Cool cool Nutella Milkshake

I love Nutella, u love nutella, everyone loves nutella, anyone who knows nutella loves nutella. I am a nutella addict and I just love lick it out of the jar rather than smearing it on a slice of toast. Unlike me, 'A' is not a die hard fan of nutella but likes anything sweet. So the first time, I gave him nutella sandwich, I thought that he would love it and insist on having it anytime but to my surprise, he was not interested in having it frequently and he even restricted me from eating it. The reason... Calories. Oooof... him and his calorie consciousness. So poor me had to play 'nutella hide and seek'.. was not able to have it under his eyes. I started having a dessert spoonful of nutella whenever his back was turned.

This milkshake was whipped up when the huss asked for something cool, chocolate-y and refreshing. I had this shake in mind for a long time and when 'A' put down his proposal, I jumped at the opportunity. We had this over a game of UNO and it was pure bliss.

A completely addictive chiller that can be whipped up in minutes and which will take you to chocolate heaven

~*What U Need*~ Milk - 2 cups Nutella - 5 tsp Sugar - 1 tbsp Vanilla Ice cream - 1+ 1 scoop

How I Made it:
Bring Nutella to room temperature. Blend all the ingredients except +1 scoop ice cream into a smooth and frothy mixture. Garnish the walls of a tall glass with chocolate syrup. Pour the mixture into the glass. Top it with the remaining vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle some chocolate shavings over it and serve immediately..

Yummy Nutella milkshake ready.

So thats it Folks...
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Egg Pav + 2 chaat chutneys

Bombay street foods are just awesome... You can never have enough of them... my favorite being Vada Pav. The yummy potato stuffing in between the soft breads together with the tangy and spicy chutneys can never go wrong. But times are there when I feel too lazy to grab a potato, boil it, mash it, dip it and fry it. That is when I come up with other substitutes for the vada in the vada pav and that is when I made this egg pav. It was easy to make and fulfilled the craving with a twist.
I haven't posted the recipes for dates tamarind chutney and garlic coconut chutney and so the recipe follows here.

Battered and fried egg sandwiched between spicy n tangy chutneys and a dinner roll

Dates Tamarind chutney
~*What U Need*~
Dates - 10
Tamarind - 1 tbsp
Jaggery - 3/4 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

How I Made it:
Pressure cook dates and tamarind with very little water for 2 whistles. Grind dates to a smooth paste. Extract thick pulp from tamarind and mix with dates mixture. Take a kadai/pan add dates tamarind paste, then add jaggery and bring it to a boil. Now add red chilli powder and roasted jeera powder and give another boil till the chutney becomes thick like sauce consistency. Switch off and store it in clean container, refrigerate until use.

Garlic Coconut Chutney
~*What U Need*~
Garlic – 5 cloves
Dessicated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste – 1 tsp
Olive Oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

How I Made it:
Blend everything in a blender to a coarse mixture as shown in pic. Store in air tight container. You can use this as a sidedish for idlis, dosas too.

Egg Pav
~*What U Need*~
Pav Buns - 4
Hard Boiled eggs - 2

Dates Tamarind chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav
Garlic Coconut chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav
Green chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav

For outer coating:
Gram flour - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to deep fry

How I Made it:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the outer coating section. Add little water and bring it to a consistency similar to the bajjis' outer coating. U must be able to coat the eggs with this mixture. Take the eggs, cut into half, dip it into the flour mixture and deep fry it till golden brown

How I assembled the pav:
Cut the buns into halves using a serrated knife. Take care that one end is still intact with the other bun. Apply the green chutney to one side and red chutney to the other side. Place one tbsp of garlic chutney, place the egg over this as shown.

Enjoy your egg pavs for snack. Its easy and yummy.

So thats it Folks...
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Dates Kheer ~ for his birthday | Low fat

It's my sweetheart's birthday today and its his first birthday after venturing into fatherhood. More responsibilities and hence he didn't even start talking about the celebrations. We knew that we couldn't have the celebrational eat-out what with the kid and being in a a small town. But the day is always special to me and I couldn't let go as such.

Why should I when I can cook and bake to some extent now??? I couldn't bake and frost a cake for him as the kid takes up most of the time these days and so ordered a chocolate buttercream cake for him and narrowed down on the birthday menu.

He came down to spend 3 days with us and I pampered him with his favorites on all the three days. He is an ardent fan of anything deep fried and paneer being one of his favorites, I didn't give a second thought on incorporating paneer in all the dishes. So the meal was paneer mixed veg biryani, Paneer fingers, crispy fried garlic prawns and noodles cutlet (recipes to come)... and we finished with this thick and delicious dates kheer.

Dates puree in thickened milk topped with ghee roasted almonds and no added sugar

~*What U Need*~ Dates - 12 Almonds - 8 Ghee - 1 tbsp Milk - 1 1/2 + 1/2 cup Cardamom - 1

How I Made it:
Soak the dates in the half cup of warm milk for half an hour. Once soft, grind this to a smooth paste.
Chop the almonds finely. In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat ghee, add the chopped almonds and saute till brown. To this add the remaining milk and reduce it to 1 cup.

Add the dates puree and crushed cardamom, allow to boil. Turn off the heat. Serve chilled topped with slivered almonds.

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Chocolate syrup Marble Cake ~ for the 2 month Kiddo

Yes, the kid Jr.A completed 2 months yesterday. Time truly flies... It seems like only yesterday we held our sweet lil bundle of joy and its already 2 months. Every moment has been etched in my heart and these beautiful days will never fade from memories. He teaches me something or the other every single day and I am learning to cope up with him. For the first month 'A' bought a cake and we had a small family get-together. But this month I decided to bake the cake at home and made a marble cake with Hershey's chocolate syrup for the chocolate batter since I didn't have cocoa powder at hand. Nevertheless the cake turned out perfect and tasted great too. The kid was blinking innocently over all the hooplah going around and we had a terrific time.

Thanks to all my loving readers who inquired about the lil' one. He is doing great and keeping me on the toes all time. I am in my mom's house and hence am finding time to blog and read since taking care of 'Aa' has been delegated to the mother *winks* with me poking in only half of the time.

Verdict:
The cake had a light, fluffy and spongy texture and the marble pattern stood out very well. Will I try this ~ Yes, I will with other flavored syrups.

~*What U Need*~
Maida - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch(skip if using salted butter)
Sugar - 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
Butter - 50 gms
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Hershey's chocolate syrup - 1/4 cup minus 1 tbsp

How I Made It:
Grease a cake tin of any choice. Sieve together maida, baking powder and baking soda thrice. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy.

Add the egg and beat well till light. Add milk and beat well. To this add the flour mixture and fold gently.

Divide the batter into 2 equal parts. To one part add the chocolate syrup and mix well. Pour the Vanilla mixture into the the tin. Then drop the chocolate batter over the vanilla batter. Using a knife, swirl the cocoa batter into the vanilla batter to give it a marble effect.

Bake in a preheated oven for 40 mins at 180 deg C. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

My Notes:
** Adjust the amount of chocolate syrup that goes into the cake as per your preference.
** If you add in more reduce the quantity of sugar in the chocolate batter so that it does not become overly sweet.
** U can substitute the chocolate syrup with strawberry or caramel syrup. Next in line are these flavors.

Slice and enjoy.

So thats it Folks...
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Kathrikkai Thirattal / Brinjal in a Spicy Nutty Gravy

Brinjals were always in my hate list from my school days and lasted till quite some time after my marriage. When amma added brinjals to aviyal, I would be picking them out carefully from my serving, no matter how small she cuts it. She would get frustrated at times cos the best part is that I gorge in fried brinjals and when I pick out itsy-bitsy bits of brinjal out of the aviyal, she just gets mad. After marriage, I started taking a liking to this vegetable mainly because of the huss and since then tried experimenting with this veggie. Ever since I saw this recipe, I wanted to try it out but with brinjals and the outcome was a perfect spicy side dish for dosas and chapathis. U can use this as a gravy or as a side dish, perfect both ways.

~*What U Need*~
Brinjals - 200 gms
Tomatoes(medium, pureed) - 1
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed
Chopped Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

For the masala
Oil - 1 tsp
Roasted and skinless peanuts - a handful
White sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Pearl onions - 5
Onion(medium) - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

How I Made it:
In a non-stick pan, saute the masala ingredients till golden brown. Grind it into a smooth paste adding water after it cools down.

In the same kadai, heat oil, add the pureed tomato paste and fry till half done. Next add the ground paste and cook on low flame. Add water if the mixture dries up. Add the cubed brinjals and mix well.

Cook till the brinjals are done (soft and mushy). Simmer till you get the required consistency. Add coriander leaves and serve.

Serve as side dish for dosas / chapathis.

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Eggless Wheat Cake sweetened with Jaggery

It was the bro's birthday last week and I had intended to bake a cake for him but thanks to Jr.A, he's keeping me on my toes 24/7 and so was not able to find the time.
Its been a long time since I baked, and the baking bug has been nudging me ever since. Finally had to give up. So rocked the lil' one to sleep, gathered all my ingredients and whipped up the mixture in a matter of minutes. I had always wanted to try a cake with wheat and jaggery and this was the best time to try it as the parents are with me.

This cake is to you bro. Belated birthday wishes to you.

This cake is perfect for anyone who is health conscious and it was perfect for them too. Though the cake was not anywhere near to the taste of a regular cake, it was yummy in its own way. The caramel taste of the jaggery stood out very well and it seriously is a good cake to snack on, especially for the seniors.

~*What U Need*~
Wheat flour - 100gms
Milk - 1/2 cup + 2tbsp
Oil - 1/4 cup ( sunflower or rice bran oil)
Soda - 1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla - 1/4 tsp

Jaggery - 1/2 cup (grated)
Water - 2 tbsp

How I Made it:
Whisk together atta, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Melt jaggery with water and allow to bubble. This will make it a bit caramel-y. Strain to remove impurities. Whisk milk, vanilla and oil to this till evenly combined. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches and fold gently.

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 180 deg C or until done while the skewer inserted comes out clean.

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Mango Crumble

I had been coming across a lot of crumble recipes lately, the major core ingredients being apples and/or pears. I wanted to try this out with a different fruit and so used the king of all fruits with the mango season in full bloom. Sometimes less sweet mangoes were picked up from the market and so, rather than stuffing my mouth with them, I started trying desserts out of the stock.

The recipe in question was an outcome of a lonely girl taking a day off from work rumbling through the pantry ingredients due to her sudden sweet-tooth mood swing to make herself a yummy dessert with less & little ingredients and time. That was when she decided to make a mango crumble - a minimalistic yet moist n crunchy dessert. She would say that the combination was a hit to the palate with the crunchy sweet n flavorful crumbles complimented well by the mushy mango. :) And yeah I did this when I was pregnant and going to work.

Serves - 4
~*What U Need*~
For the Filling:
Ripe Alphonso mango - 1(Big)
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

For the Crumble topping:
All Purpose Flour - 3/4 Cup
Oats - 1/2 Cup + 1 tbsp
Cinnamon Powder - a generous pinch
Salt - a pinch
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Milk - 2 tbsp

How I made it:
Peel and chop the mangoes into chunks. Now mix the mango with the sugar, elaichi powder and lemon juice and heat over slow heat till the sugar dissolves well and forms a semi-mushy mixture. You should be able to see visible mango chunks.
Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 170 C. Grease ur ramekins with butter. Half fill the ramekins with the mixture.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, cinnamon powder and sugar and combine well. Add the butter and start mixing with your fingertips so that you get a crumbly mixture.
Slowly sprinkle milk and mix with your fingertips to form crumbles. Do not knead into a dough.
Sprinkle this crumble on top of the mango mixture evenly. Gently pat down the crumble.

Bake this for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown in color. I made this in MW convection mode and baked it for 15 mins.

Cool down for few minutes and enjoy with Vanilla ice cream or plain.

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Happy Father's day ~ Carrot Vermicelli payasam

Paysams are my dad's weakness and he loves paruppu payasam. So when I planned to make something special for him for father's day, I decided to make a payasam for him without giving it a second thought.
I dedicate this post to all fathers' out there~ have to mention my dad and dear 'A' (the new father in the family). Thanks u guys for being there when I needed you most and least.

"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad"

Carrot and Vermicelli - the combo struck when I had 2 carrots that could not be made into a stir fry sufficient for 4 and 1/4 cup of vermicelli that could not be made into upma to satisfy 4. But thanks that I had these leftovers cos the combo was very flavorful and creamy. The pot was emptied in one sitting and we loved it for our evening snack.

Serves - 4
~*What U Need*~
Carrot puree - 1 cup / carrots(big) - 2
Semiya / Vermicelli – 3/4 cup
Javvarisi / Sago pearls - a handful
Thick Coconut milk – 1/4 cup
Thin Coconut milk – 1/2 cup
Milk – 1/2 cup
Broken Cashews – few
Raisins – few
Ghee – 3 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Condensed Milk - 5 tbsps
Water – 1/2 cup

How I Made It:
Pressure cook the carrots for 2 whistles. Grind to a smooth puree with enough milk.
Add sago / javvarisi to water and heat it till the sago pearls cooks well or till each pearl turns glassy. This will take around 10 – 15 mins. After 5 mins, stir the mixture occasionally as it will tend to stick to the pan. When the sago pearls have cooked, add thin coconut milk and milk and combine well.

When it starts to boil, add the vermicelli and allow to cook. Once the vermicelli has cooked add the sugar & milkmaid and mix well.
Add the carrot puree and allow to boil. Add the thick coconut milk and heat for 2-3 minutes and then switch off the flame. Check for sweetness and if needed add more sugar when it is hot.

Heat ghee in a kadai. Add the broken cashews and raisins and sauté till golden brown and raisins have puffed up. Add this to the payasam and give a stir.

Serve hot / chill.

**My Notes:
** You can skip the addition of milkmaid but adding that gives a unique creaminess to the payasam.

So thats it Folks...
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Coffee Milkshake... it's creamy

Hi guys,
Am back... Recovered somewat and getting used to the daily routine and now am back to blogging... I missed blogging a lot and am happy to be back... Hopefully I will be regular in the days to come.
I made this creamy and yummy coffee to beat the Chennai Agni weather... The rays of sun were unbearable and I always wanted my throat to be washed down with something cool.
I am addicted to coffee. Anything with coffee flavor draws me like a magnet. Rathna cafe 'Degree kaapi', CCDs 'Cold Coffee' are always my favorite. I love sipping a cup of hot coffee in the evenings along with 2 good day biscuits. But it was burning like a furnace outside and to gulp in something hot in the evenings had been crossed out of my list.

I had already tried cold coffee which was loved by everyone. Wanted to try something different when I remembered bookmarking a recipe from Kurryleaves. When I had all the ingredients available in my pantry, I was good to go. Mix, blend, pour, sip...

Its creamy, rich and filled with the aroma of coffee. A perfect chiller for coffee-holics like me.

~*What U Need*~
Milk - 3/4 cup
Instant coffee powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Condensed milk - 2 tbsp
Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Boil milk in a pan. Remove from flame, add coffee powder, sugar and condensed milk and mix well. Allow to cool. Add fresh cream, mix well and refrigerate for 2 hours. When serving, whisk in a blender till frothy.

Serve garnished with grated chocolate.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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