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.

Mom learnt these at a baking course she took decades ago. On completing her training she started taking Bakery classes at home. She used to stack these cheese straws as they were easy to make, we loved it as kids . Interestingly, they have a shelf life of an entire month! Hmm…thats not a bad thing but will anyone leave them for a month? They are gone in a matter of days and sometimes hours.

This time I decided to make Lots of them. So I spent about 4 hours and baked them in 4 batches, but what about the total effort? Not that much because once the dough is ready all you need to do is roll it out and bake it for 20 mins, making as many batches as you like. I find standing near a hot oil kadai ( or wok) deep frying stuff more tiring. Moreover, anything that contains as much water as cheese can make the oil splutter angrily. If there is a single opening in the dough it can make the cheese melt straight out of the casing spoiling the oil. On the other hand while baking if the exact same thing happens, not to worry. The excess cheese will flow out and get hardened. You can easily chip if off or even eat it.

Kids love using their cookie cutter on the Dough

We celebrated Sankranti last Thursday. Its rare to see everyone not only awake but also ready for the puja early on a holiday. We made Spilt urad dal khichdi and til rawa laddus for prasad. I thought of sharing a picture of the prasad with you.

Urad Dal Khichdi and Til Rava Laddus

My Daughter has learnt over time that she has to wait for the photo shoot to get over before she can dig into anything. She waits patiently for her turn now. Not to eat but to shoot the  food with her toy camera.

My daughter takes a pic with her camera too

Recipe for Cheese Straws

Ingredients:

• 55 gms Cheese (regular processed cheese cubes)
• 55 gms Unsalted Butter
• 115 gms Flour / Maida (approx 1 cup)
• Ice cold water to knead

Add the following ingredients as per your taste:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Chillie flakes
• Italian seasoning (a dry powdered mixture)

Procedure:

1. Grate the cheese in a bowl.
2. Partly cream the fat. Mix the cheese and the butter well.
3. Now add the sieved flour into it. Mix salt, Italian seasoning, pepper powder and chillie flakes.
4. Rub it with your fingers till the mix resembles tiny bread crumbs.
5. Now add ice cold water one teaspoon at a time and gently knead the dough.
6. Once the dough comes together and becomes quite sticky , make a ball and place it in a bowl.
7. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour.
8. Take it out of the fridge once set. Gently knead it by dusting it with some flour.
9. Roll it out with the help of a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness . Cut it into straws (or any other shape with a cookie cutter)
10. Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven. Place the straws on it and Bake at 175 deg C for 30-25 mins.

Please Note:

1. Add salt cautiously. Please remember that if your cheese or butter already contains salt then the mix could become too salty.
2. You can use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour to make it a healthy snack for kids.
3. You can store cheese straws for weeks in a clean, dry container.
4. In case you have given the straws a different shape using a cookie cutter you might need to bake it for lesser time. Please keep a watch on the crackers and remove as soon as they turn brown.
5. Please very careful while adding the ice cold water. Add it one teaspoon at a time as excess water could make the dough unmanageable.

I think the catch in this dish is in capturing aromas released by the whole spices at a low temperature for a prolonged duration. If you add spices in hot oil the flavor is immediately lost and the rice doesnt have a chance to absorb it to the best extent possible. However, here the ‘dum’ or cooking over mild pressure for a long time ensures the flavor reaches into the rice.

Kheera Raita

Besides, I love one pot-meals. They are easy to serve and manage. You dont need to run trips to the kitchen in order to get everything out. You dont need to check who needs to be served what . You also dont have much leftover management to be done. There is just one main dish with a side dish and you are sorted! Anyway, my reasons are different. I am sure thats not why the Nawabs liked it

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 1 cup chopped Vegetables (par-boiled):
• Beans, Capsicum , Carrots (red and orange), peas,  cauliflower pieces
• Puree of 3 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Pinch of Turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon Everest Shahi Biryani masala (optional)
• 1 cup curds
• Whole Spices :  cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, star anise, mace strings

Procedure:

1. Cook Basmati rice till 75% done. Spread it on a plate and let it cool down.
2. Heat Ghee. Add whole spices, chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and saute well.
3. Add tomato puree, salt, turmeric powder and everest Shahi Biryani powder. Cook till oil separates.
4. Add curds and stir continuously. Add capsicum pieces and par-boiled vegetables. Mix well.
5. Grease a handi (or a pot). Spread a layer of rice on it. Now add a layer of vegetables.
6. Alternate till the pot is full. Cover with aluminum foil and place the handi on a pan / tawa.
7. Allow it to cook on sim for 30-40 mins.

Cooking on Dum

Kheera Raita:

Grate a cucumber. Strain a cup of curds into it. Mix salt, roasted jeera powder and red chilly powder.

Add salt and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Happy New year ! May 2010 bring happiness, health and prosperity to you all. Yesterday we had the most relaxed New Years celebration. We went to Niligiris Cake exhibition in St Josephs High School Grounds. Raina was excited about the Big Taj Mahal cake. She couldnt believe it was all cake. There was a long ship, folk dancers, flower baskets, horses, etc; all made out of cake.

Taj Mahal made out of cake

Somehow this cake exhibition brings back a lot of memories. As a child I never missed the show even once. We would stand in long queues and drool over a hundred cakes. Everyone bought at least one little  pastry, if not a cake. Sure my mom has some nice memories too. It was a day after visiting the Niligiris cake exhibition that she went into labor. She delivered a breech baby (me ) a few days later. This exhibition is now 36 years old and guess how old I am going to be?

A delicious shipping vessel

Edible Dancers

At night we had some mocktails and blasted music till midnight. Mayank, Raina and I put on some disco lights and danced till we dropped.  How we used the fact that one night in a year neighbors cant complain about noise. Sorry guys, no pictures of the mocktails. It was gone before we knew it. Baby was so tired after all the partying that she slept on her own right after the New year wishes went out. She woke up at 10.30 am today , played for a few hours and went back to sleep on her own! he he hee…is that a good sign? God, please tell me that all this year she is going to sleep on her own like this

Orange Fresh Cream Cakes

I made some mushroom manchurian and Mayank made Vegetable Pulao for lunch today. Mayank makes much better pulao than me. I dont want to learn, else I’ll have to make it I bought the manchurian masala from a sale that was attached to the cake show yesterday. Its the true dhaba taste that you get from buying spices from small shops. They are basically vendors who make Chinese food and who also want to pack the masalas off in small quantities to make some money out of it. I found the instructions on the packet so cute. It asked me to ‘try’ the pieces in hot oil (instead of fry). It also said that the manchurian will be very ‘testy’ Whats that now? May be I have to test it before tasting it

Anyway, a nice lunch and now we are off to mom’s place for a small new year party with Grand mom and sister. I was planning to make fruit cream. Somehow freezing the fresh cream made it granular. So I whisked it with sugar, flour and essence to make these orange short cakes. Some things created by accident are so tasty …err…or should I say testy.

Mushroom Manchurian

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon manchurian masala (contains salt)
• 1/2 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
• 10 pods of Garlic
• Spring onions to garnish

Procedure :

1. Mix the flours with a little water to make a paste.
2. Dip the mushroom pieces into the paste and deep fry.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add finely chopped garlic . Dont let it brown. Add the manchurian pieces and stir fry till done.
4. Garnish with Spring onion leaves.

Orange Fresh cream cakes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Fresh cream
• 1 cup Flour
• 2 teaspoons Ghee
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1 tablespoon orange squash
• 1 tablespoon milk
• A few drops of vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon Choco-chips (optional)

Procedure:

1. Whisk the flour and baking powder into the cream. Add sugar and mix till it dissolves.
2. Add milk, vanilla essence and ghee. Mix well.
3. Finally add some choco-chips (optional) and orange squash.
4. Pour into greased muffin molds. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 deg C for 20 mins.

Hope you all are enjoying the Chrsitmas holidays so far. My week was really fun filled and hectic. Almost 6 parties this week – some for Christmas, some for birthdays and one wedding too. This much even before the New Year Party plans begin. I managed to bake a couple of cakes at the end of 3 days (in instalments, of course) . I’m rarely ever able to do any icing on cakes. The reason is that I love to eat hot cake. One thats fresh out of the oven. It just melts in your mouth and I dont want to miss that taste for anything. Thats why this time I baked 2 cakes. One for icing and one to gobble down as soon as its done.

We dressed up the Christmas tree on 23rd and got Santa gifts for all kids in the family. My baby kept her little socks by her bedside on 24th eve. I told her to keep big socks so she can get Lots of gifts. She happily agreed and kept her big red sock. She also cleared the dressing table so santa gets enough space to keep her gifts.

Santa left presents for the baby

In the morning she had forgotten all about the Santa story. She was amazed to find gifts on her bedside. I was in for a bit of surprise myself. All this time I was thinking that I was Santa but I realized that ‘Santa’ had left a gift for me too ! I was zapped. Have I been a good girl this year ? Who is Santa in my house really?

Our Little Christmas Tree

Christmas is incomplete without cake. I didnt have any rum to make a traditional plum cake so I decided to make the basic fruit n nut one. I managed to get some marzipan. Honestly, I have only read about marzipan in blogs and books but have never seen it being sold anywhere in Bangalore. This time for the Special Christmas sale I found Nilgiris selling hundred marzipan boxes and chocolate santas in their basement! It was such a treat to the eyes. I immediately bought some and got onto seeing videos on molding marzipan. I also managed to make some caramel roses and used the left over caramel to make praline flakes.

Now for the funny part. While trying to shoot a picture of this cake the wind as usual went against me. The heat was so much that the base of a chocolate Santa kept near the cake started melting. I was trying to wipe the molten chocolate on the paper base when a strong wind blew and threw Santa’s face right into the cake. I was anxious to remove the involuntary facial that Santa had undergone. By the time I wiped his face it started to melt too. Gosh! One of the toughest moment

It was a usual morning. We didnt realize that people in Bangalore were reading about Mayank’s smsTweet application in the DNA paper today. It was just after lunch that Mayank noticed people mentioning him on Twitter. Thats when we realized that his application smsTweet was featured in the DNA paper. He ran out to get a copy while I eagerly waited. Yes, there it was on Page 7!

smsTweet is an application that Mayank created about 3 months ago. It allows users to sms their twitter messages from their mobile phones to the Twitter website. This application was launched just before Airtel came out with a similar offer. However, to use smsTweet you need not be an Airtel customer. Moreover, the tweets can be sent out at regular sms cost.

Twitter was always meant to be used via the mobile phone. However, in India it started off primarily using internet. Mayank wanted to provide the simple facility of updating Twitter messages directly using a mobile . He got an API from smsgupshup and implemented smsTweet.

The first one month or so there was not much activity on the site. Then a few Tech sites started writing about this application. Thats when news spread quickly. More than 200 people have now registered. A journalist from DNA got in touch with Mayank last week. He wanted to write about the application in the paper. Mayank and I were thrilled at the idea. We eagerly waited all week to see when it would be out. So today is the day. Didnt know that when we woke up

If you are in India and would like to update your tweets using your cell phone please register at smsTweet.

This is one of the most refreshing drinks possible. Its an age old recipe handed down generations. Days when no soda or tang powders were available, these drinks were used to quench thirst and aid digestion alike. I happened to try this as a welcome drink at Made In India-1947. Its a restaurant on ring road (Bangalore) having a nice ambiance and great food. What strikes me about this place is the limited number of options they have in each category. If you want a cold beverage there are only 2-3 options. Same goes for soups, starters, etc; However, whatever they serve is really up to the mark. Another thing thats note worthy is that the place is always on high demand although its completely vegetarian! Yes, very few such pure veg restaurants in Bangalore which are running well. The first one that comes to mind is of course MTR!
Pudina Shikanji is a drink that has been perfected at Made In India-1947 and I have been meaning to try it for a while now. Its really easy to make although you need to carefully follow certain tips mentioned below.  Dont let the cold weather stop you from trying this one out.  You can minus the ice cubes if you like.

Ingredients  :

• 1 cup Pudina / Mint leaves
• A Small piece of Ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Salt
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Lemon

Procedure :

1. Boil sugar with double the quantity of water. Ensure you do this over slow flame till the sugar melts completely. Allow the syrup to cool.
2. Wash pudina leaves well and grind with ginger, black salt and a small quantity of water.
3. Strain the pudina juice into a bowl. Add sugar syrup as per your taste.
4. Add ice cubes. Taste the mix and add a small quantity of water if required.

Please note :

1. Its important to slowly dissolve sugar in water to get a syrup of the right consistency. Its not recommended to directly add sugar in the juice at the end as the taste of cooked sugar is different.
2. Black salt should preferably be ground with mint leaves and not added as a powder at the end.
3. The lemon should not be squeezed too much. The juices that are released from the rind make the drink bitter. It helps to use a lemon press.
4. Its advisable to add ice cubes, wait and then taste the drink before adding water. If you add water initially itself the taste could get diluted.

The house is filled with the fragrance of roses and fresh rajnigandhas. I had got a whiff of the sweet scent a night before and knew they were there somewhere in the house. I was positive my mom would have brought flowers like she does every anniversary. Then we got a lot more flowers, from friends and family. Our house looks dressed up and now you know the air that the lucky florists breath every day. My 3 -year old baby noticed everyone giving us flowers. She went into the garden, picked a withered rose from our plant and gave it to her papa saying ‘Happy Anniversary’.

Mayank followed the ritual of taking me out to dinner to an unknown place. It was the Oberoi at MG Road this time. The ride was pleasant. Especially the moon, was it full yday? Coz it was definitely BIG and made a  wallpaper backdrop through our drive.

Full moon backdrop through our drive

The menu was continental and the baby was pampered with exotic food right through. I had half a mind of exchanging  plates with her! She had a blast, she created an unusual environment in the silence of a grand restaurant where people dont even make the slightest munch while eating their meal. The Baby loved the restroom so she decided to go there every 30 mins. The sweet attender got her a pasta with cheese (non-spicy) made specially for her and she said in these exact words ‘ I dont want it, keep it on the other table’ Mayank and I went red. Next Mayank took her to the loo for the 4th time, she ended up peeing in her frock! First time this happens in months and that too in a fancy place like this. He took off her frock and let her back into the dinner room. My jaw dropped when I saw the baby enter the room in a vest and a diaper! Unfortunately I had only a spare t-shirt and no pant. I examined her frock, it wasnt that wet. So I dry wiped it and put it back on her. No choice. Soon baby was given crisp french fries and a bowl of sauce into which she instantly dipped her fingers. After stuffing her face with french fries she was full, so she  decided to do something different – she tore my new shiny hair band into bits. The pampering continued and she was served with choco marble cakes. She ate half of it and left the remaining ensuring we dont get to eat it either (but I managed to finish it, I am also her mom! )

Finally the dinner was over and the pleasant and ohh so sweet waiters came to our table with a bouquet of flowers and a scrumptious chocolate cake. I was about to cut it and the baby pushed from behind. The table being a regular trolley moved ahead. Gosh! The last thing I needed was to have my face in the cake and everyone around me controlling  their laughter!   Thankfully the cake cutting went off well. Mayank caught the baby in time so I managed to cut a thin sliver of the cake which I naturally gave my super enthu baby.

Complimentary Cake with Dinner

We returned late at night with the baby curled up and fast asleep in the car. Once it was all over it seemed so funny that I just had to pen it down. Baby, when you are grown up and go for your anniversary dinner, please read this post so will  definitely have a hearty laugh before going out to celebrate. I think the day was very special to me. Thanks so all  the people who sent flowers, gifts, best wishes and calls to make our day. The dinner was delicious and the ambiance  was perfect. A very memorable day indeed.

Fragrant flowers in our home

I made a mocha chocolate chip cake for our anniversary. It was a simple cake made in very little time. Thankfully, it came out soft even without much beating. It was a recipe made on the fly. I’m sharing it with you here.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup All purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1.5 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon coffee powder
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1 cup butter

Procedure:

1. Shift the dry ingredients. Beat the butter and the egg separately.
2. Slowly add the dry mix and the beaten egg alternately to the butter and beat well.
3. Add vanilla essence , chocolate chips and mix.
4. Bake at 180 Deg C for 30 mins.

Please note:
The cake didnt have a strong coffee smell. In order to increase the taste of coffee you can increase the
coffee powder quantity and sugar as well.

Nearly 3 days now, flowers still look happy