Gulabi Phirni/Rose rice pudding

Phirni is an Indian sweet dish. It has a texture that is a cross between custard and pudding and is made with ground rice and milk. The popular flavor variations are badam (using almond paste), aam (with mango pulp) and rose phirni (obviously with rose syrup). Unlike other Indian sweet treats which can be tricky and time consuming to make, phirni is  quite quick and easy. The smooth creamy cool taste of this dessert just puts you in a good mood. It is so good that my princess who doesn't have much of a sweet tooth and is a very fussy eater, ate a whole bowlful of this "pink ice-cream" as she likes to call it :)

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Sparkling Blueberry Basil Limeade (Skinny)

hill out in style this summer with this bright, lively and very refreshing berry-lime drink. I am a big fan of lemonades/limeades myself but the big problem I have with them is they are loaded with sugar. So here's a recipe that lets you chill by the pool in style without having to load up on sugar. Hubs was a little skeptical when he heard of a blueberry drink. He likes most all berries except these and raspberries. I had it ready for him when he got back from work. Back home from the hot Florida sun. He took a sip and I could see his face light up. Of course he followed the sip with a detailed description of how good was it and why, how it was crisp and cool and tasted like lime and blueberries in the best way possible, but for me I had gotten my feedback even before he started talking. That was enough.

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Cardamom Pancakes with Mango Saffron Compote/Chutney

ather's day this year was special as it has been for the last four years since we were blessed with our little princess. Now she is daddy's little girl so this Father's day I figured I'd make something that would be manly enough for papa and would be fun for his little princess to make and eat and they can sit together and enjoy. Little and I made these incredible pancakes for dearest papa this Sunday ~ warm, fruity, rich, decadent and gourmet breakfast/brunch with the best mango compote/chutney ever (dad is a BIG mango lover)... and yes if you look closer, these are pancakes with no eggs! The feedback from both of my critics was very positive :) Hubby later explained how amazed he was that the pancakes were as light and fluffy as the ones with eggs except only better as they did not have the eggy taste. Me personally am not much of a pancake fan so cannot say much about it but I surely have a thing or two to say about the compote. If this is any proof, every time I open the refrigerator I lick a fingerful of this chutney :) Tangy and sweet, very fruity taken to the level of exotic with the dash of saffron flavor. You will never go back to your syrup again.

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Jalebi with rabri

Goddess Durga has arrived and it is festival season again, not that I feel much like it sitting ten thousand miles away from home. Back home, there is a festive spirit all around and people are gearing up to celebrate the season that is marked with several other major festivals. That warmth, the excitement, fasting and feasting,family reunion, markets full of puja items, shopping malls full of crowds, the rush, new fashion clothes, full blown shopping and those giant skeletal pandal structures that in a few days will be the most beautiful and ornate puja pandals and the home of Maa Durga for the next ten days.

I will welcome Maa this season with this sweet dish. Jalebi is always special for me. Whenever we used to visit our grandparents' place (which was every year) especially for durga puja I remember we used to get jalebi and kachori and aloo chana ki sabji from the roadside halwai... almost everyday... this used to be my favorite breakfast... jalebi with rabdi... was on the top of the list of everyone and how all my cousins used to fight for that last piece.  Sometimes my  mother and aunts would make it and all of us children would huddle up in the kitchen and be curious and all excited waiting for the treat. Now sitting here and writing this post I so miss those wonderful carefree childhood days. The pampering.. unconditional love of grandparents, the crowd, gossip, laughter, food everything. Still now when I go back to India, mom makes jalebi and hot sabji and kachodi... and I eat them to my heart's content.

Cooking a traditional recipe specially for festivals  always warms me makes me happy and also makes me all nostalgic. I miss them all. Here in my kitchen when  alone... cooking something like this and there is no one always there to taste, chat... but the aroma of cooking, the warmth of festivity makes me feel at home again... sometimes I just  get sad and homesick but then I call mom and ask for a recipe... multiple times... try to recreate... jump with joy when it works... sad when it doesn't and call her again to let her know the outcome. We laugh over the phone, sometimes cry that we are so far away from each other especially during festivals. But again now I have the sweetest and the most caring man in the whole world who is my sous chef, my taster, my  food critic, my everything and with him our little bundle of joy... everyday feels like a festival and keeps me going!

I followed mom's 'world famous' jalebi recipe. For the rabdi however I took the easy route and made it with ricotta cheese in the microwave. Jalebi or zalabiyah in arabic is an Arabian sweet which is very very popular in the Indian subcontinent. It is made by deep-frying batter in a kind of pretzel or circular shape, then soaked in syrup. It has a crunchy and crispy outer shell and is soft juicy inside which makes for an interesting combination of textures when you bite into it.

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Sparkling Italian lemonade and a Win !!

Basil infused lemonade..how does that sound..refreshing..cool..and so Italian na!..So its Giada time again and this time it is her Sicilian sparkling Italian lemonade which I had bookmarked the moment I saw  the ingredient list... lemon n basil... now I just love the flavor of basil the slight minty and an unique refreshing flavor which I like to put in everything... pesto, pasta, pizza... it just tastes awesome! Never put basil in drinks though so made this and It is out of this world good... crisp and delightful!! The basil is very subtle and surprisingly good with the lemon. I diluted it with a little bit more water because it was a bit strong for my taste, but overall we loved it. 

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Ginger tea lemonade

t may sound a little unusual for an Indian household but we do not drink tea in our home. Neither me nor hubby really liked it ever. The concept of iced tea however always had our fancy but again we never liked the taste, funny eh! So this recipe met me one day while I was watching Giada's show (again). As I usually like lemon flavors in my drinks, be it lemon tea, lemon soda or lemonade (you get the idea), this recipe struck home with me as she was making it. I went ahead and tried making it as-is and it was fabulous. It has a feel of a sophisticated mock-tail with tea and lemon flavors and a hint of ginger. Something you would want to sit sipping on the beach on a hot summer afternoon (yes you can put an umbrella in your glass :)

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Rasgulla

The holi month of 'saawan' usually falls during the month of August. This month is considered auspicious and many people offer prayers and observe fasts to worship Lord Shiva. As do I. I observe fasts on the Mondays of the month and visit the local temple. During my fasts I avoid certain ingredients like salt, onions, garlic, grains. The diet typically consists of sweets and fruits. I have done this since my early school days but after getting married, my husband offered to join me so now we both observe fast together (that is so sweet of him *blush*)... the only problem... while I don't have a sweet tooth and pretty much eat fruit during my fasts, he loves sweets... and sweet stuff usually contains flour (which is grain) Had made gajar halwa, singhade ka halwa and sabudana kheer several times .
Saawan this year started a couple of weeks back, so in my search to make him a sweet which can be consumed during fasts, I found this great recipe in my bookmarks to make the evergreen and popular indian sweet 'rasgulla'. I had bookmarked it some time back from Manjula's site. She has a great recipe which is well explained, easy to follow and the result was fabulous. The only change I made was adding a little cardamom powder in the syrup as I think it makes sweets taste a little better.
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