Recipes From My Kitchen

Up until now, I've have had ready made sundried tomatoes bought from supermarkets. They do taste good and I'm a great fan of them. However, recently I realized that the same could be tried out in an oven if you do not have great sunlight in the place you live. They are the same sundried tomatoes except that they are made in the oven and save a lot more time and effort. Recently I got the desi tomatoes which were absolutely fresh. The desi version has a lot of juice and a lot more flavor than the English variety. I added some fresh garlic to the tomatoes as it just enhances the flavor of the roasted tomatoes. Ingredients: 2kg, fresh ripe tomatoes, Coarse sea salt, Fresh garlic, Olive oil, plain or extra virgin. Method: Preheat the oven to the lowest heat setting. Depending on how big you’d like them, either slice the tomatoes, or halve them (the bigger they are, the longer they will take to dry up). Scoop out the seeds and drain out ...

There have been so many versions of cheesecakes, baked, no bake, with eggs, without eggs...etc.. I have made many cheesecakes before and have blogged about it  here . But I do get a lot of requests by my vegetarian friends and bloggers to come up with an eggless or gelatin free version. So here is what I came up with. I'll be honest, this was a pure experiment! So, on my recent trip to Metro C&C, I found the newly launched Britannia Cream Cheese. Its expensive, however cheaper than the other versions like Philadelphia, etc. So I decided to give it a shot. Ingredients: For the crust: 125 gms plain  flour , 100 gms chilled  butter , cut into cubes, A pinch of  salt , For the Cheesecake: 180 gms  cream cheese , (I have used Britannia), 100 gms  castor sugar , 50 gms  whipped cream , 100 gms  blueberry  topping, can use fresh blueberries also. Method: For the crust: To prepare the crust, mix the flour, salt ...

Hi All....I've missed updating the food blog for a long time now...and I will say I missed blogging too...I know what I've missed, now that I'm updating it :-) Will start off with this cookie recipe which I made a couple of days ago... Ingredients: 3 cups  flour , 1 cup powdered  sugar , 1 cup unsalted  butter , cold, cut into pieces, 1/2 tsp  salt , 4  egg yolks , 1 tsp  vanilla  essence, For egg wash, (optional): 1 large  egg white , beaten with 2 teaspoons water, Decorating  sprinkles , (optional) Method: Place the flour, sugar, butter and salt in the food processor and mix until it is well blended yet coarse. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks and vanilla. Now add this liquid mixture into the dry mixture and keep processing until a dough is formed. If the mixture is not coming together, add 1 or 2 tbsps of cold milk. Place the dough on the kitchen counter, and kneed it until soft and pl...

Pardon my absence. The last 4 weeks have been really hectic. The weekends have been busier. I have not had time to even check my personal mailbox. I attended a photography workshop 3 weeks ago. It was the best thing that has happened in a very long time. I'm amazed at the insight I have got about my DLSR and now its no longer a "dabba" which I lug around the city :). A week later, we headed to Chennai on a family function. On our way back we visited Mahabalipuram. Here are some pictures of our trip. On the way, we also went to Kanchipuram and picked up some silk sarees....and let me tell you, they are damn cheap. I mean, if you really want to pick up lots of silk sarees for a wedding or a function at home, I think its truely worth picking it up from there. You will save at 25% on what you would have spent in Bangalore. On the other side, summer is picking up big time, and Bangalore is really hot! With the school being closed summer holidays...

Sometimes a detox diet is the way to go...after horrendously torturing the little tummy with loads of butter, cheese, fried food, and gallons of tea and coffee, the tummy needs a break :) I wanted to go on a detox diet for sometime, but couldn't really get to it. I still haven't :) but will get there soon... But atleast to start with, I've started supplementing my snacks with healthy salads. Rather than munching on digestive biscuits with tea in the evening, I thought of replacing it with a fresh salad which is easy to make and tastes good as well.   Ingredients: 1 cucumber , 1 carrot , 1 tomato , 1 onion (optional, I've not used), 1 tsp grated cottage cheese or regular cheese , 1/2 tsp sesame seeds , 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil , Salt and pepper to taste. Method: Wash and peel the vegetables and set aside. Make very thin slices of cucumber. Leave it in a plate, allowing the water to come off. With a peeler, make thin ribbons out of the carr...

As promised, here I come with this delicious recipe of Strawberry Compote. But before we head to the recipe, I would like to give you a little insight into what a compote is. A compote is any fruit which is cooked in syrup. Compote is a healthier version of jam because it has very less quantity of sugar and no preservatives. Here you use the natural flavoring and sweetness of the fruit.You can use any fruit to make a fruit compote. Its also a great way of using seasonal fruits. You can mix a few fruits together and make a compote. It can be used in many ways like top it on toasts, pancakes, make tarts or even use it as a cake topping. Some fruits that are suitable to make compote are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, lithchi, rhubarb, apples, bananas, cherries, and the list is endless. You can have endless possibilities with a compote. Here I am sharing my Strawberry Compote recipe. The same can be used to for any other compote that you want t...

Pancakes are really one of the fastest ways to cook up something delicious instantly. I prefer to make it as an evening snack as its not too heavy and it fills the stomach just enough to have enough room for dinner. Everybody loves it, so its pretty much like one-snack-for-all types. I decided to make this pancake with banana and sesame this time. Banana has a rich source of anti-oxidants and has good amount of soluble dietary fiber. Sesame seeds are rich in omega-6 fatty acids and dietary fiber. Ingredients: 1 cup plain flour ( maida) 1/4th cup powdered sugar , 1 tsp baking powder , 1 tbsp white sesame seeds , 1 egg , (optional, I have not used it) 2 ripe  bananas, 2-3 cups of milk , (may require more), 1/2 tsp vanilla essence , 2-3 tbsp of butter , Method: Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and sesame seeds together and set aside. Next, mash the bananas and pour in about 1 cup of milk and mix well. If adding egg, beat the egg into the s...