Recipe: Coconut Rice Kheer Coconut Rice Kheer is a creamy, tasty vegan kheer or rice pudding that is made with fresh coconut, rice and coconut milk. Add a bit of cardamom or cinnamon powder for that spice flavour and some chopped nuts for a bit of crunch. Actually, this gluten free kheer is so easy to make and perfect for those who follow a vegan diet. However, it is a delicious alternate for those who don’t follow a vegan diet. What Is Kheer? Kheer is the Indian way of preparing a rice pudding. Basmati rice or short grain rice is allowed to cook in milk till it is done and appears thick and creamy. Spices, nuts and dried fruits are added and served hot or…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: FESTIVE THEME RECIPE: THANDAI RAVA CAKE Thandai Rava Cake is so soft, egg free and with amazing flavours of thandai spices,rose and saffron. A perfect bake for the Holi Festival. Who doesn’t love cakes, whatever the festival maybe. What Is Thandai Rava Cake? Thandai is a spice mixture that is quite popular during the Holi festival. Besides making thandai drink, it can be used for several other festive dishes like kulfi, mousse, cookies, muffins, chia pudding, malpua, etc. Rava is the hindi word for semolina. Semolina cakes turn out so soft and are easily to bake. Add a sugar syrup on top to keep it moist or don’t. The choice is yours. A Bit About The Group This group brings…
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Continue ReadingEvent: Sunday Funday Theme: Diwali Party On 23rd Oct Recipe: Chocolate Kalakand Chocolate Kalakand takes the ordinary traditional kalakand to a new level. With the addition of grated chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder, this kalakand is much loved by kids and chocolate lovers. To hasten the process of making this time consuming sweet dish or Indian mithai, I have used ready made paneer, milk powder and sweetened condensed milk. Is Kalakand Same As Barfi? No it not. While barfi or burfi sets well on cooling, kalakand as such does not set well. It remains soft. Also one cannot store kalakand at room temperature for days as it contains fresh paneer. It must be stored in the fridge in a container. Chilled kalakand tastes delicious. It…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: DIWALI DHAMAKA RECIPE: KALAKAND, WITH COTTAGE CHEESE Kalakand, with cottage cheese turns out as good as the one with paneer. Moist, soft, delectable barfi, perfect for Diwali. And the sweet treat comes together within 20-25 minutes. It is allowed to set for 2-3 hours and it is ready to be enjoyed with friends and family. CAN I MAKE IT AHEAD? Yes you can. Make sure you store it in an airtight container and leave it in the fridge. I promise you it stays moist for over a week. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COTTAGE CHEESE AND PANEER? While in India we often call paneer as cottage cheese in English, it is not nearly the same. While paneer consistency can depend…
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Continue ReadingStrawberry Rose Modak, made with semolina,sugar, strawberries, rose syrup is easy to make and a delectable sweet offering to Lord Ganesha during the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival. Basically, traditional kesari is made from semolina, sugar and saffron. Here, I’ve made strawberry kesari using fresh strawberries, rose syrup and a few nuts. As this was for Ganesh Chaturthi, I used the modak mould to shape this delicious kesari into modaks. However, you can offer and serve Strawberry Rose Kesari warm in bowls without shaping it. What is a Modak? Modak is a traditional Maharashtrian sweet. The dumplings are made from rice flour and stuffed with coconut, jaggery, spices and sometimes nuts. As with other dishes, modak has over time taken on new avatars. In fact, the…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SUNDAY FUNDAY THEME: LET’S CELEBRATE NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY RECIPE: BADAM KESAR PISTA KULFI Badam Kesar Pista Kulfi is a creamy, delicious frozen treat flavored with almonds, saffron, pistachio and cardamom. Easy to make, it never fails to impress my family and friends. Homemade kulfi is the best as it has no artificial flavorings or colors. Trust me, all the patience of boiling down the milk to half its quantity is well worth. Here’s a tip: use a wide pan like a wok or kadai to make the process faster. What is a Kulfi? Kulfi or Qulfi is a traditional ice cream from the Indian Sub Continent. Slightly more dense than the usual ice cream we know. But it is creamy and with…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER Z RECIPE: ZUCCHINI HALWA – VEGAN Zucchini Halwa is dairy free, melt in the mouth, flavorful, aromatic halwa cooked in the Indian style. If you are a fan of doodhi ka halwa or bottle gourd halwa then you’ll surely love this one. My blog follower requested I make an Indian sweet but vegan. Lots of Indian sweets are made from dairy milk, or will have ghee (clarified butter). Recently, for my online shopping Iist I wrote 1 zucchini and I got 1 kg! That is a lot of zucchini. Used it to make zucchini paneer appe (recipe to follow soon), used some for handvo, added to my baked pasta. That is when…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: ODIA PITHA RECIPE: CHANDRAKANTI PITHA Chandrakanti Pitha is a delicious dessert which is traditionally made in the Ganjam district of Odisha. Made from soaked moong dal and rice batter, the outer part is crispy and the inside soft and not too sweet.It tastes like moong halwa but with a crispy coating. One has the option to cut the cooked and set batter into any shape one desires. I stuck to the traditional square pieces. Alternately one can shape them into balls before deep frying. A bit about Pitha Pitha is not restricted to the state of Odisha only. One can find different kind of pitha in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam. Pitha is a type of food which can…
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Continue ReadingChocolate Sesame Fudge Delectable, chocolatey and soft, Chocolate Sesame Fudge is a vegan take on the famous chocolate barfi or fudge. I replaced the ghee with olive oil. Also I have used homemade sesame seed paste. Not too sweet, Chocolate Sesame Fudge is different kind of sweet to enjoy during the Makar Sankranti festival. Don’t worry, the ‘must have’ sesame seeds and jaggery are included in the fudge. Happy Uttarayan/ Makar Sankranti/ Pongal Come fly a kite And watch it sail Across the sky, Waving its tail. By Jean Warren What is Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti Once again it Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti. Uttarayan is the Gujarati name for the festival celebrated all over…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : AN INGREDIENT BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER S RECIPE: CHIKOO KULFI/ SAPODILLA KULFI What is Chikoo Kulfi/ Sapodilla Kulfi? Chikoo Kulfi/ Sapodilla Kulfi is a delicious creamy fruity frozen dessert, easy to make and not too sweet. Perfect summer time treat. First, lets clear what is chikoo? Chikoo is the Hindi name for sapodilla (pronounced as sapo-diya) or sapota. It is a sweet fruit that is brown in colour and grows on an evergreen tree. This fruit is native to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. In India it grows abundantly in the state of Karnataka. Whenever I’m in Bangalore and its chikoo season, I have one every single day. I simply love chikoo. I know many don’t like…
