Pancake makes one of the best breakfasts ever made, specially when it comes to kids. The name is enough for them to drool and look forward to an amazing morning meal. My boys love pancakes, any given day. They will take it and be super happy taking Pancakes than anything else.
When the days are special, the regular pancakes need to look a little more fancy and this pancake is for those super special days. This isn’t taking too much of your time, almost the same time as a regular pancake and the fancy decorations are basically just whipped cream, sprinkle and some candies.
Its amazing how something as simple as a Pancake can be made so fancy and the delight that it brings to the hearts, which makes these little addition look so special.
There was a popular supermarket near our apartment. Mr. Parveez and I would buy our regular grocery from that supermarket. During the winter season, a baker in their bakery made carrot cake, with walnuts/ without walnuts, sometimes with raisins. Every winter, also known as “holiday season” in USA, we would look forward to the carrot cake. We even served it to our guests, took it for friends.
And one day the baker left the store. We only found during winter when the carrot cake was being sold but something changed. On trying to figure out, we questioned the Manager and found that the baker was from another country and has left for good. Even the manager agreed that the though he left the cake recipe, it just didn’t come out the same. Eventually, the store stopped keeping carrot cake.
But, we looked everywhere with our taste buds craving the same flavor. 10 years of search and over 100 stores and supermarkets, different towns, different bakeries but it was just not the same. One day I came across a recipe for Thanksgiving carrot pudding and reading that I felt, it wouldn’t be that tough trying it out. I also realized with times that there was some spice that was missing in the normal carrot cake. That spice was nutmeg. Isn’t it funny, that a pinch of a spice can change the complete taste.
I first tried the basic cake without frosting and once I perfected the basic cake, I tried the frosting and both together make a super excellent Carrot Walnut Cake. Its exactly like the cake we liked, probably a little better. This will bring you loads of praises on your parties and get together.
These delightful braided rolls are a great accompaniment to any meal, specially the brunch or lazy lunch days. The coarse chili flakes isn’t overpowering. I could have used this dough to even make burgers.
Its lovely to experiment with breads at home. The trick I learnt with time is that if your yeast doesn’t rise, redo it. A yeast that does not rise won’t make your dough airy and won’t make the dough rise. Generally, when people add the yeast directly to the flour, its advisable that you use instant yeast.
Besides the yeast, before you get pro at baking breads, always make sure you read the recipe and all the instructions properly before you start. Don’t believe anyone when they tell you how difficult it is to make a great bread or pizza crust or rolls, because trust me, it isn’t as difficult as it seems. Making good bread is an art, but it can be easily be learnt.
Cakes are an integral part of our life. No matter which community, which country you belong to, cakes make a special place in our celebrations. I am not sure if I have mentioned in any of my earlier cake posts, but I belong to a house where baking kind of never existed. My mom never baked and always preferred the store bought cakes.
There was a local bakery that made super delicious cherry cake and Kaju cakes, which was very close to some branded cakes. We kind of always liked the locally made cakes better than the branded ones, reason was always the surety of freshness and not consuming preservatives. The bakery also made some wonderful plum cake for the month of December, making it a Christmas and New Year special. I have always loved all of them.
I admired some of my friends moms who would bake cakes at home. I still remember a friend whose Mom would bake cake for her birthday and she actually baked using a pressure cooker. As much as a lot of friends felt that it is a money saving way, I always felt that it added a very personal touch to the celebration. I always loved the idea of home baking. I believe they are fresh and taste delicious when warm with tea or coffee.
Bangalore has some lovely Iyengar bakeries and the cookies and cakes, also the buns that they make are equally scrumptious. After I got married, I was just in love with the wonderful goodies Mr. Parveez introduced me to. The wide variety offers everything for every taste bud and I have never met a person who has tried products made in those bakeries and not loved them. Hot Milk Cake happens to be one such recipe. Soft, scrumptious, not too sweet and just very airy and light. Its a perfect tea time snack.
So, With all love I have for home baked cakes, after trying the simpler cake, it was time for me to take a second step and nothing would be better then trying out one of the best recipes from an Indian bakery. And that how the Hot Milk Cake made its way to my Dastarkhaan.
The recipe is simple. Please follow the notes too before you start trying it out. There are ingredients that can be used for enhancing flavors but, using them would modify the recipe. Once you master this skill, please feel free to contact me for recipe modifications.
My hubby hails from a family where, good food was always appreciated. God bless my father-in-law’s soul. I hear so many food stories from Mr. Parveez, that it truly amazes me on how well he has been introduced to so many delicious dishes. He has so many different and unheard delicacies that his father brought home every now and then.
The funniest part is that my father in law never let out his secret, not even after the children grew up, not even after they got married, not even after they had children. No matter how much you ask, he would never give out the address to the places, instead he would drive by himself and get you what your heart desires to eat….So, this aflatoon happens to be one of my hubby’s favorites.
This recipe will taste quiet close to pumpkin pie, but it way less in calories and carbs. This goes great for special day breakfast or tea time. It tastes awesome with Masala chai or coffee.
Ohh!! Did you think the story ends here….NO, there is more, I have tried to make this dish almost 5 times to make it taste the way my hubby’s taste buds remember from his childhood…OK! now you think I sound crazy…Well, if you had a man who loved you so much, making him feel happy is all you would want to do…and trust me, the way to a man’s heart and to make sure his heart is your home, the path needs to be carved out through is taste buds to his belly…LOLzzz… Life is beautiful and it stays beautiful and blessed when you color it with love around you….Enjoy!!!
Waffles are one delicious breakfast. Be it any type, Plain, Belgian, Chocolate or fruit. They are always so satisfying and delicious. My boys can do anything to get their favorite waffles. The American food kind of wins over my paranthas every time. I call that to be the blessings of settling down in USA…LOLzzz. The fact that my boys have huge variety to pick from is a delight in its own way and as a mom who loves cooking, I always find their food demands wonderful.
Waffles are super easy. The recipe below is for Belgian waffles. Basically, this recipe can be used for any waffle by adding your favorite fruit or chocolate and the flavors are always so delicious and warm.
I have even served my boys waffle as an after school snack. They always taste extra scrumptious during winters, they love the warm waffles drizzled with maple or chocolate syrup. You can also add some whipped cream and drizzle some chocolate sauce on it with some colorful sprinkles.
This Chocolate chip pie was made on demand by my little one. In fact, he made sure he makes it with me. I call him my Little chef and those who know me personally, know, how much he enjoys cooking.
One day he was in the mood to cook for a play date. His friend was coming over and he wanted to cook something nice to show off in front of his friend. I thought he might like to make Chocolate chip cookies, but instead he demanded that he wants to make a pie and that too with chocolate chips. Hence, this recipe was invented.
This recipe is simple and tastes very close to chocolate chip pies from popular restaurants. Since I made it with my little one, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that making this dish is a child’s play.
This Biryani is very close to my heart. This recipe was shared by Mr. Parveez, some 4 years ago and since then it has been a family favorite. My younger son calls it “Mogli Biryani”, since he feels that Mughlai is very close to”Mogli”, and I am sure somewhere he also believes that this recipe came in from the Jungle book…LOLzzz.
Mr. Parveez came across an article about Mughal migration and food and thats when he learnt that the initial use of spices in Biryani was actually white pepper and not the chilies. Though with time, chilies made a very special place in the Biryani recipes and no Biryani recipe seem to be complete without them, but that wasn’t the way it all started.
Black pepper has a very strong flavor and if you use it often, you would know that using black pepper even little more than required makes the taste of a dish bitter, therefore you need to be careful when handling that spice. Unlike, black pepper, white pepper is easier to handle and does not add bitterness if slightly over used.
This dish has flavors from the Middle east. it isn’t too spicy so it matched perfectly with Mirch ka saalan or Baghare Baingan or khatte Baingan. I have made this for my son’s school party for teachers and it was a big hit. You can use regular chicken cut to medium or small size pieces, though I preferred using chicken legs. It doesn’t change the taste but definitely enhances the look. I have used green chilies, but from the article that I read, it wasn’t a requirement so, the use is optional. Also the garnishing with boiled eggs is completely optional. You can also use cashews, and/or almonds to garnish if you feel like.
Biryani ranks at the top of my favorite food list. Whenever there is a special occasion in my house, the very first dish comes to my mind is Biryani. Honestly, Friday dinners are kind of a big deal in my house and Biryani is the main part of the dinner.
Biryani in Kolkata was introduced by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from Lucknow. With Biryani every region and state added there own flavors, according to the produce they had in their region/ state. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned by Britishers and deported him to Kolkata. Luckily, he was accompanied by people who worked for him including his kitchen staff. Once in Kolkata, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah tried to make a little place provided for him to live. You could take a Nawab off the throne but you cannot take the elegance and Royal heart he has. he would ask his Kitchen staff to make Biryani, and would feel low about not having enough grocery specially meat/ chicken. To make th Nawab feel better and to be able to have him feel good about feeding everyone around him with the same love and respect he had in Lucknow, the chef added Potatoes and Eggs to the Biryani. This is how the famous Lucknow Biryani added its flavors and gave birth to Kolkata Biryani.
That’s why Biryanis from different places taste so different. The basic similarity is that every Biryani is cooked with meat and rice in dumm. It’s a dish adored not just all over the sub-continent, but all around the world. Its one of the most popular Indian/ Pakistani dish. However, Vegetable/ Paneer biryani is also well accepted among vegetarians.
Biryani should ideally be prepared in dumm, where the meat and rice are cooked together in an air tight container over low flame. I have posted the recipe of dum biryani and so many different varieties of Biryani from different regions and states of India. Most recipes also have some history/ story of how the recipes were originated, which is always a delight to read, know and share.
So this time I am sharing with you an easier version of dum biryani which is followed in most of the biryani houses in Kolkata. This Biryani is not too spicy. The Biryani has potatoes and the use of Khoya and milk makes the Biryani rich.
I am from a small town in India, living in a big town in USA. Married to a man who shares the same passion for travelling and food as me. That kind of makes me believe that marriages are made in heaven and yes, I make sure I remind that to Mr. Parveez at least a hundred times during the day..LOLzzz. Jokes apart, where I love the cozy and cold destinations, he loves the sun, and our boys have taken completely after him, not just their faces and habits, but also their choices match his more than mine.
On our 5th and 11th anniversary, we took a trip to Mexico and Puerto Rico. Not only were the beaches clean and beautiful, the water was shallow enough for us to let the kids play. Besides the beautiful views, what also attracted us was the food. We loved the food, specially guacamole, Empanadas and Mufungo. Out of all the foods we tried, Empanadas became my favorite. I feel that might be their faint resemblance to samosas and the fact that they are baked [empanadas have baked and fried option] gives you the liberty of over eating.
Being Muslims, we couldn’t try the pork or chicken and beef empanadas, but the shrimp and veggie options helped me get a faint idea of how I’d like my chicken stuffing to be. I baked them instead of frying and the taste was fantastic. It is a family favorite and perfect for tea/coffee get together or play dates.
Chicken’s versatility has earned it a place on the table at least three times on our dinner table in a week. And while a fried chicken and golden fried samosas will always be a classic favorite, making these hearty chicken empanadas come in second place, being a very close favorite. To avoid a dry filling, it’s best to seek out ground chicken made from dark meat. In most cases this means you’ll need to get it from boneless thighs and leg meat. This recipe will leave you with some leftover filling, which freezes beautifully for future Empanada endeavors. Baked Empanadas can be cooled, covered in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 2 months; you can thaw and reheat them in the oven until warmed through.
