Instant Jalebi!

realize this is a day after Diwali but festivity is still in the air, right! Hope all you guys had a very prosperous and fun filled Diwali!
Diwali or Deepawali is the Festival of Lights. It is a time that is much awaited all year round by children and adults alike. A time of celebration, prayers, holidays, family, fun, fireworks and of course food - lots of it. It is one of the most important religious and cultural festivals in India bringing family and friends together. Diwali is one of the biggest and most celebrated Hindu festivals. In my Chandrakala post on Dussehera a few weeks ago I spoke about Lord Rama and his victory over evil. After vanquishing the evil Ravana, Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana come back home after 14 years of banishment. Since then, that day is celebrated by Hindus all over the world as Diwali!

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Chandrakala/Stuffed Sweet Festive Pastries

ere is another recipe from me that gives me an intense sense of nostalgia.

The start of 'navaratra' marks the beginning of the festive season in India. Navaratra culminates in Dussehera after which comes the much awaited Diwali with Dhanteras and Chhath between and immediately after. These followed by Christmas and of course the welcome of the new year. Festivities in India are associated with pomp and fervor, family, dressing in your finest, prayers and worship, time off from school, carnivals, guests and of course food, lots of food. How is that for nostalgia!

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Gud aur til ka Paratha / Jaggery and sesame stuffed flatbread

My mom is a queen of innovation. Especially when it comes to innovation with leftovers. She would come up with cool ideas to convert things that everyone deemed throwaway into dishes that would fly like hot cakes.

In India it is tradition to take some sweets if you are visiting a near and dear. My mom being quite the entertainer, we used to have a rather busy guest 'traffic'. Now not everyone has a big heart to take the best quality stuff so quite often we would wind up with sweets that no one wanted to eat. This one time mom came up with the idea of mixing it all up, boiled it in some milk to make a thick filling and made stuffed parathas out of it. Papa and my brother ate them up in seconds.

This dish is another such example of my mother's innovativeness. After the festival of Sankranti, we would usually have lots of left over 'tilkut' (a sweet candy made of sesame and sugar). She used a similar technique on the tilkut to convert it into absolutely fabulous sweet stuffed bread. I wanted to give this a shot but unfortunately I couldn't find any tilkut here. I had some sesame seeds handy and some jaggery so I used them together to create the tilkut effect. Hubby loved it :)  So here's another one inspired from and for my dear mom.

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Basic White Bread

Within the last few months I have baked (and posted) several types of breads and bread based recipes (garlic buns, stuffed buns, braided bread, dinner rolls, pizzas, flat breads like naan etc) and each time around I have expressed my love for Mr. Yeast. The basic white bread however had been my nemesis. I had tried it a couple of times before and it turned out okay but the perfectionist in me was never satisfied. They bread looked okay and tasted good but I knew something was missing. Texturally it was not quite there as the professionally made ones.
Bread baking for me is almost therapeutic. The kneading is the best part (if you are mad at someone, this is the best way to calm yourself down. Yes, it works every time for me... lol). To be able to get out a loaf of delicious bread from a few ingredients is a wonder - not to mention the smell of fresh baked bread that fills the house. The excitement to see the dough rise and then finally cut into it and see how perfect it came out... aah it is almost a high for me (I know I know this is probably the hundredth time I am writing this)... but its true :)

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Kesar Nankhatai/Indian Cookies

This is my papa's absolute favorite thing in the world. Since his childhood, as he tells me. You give him a whole pack with his evening tea and you could forget about having any leftovers. I remember in my hometown there was a small bakery where they used to make these. The men would then pack them and sell them door to door on a bicycle. They would especially show up on Sundays knowing most people would be home, as was Papa. Once the bicycle bell rang he would call him and and get 2-3 packets. You could see the twinkle in his eye as he ate them with his tea. It was one of the very few store bought things he likes! Whenever I make them here... I  miss him.. these are for you papa... will make a big batch next time you visit :)
These are Indian version of cookies, eggless light and melt in mouth kind, often flavored with cardamom. I personally find them very cute, a delight to bake. I especially love watching them bake especially when they puff up and gently crack on top making it the best and perfect nankhatais. This batch that I made I wanted to experiment with the flavor of Saffron. Hubby said he absolutely loved the light saffron flavor and that it have it a nice festive appeal.

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Nutella Brownies

 

If you've read some of my previous posts you'll know I love nutella :)) and it is also not a secret that I am chocoholic. I just can't have enough of this yummillicious spread. My hubby sometimes teases me that nutella should be my middle name he he. In fact as I am writing this, another nutella recipe is coming to my mind :D I can't help myself as I always think nutella is, quite frankly, one of the best culinary creations out there — a mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts that almost defies words... too good! Well, I love brownies too. The dense fudgy squares are just irresistible. So one day I decided to attempt to incorporate one of Earth's best chocolaty spreads into brownies. And these are eggless and I used no butter and very little sugar.. is very easy to make and it consists of my most fav things nutella, dark chocolate and coffee mmmm... can't write anymore... here goes the recipe -

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Garlic Naan

ince the beginning of time, countries have invaded other countries. India has been no different. What sets India apart however is that most invaders ended up making it their home. This mixing of cultures has given India its rich diversity. With cultures comes their food and hence the rich diversity of Indian cuisine. Now I am no historian but from what little knowledge I have, I believe the modern 'Naan' bread evolved from a combination of middle eastern and local Indian cuisine. It is basically a round or oval shaped leavened flat bread made with wheat flour, salt, yeast culture and yogurt. Traditionally it is cooked in a clay oven or 'tandoor' and it is found in many avatars in central and south asia. Earlier it was mainly found in northern India being synonymous with Punjabi cuisine but now it is found in most parts of the country. I have posted the plain version of this bread before so I will not go into the details of how I got around to learning to make it. Lets just say this is the best bread I like and within its different kinds, I like the Garlic Naan the best. Soft yet toasty bread soaked in butter.. then dipped in curry of your choice.. ahhh.. out of this world :) just yum!!
Here's my version of the classic.

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Eggless Double Chocolate Mocha Muffin

 better half.. he does not detest chocolates, he will eat it.. but combine it with a little coffee and he absolutely loves it! I on the other hand will eat chocolate of any kind, anytime, dark chocolate being my favorite. I don't mind a little coffee either. So whenever I make anything chocolaty at home there has to be a little coffee in it. I personally think as well that coffee when combined with chocolate takes it to a whole new level.
So I just mixed a little coffee in chocolate muffin batter and this recipe was born. I also don't always like the eggy taste in my bakes so I skip the egg altogether and it comes out great :) It is always a hit with kids too atleast I know my little one loves it.

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