One Day At A Time!

When it comes to baking, I try to be precise about measuring ingredients. And follow the tips for making any cake soft and moist.  Some say any cooking oil makes a cake really moist. My personal experience says Eggless Sour Cream Cake  turns soft. Recently, I found out Silken Tofu cakes are soft too. Some day, maybe I'll try that. But sour cream and silken tofu are not the ones easily available. What works best for an egg less cake?  Homemade thick yogurt a.k.a curds with little butter and little oil. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 1/2 cups Thick Yogurt/Curd/Dahi - 1 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup Oil - 1/4 cup Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp Orange Zest/Peel - 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp How to bake an Egg less Yogurt Sponge Cake: In a small mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix well. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. G...

Potatoes are every one's favorite and especially kids. Aloo Tikki Burger is a light, yet filling snack, perfect for evenings. The subtle flavors of lettuce, tomato and onion taste great with a simple potato burger. If not bread, try these potato cutlets with tomato ketchup or any condiment of your choice.

Some days, I forget to soak rice and dal for our regular breakfast - Idlis and Dosas. At times, cereal works just fine. Other days, I rely on such instant versions of South Indian breakfast items. We love such quick gluten free delicacies for lunch as well. Prep work involves chopping vegetables, but still its far more convenient. Ingredients: Idli Rava - 3/4 cup Urad Dal Flour/Split Black Gram Flour - 1/2 cup Yogurt/Dahi/Curds - 3/4 cup Carrots (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Bell Pepper (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup Green Onions/Scallions - 1/4 cup Cilantro/Coriander/Kothimbir Leaves - few sprigs Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Instant Appe / Paniyaram with vegetables: In a mixing bowl, add carrots, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, salt and yogurt (preferably slightly sour). Make sure the veggies are very finely chopped, especially carrots. Or you can grate carrots as well. I have used full fat / whole milk yogurt....

Since I blog about food regularly, you guys already know my love for cooking. But, its exactly opposite when I have to cook something just for myself. And such days, there are no leftovers either.  What are your solitary meals? My lazy lunches are generally salads and grilled sandwiches. Ingredients: Boneless Chicken - 1 pound Lemon/Lime Juice - 2 tbsp Garlic - 2 big cloves Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Unsalted Butter or Oil Baguette or Thick Sliced Bread Pesto Sauce Red/Purple Onion Bell Pepper/Capsicum Tomato Cheese Slices (optional) How to make Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich: Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Grease a baking dish with oil or butter.  Crush the garlic cloves and add it to the dish. Place a skinless chicken breast on the baking dish. Sprinkle salt, fresh ground black pepper and chili powder. Add lemon juice and rub the chicken well with the seasonings.  Bake the chicken uncov...

In my part of the world, its still snowing. It doesn't feel like spring at all. Hopefully that will change soon. Until we see that sunny bright weather, we are relishing on hearty winter food.... hot soups, grilled sandwiches and all kinds of comfort food. And for teatime snacks, we love crunchy savory goodies, something like Chakli. Today, I am sharing a gluten free  snack, called as Jwari Chakali  in Marathi. Ingredients: Jowar/Sorghum/Jwari/Jola Flour - 1 cup Rice Flour - 1/2 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Corn Starch - 2 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Jwari Chakli / Jowar Murukku: In a mixing bowl, add jowar flour, rice flour, corn starch, sesame seeds, carom seeds, chili powder, turmeric, sugar and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Add ghee and mix again. Now add water, little at a time and knead to...

We love sea food. At least once a week, shrimp or fish is on our menu. As you all know, most of the times, a baked version. But variety is the spice of life, right? So, today we are having the restaurant style, saucy Prawn Tikka Masala with Aloo Paratha and Jeera Rice . This Indian delicacy is perfect for entertaining guests as well.

Rice is a staple at our place. Recently, we made a change in our diet. We started eating less processed Red Rice instead of White Rice. With rice, comes a curry. And especially, with red rice, you need gravy curries. For a high protein meal, beans are perfect. One of our favorites with rice is this Marathi style Chawli Amti. This curry made of Black Eyed Peas or Lobia tastes great with roti and bread as well. Ingredients: Dry Black eyed Peas/Chawli/Lobia - 3/4 cup Onion - 1 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - 5 leaves Cilantro/Coriander/Kothimbir Leaves - few sprigs Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to cook Chawli Amti / Black eyed Peas Curry: Soak black eyed peas in plenty of water overnight. Drain the water and wash the soaked peas well.  Cook the peas in about 2 cups water, until they turn soft. A...

Every city, every region has its popular fast food. I am sure you all have your favorites. My family loves Indian street food, well known as Chaat - Pani Puri, Shev Puri and so on. But, we love Samosa too.  Rather than eating out, I like to cook my family's favorite snacks at home. The best part is you get to decide which ingredients will be a part of your diet. Today, I am sharing the homemade versions for all these fast food items, which you can make for your loved ones. Let me start with the basics for Chaat, the two chutneys. Teekhi Hari Chutney / Cilantro Mint Chutney - A spicy chutney made of cilantro/coriander leaves and pudina/mint leaves. Khatti Meethi Khajur Imli Chutney - A sweet sour chutney made of khajur/dates and tamarind/imli. Make these chutneys ahead and freeze them in freezer and microwave safe containers. Anytime you want to eat Pani Puri, thaw them. Or microwave them for a couple minutes. If you are in a p...

Lately, high protein and low carb meals are quite common at our place, especially on weekdays. Beans, lentils and sea food are the best options for such a low calorie meal.  Baked crunchy fish with potato wedges and some grilled veggies makes everyone happy at our place. If you liked  Potato Crusted Baked Tilapia , you'll definitely like this coconut flavored fish too. Ingredients: Fish Fillets - 1 pound Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1/4 cup French Fried Onions - 1/4 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp Salt Oil How to bake Crunchy Coconut Fish: Cut each fish fillet into 2 pieces or bake it whole. Sprinkle some salt and lemon juice on the fish pieces. Set it aside for about 20 minutes. Grease a baking tray with oil or cooking spray.   In a big plate, add coconut, rice flour, chili powder and salt. Crumble the fried onions with your hands and add it to the plate. Mix all the ingredients well. Coat the fish...

No one likes Palak (Spinach) in our family. But, everyone loves Palak when combined with Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese). Since this combo is both nutritious and decadent, its quite common at our place. I am sure, you all have tasted the famous vegetarian Indian entrees - Palak Paneer and Malai Kofta Curry . Today's delicacy is a mix of these two curries, Paneer Koftas in a creamy spinach sauce.

Among all dry fruits, I like cranberries and cherries for baking. The bright red colored fruits are perfect for these orange and vanilla flavored shortbread cookies. Try these buttery delights with dry fruits and nuts of your choice. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 cups Confectioners Powdered Sugar - 1 cup Unsalted Butter - 1 cup (1/2 pound) Dry Cranberries - 1/2 cup Orange Zest/Peel - 1 tsp Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp How to bake Dry Fruit Shortbread Cookies: You need softened butter for these cookies. You can either wait until refrigerated butter comes to room temperature or microwave it as I did. Finely chop cranberries or any other dry fruits (raisins, cherries, dry mango) of your choice.    In a big microwave safe bowl, add butter. Microwave for about a minute so that butter softens. Add sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and mix it well. Make sure there are no lumps.  I have used store bought Powdered Sugar, which also...