Eggless Fruit Cake

It’s impressive how our elders insist on fresh food all the time, even on bakery items, which have pretty good shelf life. I remember, whenever we craved for some bakery food in the evenings, my mom would send my brother to get some freshly made stuff from the bakery. Fruit cake was always on my list. My mom would specifically instruct my brother to ask for fresh loaf of bread or any stuff; if it were an old batch he may not buy it. Packaged food was never appreciated. After coming to US, of course, all my “fresh food” privileges got hit. The packaged fruit cake available here in Indian stores doesn’t even come close to the fresh ones I used to gobble up back home. They were/are so bad that one would just give up the idea of eating it, than getting used to the taste of it. Few years back, when I came across this fruit cake recipe, I was more than eager to try it out. Who knows, if it clicks then I don’t have to wait to go to India to eat it again. And it did click! Actually it came out better than my expectations. Since it is eggless, many of those who don’t prefer a strong egg smell(particularly in fruit cakes) can also enjoy it. 

Only after coming to US did I realize that this cake is associated with Christmas. 

Make one right now and enjoy your holidays! 

Merry Christmas!!!

Black Eyed Beans Vada

I don't know about you, but for me, deciding on what to cook is a nightmare!

My bookmark folder has grown so big that it needs another bookmark folder to sort it out. It's growing like Hanumanthana baala... it's becoming so taxing just going over the list. 

Whenever I find anything interesting I bookmark and then basically forget about it. Not only that, I also buy cook books whenever I come across anything interesting. Between these two humongous lists, I often get lost and sometimes get a head ache looking for something interesting to cook. Oh, the tragedy! 

When I saw this vada on my friend’s FB page, my memory was refreshed about this recipe that I had bookmarked long time ago. And so it got bumped up to the top on my todo list. So the next time when I got an opportunity to make an appetizer for a potluck, instead of going over and over again on my lengthy list, I instantly decided on this ..

This vada is very much similar to Ambode(masala vada), except that, instead of using chana dal, it uses black eyed beans. Black eyed beans gives this a slightly soft texture compared to chana dal.

Do try!

Dal Bukhara - Urad dal curry

Coming from South India, I'm alien to black urad dal... we hardly use any black urad dal in our regular cooking... the few places that we use them(that too de-skinned urad dal), is in making tadka, then the regular idli, dosa and stuff. 

In fact, I was really surprised when I first found out about its usage in curries!! I would've never guessed in a million years that out of all the dals, urad dal is the one used in my favorite dal makhni!! This after devouring dal makhni every time I went to North Indian restaurants back in India... such was my dispassion towards cooking :) *Sigh* how I've changed!!

The taste of black urad dal is such that, if you don’t get the masala right, then the taste of the urad dal becomes very overpowering. This is one of the few recipes of black urad dal that I’ve tried and liked.. the curry comes out very creamy despite the lack of any added cream.

Do try!

Pink Fruit Custard

Now that the Indian festivals are all over, it’s time to welcome the Holiday Season in the US. It’s time for parties, gatherings, costume parties and of course all the potlucks. 

This particular recipe is “inspired” from so many sources that I hardly remember where I got it from(kinda like movie Barfi :D)

The pink hue and a hint of rose essence gives the plain old custard an oomph factor. 

It's a great item to take for a potluck. Impress your friends and family with this pink fruit custard.

Enjoy!

Vanilla - Chocolate Barfi

Check out these Vanilla-Chocolate Barfis! pretty fancy, eh?

I tried them for the first time and they came out pretty good. 

I saw this recipe online in one of my favorite blogs. I followed the recipe verbatim. This blogger always puts step by step recipes with pictures. It’s really hard to mess it up.

These barfis are not only awesome looking, they are awesome tasting too.. and they are pretty easy to make with just a few ingredients.

Enjoy Diwali with these homemade barfis. Happy Deepavali!!

Sorekayi/Lauki/BottleGourd Peel Chutney/Sambanda

Modern day Tortoise and Hare Story

One fine morning, Ms.Tortoise was driving back home after dropping her baby tortoise to school. The traffic was crazy. But Ms. Tortoise was very relaxed. She was looking forward to the peaceful morning, and the freshly brewed coffee she was planning on having after going home. 

Then there comes this rabbit “dude”, who evidently was late to his office. You see, usually in the mornings the speed of the car is directly proportional to how late you are to your office. He started tailgating Ms.Tortoise wanting her to move out of his way.  

But the very experienced Ms.Tortoise, who clearly was driving at what she thought was an optimal speed for the road - not too slow that she disturbs the traffic, not too fast that she becomes what she calls “the cop food” (aka getting a ticket), didn’t want to give way. She believed in not changing lanes so frequently. She knew hurriedness will get you nowhere. Changing lanes like how you’d play in a video game is not for the real world. Sticking to the same lane yields the same result minus the stress you’d encounter otherwise.... she knew! 

But ‘The Dude’ was definitely not ready to follow her. So off he goes to the next lane, cuts back in Ms.Tortoise’s lane almost missing her car and zips through the lanes vanishing into the horizon before her eyes, much to the lovely lady’s dismay. She started doubting herself, wondering whether her old thinking would indeed give her any results these days. Before she could finish her thought, long ahead of her she saw the Dude’s car waiting at the signal. 

As she approached the signal, her 'left turn' signal turned green before his.

Ms Tortoise smiled... it was a sweet smile of victory... :)

Coming to the recipe..

This chutney is called “sambanda”(literal meaning - relation) in Kota region. What “sambanda” this name has with this chutney nobody knows :D

This chutney is made out of pulp and the skin of Sorekayi which you'd generally throw away otherwise. And boy! does it taste good.

This chutney goes very well with the rice. It can be made with ridge gourd skin too. This is my amma’s recipe. 

Easy Coconut Laddoos

Okay.. again a long, unintended break! 

I wanted to try some “bookmarked” sweets for the upcoming festival season. But never got to them. Hence the delay. But then, couple of weeks back, while helping a friend make some sweets, I remembered I hadn’t put this super-easy, super-awesome sweet that I used to make and devour regularly long time ago. 

This would make a really quick sweet if you have all the ingredients on hand. Also it is great for potlucks!

Just 2 ingredients - coconut and condensed milk - mixed together, whats not to like?! 

They can make your heart melt, as they are melting in your mouth. Try it and float in dessert heaven!

My cousin Chethana gave me this recipe when I was still a newbie to cooking world :) It made me look like a pro!