Homemade Chocolates

Homemade Chocolates

                                                                    

Who doesn’t like chocolates 🍫🍫? I bet every one of you just adore every single bite of those 😋😋😋.  If you can prepare those yummy treats at home it simply doubles the happiness 😃. I never knew that making chocolates are as simple as eating them 😉. It‘s just a matter of mixing and freezing. Tomorrow it’s Saint Valentine’s day or Feast of Saint Valentine or Valentine‘s day. You can call it whatever you like 😄.  It is the day of Love 💓💕. So it is a must to treat your loved ones💖 on this day and if you make some homemade goodies then it is your day. Try this easy –peasy chocolate at home and celebrate your 😍 Valentine’s day in style 😉. Okay then let’s get started!!!

Uzhunnu Vada

Uzhunnu Vada / Urad Vada / Medu vada / Lentil Fritter  

                                                                      

Helllllo 😊!!! Hope you guys tried my Mutton Biriyani recipe… How was it?  Please do share your feedback. These feed backs are so very encouraging and inspiring, it motivates me to  try and share yummy recipes 😊😊. Today  I am here with an extremely popular tea time snack 👌. It is loved by all 😍, Yes!!! It is Uzhunnu vada or Medu Vada. Back home in Kerala a good amount of space is occupied by these vadas in all tea shops 😉😉.   This is usually served as a tea time 🍵 snack but you also serve this during breakfast as a combo along with dosa (rice pancake) or pongal (rice / lentil dish). Uzhunnu vada is made with urad dal (a type of lentil) and it resembles a doughnut 🍩 in appearance. They have a crispy exterior and soft interior 😋.  The lentils are soaked in water for a minimum of 2 hours. Then they are ground to a coarse paste. I used mixer grinder for grinding ,extreme care should be taken while grinding. Add water just enough to make it to a coarse paste. It shouldn’t be very coarse 😉.  Then they are beaten well to incorporate air in to it, this is very important as this gives a soft and fluffy vada.  Later on spices like pepper (I used pepper powder), green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and shallots (I used onion) are added 👌👌 . Then it is shaped like doughnuts and it is dropped in to hot piping oil and it is fried. Tasty vadas are ready in minutes 😋😋. It is a perfect tea time snack especially during this chilly weather 😃. Okay then let’s get started….

Mutton Biriyani

 Mutton Biriyani / Easy Pressure Cooker Mutton Biriyani 

                                                                            

Biriyani !!! This needs no intro ... everyone loves Biriyani 😋😋 .This is my fourth post on biriyani and first on lamb/ mutton 😊. Whenever we buy mutton we usually make curry/ gravy with it but this time I tried biriyani 😃. This recipe is super easy as I have tried making this in pressure cooker 👌. Pressure cooker biriyani is irresistible as they are super tasty 👌👌. The pressure cooker gives the biriyani a “dum effect”. A one pot meal is so tempting that you can’t stop yourself from trying it again 😋. The method is pretty simple 👌. At first we marinate the meat with the spices then cook it till three- fourth. Later on this is cooked along with the rice. Tasty and flavorful biriyani is ready in no time 😉😉.  This lip smacking biriyani is a perfect meal at anytime 😃. Okay then let’s get started….

Cheese Sandwich

Cheese Sandwich

                                                                     

I am always puzzled 😕 when it is time to pack lunch box  🍱for my little one. How about you guys?  If so here comes a simple and easy recipe 😉. It’s a favorite among kids 😊. It is nothing but Cheese sandwich 😋. If you are really late in the morning this recipe is a life saver 😃. It will be ready in minutes 👍. This sandwich is loaded with fatty ingredients so you can sit back and relax as it will keep your little one full and filling 😊. You just need three ingredients to make this lip-smacking sandwich - butter, bread and cheese slice 🍞. You can skip butter and dry toast it if needed. Okay then let’s get started……

Ginger Cardamom tea/ Adrak Elaichi Chai

Ginger Cardamom tea/ Adrak Elaichi Chai

                                                                   

         

Who doesn’t like to sip a cup of hot tea on a cold day ⛄⛆? When it is masala chai (spiced milk tea) or ginger cardamom tea I will be on cloud nine 😊. During winter season it is a must to have at least ginger milk tea 🍵. I try to add dried ginger powder almost every time I prepare tea.  A hot cup of ginger cardamom tea after a long tired day is indeed refreshing. Ginger is having many medicinal properties so adding them to your diet is very good 😊. Cardamom the queen of spices just adds flavor to your tea that can’t be described. These spices are indeed an asset to our cooking 😃. Not only in beverages, we add them in almost every dish we prepare 😉.  Try making this simple yet healthy tea. Okay then let’s get started…..

Christmas Fruit Cake

Christmas Fruit Cake/ Non Alcoholic Fruit Cake / Kerala Plum Cake /Kerala Fruit Cake

                                                                       

Holiday season is here 🎄🎅, you all must be very busy. Yes like you all I was very busy decorating our sweet home with a lovely Christmas Tree 🎄🎊, lights, snowman and baubles. Grabbed some time to bake a super soft and super tasty non alcoholic Christmas cake. We had a small get together at home last week and I served this cake to my dear friends 😍.They all enjoyed and asked me to post the recipe ASAP. Dear friends, here is the recipe.  Christmas 🎅 is incomplete without a fruit cake 🍰. Back home in Kerala (India) we have our own plum cake. During Christmas time almost all the bakeries will be loaded with plum cakes that too Elite Plum Cake 😋.  My dad always gets me a pack of this Elite Plum Cake every year me 😍. Wish I could give him a slice of this plum cake that was baked by me 😞. For the past few years I was longing to bake this but I backed off as I thought it won’t turn out perfect without alcohol 😕. I was in no mood to add alcohol 😏. Finally I got a recipe from all recipe where they have used orange juice 😊. To give it a personal touch I replaced orange juice with grape juice and personalized the recipe here and there 😉. I have added as much dry fruits as possible. Raisins, plums and dates gives it a rich flavor 😋. Dry fruits are soaked in freshly made grape juice and I refrigerated this for two and a half days 😉. It’s better to use fresh grape juice as store brought might contain preservatives and other chemicals. Spices gives the cake extra punch that tempts us to eat it again and again 😋😋😋. Since there is no alcohol it doesn’t have much shelf life 😐. You can wrap them in aluminum foil and store it in an air tight box. It will be good for another 5-6 days but it won’t last that long 👌. The cake will be over by that time. Yes, believe me this is a super yummy cake 😃. Okay then let’s get started…..

Dil Pasand

Dil Pasand / Dil Kush / Puff Pastry With Coconut Filling

                                                                    

Dil Pasad / Dil kush! Yes it is Dil Pasad / Dil Kush 😋. As the name suggests it means your dil (heart) kush (happy) 😍. It is a very popular snack / sweet back in India 👌. You can find this in almost all bakeries 😉.  These are one of my favorites that I used to enjoy during my school days. I tried to recreate the same feeling and yes I flew back home enjoying these yummy treats 😋. As you all know these are flaky buns that are filled with a yummy sweetened combination of coconut , dry fruits, cherries 🍒 and sugar. You can omit all other fillings expect coconut and make coconut bun .  I will post that soon. You can use either puff pastry sheets or purpose flour to make this. Here I have used puff pastry sheets. These are perfect tea time snacks 👌. Okay then let’s get started !!!

Chicken Curry

Simple Chicken Curry

                                                                        

Hi dear ones 😍!!! Watts up... I was really busy so couldn’t update my blog 😞. Sorry about that. I’m back with something that is very simple and easy yet tasty 😉. It is a chicken curry 🍗. It can be a perfect treat for a lazy weekend or during a busy day 👌. It can be prepared in minutes. Who doesn’t like chicken? And if it is too easy then no need to say that…😉😉 there are tons of variations to prepare a simple chicken curry but this is my mom‘s method so it is extra special for me 😊. Along with chicken I have added potatoes  also . The spices along with chicken and potato make this very flavorful 😋. This can be served along with rice, chapathi, appam (laced pancake). Okay then let’s get started.

Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak

                                                                   

Happy Diwali dear friends 😃😃😃!!!! So all geared up to celebrate Diwali??? Yes, me too …. So I am here with another sweet, Mysore Pak 😋… who doesn’t love this 😍? Back home in India we have the very famous Mysore Pak from Sree Krishna Sweets (Bakery); you can’t miss those yummy treats at any cost 😉. It is super soft, super delicious that literally melts in your mouth 😃. I am so excited that I tried this and the Mysore Pak was so yummy that it just vanished in to the air 👌. Mysore Pak is a South Indian delicacy which originated in Mysore palace during the regime of Krishna Raja Wadiyar by a palace cook named Kaksura Madappa. He made a mixture of besan, sugar, ghee. When the king asked its name he had nothing to say and he simply called it Mysuru Pak 😀(Pak means sweet in Kannada, a south Indian language).So as the origins suggest the main ingredient of this sweet is besan (chickpea flour), sugar, ghee (clarified butter). The ratio of the ingredients used is very important to get the right texture 😊. The procedure that I have adopted here is too simple everybody can give it a try 👍.  The generous amount of ghee, sugar, flour tempts us to eat it 😃. This sweet is a must during celebration like marriages, baby shower and many festivals 👍. So as it is Deepawali I thought of posting it so you guys too can enjoy this festive season with this mouthwatering dish 😋. Last year I posted coconut ladoo as a Diwali goody, was glad to receive many responses on that 👌👌. Expecting the same this time also…👍  Okay then let’s get started….  

Bread Halwa

Bread Halwa

                                                                       

                                                     

Diwali  is around the corner and you all must be ready to enjoy some lip-smacking treats 😋. So here I come with another halwa recipe 😉. This time it is with bread 🍞. Hope you guys tried my carrot, banana halwas, how was it 😉????  Bread halwa is very simple yet delicious 😊. It follows the same procedure like other halwa recipes. If you have some slices left which expires soon, bread halwa will be the best option to save those 😃. I would suggest trying this recipe with white than brown bread as it tastes good 👌. The combination of bread, ghee, milk,sugar and dry fruits tempt us to have this 👍. So why are you guys waiting, impress your loved ones with this easy and yummy halwa. Okay then let’s get started.