Love and Calories!!

We don't always get excited about cucumber, because it isn't always served to its best advantage. This refreshing salad takes just a few minutes to put together, but does a cucumber full justice. Ingredients: 1 large cucumber 1 tsp vinegar 1 tbsp olive oil handful of mint or coriander leaves (finely chopped) a pinch of sugar salt & pepper (for seasoning) Method: Peel the cucumber, halve it length ways & scoop out the seeds. Slice into thick half moons. Place in a dish along with the vinegar, olive oil, mint or the coriander leaves & season it with salt, sugar & pepper. Toss together thoroughly. Leave for 15 minutes & serve.

"To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day". - W Somerset Maugham "Full English" or "Traditional English" or "Farmhouse Breakfast" or "Fry-Up" are a few of the names given to this sumptuous, heavy, filling & satisfied breakfast of the Great Britain. This is the most popular breakfast of the UK just like the American breakfast. Like Pancakes in an American breakfast, over here its bacon & eggs. A Full English Breakfast consists of many dishes put together in just a plate & is served in almost all the pubs throughout the day. One can very well differentiate it with any other Continental Breakfast. A typical "Full English" consists of bacon, poached or fried eggs, fried tomatoes & mushrooms, toast, sausages, baked beans & hash browns. But as you go to different areas in the UK certain items in the plate are either included or removed from it. Some people include black pudding, m...

Today is Arun's Birthday & I had already decided not to buy the Birthday Cake from a Bakery. Baking is not my strength but I just wanted to take a risk this time and wanted to bake a good chocolate cake all by myself. So I baked the cake yesterday to give him a surprise at midnight. As soon as I put the cake tin inside the oven, I started calling all the Baking Gods to help me bake this one. And luckily my prayers were answered! That was a relief!! He indeed was surprised to see a home baked cake and the happiness & love in his eyes was all I wanted to see. :) Chocolate is our all time favourite dessert, hence to decide upon which cake to bake was not a tough task. "Chocolate Mud Cake" was the final unanimous decision taken by me as I didn't want my two main ingredients "Love & Calories" to feel out of place....;) And I was thrilled by seeing the final product all baked by me from scratch!! "Chocolate Mud Cake" when tasted, was pure in...

Here's a dish for the Paneer lovers, a super delicious yummy "Paneer Parantha". Famous in every North Indian household, Paranthas have a special place in every South Indian's heart too....:)Out of all the stuffings, I like Paneer stuffed Paranthas the most, Simple to make, looks perfect when cooked & tastes yummy when you put it in your mouth. My dinner tonight was PKP and I was so desperate to post the recipe tonight and share the picture of my yummy parantha with you all, that I sacrificed my sleep for a little while. Its eleven in the night & my husband is snoring next to me....Well, you won't get a sleep with the snores anyway!! ;) For the Dough : 3 cups wheat flour (plus some for dusting) 1 tbsp ghee (clarified buter) pinch of salt enough water to make a dough In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt and ghee and rub everything with your hand. Then add enough water to it to make a stiff, smooth dough. Cover and keep aside. For the...

"Chilli Gobi" is the most popular and the most wanted appetizer in any Indian Restaurant. As the name goes "Chilli", its a very spicy dish yet super tasty and you just can't stop eating after the very first bite. The recipe is very much similar to Gobi Manchurian, but this one is a dry dish with no gravy. The Chilli Gobis and Gobi Manchurians are a Chinese inspiration which the Indians improvised it to suit their own taste buds. We Indians have a tendency to make everything heavy and mostly fattening but we concentrate only on the TASTY OUTCOME!! Healthy living is always secondary for us!! ;) But once in a while, you can spoil yourself...aye..!!! 1 large cauliflower (cut into florets) Marination : 4 tbsp maida (plain flour) 3 tbsp cornflour 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp chilli sauce 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste pinch of ajinomoto (MSG) salt to taste pinch of food colour (red) Bring water to boi...

And the time has come when I post the recipe of the God of all Desserts, TIRAMISU, on my food blog. I have relished this dessert many a times but my love towards it grew when I tasted it in the very own Italy. The lush layered dessert made me feel like an angel with wings flying up and above, reaching the clouds. I truly felt like am in heaven & heaven was in my mouth. No wonder, Tiramisu means "Pick me Up"!! I was on a hunt to get the original ingredients to make it at home so our good old friend Maria Ferreto came to my rescue and not only she shared her original recipe with me but also gave me the original ingredients straight from Italy. I was delighted!! This is a very delicate yet an easy dessert recipe with an explosion of various tastes bursting in your mouth. The coffee liquer soaked savoairdi biscuits, the soft cheesy custard, a hint of Marsala wine strumming your taste buds & finally a coat of chocolaty cocoa.....its all in there in the Luxury Tiramisu. I h...

As soon as September comes, I begin to miss India more than ever. All the festivities, fun, frolic begins from this month. Right from Ganesh Chathurthi, Onam, then to Navaratri, Dussera and ending on a high note with the Super Diwali night, it is a real treat to watch these Celebrations happening through out the country. And I feel so aloof from all the festive fun & moreover feel sad to miss all those lip smacking sweet dishes which are made during these days. :( But am a girl who doesn't give up that easily. I have decided to have the same fun over here too with a little customization from the usual ;) I brought Lord Ganesha home on the Ganesh Chathurthi Day & will be treating him UK style for the next 10 days. Milk, fruits, sundal, kheer, laddoos & modaks are on my menu for him. :) Though Keralites don't celebrate in a grand scale like this, but I love to Celebrate it in the same way as the Maharashtrians do. One of my offerings to Lord Ganesha was...