Recipe: Beetroot Chocolate Chip Cookies Beetroot Chocolate Chip Cookies are egg free, so pretty, tasty, crispy on the outside and soft inside. Loaded with oats and chocolate chunks, the beetroot doesn’t as such add any flavour but makes the cookies soft pink in colour. Better to use natural colours than artificial ones. Valentine’s Day Everyone talks about how we should feel love every single day, but let’s be real – being a lovey-dovey 24/7 is a tough gig. Let’s face it, we all have those moments when we just need our own space, or when our loved ones drive us up the wall. It’s easier to remember the annoying stuff than the happy moments, right? How many times have you wanted to scream into the…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Coconut Cucumber Tikki Coconut Cucumber Tikki or Pattis is a a potato based snack which is filled with a mixture of grated cucumber, coconut and nuts. Generally, coconut tikki or patties is made as a Farali option for fasting days. But my mother in law Nunu, always included cucumber in the stuffing. And this snack is both gluten free and vegan. Memories When my in laws took Diksha and became ISKCON devotees, Ekadashi fasting was a must. Their Guruji had requested that if possible on that day we shouldn’t prepare any grains, beans, cereals in the kitchen. Initially we thought that would be difficult considering that my kids were pretty young then. However, Nunu took it as a challenge to make Ekadashi fasting exciting…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIE’S REDOING OLD POSTS #4 RECIPE: COCONUT CHOCOLATE What is Coconut Chocolate? Coconut Chocolate is a homemade chocolate using desiccated coconut, cocoa powder, milk powder, milk and flavors. Easy to make, its an ideal sweet treat during festivals. It also makes a very good edible gift as both kids and adults will love it. Tastes so much like Bounty Chocolate. Go on try out the recipe. Memories My son is getting married in April and the preparations have begun. In a few days I am off to India to shop till I drop! Easy to say that but am pretty tensed as I have so many things to do. In spite of writing all the ‘to do’ things on a list I am just…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo is a common sweet made during Diwali by most Patel homes. Made from wheat flour, ghee, milk with spices and nuts added to the mixture. These delectable, melt in the mouth laddoos are made either with jaggery or sugar. Diwali is incomplete without Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo When Nunu, my MIL was living in Mombasa, Diwali lunch for all our relatives would be at our house and the menu would be gur na ladwa, tuvar dal, rice, a green vegetable, chana nu shaak and some sort of farsan. I use to help Nunu make the ladwas but after she started spending Diwali in Vrindavan, I didn’t have the courage to make them…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Cranberry Pistachio Cookies Cranberry Pistachio Cookies are festive, buttery, easy to make and melt in the mouth kind of cookies. Besides having both red and green colours of Christmas, what I like about this recipe is that I can make the dough ahead and freeze it. When required I allow the rolled logs to thaw in the fridge, slice and bake. And delicious cookies are ready in a jiffy. Did I mention these cookies are egg free? Yup, they are. Also I use a mixture of all purpose flour and wheat flour. If you want white cookies then use only all purpose flour. Memories When I baked these cookies the first time, I wanted to eat all of them. I had sent a…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #39 RECIPE: CHRISTMAS TEA BREAD Christmas Tea Bread Are you wondering why would anyone want to make a Christmas Tea Bread when there is a Christmas Cake around? Well, for one this Christmas Tea Bread is so easy to put together and secondly not everyone wants a rich Christmas Cake. This Christmas Tea Bread offers the soaked fruits, the warmth of spices but is so much lighter. This bread can replace the Christmas Cake easily, can be enjoyed for breakfast or even as an accompaniment to your cup of tea or coffee. What is the difference between a cake and tea bread or quick bread? The basic difference is the tin that its baked in. Normally, cakes are baked in…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Khandvi, Gujarati Snack Khandvi, a Gujarati Snack is a delicious, melt in the mouth, flavourful rolled healthy snack. It is made from chickpea flour and yogurt or buttermilk. The cooked flour paste is spread out into thin sheets and then rolled. Tempering of mustard seeds, green chillis, curry leaves, fresh coriander and coconut are added to it. Maharastrians too make khandvi and is popularly known as Suralichi. It also goes by the names Patuli and Dahivadi. This is one snack that my whole family loves and therefore make it as often as I can. The best part of this snack is that it is enjoyed cold and you can store it in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Some add the tempering to the…
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Continue ReadingWheat Orange and Oat Cookies Fragrant and tasty Wheat Orange and Oat Cookies are scrumptious homemade oatmeal cookies full of nuts and chocolate chips. Made with wholewheat flour, oats, nuts, coconut and chocolate chips, these cookies are egg free and easy to make. What Are Cookies? Cookies or biscuits are baked flat food made from a combination of flour, sugar and fat. To the basic dough nuts, dried fruits, fresh fruits, fruit purees, chocolate, spices, etc are added to make them more flavorful. Cookies can be soft and buttery, crunchy or chewy. On the other hand savory cookies will contain very little or no sugar, like Khara Biscuits which have green chilis, ginger, curry leaves, coriander and spices. Baking Cookies In order to…
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Continue ReadingEvent: Foodies_Redoing Old Posts Recipe: Jam Thumbprint Cookies – Egg Free Jam Thumbprint Cookies are made from the basic shortbread recipe, indented and filled with a jam of your choice. These cookies are so easy to make, egg free, attractive and super delicious. Watch the video for the vegan version. The ingredients remain the same except that I have replaced the butter with vegan Becel or Flora. A Sweet Treat When I was staying in Bangalore with my daughter, we were hooked onto the JimJam cookies for a while. Though sickly sweet, it was like a treat for us. Just as well they made small packages otherwise can’t imagine how many we would have gobbled. A little bit of jam appeared on top of the…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Sheero |Sooji Ka Halwa Sheero |Sooji Ka Halwa is a popular Indian sweet or dessert made from semolina, saffron, cardamom and ghee. Absolutely delicious, melt in the mouth and comforting mithai, it is generally prepared for festivals and happy occasions. Easy to make, some use water to prepare the sooji ka halwa and some use milk. Sheero or shiro is the Gujarati name for sooji ka halwa and we usually prepare it using milk. Memories I like to prepare sheero for Ram Navmi and Bhai Beej. Ram Navmi is the birth date of Shri Ram Bhagwan. Bhai Beej, bhai dooj or bhav bij is a festival like Raksha Bandhan, a day dedicated to the love between brothers and sisters. Normally on this day…
