November 15, 2015, 7:05 am
This year we decided to have a simple family party for my daughter's birthday and while we were planning the menu we had so many things in mind that the list kept growing everyday. We decided to stick to small bites/appetizers that would be enjoyed by the kids and the adults alike. Keeping the Frozen theme in mind we made sandwiches (does 'we finish each other's sandwiches' ring a bell?!) and I went along with the recipe of my
simple chicken & mayo sandwich which is one of the all time popular recipes on my blog. It has been the No#1 recipe for the longest time ever and so I knew that it wouldn't fail me this time.
To my bad luck the bread that we brought was already crushed a bit (shapeless/not firm enough as it was really fresh and soft and stacked improperly at the supermarket) so cutting off the edges to make nice triangular shaped sandwiches didn't quite work out. So we made a few sandwiches and decided to make more during the course of the party depending on how the kids received it. Since there were many more fun items that attracted the kids a bit more than my poor sandwiches they went almost untouched. I had a ton of the chicken & mayo spread to deal with by the end of the party. Not the ones who like to waste food the husband and I decided to give it a makeover and use it up in someway or the other. The baguette sitting on the counter came to our rescue and it was quickly cut up and slathered with this creamy spread to make for some pretty hors d'oeuvres (pronounced as 'or-derves') which are sure to win everyone's hearts at our next party.
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November 16, 2015, 9:57 am
Mixed spice is an aromatic blend of sweet spices that you must really make at home. Not only will it add a sparkle to your fruit cakes but will also put you instantly into the Christmas mood! The festive spirit is on in my house at least and when I made this lovely blend at home yesterday the entire kitchen was filled with its aroma. Mixed spice is to cakes and puddings what garam masala is to most Indian dishes. It simply lifts the whole dish and adds that special something to it - a special aroma, a special kind of richness, not to forget the festive aroma.
The best part about making this spice at home is that you can not only tinker around with the quantities of the spices to make a small batch if you wish but you can also make it fresh and instantly to be used in the recipe of your choice. Save yourself the effort and expense of buying it from the store. Most commercially available spice blends are pretty expensive and come in quantities that last you longer than you require. If not stored properly (think humid weather) the blend can get mouldy and perhaps won't smell as fresh & aromatic. So I hope I have sold you my idea by now. Go make it!
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November 18, 2015, 8:01 pm
A couple of months ago I shortlisted the recipe of the Christmas cake I was going to bake this year. Not so much in favour of boozy cakes I decided to bake my cake a few days before Christmas day but everything changed the minute I set my eyes on this recipe which my cousin Prema shared with me over a chat on whatsapp. She and I love to discuss cakes and bakes and every year we discuss and shortlist recipes for Christmas. Sharing of ideas helps as the internet is so huge now and it's just impossible to scan all the recipes single handedly. The recipe looked easy and the amount of fruit that was required wasn't as much as that in my previously shortlisted recipe. The outcome would be the same infact better I am sure as this cake now needs a total of 4-5 feeds over a span of a month. Perfect timing, I thought to myself. I baked this two days ago and wanted to share the recipe immediately but got caught up with my chores.
If you want to get into the Christmas mood a little early this year, go make this cake this weekend. You will still have 4 weeks before you cut the cake for Christmas - enough time to give the cake its boozy feeds. If you dislike the alcohol in it just skip it. Soak the fruits in everything except the alcohol and bake the cake a couple of days prior to cutting it so that it gives it a little rest and helps the flavours mature a bit.
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November 22, 2015, 9:56 am
Ever since I tried my hand at making pesto sauce at home, my kids have become a huge fan of anything with pesto sauce in it! Pesto is an Italian sauce primarily made of basil leaves, pine nuts and cheese. Pasta made with pesto sauce wins hands down everytime and my son keeps asking for it. However, since fresh basil comes at a price that is not very cheap I started either buying the sauce (which I admit works out much cheaper than making it from scratch) or making it myself using alternatives to the basil. Spinach (palak) and coriander are good substitutes although they don't give that very authentic taste so I like adding a few homegrown basil leaves for that unique fragrance and flavour that the leaves impart. Yeah, on my recent trip to the supermarket I picked up a plant for AED 10 and have planted it in my balcony garden. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that it flourishes and doesn't give up on me but till such time, the coriander and spinach comes to my rescue!
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November 24, 2015, 7:24 am
Folks! My first ever recipe for crabs is finally here! A lot of people have asked us for crab recipes over the years but I could never oblige them since I don't eat crabs and the husband eventually gave up bringing them home. It was no fun cleaning, cooking and eating them alone he would say. He waited till the day that I could eat them. If you thought that I am finally able to eat them you are wrong. I still haven't tried eating them but I did taste the masala and it was fabulous! I wish that my allergy for crabs fades away eventually and I am able to eat them just the way I eat prawns now. It would be fun to give my man some company while he passionately eats his crab - true Mangalorean style.
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November 25, 2015, 10:17 am
In the recent times I have come across many people who have special dietary needs. A lot of people I know are gluten, dairy or lentil free. Sometimes, they are off all products that fall in these categories. It becomes especially hard during the festive season when one sees so many goodies around and not much to nibble on, it can be really hard. I have been in tune with these special needs as I belong to a family that is filled with people who cannot eat one thing or the other, either during to severe intolerance or allergy to one or more food category and hence menu planning is always done with the utmost care at my place.
When I came across this recipe recently I took a picture of it and bookmarked it to be tried out soon. This recipe is perfect for those who are only gluten free as the cake contains almonds (nuts), eggs (dairy), cream (dairy) and chocolate (dairy)
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November 30, 2015, 12:03 am
Advent has officially begun yesterday, Sunday, the 29th of November. Advent marks the beginning of the Christmas season and calls for all the faithful to prepare spiritually. This is also the day when most homes put up their Christmas trees and decorate their homes in the colours of the yuletide season. No prizes for guessing how we spent our day yesterday! Yes! Our Christmas tree is up - standing tall and pretty. Most of the home has been decluttered and dusted and reorganized. The rest of it will be sorted over the next few days when the UAE will celebrate its 44th National Day on the 2nd of December. It is celebration time here in Dubai and what better than to welcome the season with some yummy cake pops!
Cake pops were invented I am sure, out of sheer necessity to get rid of or upcycle leftover cake or cake crumbs. When I made my daughter's
birthday cake last month I was left with a ton of cake crumb - from the trial cakes and the actual birthday cakes (I made two tier cakes for the trial and actual cake - so you can imagine the amount of crumbs I was left it). I didn't think of making cake pops right away but then when I was decluttering my fridge I didn't have the heart to discard the crumbs. The ganache that was used to frost the cake was also used up in this fabulously simple, child friendly delight!
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November 30, 2015, 7:35 am
I am back with another post today, a simple chicken fried rice that the hubby put together a few days ago when we were eating leftovers for lunch and had nothing in the fridge for dinner. That's when he came up with this idea to use up some leftover rice. Perfect! Chop chop chop he went and 30 minutes later we had a pot of delicious, melt in the mouth fried rice to be walloped down!
Since I don't want to carry forward too many recipes into the next year I decided to post as many as I could in the coming few days so don't be shocked! I am not cooking everything in one go, it's just that I like to post the recipes when I have the time. The upcoming holidays on the occasion of the UAE National Day looks very promising as I will enjoy baking some new recipes - the love of my life! I hope I don't pile on too many kilos though! Anyway, when I am busy baking some simple one pot meals like the curd rice or fried rice come to my rescue. So here is a simple, delicious one pot meal that you can whip up this festive season when you have guests on short notice and the Chinese take away won't deliver home on time!
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December 2, 2015, 10:23 pm
Spritzgebäck (pronounced as shplitz-ghe-beck) are one of the most delicious cookies that I've ever tasted! They are as Amul's logo states 'utterly, butterly, delicious'! Honestly, I never thought that making these would be so much fun and that the taste would win so many hearts. When I first came across this recipe I instantly bookmarked it to be tried out for my Christmas collection. I was so delighted when the results crossed my expectations in terms of taste. Initially I thought I had done a poor job at shaping them but I realised that I didn't do so bad either.
Spritz cookies derive their name from the German word 'spritzen' that means 'to squirt'. The buttery soft dough is squirted (squeezed to push) out of a cookie press that has a metal plate with designs at the other end of it to help make pretty, fancy shapes. Spritz cookies are traditionally made during Christmas in most Scandinavian countries.
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December 4, 2015, 9:09 pm
Although the festive season is a season of indulgence, it doesn't have to be for everyone desperately looking to curb their calorie intake. Healthy meals during the festive season don't need to be frowned upon because today there are tons of people who are either eating wisely to maintain their diets or just because they cannot sink their teeth into everything because of food intolerances. Like I had mentioned before, I know a lot of people who are gluten free and I am always on the lookout for meal ideas that will ease them and help them enjoy whenever I am entertaining people at my place.
When I came across this simple recipe in a cookbook I bookmarked it right away. Corn tortilla (pronounced as 'thor-thee-ya') is a great option for people who can't eat wheat based breads. When baked to perfection they can be a great finger food option as they are crisp and addictive.
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December 6, 2015, 4:54 am
Ginger cake! The name itself sounds so festive, isn't it? But trust me, it is a cake that you can bake anytime of the year because it is simply delicious and easy to make! I have been baking a lot since the past few weeks and this particular cake won hands down mainly due to its moistness and subtle flavour and sweetness. When I say sweetness, I was actually expecting the cake to be extremely sweet and syrupy considering that the recipe called for sugar and golden syrup in large quantities but surprisingly it is not. It is very very moist though and a perfect option for a make ahead cake. If you plan to bake something new this Christmas, you must go ahead and try this recipe as you can prepare it a couple of days before you plan to serve it.
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December 8, 2015, 3:56 am
It's amazing how quickly time flies isn't it? Before I knew it, its the time to post another bread recipe of a bread that I bake along with other bread bakers every month. This month's theme was 'Overnight Breakfast Breads' and our host for the month is Holly Baker of
A Baker's House. We were asked to bake something that could be prepared the night before and baked in the morning or something like a quick bread the wet and dry ingredients of which could be prepared ahead of time and just mixed the next morning to be baked into a luscious bread!
When I saw this theme I was quite fascinated - I had no idea what kind of a bread I would bake as I had jumped into this joyous activity of bread baking just a few months ago and was still getting acquainted with the different varieties and techniques of bread baking. So far I had only worked with breads that could be made within a matter of 3-4 hours and I couldn't think of anything out of this comfort zone. I fell back on my experiences of making Indian breads that are fried on a skillet, the batter of which is usually rice based and fermented the night before. As I was hovering around this technique and idly flipping through the recipes saved in my book I came across one lovely recipe that I had bookmarked a few months ago from the 'Step-by-Step Baking Book by Caroline Bretherton' which had a footnote that recommended letting the dough rise overnight if one wished to have the bread for breakfast the next morning. Bingo! I had finally found my recipe for the month.
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December 8, 2015, 11:53 pm
Super delicious and crunchy chaklis are here! These have finally made their appearance on the blog although I have contemplated on making them since the past few years I never found a recipe that was good enough. This is one of the items on the 'kuswar' (traditional Mangalorean Christmas goodie platter that consist of sweets and savouries) series that was missing from my blog all these years and I just made up my mind to try whatever recipe I could come across. I didn't need to go far as my friend Veda Pai's no fail recipe came to my rescue. As always, her recipes never fail and I can close my eyes and try them. It also helped that I have beginner's luck when I try most dishes and this one was spot on too. I seemed to have mixed just the right amount of water to the dry ingredients and voila! I had a super gorgeous dough that was a pleasure to work with!
Making chaklis they say, is an art. You need to have a steady hand to shape them and have the oil ready at the right temperature. If you manage to do these things then making them is a breeze. It helped that the husband was very enthusiastic to help me and he shaped over 65 of them and I managed to make 10 when he went to receive a phone call! It sure was a fun experience, not just shaping them but also waiting for them to cool before we gobbled them up - fresh and delicious!
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December 12, 2015, 5:27 am
I don't know if it's the Christmas season or just me, but the baking bug has definitely bitten me and I am baking at least thrice a week these days. Normally I don't bake more than twice a month - perhaps this is the reason why you don't see more than a bread recipe every month and a stray post of a baked goodie. Of late I have been bringing a lot of cookbooks from the library and I can't help but oggle at the recipes and the beautiful pictures, page after page! I have bookmarked so many recipes that I want to try in the upcoming days because this is my way of letting go and indulging. Come January I will revert to my old self of being a conscious and cautious eater simply because I belong to that category of people who can put on weight by even dreaming about food, let alone eat it :( So after a whole year of eating sensibly I simply want to let my heart take over and pig out - sorry, diet conscious people :D I need to 'let it go' (Frozen style) at least sometime no?
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December 13, 2015, 9:24 pm
Oranges. Magical. Humble. Festive. Homely - these are the words that came to my mind when I started to write this post. Although I don't like eating them in their original form I can't seem to get enough of them in the form of baked goodies! I have always loved baking with oranges or using them in desserts and this year I bought a lot of oranges to experiment with them. I have tried three different recipes so far, the fourth one is lined up for this weekend.
For me oranges are festive because as a child I ate a lot of them during Christmas and so they remind me of my dad who used to buy a lot of the green, easy to peel, loose skinned variety that came from Coorg. During the Christmas vacations we spent idle afternoons peeling them one by one and popping each segment into our mouths, each squashed up to release tangy-sweet juice that we relished so much. The peels were used to play pranks and pressed to squirt juice into the eyes of anyone least expecting it. And then the fights began!
The store bought plum cake and oranges along with homemade Kuswar (Christmas goodies) was a family tradition that was broken only after my dad passed away. After that it was mostly store bought plum cake and kuswar minus the oranges.
Today, my dad's love for oranges has been passed down to my daughter who relishes every bite along with her dad who also loves them. He buys them in all shapes and sizes - mandarins, tangerines, clementines and what have you! With so much orange in my house it was a given that I would try experimenting with at least some of them.
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December 16, 2015, 9:38 pm
Many many years ago, when I was in Mangalore I had the opportunity of tasting the milk toffee which was part of the Christmas goodies served by my aunt when I was visiting her. On the first look I found it pretty unusual that something like a burfi was served on the otherwise traditional platter. I was pretty young that time and didn't know much about cooking let alone know what went on the Christmas platter. What I tasted was simply marvellous. Yes, the sweetness was tooth tingling but it had this great taste that wasn't simply milky like peda but more of an intense, rich taste of milk that has been reduced over slow fire. I have been trying out different recipes and I guess the one below resulted in what was closest to what I had eaten several years ago.
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December 18, 2015, 9:06 am
So I've been contemplating on which recipe to post that is suitable for the occasion. Christmas is exactly a week away and I am sure that most of you have already drawn up your Christmas meal menu and are already working on it. If you haven't decided what to serve as a starter then this recipe is a must make! You and your guests are going to love it! Well, we ate these prawns last year at a family potluck party and loved them instantly. At that point of time I was still going slow with my prawn intake as my allergies were slowing fading away but I did pop one in my mouth and it was brilliant!
This year, the hubby decided to make them for our daughter's birthday and it was a hit. Other than the deep frying which took some time, it was a breeze to make it. It is best if you can get frozen, pre cleaned shrimp/prawns so you can dive straight into the actual making of this dish.
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December 20, 2015, 3:10 am
As we are inching towards Christmas 2015, I thought it would be nice for my readers to have a look at the recipes that were posted during the festive season over the years. While I started blogging way back in 2009 it was not until December 2010 that I got serious about it. Over the years I have tried out Christmas recipes that are part of my culinary heritage and those that grabbed my attention simply because there is so much out there that can spark your interest and make you want to cook!
I love experimenting with new recipes and I always bookmark them and add them to my ever growing to-do list. Whatever I am unable to try out during the festive season of one year gets carried forward to the next. In the upcoming days I will be adding more thumbnails to this compilation as I have a few more recipes to go!
The collection of festive recipes below are all those recipes that I made with Christmas in mind so you will see not just cakes, bakes and sweets but an occasional savoury dish as well.
If there is a recipe you don't see below, do take a moment to go through my two recipe indexes which have been simplified as much as I could.
You can search by category in the
Picture Recipe Index or if you know the name of the recipe do search by name in the
Recipes A-Z where they are listed alphabetic order. If you still don't find what you want please mail me with your recipe request and I will include it in the coming year!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!!!
CHRISTMAS 2015
Nankhatai
| ![]() Chocolate Bounty Hearts & Bars | ![]() Coconut Ice |
Creamy Chicken Baguette Bites
| ![]() Mixed Spice | ![]() Traditional Irish Christmas Cake |
Prune & Chocolate Dessert Cake
| ![]() Cake Pops | ![]() Spritzgebäck ~ Spritz Cookies (German Christmas Cookies) |
Mexican Snack Cups
| ![]() Chakli | ![]() Eggless Brownie Muffins
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Ginger Cake
| ![]() Apricot & Orange Loaf Cake | ![]() Milk Toffee |
CHRISTMAS 2014
Date & Lemon Spirals
| ![]() Chicken Indad | ![]() Coconut Basbousa |
Beetroot Wine
| ![]() Date Rolls | ![]() Raisin Chicken |
White Chocolate Tarts
| ![]() Guliyo | ![]() Coffee Fruit Cake |
Mocha Chocolate Mousse
| ![]() Julekake / Julekaga ~ Norwegian Cardamom Scented Christmas Bread |
|
CHRISTMAS 2013
Traditional Chocolate Cake
| ![]() Muffizzas (Muffin Shaped Pizzas) | ![]() Lemon Mascarpone Blondies |
Rava Laadu / Rawa Laddoo (Sweet Semolina Balls)
| ![]() Mincemeat Crumble Bars (Pure Vegetarian!) | ![]() Gingerbread Men |
Last Minute Christmas Cake
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CHRISTMAS 2012
Sukrunde (Crispy Green Gram & Jaggery Fritters)
| Chai Tea Spiced Christmas Cake (Masala Chai Dry Fruit Loaf)
| ![]() Orange & Cardamom Fig Cookies (Newtons)
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| Black Currant Sauce (Accompaniment to Roast Chicken)
| Christmas Special ~ Roast Chicken with Bread & Giblet Stuffing
| ![]() Date & Walnut Cake
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Cinnamon & Green Tea Punch
| Traditional Wedding Style Mutton Polov
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CHRISTMAS 2011
Kidyo/Kidiyo/Kulkuls (Sweet Dough Curls)
| Kokkisan/Roce Cookies/Rose Cookies | Neurio/Nevries (Crescent Shaped Sweet Puffs)
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Pathekaan (Banana Chips)
| ![]() Simple Salted Tukdi (Diamond Cuts) | ![]() Pudim (East Indian Christmas Pudding) - For the Twelfth Night |
CHRISTMAS 2010
Rich Cake (Christmas Cake)
| ![]() Zimtsterne ~ German Christmas Cookies | ![]() Rich Plum Cake - Christmas Cake - The Ultimate Winner
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December 21, 2015, 3:35 am
One of my most favourite items on the traditional Mangalorean Kuswar platter are the til laddoos or sesame seed balls that are pan India. These are an integral part of various cuisines and they are pretty popular as a sweet down South India too. In Mangalore they are sold in bakeries all year round and are particular popular during Christmas and Sankranti festivals.
TiLache laadu as we call them in Konkani are an excellent source of copper, magnesium, calcium, iron and dietary fibre to name a few. They are beneficial to people of all ages and a must have at least occasionally. Since jaggery instead of sugar is used to bind the seeds together they can be considered to be a guilt free snack/sweet.
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December 23, 2015, 2:23 am
Folks! There's soooo much to do and so little time. I am not sure when I will finish it all. I just started making the kuswar yesterday and in between managing the kids and the house my work is going at snail's pace. In the midst of it all I feel guilty for not posting the recipes that have been piling up since ages. I am not kidding but I still have a few of last year's recipes to post. So without further ado let me post them today and tomorrow after which I will relaaaaaaaax! You may not see me until next week cuz a girl's gotta rest! Too much of cooking and staying in the kitchen isn't gaining me any brownie points in the socialising department. I have a great family, cousins, friends and neighbours I want to spend my time with and share the Christmas cheer! So to all of you my darlings - Have a wonderful Christmas - enjoy the festivities, the bonding, the caring, sharing and all those lovely things that we MUST carry forward to the next year as well.
May this Christmas be just a reminder of the reason behind the season! May Jesus fill your lives with happiness today and always!!
Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!
Rum BallsPrep time: 15 mins | Cook time: Nil | Yield 25-30 small balls
Ingredients:- 2 cups cake crumbs (use leftover chocolate cake or brownies or plum/Christmas cake)
- 2-3 tablespoons rum (adjust to desired taste and consistency)
- 1/4 chocolate ganache or condensed milk as required
- 1/4 cup dessicated coconut plus extra to coat
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (if required, to adjust the sweetness)
- Icing/confectioner's sugar (if required, to adjust the sweetness)
To decorate/coat:
- chocolate sprinkles or any other fancy sprinkles of your choice
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- icing sugar
- dessicated coconut
Method:
1. Place the cake crumbs, ganache, dessicated cocoa in a large bowl. Add the rum to taste (to adjust consistency) and mix everything to form a thick, semi sticky dough. Adjust sweetness by adding the icing sugar or condensed milk as required.
2. Place the items to roll/coat in different plates and keep it ready.
3. Pinch out small portions of the dough and roll into balls, then coat with the desired decorative coating.
4. Serve! You can store the rum balls in an airtight container for upto 1 week in a cool place.
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