in the city of Hyderabad, India. As a matter of fact, Khanchand Ramnani, a Sindhi who migrated from Karachi…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: CHRISTMAS BAKES RECIPE: CLEMENTINE COOKIES Clementine Cookies are made from the basic sugar cookie dough. These quick and easy cookies are delicately flavoured with fresh clementine juice and zest. The basic sugar cookie dough is so versatile, add flavours of your choice, roll them into balls and bake, roll them out flat and bake – whatever you prefer. With a slightly soft chewy centre these cookies are quite popular during Christmas. I baked this batch and family visiting us from US loved them. Planning to bake some more soon for Christmas to gift to neighbours and new friends we have made in the small town of Magog, Quebec. Actually, the whole idea of adding clementine juice and zest for these…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #279 SESAME SEEDS RECIPE: ITALIAN SESAME SEED COOKIES/BISCOTTI REGINA Italian Sesame Seed Cookies Italian Sesame Seed Cookies/ Biscotti Regina, a classic Italian treat, so crunchy and lemony. These authentic Italian cookies are so easy to make. Originally called Biscotti Regina these cookies from the Sicily region make a good snack option. They can be served as dessert or with coffee. Translated, the name Biscotti Regina means Queen’s Biscuits. Crunchy outer because of the sesame seeds and a slightly soft center, these cookies are best enjoyed dunked in coffee, milk or tea.  Biscotti Regina Unlike the more famous biscotti we know which are twice baked, Biscotti Regina are baked only once. How they originated is debatable. In this case, it is believed…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #230 CHINESE NEW YEAR Chinese New Year 2020 Gong hei fat choy  is the Greeting for Chinese New Year in Cantonese and Gong xi fa cai (pronounced gong she fa tsai) in Madarin. Basically it means wishing you great happiness and prosperity. This year Chinese New Year, Spring Festival and also known as Lunar New Year falls on 25th January. Like most Indian festivals, Chinese New Year doesn’t fall on the same day every year as it follows the lunar calendar. Did you know that the New Year festival usually lasts 15 days? How is Chinese New Year Celebrated? Its a day for praying to God, for good harvest and planting. People also pray to their ancestors. A vast variety of food…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #206 GLUTEN FREE TREATS Today my 100% concentration is not on writing the post and yet I want to say so much. The problem is that I just don’t know how to put my feelings into words. For once I’m lost for words! I guess that happens to all those who become grandparents for the first time or even many times. I guess the feeling is the same. Yes, now officially I’m a grandmother or more precisely as they say in Gujarati ‘Hu Ba bani gayi.’ So, now I proudly announce that I’m Ba to Lily Monique Mayuri Patel. Must say that’s a really long name but feel so honoured that the parents (my son and daughter in law) have decided that…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #200NOTOUT I joined FoodieMonday/Bloghop in March 2016 when their #31st theme was Fusion Thandai Recipes. I remember I was really struggling to figure out what to prepare for the theme and also how will I portray myself as a new member. What I found very quickly was that the members of the group were very friendly and helpful. Today we’re on our #200th theme and I’ve come a long way, more confident, have improved on how I write my blog posts, how I take photographs of the prepared dish, learnt about other Indian cuisines and also know the members and a bit about their families. Many old members have left and new ones have joined. With some its now a lasting…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOPTHEME:#189 GAJAR KA JALWA Once again in a few days I’ll be on the move. So the routine has begun, packing my suitcase (I hate packing!), time to wind up the kitchen, close the house. Last minute tension, as I’ll be attending two weddings and have to make sure have all the wedding saris, jewelry etc. Always get the feeling, ‘am I forgetting something?’ However, I calm down for a few hours as I remember what my kaka (chacha, uncle) always use to say when we’d travel by flight alone to get back to boarding school. He’d say as long as you have your passport, ticket and some money, you’re fine. Traveling often, does that make me an expert at packing my suitcase? Not at…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER F RECIPE: FIG AND AMARANTH COOKIES Fig and Amaranth Cookies are gluten free, delicious, melt in the mouth kind of cookies that can be enjoyed on Fasting Days. Amaranth flour, a bit of butter and sugar with chopped dried figs, these cookies are so easy to make. No baking agent is used as I am not sure if baking agents are allowed during Ekadashi, Shivratri and Navratri Fasting Days. What is the A- Z Challenge? Well, we’re a Facebook group and every alternate month the participants make a dish with the  relevant letter. The group was started in May 2018 by Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan. Jolly blogs at Jolly Homemade Recipes.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: HEALTHY WELLTHY CUISINES THEME: 60 HWCG #TwistWithBiscuitHW Twist with biscuits is an interesting theme as its so easy to include biscuits or cookies into making a quick dessert. Everyone on the group was wondering what to make. Some suggestions came along like using savory cookies or biscuits for bhel, or a no bake cake etc. I had made up my mind to make an easy dessert recipe as its really dear to my heart. Mind you, I’m eagerly waiting for the biscuit bhel recipe. My eldest son did his Hotel Management and Administration from a Swiss Hotel Management School. When he came home after his first semester, his fingers had so many cuts. Being a mother, my heart hurt that his fingers were hurting.…
