Amma's Fish Curry | Tamarind Fish Curry | South Indian Fish Curry

Its hard to live far from home and when ever I feel down I make sure I cook one of Amma's recipe to keep my spirits high. Last week this was the same case I did fish curry and posted pics online and few of my friends requested for the recipe and here it is. This is a super simple, spicy and tangy curry. You can almost use any bigger variety fish for this curry, Amma usually makes this fish curry with King fish but I try to alternate it with what ever is available.

Tamarind fish curry is filled with basic ingredients in anyone's pantry and it best when served with white rice and a veg stir-fry or with idly/dosa. This curry tastes great with medium-big variety fish and today I tried it with Tilapia and it was absolutely yummy. Usually South Indian style fish curry has tamarind in them for the spicy-tangy combination. And mind you this curry builds up flavor the next day, so do ahead and enjoy with rice for one super hit meal.

Caterpillar Bread with Step by step | Worm shaped bread | Nutella stuffed buns

Aren't they really cute??? I was in awe of these cute little caterpillar buns and I had book-marked them long back. But tell you what I was so bad in handling yeast and almost killed it many a times. And somehow I used to feel sad when I saw my blog buddies rave over their dinner rolls or breads or buns and I used to get really upset and wonder when I would get it right. Bread baking also was a challenge to me, being someone who gets alarmed when a recipe calls for all purpose flour and the time it takes for dough to double. But last week my experiments in the kitchen with yeast was a success and I was all excited to do dinner rolls with a basic fool-proof recipe by Martha Steward and I was in awe with my dinner rolls, they were super spongy and light as air. Trust me if you are new to bread baking I warn you playing with yeast is so very addictive and after the dinner rolls I almost hid the yeast away from my sight. After a little gap nearly 4-5 days I tried this caterpillar nutella stuffed buns and boy I was so pleased with myself. I was smiling from ear to ear. Read more on my tips and tricks on break making and basics if you are a beginner and have never tried your hands in baking bread. To all my blog buddies really sorry if I have not visited you for the last couple of days, I had a hectic schedule and will sure visit you, thanks...

Chocolate Nut Fudge ~ My guest post for Manju Nair

Who said 'Diamonds are a girls best friend?' I say its 'Chocolates' :-)...You give me chocolates then I am all happy. So when Manju Nair from Manju's Eating Delights, asked me to do a guest post I simply knew something Chocolate. Manju is a good friend and a fellow blogger and we do exchange conversations and its really nice to find some good friends from blogsphere. Thank you so much Manju for giving me this opportunity to cook for your blog and your readers. I simply loved doing this recipe for you. Its a simple melt in your mouth chocolaty fudge, that is totally delicious and nutty too. To view the recipe please hop into Manju's blog HERE.

Green Peas Kachori with Spicy Dum Aloo | Indian Kachori Snack Recipe | Easy Chaat Recipe

Being a South Indian you might ask me how come you make Kachoris at home :-) well yes of coarse :P as I am part of a monthly cooking group "South Vs North Challenge" (SNC) hosted by Divya Pramil ). This is a group of Indian cooks who are split into two groups Southen and Northern team based on the region they come from. So each month one member for the South and North team challenge the opposite teams with a traditional recipe. So for this month the Southern team that I am part of was challenged by Sanoli Ghosh didi (North Team) who writes Sanoli's Kitchen with this traditional Bengali favorite Green Peas Kachori with Spicy Dum Aloo. 

I really love our traditional recipes but I eat out more of North Indian dishes when we dine out and mostly when it comes to chaat recipes I am all game. When Sano didi posted this recipe as a challenge I  was really excited and I also like the idea of making a spicy side. I have honestly never tried this recipe before and I loved the idea of stuffing them in the Kachori. I did try this for our breakfast and we both totally loved it and made few more and again had it, that yum. Thanks Sano didi and Divya Pramil for this lovely challenge. Enjoyed doing it and eating it too ;-)

Verdict - Love the combination of kachori with dum aloo, a superb flavored combination. We both enjoyed it so much and plan to make to quite often.

Pink Macarons with Chocolate Ganache filling | Macaron Recipe for Begineers

Every bakers' dream is to bake these cute little meringue like cookies called macaron. I first had seen then at a bakers' in London and they are pretty attractive with lovely vibrant colors to pastel shades with a filling in them. I was intrigued by it and had bought one, I loved it instantly. Although the price and sweetness were not something that fancied I still found them so different a chewy outer shell and a wet sweet filling. Later I found more of them in malls and patisseries who charge a bomb shell for these little coins. 

Although I can say I have not mastered it I did learn quite a lot. So much of insight, tips, tricks, trials, combinations and of course patience. Don't be fooled by their cuteness they are very addictive and also sugary to keep you hyperactive. Not to forget you might sit in watch of them in front on your oven too.

Black Forest Trifle | Easy Black Forest Pudding | Easy Cake Trifle Recipe

Valentine's Day is special, don't tell me it isn't. Remember there used to be a time when we all would have thought "when am I going to have a Valentine???", I had been there done that... Back then it was more of who is this Mr. Right that is gonna sweep me off my feet. Love did strike me :-) and now I am happy to be with the man of my life. You might call this oh newly married if being married for 2 yrs does fall into that title, we are still happy and thankful for being together. 

" Baby I love you and Happy Valentine's Day "

Although I had tons of recipes in mind. I was more focused on something that we both love and I narrowed down on this lovely dessert with is light and so easy to put together. We both love Balck forest cake and I have been longing to do it. But having an anniversary falling on the same month I wanted to keep a cake for later. I had lots of friends ask me "so what's special for Valentine's Day?" and here it is I whipped this dessert. When I was chit chatting with one of my bloggie friend Divya Prakash on what we were planning for V day it so happened that she also planned the same trifle and the same recipe infact. Now that came as a super sweet surprise :-)

Beetroot Halwa

Last week as I was cleaning my refrigerator and guess what I found 6-7 ripe, pre-cooked beets. Ok you might ask me why did I get it, hmmm in the idea of having it one a day but somehow I kept skipping it. Well time had come for me to use up the beets and the first thing that popped in my mind was Beetroot Halwa and I did gets loads of suggestions from friends on what to do with them. So I am thinking of trying one recipe a week till I finish them up. Somehow this post seems to co-ordinate with Valentine's Day as it has a lovely dose of a gorgeous red color and being a dessert it sure ticks the cards.

I tried to substitute sugar with jaggery, you can use sugar. But this is great when chilled along with ice cream, yummers!!! you have to try it to know how good it is.

Ragi wheat Chapati | Everyday Chapati with Ragi flour

Didn't I tell you that Ragi(Finger Millet) is one thing that I am experimenting in my kitchen these days... Well some innovations can be big some may be basic, this is a basic kind where I have used ragi flour with the usual atta/ whole wheat flour to make chapathis. We hear so much about the goodness of ragi and at times we remain clueless what to do with it. Its an addition like this that can make the meal so fulfilling at the same time give us enough nutrients. I am sure its not that difficult to less the wheat flour and include ragi flour.. isn't it? So many of so called people on diet eat chapathi like just 2 and say they will be full. For me no way that does not work, but trust me just adding little ragi flour to your usual chapati can do the trick. Most dietitians say we need to have fiber along with our meals to help us reduce weight, now that means an extra veg / stir-fry required. But don't you think adding little ragi flour to your chapathi mix can give you the additional fiber needed?

Ragi Almond Cookies | Finger Millet Cookies | Gluten free cookies

I love experimenting in the kitchen and when it comes to a healthy or guilt-free baking I am game. Of course if I say baking is healthy hmm no, I wish I could. But at times we can substitute it with healthy ingredients that make is less sinful. If you had seen my earlier post on Ragi Malt (Finger Millet Porridge) I told you I was experimenting with Ragi (Finger Millet) and since I did try a porridge out of it I wanted to explore possibilities and hence this recipe was born. To my amazement this is my first ever cookie recipe where I tried it on my own and it turned out so good, I mean on the first go. Although I really loved it I had a bit of a doubt if my husband would even try it... to my amazement he actually loved it. So before I could even blog about this recipe I made another set of cookies and as I happily enjoy them will share the recipe with all of you ;-)

These Ragi cookies are very light and have a soft crunchy texture, the almond meal in the cookies give a lovely texture. I tried to combine 2 great and healthy ingredients in this cookie without any wheat or plain flour. They are so simple and easy to put together that you will have a fantastic cookie in less than 20 mins time, isn't that great??? try and let me know what you think

Chocolate Banana Bread ~ Chit chat with Manju Nair

Alright I know you are all so thrilled to see the picture above... gorgeous right? so is our today's guest Manju Nair who writes Manju's Eating Delight (MED). One winter morning we both started to chat on FB and there was an instant connection as though we were close friends. And who cannot love this beautiful woman? I am sure most of you know her very well for her gorgeous bakes and recipes from God's own country 'Kerala'. Like all of you I used to visit Manju's blog and drool over her goodies. Being someone who is so bad at icing, I used to admire her swirls. Behind all that cooking is this sweet person,so humble and down to earth, a mother of a beautiful tod and she says that her biggest support is her husband who encouraged her to do a blog. Now seriously we all ought to thank him for giving us such a wonderful chef for us to learn something... :-) I was so eager to ask her for a guest post and the flip side was she asked me for one. Still contemplating if  I can do a decent enough post I want to share more about her. So like always here we have a small chit chat with Manju with a virtual treat Chocolate Banana Bread. Oh that isn't all she has a surprise post no 2 following in her blog, not that's what I call double candy ;-). Thank you Manju for granting my request and sharing us a lovely bake... over to Manju....

Ragi Malt | Healthy Indian Porridge | Breakfast Drink | Finger Millet Recipe

Ragi is totally something new to me and I simply picked it up as a challenge to try different recipes. Ragi or Finger Millet has a distinct taste and is widely used in Southern Indian and Ethiopian dishes. Ragi is a rich source of Calcium, Iron, Protein, Fiber and other minerals. The cereal has low fat content and contains mainly unsaturated fat. It is easy to digest and does not contain gluten; people who are sensitive to gluten can easily consume Finger Millet. Ragi is considered one of the most nutritious cereals. It has different names in local languages. It is known as Ragi in Telugu and Kannada, Kelvaragu/aariyam in Tamil, and Madua/Mangal in Hindi.

Today I wanted to share a simple breakfast porridge called Ragi Malt which is very popular in South India. Usually its make with milk and sugar/jaggery and topped with nuts (optional). But as always I wanted to do a little twist included almond meal and it was yummers. For past 3-4 days I have been having this as a breakfast porridge and it totally makes me so full and I don't feel hungry for like 5-6 hrs straight. Trust me i dread oats and cereal I rather have Ragi, its so good, only if you try it will you know.

Chana Dal Subji | Chana Dal Kootu | Ridge Gourd kootu

Chana Dal Kootu is one of my favorite dishes when it comes to veg. Amma used to make it in a more thick form along with kaara kozhambhu (Spicy Tamarind Curry). I had done this recipe only thrice at home, my husband never really loved it, so in order for him to like it (or you can say that I want to have it often) I altered the recipe a bit so that he will atleast have it. To my surprise he actually started to enjoy this recipe. 

Kootu is basically a dal side / semi-gravy with vegetables like peerkangai (ridge gourd) or chow chow (chyote squash), along with coconut and chana dal. Its very unlike the usual dal preparations where we do not use coconut in them. Usually amma does the tadka with coconut oil for the burst of coconut flavor but I altered it with normal cooking oil and made it more like a curry. Nevertheless it does not lack in flavor and taste. My way of serving this is with white rice and pappad~ a total comfort food indeed.

Indo-Chinese Grilled Chicken (zero oil) ~ My guest post for Siree's Food Flavors

Cooking for a friend is something I consider special, well this time around I had great fun preparing this guest post for Sireesha Puppala who write @ Siri's Food Flavors. The thing that got me intrigues about cooking for her is that she is a pure vegeterain and she requested me to do a Chicken recipe, now how can I say no??? Siree (as I call her) hope you are happy with this Indo-Chinese Grilled Chicken. 

I came to know Siree through mutual food blogger friends and I used to visit her blog quite frequently. I do love Andra cuisine and found lots of recipes from this cuisine. I was in fact surprised by her invite to do a guest post. Happy to do this post for you Siree and thanks for sharing your space for my recipe. To check the full recipe CLICK HERE

Maida Burfi | Maida Cake | Indian Valentine Treat

I know some may be thinking isn't it too early for Valentine's Day??? oh come on its just 9 days more... and my brain is super active about it. Being a food blogger it must be so as we have to cook for all the festivals in the calendar and sitting abroad I do get challenged to cook or bake for every other festival that may not be Indian too. Keeping my ramblings aside, I wanted to explore something Indian but yet simple to do as a Valentine's treat.

This Valentine Burfi is a simple to do recipe, that is so quick and might even take less time. And you can be sure that its disaster free :P and anyone can do it. Doesn't require big cooking skills or expertise. You can explore the recipe using your favorite ingredient. Usually burfis are square shaped and this is sure a twist to them and my husband found them very attractive. He simply loved it. So try it and surprise your loved one

Fruit Custard | Mixed fruit custard | Fruit Indian dessert recipe

Life Love is all about the simple joys. Yes its February and its the month of love... The world waits for Valentine's day to talk about love and its no different and may be so predictable that I am even doing a post on the Love month... That said, Valentine's day to me started in school(Girls Convent)... really no jokes! in school we had friends giving Valentines cards to friends (yes yes girls to girls), in college its was more of red,green and yellow color dress coding like the traffic lights... later @ work it was any other boring day. Now its the time when I remember the love bird moments ;-). Yes yes... blushing as I write it. This is our 3'rd Valentines and we are going strong.

This time around as always we have not yet decided what to do on Feb 14, being married in the same month it makes things very special for us. So we kind of club things together to celebrate, although gifts are never clubbed :D. So hoping to unwrap the surprises I wish to celebrate the month on a sweet note. Cheers to all the love struck or not struck folks... To kick-start this month I am sharing with you one of my favorite and all time dessert Fruit Custard. Look out for more sweet valentine surprises this month ;-)