Sunday 31 August 2014

Flower Shaped Nutella Brioche/Edible Flower Brioche

Bread baking at home is one of my favourite passion since ever i started baking at home.Brioche, this eggy rich bread dough makes some excellent breads, today post is an elegant flower shaped Nutelle Brioche. This Edible flower is simply prepared with a rich bread dough and the famous hazelnut rich chocolate spread. This time i went for Nutella but however you can simply replace the nutella spread simply with pesto spread or pizza sauce to make a savory version of this flower shaped brioche. This brioche is dangerously addictive and my kids enjoyed thoroughly for their snacks. Nutella and brioche makes a prefect pair and i have seen very rarely people saying no to this beautiful combination.

Edible Nutella Brioche, Flower Shaped Nutella Brioche

Saturday 30 August 2014

Caramel Red Riceflakes Kheer/Caramel Aval Payasam

Kheer, this incredible Indian sweet pudding is one of my daughter's favourite. Obviously i love to make different kheers with many variations, this time i went for a delicious caramel flavored red riceflakes kheer for yesterday's Vinayagar chathurthi celebration.I crossed this very delicious kheer few days back while i was reading a Tamil magazine supplement. Actually the recipe i have crossed goes for white rice flakes, which i replaced simply with thick red rice flakes else i went as per the original recipe i have crossed.

Caramel Red Riceflakes Kheer/Caramel Aval Payasam

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Vegan Coriander Cashew Pesto

Pesto, this Italian dip/sauce is prepared traditionally with garlic,basil leaves with pinenuts blended with olive oil, parmesan cheese. The word pesto means to pound, to crush, as the original method of preparing this sauce goes for marble mortar and wooden pestle.Pesto is usually used to spice up the pastas, but now they can be used in making bruschetta,as dips, pizzas or else simply as filling in savoury breads.Some makes use of the pestos even to flavor their soups,in stir fries or simply as dressing for roasted vegetables and to flavour the meats.

Vegan Coriander cashew pesto, raw cashew, coriander pesto

Monday 25 August 2014

Beerakaya tomato Kura/Ridgegourd Tomato Curry

Beerakaya is the famous Ridge gourd in Telugu, usually i cook this beautiful vegetable often as dal,kootu,as chutney, or simply as a stir fry. While googling, i got hooked to this dal less tomato curry from Sailu's Beerkaya tomato kura. This Andhra style ridge gourd curry tastes extremely delicious, very simple to make.  Jaggery and fennel seeds used in this curry makes this curry more flavourful with mild sweetness. When served along with rice and papads, am sure everyone will have a satisfying meal, we loved this beautiful Andhra beerakaya tomato kura for our lunch and for dinner with rotis. This curry tastes even more delicious with simple chappathis.

Ridgegourd tomato curry, beerakaya tomato kura, peerkangai thakkali curry, Vegan Ridgegroud tomato curry

Sunday 24 August 2014

Sweet Corn & Coriander Rasam

Nothing can be comforting like having rasam rice with fryums or papads, i wont miss rasam for any cost. Actually  i can survive for many days with rasam. I love varieties in rasam and do make different trials with this wonderful food.I have bookmarked couple of dishes from many blogs, the list of my bookmarked recipes just goes on. Thank god i picked bookmarked recipes as theme for this week's blogging marathon, finally i could post three bookmarked recipes i have tried already which are sitting sadly in my draft.Obviously this sweet corn and coriander rasam is one among the bookmarked recipes i have tried long back from Divya's space. This rasam is definitely a different one with a superb flavour from coriander leaves along with mild sweetness from sweet corn kernels.Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#43.

coriander rasam with sweet corn kernels

Saturday 23 August 2014

Aval Kalkandu Payasam/Rice Flakes & Rock Candy Kheer

Who will say no if you get a new recipe to give a try, eventhough i love making new dishes  which pops up quite often in my small brain,but some new recipes will tempt you to give a try immediately. One among those temptation is this Payasam aka Kheer, i crossed this dish few days back while going through a tamil magazine supplement, the simplicity of this dish caught my eyes and for Janmashtami celebration i prepared this easy breezy kheer for pooja. They came out simply fabulous, rock candy took care of the sweetness in this kheer. You can make this kheer in less than 15minutes if you are using thin rice flakes. Even thick rice flakes works wonder too but it may take bit time to cook when compared to thin flakes. However this kheer is definitely one of the easiest kheer,one can prepared quickly even if you have sudden guests at home.

Aval Kalkandu Payasam, Rice Flakes Rock Candy Kheer, Aval kalkandu Paal payasam

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Pineapple, Green Grapes Smoothie

Dont know whether i should say that i prepared this smoothie intentionally to finish some leftover over ripen pineapple chunks and green grapes, however the final result was a different, delicious and refreshing smoothie. Today's smoothie is definitely a leftover magic, put the over ripen fruits or left over fruits after making your fruit salad in a blender, blend them simply either with chilled milk or yogurt with sugar or honey.Your fruit smoothie is ready to relish,this is how i prepared this combination. As usual i prepared my smoothie as sugarless with maple syrup.This pineaple and green grapes combination works absolutely fantabulous in smoothie. They turned out absolutely thick, very filling, one can have this smoothie even as a breakfast smoothie.

Greengrapes, pineapple smoothie, smoothie with pineapple, green grapes

Monday 18 August 2014

Apricot Orange Smoothie/Vegan Apricot Smoothie

Smoothies, this drinks can also be prepared just with fruits without dairy products,so they do exists. I know many of us says or thinks that smoothies cant be prepared without dairy products like yogurt or milk. But vegan smoothies do exists and they are simply prepared with fruits or else with a combination of fruits, even sometimes with vegetables. Just mix and match the fruits or vegetables, make your vegan smoothies just by blending the fruits with just chilled water and sugar.Coming to my today's post, this vegan apricot orange smoothie suits absolutely fabulous for your breakfast.


Sunday 17 August 2014

Cantaloupe Melon Smoothie

Smoothies, this drink  can be prepared in a jiffy, this thick fruity drink suits absolutely prefect even to kick start a day. I love these drinks especially for their simplicity, a breakfast smoothie can be prepared with cereals, fruit and dairy products easily. For me a breakfast smoothie is quite enough to have a filling breakfast. However smoothies can be taken during anytime of the day.Many types of fruit smoothies are found in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine, including sharbat, which is typically made of yogurt and honey. In India, the traditional Mango Shake is really a summer smoothie in which mango, crushed water ice, milk and cane sugar are mixed into a thick smoothie using a blender, while in South India, pineapple smoothies with crushed ice and sugar (without milk) are more popular. Smoothies can also be mixed with soft drinks and or alcohol to make cocktails. Needless to say smoothies can be prepared with fruits along with dairy products or else simpy with fruits, water and sugar.


Thursday 14 August 2014

Eggless Ragi Carrot Cashew Cake/Eggless Fingermillet Cake with Palm Jaggery Syrup

I love cooking with millets, and my pantry will always have varieties of millets, millet flour etc. Its always a pleasure for me to add these nutritious wholegrains in our diet without changing anything in my usual way of cooking. Usually i'll replace half of the wheat flour in our chappathis with ragi aka fingermillet flour or with pearlmillet flour aka bajra flour. The same thing happens even with South Indian breakfasts like Idlies, dosas, pongal, upma etc. I keep on trying adding millets just to feed my family members with healthy stuffs in their daily menu. When its comes to baking with millets, i have been trying few combinations in breads, cakes since ever i started adding millets in our diet. Ragi flour works awesome in breads and cakes, many of my trials with this flour have turned out simply awesome  When you get a chance to bake a cake with carrots, nuts,ragi flour and jaggery syrup who will miss the chance, definitely not me. Today's cake is baked completely with healthy stuffs in it, its butterless sugarless and with ragi flour.Sounds interesting rite??..

Eggless Ragi Carrot Cashew Cake, Eggless Butterless Ragi Carrot cake, Eggless Fingermillet carrot cashew cake

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Mixed Vegetable Dhokla

Khaman Dhokla or Khaman, this dish prepared with gram flour is a common food in Gujarat and this can be eaten as a snack, breakfast and also for lunch.This dish is served usually with chutney and simply garnished with tempered spices with scrapped coconut.There are so many varieties of dhokla exists with many different ingredients in it.Eventhough dhokla are traditionally prepared with rice and dals, instant versions of this steamed spiced cakes do exists. Obviously i opted for the instant versions and my today's post is almost like Khaman dhokla but with mixed vegetables. Adding vegetables to this gram flour steamed cakes makes the dish more healthy and colourful. I prepared this dhokla simply with finely chopped and grated vegetables, this dhokla goes for grated carrot, finely chopped broccoli, finely chopped bellpepper. You can add more vegetables however i limited myself with this three vegetables. Since carrot, bellpepper and broccoli works prefect together, this vegetable dhokla came out simply rich in colour with a fabulous aroma.

Colourful dhokla, Vegetable Khaman dhokla Mixed vegetable dhokla, variety vegetable dhokla

Monday 11 August 2014

Pearl Millet Dhokla/Kambu Dhokla/Bajra Dhokla

After a light, airy and delicious cornmeal dhokla, now am taking you all to a nutritious dhoklas, yes this dhokla is completely a different one from those varieties of dhoklas you would have crossed in your life. Actually i must say that i always want to add millets in our diet and while preparing a simple usual dhokla batter for our dinner, i asked myself why dont you give a try to a different dhokla with the millets and hence i tried adding the pearl millet flour sitting in my pantry. Initially i wasnt sure about the taste and texture, however since i love to take risk in my life i was very much tempted to give a try to this pearl millet dhokla. I kept my fingers crossed until i removed the cooked dhokla from the cooker. When i sliced the dhokla, i was astonished to see the fluffiness and light texture of this millet dhokla. This dhokla tastes simply awesome as i went for usual spices as i do with my usual instant gram flour dhokla.

Bajra millet dhokla,millet dhokla, pearlmillet dhokla, Kambu Dhokla,healthy dhokla

Sunday 10 August 2014

Cornmeal Dhokla

Been born and brought up in South India, my love for North Indian foods never stopped me to try different dishes from this particular cuisine. Actually i dont bother to make foods especially the chaat foods even none at home is ready to eat them, yes i can have chaat foods everyday, love it that much. Earlier before blogging, am not aware of North Indian foods as much as like now, so my North Indian style of cooking was very much limited. But blogging world taught me so many delicious Regional dishes and i love it. Learning a new dish from a virtual world may sound bit different from our usual way of consulting cookbooks. But trust me, this virtual collection aka blogs are very useful and very handy if dont know how to cook a different cuisine. Now i can make different delicious North Indian dishes in my Paris kitchen without any difficulties. Dhokla is one of the favourite breakfast in North India, people are very much fond of this steamed food. Usually Dhoklas are prepared by soaking dals,grinding and fermenting them overnite, but instant versions exists. Instant dhoklas are prepared by gram glour (besan) or else simply with semolina (rava or suji).

Makka ka atta dhokla, cornmeal dhokla

Friday 8 August 2014

Chow Chow Malabar Kootu/Chayote Squash Malabar Kootu

Usually kootu is prepared with dals, for a change today am posting a delicious, flavourful kootu prepared with simple ingredients. Actually this kootu doesnt need cooked dal, just a coconut based spice paste is very much needed. Such an easy breezy kootu,one of the quickest dish to make at home. This kootu is prepared with chow chow aka chayote, chayote this vegetable gets cooked very easily in less minutes when compared to other vegetables. You can still replace this vegetable with varieties of vegetables for making this kootu, however if you want to make a quick dish, just stick with chow chow. I crossed this recipe in a book supplement few days back, since i was tempted by the name Malabar i immediately prepared this kootu. If you love coconut flavour in your dishes, this kootu is definitely for you.

Chayote Squash Malabar Kootu, No dal Kootu,Vegan Chow Chow Kootu

Thursday 7 August 2014

Ragi Malt/Healthy Fingermillet Porridge

Am not a breakfast person, so obviously i skip it, but somehow after reading so many articles about the importance of taking breakfast now am trying to have atleast something for the sake of having breakfast. Just a coffee with a slice of bread is enough for me, sometimes i'll make oats porridge or ragi malt which will be very filling when compared to coffee and bread slice.Ragi malt can be prepared in a jiffy and this filling nutritious drink keeps your tummy filled until lunch. Ragi malt can be prepared in two ways, sweet and savory. My today's post is sweet ragi malt. Unless like Ragi koozh, this malt is prepared simply with ragi flour,milk and sugar or honey,yes just with simple ingredients your breakfast is ready to have.

Sprouted ragi porridge, breakfast ragi porridge,Healthy fingermillet porridge, ragi malt

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Eggless,Butterless Orange Wholewheat Cake

Eggless, Butterless Cake with whole wheat flour became an obsession for me, i love baking with this flour. Actually am trying to deduce the amount of all purpose flour in my bakes. However wholewheat flour works wonder in cakes,eventhough i went for all purpose flour in this eggless cake.This cake is seriously very easy to make. This is the first time am making orange and wheat flour combination in cake. I always want to try this combination of orange and whole wheat flour in bakes. The whole wheat flour i used in this cake is our Indian atta which we usually make chappathis or rotis out of it. You can also name this cake as Eggless orange atta cake but however i opted for Orange wholewheat cake. Coming to this cake, you doesnt need any specific kitchen gadget, just a whisker  and a spatula is enough to make this spongy cake.

Eggless butterless orange chocolate wholewheat cake

Monday 4 August 2014

Vegan Avocado Chocolate Cake with Vegan Chocolate Ganache

When i picked Cakes with different egg substitutes as theme for this week's blogging marathon, i know i'll be making a chocolate cake with avocado. Yes avocados works wonder in eggless cakes and you can add the avocado puree to replace butter in cakes. I have already tried couple of bakes with avocados however everytime i love to work with avocado puree in chocolate cakes. One of my recent trial with avocado is this vegan chocolate cake. Since avocado puree is used in this recipe, i used oil instead of butter. Also i used white vinegar and baking soda as egg substitutes in the cake as my theme of this week's blogging marathon.This vegan chocolate cake came out super moist and dense as well. The fat in this cake is just vegetable oil and avocado puree.None will notice the addition of avocado here until you reveal the secret ingredient.

Avocado cake, eggless chocolate cake with avocado, Vegan avocado chocolate cake with vegan chocolate ganache

Sunday 3 August 2014

Eggless Butterless Banana Wholewheat Loaf Cake

Eggless, butterless cakes served with a cup of coffee or tea makes an excellent filling breakfast if you dont have time to make your breakfast. These eggless butterless beauties suits absolutely incredible even for evening snacks. I have been trying a couple of eggless bakes since ever i baked some excellent cakes with fruits especially the over ripen bananas.Today's cake is going to be part of this week's blogging marathon as i picked an interesting theme. My theme for this week's blogging marathon is Cakes with different egg subsitutes. For my today's cake i used fruit puree and yogurt as egg subsitutes i picked this tips from a magazine papercut eventhough i made few changes according to my tastebuds. Over ripen banana puree and yogurt works wonder as egg subsitutes in cakes especially if you are planning for an eggless cake.

Eggless Butterless Banana Wholewheat loaf cake, Loaf Cake, Healthy Banana Loaf Cake

Friday 1 August 2014

Oats Chocolate Squares/Eggless Chocolate Squares

If you are searching for a healthy and quick snacks, especially oats loaded snack bars, this oats chocolate squares is just for you. Oats and whole wheat flour makes an excellent healthy squares together eventhough the original recipe  goes for oats and all purpose flour with dates filling. Actually butter is used in this squares else this squares might be a tremendous guilt free snacks or breakfast squares if you are in hurry or if you dont have time to make your breakfast. These squares are dangerously addictive. Since none want dates puree in this squares, i just replace it with chopped chocolate chunks. This oats loaded chocolate squares makes an excellent evening snacks with your favourite drink as well.

Oats chocolate squares, eggless chocolate squares, chocolate squares