We celebrated our 7th Wedding anniversary yesterday. It being a Saturday we managed to have a long, lazy breakfast. Thankfully the kids slept on and we woke early so we could eat our breakfast blissfully. We chatted over some black forest pastries, Chocolate mousse, paneer rolls, mushroom buns and tea. Dont get me wrong, we dont eat so much everyday!  :-)

After breakfast Mayank headed off to work. He returned by 3 pm, by then I had fallen alseep with the baby. Finally in the evening we thought of making up for the lost time and we really did. We left the kids with mom and went to UB city to dine. As usual, Mayank didnt tell me where we were going. I had taken out a new saree, matching bangles and jewellery to go with it. As soon as I was going to start getting ready he said ‘Get ready soon…aur please saree mat pehen lena” I was like OMIGAWD! What to wear now? Then I took out a Benetton top and a pair of jeans. Since I wasnt going to be carrying the baby everywhere I wore my high heels (finally those poor things got a ride out of the shoe rack!)

As we were walking into UB City I was constantly trying to recall the name of that place which has a big buddha statue. I knew it was in UB City and was kind of sure Mayank was taking me there. Just minutes before we entered the lobby I exclaimed ‘I remember, its called SHIRO!’ The smile on his face was an indicative that I was right. As we entered we found pretty Jap-looking ladies ready to seat us. They gave us our table and said ‘There is another booking for this table at 9.30pm’ Hmmm….thats not so polite I thought :-/ Anyway, the ambiance was perfect. There were these carved statues on the walls sort of reminding us of the Ajanta-Ellora caves. Not to mention the big buddha Face, right under which we were seated. There was also a 15-feet tall statue of a lady holding a pot that was pouring out water all evening. Phew! Thats a boring job

We were greeted by a pleasant person who served us with great enthusiasm all evening. I actually liked the knowledge he had on all he served. We ended up having -

I loved the stylish font in which the chef had managed to write ‘Happy Anniversary’ on the plate along with presenting us with two chocolate sushis.

I cant begin to describe how delicious the chocolate sushis were. I am sure they used the best Belgium Dark chocolate ever. They were small, round chocolate cylinders filled with three different types of chocolate cream. It tasted somewhat like chocolate whipped with fresh cream. I have not had anything like it before!

After our dinner we took a walk around the place. There were crowded pubs, eateries, live bands and water fountains. God! I havent seen so many short skirts altogether in my entire life.

We returned home around mid-night. It was a great day and one of the most memorable anniversaries ever!

Here is the recipe of the coffee cake I baked for the occasion. Its nice though a bit heavy. I tried using a coffee essence for the first time and I think it made all the difference.

Here comes the Chinese version of the desi samosa! We saw the recipe on Tata sky cookery videos and my help Sunil managed to make these for us. He quickly converted something I have always wanted to eat into something stunning right on my plate.

Wontons remind me of that movie ‘Zinda’. Omigawd! What a movie. A poor guy was kept captivated for 14 years and was given only wontons to eat everyday. The taste hung onto him so much that after he escaped he ate only wontons at every street in Bangkok to find the place from where his wontons were got. Thats how he managed to finally track the person who did this to him. Why would someone hold anyone hostage for 14 years? I don’t want to say more, please see the movie. I saw it with only one eye open, other was squeezed in fear. I felt like I was inside that box… gasping for freedom. May be we all are in that box in some way. Think about it while you munch on these wontons.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of all purpose flour / maida
• 3 cups of grated mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, capsicum, cabbage, spring onion)
• 3 teaspoons of oil
• 2 teaspoons Tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon chilly sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• Pinch of salt and black pepper powder
• Oil for frying

Procedure :

For the Dough

1. Mix 1.5 teaspoons of oil and salt into maida till it resembles the texture of bread crumbs.
2. Add luke warm water and knead the dough to medium stiffness.
3. Allow it to rest for at least half an hour.

For the filling :

1. Heat  1.5 teaspoons of oil. Fry the grated vegetables till they are half cooked.
2. Add black pepper powder and all the sauces to the vegetables and turn off the heat  (Do not add salt as the sauces are quite salty by themselves)

For the Wontons :

1. Take a ball-sized piece of dough. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a round-shaped roti.
2. Fill it with a teaspoon of filling. Apply water on the inner edges of the roti.
3. Fold over and press the edges slightly extending outwards.
4. Hold the two extreme ends and fold over. Apply water and press again to make a wonton (like that in the picture).
5. Deep fry on medium heat till it turns golden brown.

My baby doll is nearly a year old. She shows off two tiny teeth every time she laughs. I cant seem to get enough of it. Although its really cute to look at I know her gums itch quite a bit. No wonder she is always putting things in her mouth. So I thought its time I tried my hand at some teething biscuits. Now she has something home-made to sooth her gums. I was happy with the firmness of these biscuits but like any other teething biscuits they have a potential choking hazard. You need to constantly monitor the baby while eating so he doesnt bite off too big a piece (He heee… now I sound like a baby product company )

Yesterday we got the baby’s head tonsured at a temple in Bangalore. What a sad sight it was. She was too sleepy and got really cranky when we tried to hold her hands and legs firmly. She cried her head off and by the end of the ritual I was feeling dizzy. That brings us to the end of the series of events- her naming ceremony, annaprashan (giving food for the first time), ear piercing and head tonsuring. Of these, I really like the first two but the ear piercing and head shaving is not for the faint hearted. Now the baby’s first year is almost complete. Phew! What a year it has been. We are now looking forward to her birthday. Its just round the corner. Here is to many more….

Ingredients :

2 tablespoons Roasted rice powder

3 tablespoons Roasted wheat flour

4 tablespoons cold apple juice

1 teaspoon ghee

Procedure :

To make roasted rice powder:

Roast a cup of rice for 15 minutes on medium flame, stirring constantly.

Let this cool down and grind it in a mixer grinder. Use 2 tablespoons of this powder to make the biscuits and store the rest in an air tight container.

To make roasted wheat flour powder:

Roast 3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour (aata) in a thick bottom pan at medium flame stirring constantly.

In about 15 minutes you will get the aroma of roasted wheat. You can turn off the heat at this point.

To make the teething biscuits :

Mix the rice powder and whole wheat flour with the ghee.

Now knead the flour with cold apple juice till you get a soft dough. Add more juice if necessary.

Dust the dough with wheat flour and roll into a flat layer 1/4 inch thick, with the help of a rolling pin.

Cut out finger length pieces from this dough.

Place these biscuits on a butter paper and bake in a preheated oven at 175 Deg C for 25-30 minutes.

POTENTIAL CHOKING HAZARD : Please monitor the baby while he is chewing on these biscuits as he might bite off too big a piece that could cause choking.

Crunchy Soya Toasts

I love Tata Sky- it has made my life jhin ga la la! Simply because we get new recipe videos everyday. These are typically 4 videos recorded for NDTV Good times and some other regional channels earlier. The set of 4 videos is called ‘Menu for the day’ and it has a starter, a salad/ beverage, a main course dish and a dessert. Some times the combination varies, like if its raining too much outside they have only hot snacks. They even have festival special videos where they demonstrate how to make delicacies specific to each occasion.

Aravind, the younger brother of the house help we had after my delivery is very interested in trying his hand at new dishes. He had come home to stay with us for a couple of days and watched the recipe for crunchy soya toasts on Tata Sky. He didnt realize that the video repeats itself all day. I found it really cute when he said ‘Didi, I have understood the recipe, when is it going to stop?’

Few days later he soaked the soya beans on his own and started making these toasts in the evening. It was such a pleasant surprise and I ran for my camera to share it with you guys. I liked the way this little 15-year old was making a unique snack smartly on his own. I watched as he deep fried the toasts and thought to myself ‘This guy is like I was years ago’ (I wont tell you how many years ago, or you will know my age! ;-p)

Ingredients :

• 1 cup soya beans
• 1 onion , few springs of Coriander leaves, 2 green chillies (all fine chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried mango powder (amchur)
• 2 teaspoon All purpose flour / Maida
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chilly powder
• Pinch of Ajwain

Procedure :

1. Soak Soya beans for 2-3 hours.
2. Pressure cook in sufficient water for 15 mins.
3. Drain and cool. Grind coarsely.
4. Mix fine chopped onion, coriander leaves and green chillies.
5. Also mix salt, coriander powder and amchur powder. Keep this mixture aside.
6. Dissolve the maida in water and make a runny paste out of it.
7. Now mix salt, pinch of coriander powder, red chilly powder and ajwain.
8. Take a bread slice. Cut it in half. Place the soya paste over it.
9. Dip these slices into the maida paste and deep fry.
10. Serve hot, crunchy soya toasts with pudina chutney and sweet chutney.

How I love these chilly Christmas mornings. We had a great evening yesterday at my sister’s house. Kids played games, danced and got gifts from their dear Santa Claus. My 3 month old was tired after the festivities and slept through the night. I got a well deserved break from the night long baby sitting routine. So instead of being busy Santa just had to keep gifts on the bed side and go to sleep

Santa spreads the cheer

The fruit cake I baked uses all things I found running around in the kitchen. I havent picked the recipe from anywhere, its concocted on the run. I am happy with the result. I have been receiving cakes from my neighbors as well. Its like as if there is a dry fruit cake fest going on in our apartment. Well, all of us have our own version and thats what makes it interesting. It would be so boring if we all baked the exact same recipe.

Our Christmas Tree is all dressed up

My 3 year old daughter is attending 3 christmas parties this season. One at her school, one with family and one with friends. The party at school required her to go in a fancy dress. I made her into corn. Here is a picture of her – Oh Sweet Corn!

Dressed as Corn for Fancy Dress @ School

Here is the recipe of the cake I baked. I bake round the year but Christmas Cake always tastes the best (honestly, something in the air!)

Ingredients for Fruit Mix :

• 4 cashew nuts, 4 almonds : roasted and ground into a powder
• 4 cashew nuts, 4 almonds: roasted and fine chopped
• 6 yellow raisins, chopped
• 6 black raisins, de-seeded and chopped
• ½ teaspoon ginger peel chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange peel chopped (inner white skin removed)
• 1 fresh date

for the marinate :

• 1 tablespoon black currant
• 1 tablespoon grape squash

dry ingredients :

• 2 cups white flour (maida)
• 1 ½ baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

other ingredients :

• 2 eggs ( beaten)
• ¾ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• ½ almond essence

Procedure:

1. Soak the ingredients of the fruit mix in the marinate for 2-3 hours.
2. Sift the dry ingredients.
3. Cream the butter with the sugar. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the beaten eggs and fold in (do not beat!). Add the marinated dry fruit mix to this.
4. Now add both essences and milk till the mixture reaches dropping consistency.
5. Once the mixture blends well and comes together pour into a greased and dusted pan. (you can grease with butter and dust it with white flour)
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 180 Deg C for 40 mins.

What wouldnt I do to eat some chocolate? These days I am playing the strict hypocrite, the character who doesnt allow chocolates inside the house as daughter eats too many of them but secretly nurses the dream of eating some herself. I think these chunks are a great substitute for regular chocolates. Whats more? You can even make it on festivals for prasad and the kids will love the new variation to the regular burfis. You can also make this any time you dont have Khoya, condensed milk or any milk at all. You can use the milk powder stored in your refrigerator to quickly make this dessert.

Ok, so these are what I made one day with my  time in the morning after a long night. My 2 month old has started giving me sleepless nights. Her typical wide-awake hours are 11 pm – 4.30 pm. Thats when she looks around for companions and finds only a couple of bored people sitting around waiting for her to sleep. I made myself some delicious fudge chunks on which I could binge and get over the tiredness. It worked wonders but only for a short while. Soon I realized that baby had to be taken to the doctor for her vaccination. By the time I was back I was nearly giddy as I hadnt slept peacefully in nearly 48 hours. I couldnt eat food or even move around due to exhaustion. I started wondering what the night had in store for me. I said a prayer and slept around 10.30 pm and Lo! Baby and I woke up at 10.30 am the next morning. With the exception of a mid-night feed we just did not wake up. I was delighted with the one-night rest which saved me from dropping unconscious

Ingredients:

• Milk Powder 1.5 cups
• Cocoa powder 3 Tablespoons
• Brown Sugar 1 cup
• Unsalted Butter 1 cup
• Water 1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Sieve milk powder and cocoa powder together.
2. Grease a tray with butter.
3. Heat a non-stick pan. Heat sugar and water till the syrup reaches 1-string consistency.
4. Add the butter and stir till it melts. Add the sieved powder mix into this and stir well.
5. Cook till the mixture combines and leaves the sides of the pan. Work on low heat so the mixture doesnt burn.
6. Transfer into greased tray and allow to cool. Cut out squares and enjoy (Warning: High on Calories!!)

© romasharma.com, 2010

Yipee! My Grandmom and mom are here to stay with me. I feel like a kid running around happily. My 3-year old daughter feels double the excitement.  She says ‘My nani has come with your nani?’

The word Grandmom is synonymous to a lot of things, like Delicious mangoes, Besan Laddus, Chocolate bars and Cream wafers. These are the things she used to treat me to whenever I visited her at Dehra Dun. I loved summers as a child. I would come back all plump from vacations to Granny’s. 

My friends came home a few days ago to have tea with me in the evening. It was a sudden plan, I got a call from one of them when I was clearing the dishes after lunch. A couple of my friends who stay in my apartment decided to drop in. I didnt have much time to make anything. I was planning to doze off with the baby. Thats when I thought ‘May be its a good idea to make something that cooks on its own’ I immediately decided to bake a bread. I kneaded the dough for 10-15mins and allowed it to stand in my kitchen balcony which is quite warm. While the yeast worked hard on the dough I was fast asleep with my baby

Ingredients :

This was our Sunday morning breakfast. I had a lot of time at hand and techni color vegetables to go with it.  So I thought , why not make something that fills my stomach and my time? My daughter loves eating capsicums, especially if they are of different colors. Thankfully I managed to reserve some for the dish before she crept up from behind and ate it all raw! I used wheat fusilli that my dear neighbor got me from France. Its of fine quality- its firm, yet tender.  Its made of wheat, yet its tasty.

I must say that oven baked butter toasts taste so amazingly different from the ones grilled in a sandwich maker or a tawa. The toasts come out really crunchy, thats what re-baking does to them. Cooks them well till within and makes them taste fresh. Try placing your pasta on one of these toasts for a healthy breakfast.

My baby loves this dish and hence its off to Kids Delight Wholesome Breakfast hosted by Srivalli.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fusilli (wheat)
• 1 cup vegetables – red, yellow and green capsicums, mushrooms and corn
• Olive oil 1 Tablespoon
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:

1. Cook the fusilli in hot water till done. Drain and dry out on a plate.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add vegetables and stir fry them.
3. Once vegetables are soft add the cooked fusilli.
4. Now add tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix well.
5. Add grated cheese and cover the pasta. Cook on sim for a few minutes till the cheese melts.
6. Turn off the heat and serve hot with butter toasts.

Oven baked Toasts:

1. Spread butter on bread slices and place them on a baking tray.
2. Bake them at 175 deg C for about 5 -7 mins.

This is the result of a banana going very ripe. I remember the last time I had a banana like this. It became an ice cream. However, this time around its too cold to consider making one so I decided to use it up in making an eggless cake. I’ve added dry fruits like cashews, almonds and walnuts along with one fresh fruit – a ripe banana. This cake doesnt need much beating. Its just like making a banana milk shake , mixing a few ingredients and baking it. Since all the ingredients like dry fruits, all purpose flour, banana and sugar are white, so is the resultant cake.

Hope you all are having a great Republic Day. My daughter wore a tri-color dress and attended a flag hoisting in her school. I, on the other hand went to the market and did the regular house chores. Where is the freedom from that? House work knows no National Holidays. Why cant we have some days when its against the law to work in the house?

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour / maida
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• Pinch of Baking Soda
• 1.5 tablespoons of chopped Dry Fruits – Cashews, Almonds, walnuts
• 1 cup Milk
• Few drops of Vanilla essence

Procedure:

1. Puree banana along with sugar, vanilla essence and milk in a blender.
2. Sift together the maida with Baking powder and baking soda.
3. Mix the dry sifted powder into the banana puree. Ensure dropping consistency (add more milk if necessary)
4. Toss the dry fruits in a teaspoon of maida and mix into the cake batter.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 deg C for about 30 mins.

Garnish Tip:

Half the cashews. Rub some maida on them. Place them on top of the cake before putting it in for baking.