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Chocolate, Chai and Beetroot Cake
It's a beautifully romantic morning in Sydney today. The grass is wet from last night's downpour, the sun apparently is a bit shy to show up and peeks through big fluffy clouds in a lavender hued sky. There are roses everywhere. In shops, in people's hands, on pretty dresses, in songs, on doughnuts, … Read More
Chocolate Kahlua Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce
In the food department, for Valentine's Day, I think we women are not that hard to please. Whether it is about pastel colored cupcakes, frosted cakes, good quality chocolate or a great dinner we appreciate the gestures and thoughts behind them as much as we enjoy the food. But I cannot be sure if … Read More
White Chocolate And Blueberry Rice Pudding
I was told that rice pudding was the very first food I tasted when I started on solids as a baby. Which is totally acceptable since a) it is sweet and b) it has rice. Both of which I am extremely fond of. Starting with rice pudding is a ritual at home and making it on special occasions and birthdays … Read More
Red Velvet Cake with Raspberries And Cream
I pass a florist near my home every day, to and back from anywhere I travel. I look at the pretty flowers, wishing in my mind I could touch them. I so love colours and my eyes survey the bouquets that have amazing arrangements and beautiful contrasts. I look at the happy people buying flowers, … Read More
Saffron Baked Custard With Cardamom Crumble
'A pinch goes a long way' said my grandmother when she saw me examining the tiny box with curiosity. I was always in awe of that little box that contained unruly deep red threads of the most exotic spice I knew of. Saffron is beautiful...as much as it is powerful. The 'prima donna' of the spice family. Its flavor is unique and the color and aroma it adds to a dish is exclusive. It is not an ingredient that you would use everyday but once you use it, you would be enamored by its presence. Every year there would be someone from our family or extended family visiting the Jammu-Kashmir (northern) region of India on a pilgrimage and my mother would make a deal with them. 'Kashmiri red chillies, cardamom, nutmeg, mace and 2 boxes of saffron'.The 2 boxes were enough for a year's worth of sweet treats. Obviously she returned the favor when it was her turn. Which meant plentiful spice shopping in the freezing cold, winding by-lanes on the hills. Competition was fierce and shop owners stood outside their shops calling out to prospective customers. We would return with bags full of spice like everybody else and the buses or trains leaving from this region always smelled like a giant nutmeg to … Read More
Lemon, Coconut and Strawberry Cake
Over the long weekend we ticked off the final items on the twin's school to-do checklist. School is now less than a week away. I am not ready. They however,seem to be ready which is a relief. Where has time flown away? I wish I could hold on to the next few days and make them last a bit longer. Or tuck away the sound of their laughter and endless innocent conversations in a safe place to be treasured forever. We were blessed with great weather yesterday after a sizzling 38 degrees C on Sunday. Since we didn't go out anywhere, just sitting together over a small barbecue lunch while watching the rain made perfect sense. Deep inside,I knew such occasions wouldn't come by as easily and frequently as our lives begin to embrace routines in a bigger sense in future. We had this cake for dessert. I haven't baked a lot this month and have been mainly creating frozen recipes so it was a refreshing change to be able to switch on the oven and do things that are more therapeutic for me. What I like about this cake is that it combines simple, every day flavors and turns them into something totally delicious and refreshing. The cake batter has been infused with lemon … Read More
Aussie Summer Ice Cream Tart For Australia Day
Super easy ice cream tart with a biscuit base, vanilla ice cream and fresh summer fruits. No baking and totally delicious. I was not born is Australia. Neither was I raised here. I have not lived as many years in Australia as most of the people I know do but long enough to call it my home. My stay, memorable enough to take up a gigantic amount of hard disc space on my laptop, filling it with precious memories of little boys making sand castles in different beaches and eating apples from adopted trees. My experiences, promising enough to make me dream of a great future here. A place where I can envision my children turning into teenagers and us (my husband and me) retiring into a farm-life sort of scenario, raising chickens in our backyard and planting fields of strawberries and lavender. Wouldn't that be wonderful? When we first stepped into Sydney, we didn't know a soul here. With 9 suitcases, some hand baggage and two sleeping toddlers in our arms, we walked out of the airport on a cold winter night. There was anxiety and ache in the heart. Of leaving behind what once meant 'everything' to us..moving ahead in the dark. Quite literally. Unsure of what those decisions … Read More
Coconut Crepes With Yogurt, Mango And Palm Sugar Caramel
I am surprised at how much I have started to like coconut recently. This comes from someone who has eaten/drank as much coconut as one would eat potatoes or drink milk as a child. I was actually never fond of milk and unfortunately there were no alternatives like almond or soy milk available at that time. There was coconut milk but in a place where one had easy access to coconut water, the water was preferred, more than the milk. In tropical countries, coconut is found in abundance. In India, where I grew up, drinking coconut water or cooking with freshly grated coconut is a way of life. People are equipped and ready to give themselves a arm workout when the need arises. Which is frequently. The grated version is used in curries, sweet dishes, rice and fillings while the milk (which is actually extracted by passing the grated coconut through a cheesecloth) finds its uses in many different dishes. Yet, I don't have any memory of a particular liking for coconut. Maybe some of the dishes that it was used in were a favorites but not coconut itself. I guess it needed a few cakes, friands and crepes to acknowledge this liking. In the present day I cannot imagine standing long … Read More
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