Every once in a while you come across a recipe that becomes your go-to for all sorts of things. The brownie recipe I’d posted last week is one such. Any chocolate cake needs to be baked, I tweak the brownie recipe. Any cupcakes? Brownie made-to-fit again. These cookies fall into that category. There were originally … Continue reading »
These are actually brownies baked in cupcake moulds. So they’re cupcakes. They’re brownies. And Oh-so-chocolatey! And so fudgy. And so yummy. I”m totally in love with single serve portions and am forever trying to adapt regular recipes to fit cupcakes. This was one of those experiments. A very successful one I’d say. And I’ve made … Continue reading »
What do you do when you’ve got truckloads of strawberries and mulberries stashed away in your freezer? Well, I know what you’re thinking. What’s the hurry in trying to make something or the other out of it? Why don’t I just let them be and do something fun when i come across a fun recipe, … Continue reading »
It does happen every now and then that we add too much water while grinding the lentils for paruppu usli and it turns out kind of sticky instead of soft and crisp (yes paruppu usli is both soft as well as crisp!). You could, of course, add oil by the truckloads and set it absolutely … Continue reading »
Hubby: “Cookies? But you said you baked a cake yesterday!” Me: “Ummm…I did, but it did not turn into a cake!” Hubby: “Yet again??!!” Me: Actually it should have been great. But I realised I’d forgotten to add the baking powder 10 minutes after the cake batter was in the oven. So I took it … Continue reading »
I made this cute little bouquet of chocolate lollipops for Ikshu’s first birthday party. The idea, again, came from my cousin who inspired me to make the decorated tray. She’d learnt about this chocolate bouquet at a chocolate making workshop she’d attended. She’d used a proper woven basket, liked it with what is called ‘ brick’ … Continue reading »
I made these simple invites for my li’l one’s. 1st birthday party last month. I bought ice cream sticks, stuck 4 to make a window- like structure, stuck a sheet of paper and wrote out all the details on it. For that cute Baby Mickey stamp, I downloaded the image off the net ( … Continue reading »
My cousin is bigtime into crafting and makes a whole lot of things, from Tanjore paintings and satin quilted cushions to paper quilling craft and stuffed toys. For my father’s sashtiabdapoorthi (60th birthday celebrations) earlier this year she had made a whole lot of handmade decorated trays for various purposes. She had also made a big banner … Continue reading »
I’ve wanted to do stuff of this sort for a really long time. The idea first stuck me when I saw a cute little simple strand of pink beads strung in a baby pink coloured ribbon at a big brand retail chain priced at Rs 350. I know these places are overpriced but this … Continue reading »
I was at a loss of what to present to my dad for his 60th birthday. There are tonnes of things you can buy off the shelves, but I wanted to make something myself. Mind you, I’m not a gifted person in the creative department. That’s when my mother-in-law dug out this old calendar. Yes, … Continue reading »
One day a friend of mine, just restured from the US, gave me a jar of bottled mano preserve. Now, for a kid, anything that is fancily packaged looks attaractive. Even though it was 9 pm and we had already had dinner, i got the go-ahead from my parents to open the jar and dig … Continue reading »
Summer time is picking time. For me at least, summer is when we make pickles. Rather, my mom and ma-in-law make pickles. For a change this time, I decided to take matters in my own hands and buck the trend: the watch amazed and eat even more amazed trend. Pickles always seem to be … Continue reading »
Yesterday was Sri Rama Navami, the ninth and final day of the nine-day Vasantha Navarathri festival. One typically makes dishes such as Paanakam, neer mor (thin spiced buttermilk), payasam, vadai, vada paruppu (also known as kosambari/kosamari) etc. Paanakam is a simple juice of jaggery and water infused with the flavour of cardamoms. But it takes … Continue reading »
It is funny, how some event that did not seem to be of much significance when you were a kid stays in your memory and resurfaces with vivid details when you’re staring at your computer at 12.22 am, while your kid sleeps peacefully beside you. Even stranger is how you never accord importance to a … Continue reading »
Panchamritam, the word, is a Sanskrit sandhi (fused words) of the words pancha (five) and amritam (nectar). Panchamritam is a heavenly concoction indeed. The five most important ingredients are bananas, jaggery, honey, cardamom and ghee (clarified butter). In addition to these one normally also adds chopped pitted dates, raisins and kalkandu (sugar candy). Panchamritam … Continue reading »
I have fond memories of celebrating Karthagai in Delhi. Karthigai is a Tamil festival which is basically a celebration of the month of ‘Karthik’ of the Lunar calendar) and falls in December, a month or so after Diwali. It is a festival of lights, somewhat like Diwali/Deepawali (another festival that celebrated ‘good over evil’ with … Continue reading »
After a whole long week plus 1 day of writing about dishes fit to serve at an occasion, I’m going to be writing about traditional dishes. All this week. Yes. You read it right. Seven days, starting today. Make that tonight. Reason being I’m part of this wonderful blogging community that runs a Blog … Continue reading »
While I was planning for the lil fella’s first birthday (he turned 1 last month), one thing I was keen on was making everything bite-sized. The age-group of the invited kids ranged between 2 years and 12 years, with three-fourths of the crowd under 8. So I wanted to make snacks that could be served … Continue reading »
When I was planning a cake for my son’s 1st birthday, I knew I wanted many layers to it. Not a layer cake, but a layer of cake, with a thick layer of ganache topped with icing – I was set on the swirl pattern – with some sprinkles on top. The way I imagined … Continue reading »
My brother is away at hostel in Manipal (a town in southern Indian). He’s studying to be an engineer. His roommate (who happens to be my hubby’s nephew!) was in town recently for an inter-collegiate event and I wanted to check if my brother wanted something. “Hey, since Siddhu (his roommate) is here, do you … Continue reading »
