Spooky Witch Fingers (Finger shaped Egg-less Butter cookies) Halloween Special

It is Halloween time and I wanted to bake something special but due to busy schedule I had been putting it off. At last baked these finger shaped cookies this weekend. My kids loved these cookies. They tasted awesome and kids loved the shape of it too. I was suppose to bake these cookies for the Home Bakers Challenge started by Priya Akka. This month Nalini challenged us with Halloween themed bakes.Though the challenge period is over, I baked it since I didn't want to miss the challenge. Better late than never also right in time for Halloween, am posting it today.

Bengali Chanar Jalebi/ Paneer Jalebi

My last post was a recipe collection of Diwali sweets and snacks. Now I am ready with a sweet for Diwali- Chanar Jalebi/ Paneer Jalebi. It is a Bengali sweet made with freshly made paneer,  shaped like pretzel and deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup. I prepared this sweet for celebration of one year completion of the event- South vs North started by Divya Pramil. The event started a year ago and in the first challenge, I  challenged the north team with mysorepak while Shruthi challenged the south Team with Bhel puri chat.  From then every month one member from each team challenged the other team. So that we get to learn the cuisine that we are not familiar. This month we had a choice to cook from the previous challenges which we have missed. So I picked this sweet challenged by Chandrani since I am so fond of Bengali sweets. Initially, I was not sure how the jalebi would turn out since this is the first time I prepared fresh paneer at home. It was a smooth process and the jalebi came out well and everyone at home loved it. Until my daughter called it gulab jamun I didn't realise it tasted so close to gulab jamun.

Paneer Jalebi

Diwali Sweets & Diwali Snacks recipes. (Deepavali Special)

Diwali is around the corner. So I am posting a collection of sweets and snacks, for you to plan right on time, to prepare for Diwali. Here are some traditional and easy to make sweets and snacks.

Diwali Sweets & Snacks recipes

Jhangiri Recipe | Jangiri- Diwali Sweets

Jhangiri is one of my favorite dessert. Urad dal is soaked and ground and then the batter is piped to form the jhangiri shape and are deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup. It seems like a lengthy process but it is very easy to make. Only that I did not get the proper shape of Jhangiri but it tasted delicious. It looked like the mini jangiri. I made this for a potluck lunch though didn't have enough time to click proper pictures, in a hurry clicked few since I didn't want to miss the chance of posting it, with diwali around the corner. So excuse the picture quality. The next time I prepare it, will update the pictures :)

Adai / Adai dosa- Crepes made with mixed lentils

Adai dosa are the crepes made with mixed lentils. The ingredients are soaked for atleast 3 hours then they are ground and then the adai are made right away. No fermentation of the batter required unlike the idly dosa batter. It is very healthy and is Vegan. 

Adai dosa 

Non Vegetarian Lunch Menu # 3

The month of Puratassi(tamil month) is over and now I can eat non vegetarian. Though I haven't cooked anything yet, since it is Sunday today, thought will share a menu which I have cooked a while before. 

Vanilla Sponge cake - Basic Egg-less Cake Recipe

Today I baked this Egg-less Vanilla sponge Cake for evening snack. Though I had baked this cake so many times before,it has never made it to the blog. But today I made sure that I clicked some pictures before we ate the cake. Also I didn't apply any frosting, just enjoyed the cake as is. But for special occasions this cake can be used as a base and can be frosted and decorated as you desire .

Basic Eggless Vanilla Cake

Rajma Masala (Red Kidney beans in tomato based gravy)

It is very recently that we have started including Rajma into our diet. I have been trying out new dishes with it and have been getting positive feedback from my family too. Few days back I made Rajma masala and Jeera pulao for lunch. I posted the recipe for Jeera Pulao already and today posting this Rajma masala recipe- Rajma(Red kidney beans) in a flavorful tomato based gravy. This gravy is healthy and delicious, so what is there not to love it??

Rajma masala

Soft and fluffy basic pancakes (Egg-less)

It is Sunday today. I have already mentioned in earlier posts that Sunday our breakfast has mostly been Pancakes. It is the month of Puratassi I have tried  other options for breakfast since I have not tried egg less version of Pancakes earlier. But I experimented with it and succeeded making egg-less Pancakes last Sunday. Even today when I tried, it came out really soft and fluffy. Hubby and kids loved it. So I definitely wanted to blog about it. I have already posted Basic Pancakes with egg. So today I am posting the egg-less version.

Soft & Fluffy Egg-less Pancakes

Kadalai Paruppu Sundal (Split chickpeas Stir fry)

Today I am sharing  a simple recipe for Kadalai paruppu (Channa Dal) sundal- Stir fry made with split bengal gram. It is very easy to make and very healthy too.  Kadalai paruppu doesn't require much soaking unlike the other legumes like Chickpeas,dried Green peas, kidney beans etc., so it can be prepared instantly. If you forgot to soak other legumes for sundal dont worry, this sundal is there for the rescue. Since it is festival time, we can make this sundal to offer to God. Also this is rich in protein making it a healthy snack.

Kadalai Paruppu Sundal

Dal Makhani/ Maa di dal

Dal Makhani is a rich and delicious gravy made with  black lentils and red kidney beans. It is a famous Punjabi dish.  Traditionally this dish is cooked in low flame for long hours but now with the use of pressure cooker the dal is prepared in less time. Though I have tasted this in the restaurants, I have not tried making it at home until recently. I came across the recipe from Tarla Dalal and I tried it and it came out really well and now here I am with the recipe.

Puli Saadham | Tamarind rice | Easy Puli sadam recipe | Kovil Puliyodharai | Puliyogare Recipe

Today I am posting here recipe for Temple style Puliyodharai or Puliyogare that is offered in temple(kovil) as prasadam. This is also known as as Puli saadam/ Puli saadham. This is a simple rice made with tamarind. A thick tamarind mixture called puli kaichal is prepared then rice is mixed with it. My mom prepares this rice and I love it. But I have tried very few times at home. Few days back, I had sudden craving for tamarind rice and I started browsing for recipes and came across this recipe. I tried it and instantly fell in love with it. In this recipe , roasted powder is added but my mom doesn't use that but to get this rice taste like that one we get in the temple, then that powder is a must. The rice stays good for a long time so they are packed for picnics or long trips.

Kovil Puliyodharai

Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian (Dry)

Gobi Manchurian is a famous Indo chinese appetizer. Cauliflower florets covered in batter are deep fried and then tossed in spicy tangy sauce. It is very easy to make but it is time consuming. I prepare this cauliflower manchurian occasionally for special dinners or potlucks so never got to click and post it here. This time I was reserving the cauliflower for the manchurian, so I can post it here. I prepared this manchurian two days ago and here I am finally with my version of Gobi manchurian. Also it is Vegan, so posting this for the Vegan Thursday event. 

Gobi Manchurian

Homemade Rasam Powder/ Rasam podi

I am a huge fan of Rasams. No south Indian meal is complete without it. There are different varieties of rasams and using rasam powder they can be prepared in a jiffy.  I tried this Rasam powder recipe from Nalini's site almost a month ago but still couldn't post it. May be today is the time for it. 

Rasam Powder