Puran Poli

Til Laddoo/ Sesame Laddoo

Laddu or laddo is a sweet popular in various South Asian countries, such as India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is often prepared on festivals or for household events such as weddings and births or given as a prasad at Hindu temples.

Kumbal Appam

This sweet dish is a classic Keralite one prepared with Jackfruit and rice flour. Its prepared in Malabathrum leaves also known as Malobathrum or Malabar leaf.

Edible Diyas- Guest Post

I did my very first guest post Edible Diyas for Mary Ann Dames at Reading Writing and Recipes. Mary Ann had given us a precious post on picky eaters- Who's in Control? some months ago. Her blog includes both kid-friendly recipes as well as reading, writing and fun activities for kids. A must visit for parents and kids. Hop over to read my post.

Jackfruit Crumble

Here's one of those recipes from my mom's collection. One that has childhood memories attached to it. I've been meaning to prepare this since a long time, however the aroma of a ripe jackfruit is too tempting to keep aside for the crumble. Recently my nephew visited us with a generous helping of this luscious fruit, so I decided to finally try it out.

Choco-Dates Compound Butter

Compound butters (French: "Beurre composé") are mixtures of butter and supplementary ingredients. Primarily, they are used to enhance flavor in various dishes, in a fashion similar to a sauce.

Compound butters can be sweet or savoury. I ventured into compound butters thanks to a challenge by Natasha from 5Star Foodie. Its by far the simplest recipe I've blogged about till date. No cook, no bake, just mix, roll, chill, cut and use. I decided to make mine sweet and I did enjoy it. My kids think its chocolate.

Special thanks to Mary Ann who is always ready to answer my queries on nutrition.

No proportions for this one, just follow your taste-buds.

Choco-Dates Compound Butter

Ingredients-

Unsalted butter

Cocoa powder

Icing sugar

Chopped dates

Preparation-

• Bring the butter to room temperature.
• Combine all the ingredients well.

• Place the mixture into a cling film and roll into desired shape. I chose to use a triangular shape to get more of a chocolate effect.
• Chill.
• When its half set, press wedges with the side of a spoon. This will make it easier to slice into proportions when you want to use it.

• When its fully set remove the cling film, slice and serve over a toast.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day-Burst of Cranberries

Today on the occassion of Valentine's Day when the world celebrates love, I have a very special guest- Kelly Parr from Fresh Encounter Body, Soul, Spirit. Kelly and her husband were missionaries in the South East Asia region for 15 years. They lived in Malaysia and travelled throughout teaching and now reside back in their home state of Missouri.

Sago Kheer- Simple and Enriched

Sago starch is extracted from the pith of sago palm stems. It is produced commercially in the form of pearls which are interchangebly used for tapioca pearls in recipes. However tapioca pearls are starch extracted from tapioca or cassava root. Thus the origins of both are entirely different though similar in starch content.

Chayote Sweet/Halwa

Since chayotes are available in our markets the whole year through I felt I should explore more ways of including it in our diet. Having prepared Chayote Thoran I was keen to try a dessert version of this fruit. Halwa refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, across the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, the Balkans, and the Jewish world. In case you are still unfamiliar with chayote and its nutritional benefits click here.

Needless to add, my attempt was quite a hit at home and I was quite happy with the outcome.

Have you tried preparing Halwa? What is your favourite halwa? Do share.

Ingredients-

2 chayotes grated
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups milk
4 cardamoms
2tsps ghee/clarified butter
2tsps evaporated milk/khoya
Crushed cashews/almonds
raisins

Preparation-

• Wash and grate the chayotes. Peel and crush the cardamom seeds in a pestle.
• In a heavy bottomed pan heat 1tsp ghee, add grated chayote and cook for 5 mins.
• Add milk, sugar (please adjust according to your levels of sweetness) and khoya. Stir and cook for around 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle cardamom powder, raisins, and crushed nuts. Make sure the milk has evaporated.
• Serve warm or chilled. Enjoy anyways!

You can also check out Semolina/Suji Halwa

Chocolate Brownies

I have been wanting to bake a chocolate brownie since a very long time. I am aware its not a healthy option, however I am planning to adapt it to a healthy option soon, so stay tuned. For my first time, it was a great success and turned out exactly how I like it-fudgy on the top!