Teddy Bear Cake!

I made this Teddy bear cake for my friend's Baby shower. Everyone loved the teddy cake specially the Mom-To-Be!! I used teddy bear pan from Wilton brand and baked the cake. It's very easy to make cake if you are ready to spend 2-3 hrs for the designing :-)

A simple flower cake

Yo Gabba Gabba Cake!

My 2 years old loves the show Yo Gabba Gabba. So I made these cake for his birthday. He was very happy to see them.

Pillow Cake

A comfy cushion cake, made for my hubby's birthday. 

Samosa Chaat

Samosa chaat is the mouth watering, yummy snack. It's easy to make if you have the pre-made samosa's (either home made or frozen).  I have tried variety of options and feel that below is the yummiest among all.

• 1 medium sized Onion, Cut into small pieces
• 2 to 3 Tomatoes, Cut into small pieces
• Green chili's, to taste
• 1/2 Tsp Oil
• 2 to 3 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 Tsp Jeera or Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tsp Ginger/Garlic Paste
• 1 Cup Garbanzo beans, Cooked or Canned
• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Amchur or Mango Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Black Pepper Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Garam Masal
• 2 Tsp Chole/Chana Masala
• 1 Tsp Red Chili Powder or To Taste
• Salt to Taste
• 1 Cup Water
• Coriander leaves, chopped
• 10- 12 Samosas, Broken into pieces

Heat pan in a medium heat. Add oil and butter. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds and let it crack. Now add the onions and fry for a minute. To this, add the ginger-garlic paste and green chili's. Now add the tomatoes and let it cook for two minutes. Add in all the spices- turmeric, amchur, coriander, pepper, garam masala, chole masala, red chili, salt. Stir in and add the garbanzo beans and the water. Now let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped coriander and samosa pieces. Turn off the stove. Garnish with onions, coriander leaves, sev, tamarind chutney, and yogurt. Serve hot.

Heerekai (Ridge Gourd) Dosa

Though Heerekai Or Ridge gourd isn't liked by many, this dosa with the spices makes it super yummy. It takes a lot of time to make this dosa as it should cook really well, otherwise it will taste bitter. Here is what you will need,

• 1 Cup White Rice (soaked overnight)
• 6-8 Red Chili's
• 1 spoon Coriander Seeds
• 1/2 spoon Cumin Seeds
• Small piece of Tamarind
• Jaggery (double the amount of tamarind )
• 1/4 Cup Coconut, grated
• Salt to taste
• Ridge gourd, sliced thin

Grind the rice with the spices and coconut until smooth. Add jaggery and grind gently. The batter is ready. Now dip the slices of Ridge gourd into the batter and place it on the thava. Repeat it until the thava is full. Cover it and let it cook on low to medium heat for about 2 minutes. Now flip the dosa and let it cook for a minute. Heerekai dosa is ready. Serve with butter or coconut oil. 

Fruit Salad

Fruit salad is a dessert loved by everyone. In our family, no celebration is perfect without fruit salad. You can add any fruits of your choice, it tastes delicious. Here is the recipe of the salad I made recently,

• 1/2 Cup Apple (Red delicious)
• 1/2 Cup Grapes 
• 1 Banana (Large)
• 1/2 Cup Honey dew
• 1/4 Cup Blueberry
• 1/4 Cup Pomegranate Seeds
• 2 Tbsp Honey or To taste
• 2 and 1/2Cups Ice Cream (I used, Chickoo or Sapota Flavor)

Add the honey to the fruits and mix gently. Stir in the ice cream and garnish with fruits. Serve chilled.

Rasam ( Saru )

Mangalurian's meal starts with rasam. It's the main part of their food system. My mom-in-law makes the best Rasam in the world. She taught me the recipe. It's very easy with a few steps to follow.

• 1/2 Cup Toor Dal ( soak for 10 minutes )
• 4-6 Tomatoes, Cut into Large pieces
• Green Chili's, slit, to taste
• 1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• A piece of Jaggery
• Salt to taste
• 3 Cups Water
• 2 Tbsp Rasam Powder
• Coconut milk 1/4 Cup ( Optional )
• Coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp of Ghee
• Few Curry Leaves

Pressure cook the toor dal with little turmeric powder.  In a separate pan, add the tomatoes, green chili's, turmeric powder, jaggery and salt. Now add about 3 Cups of water and let it cook. Cooking process may take about 20 to 30 minutes. Now add the cooked dal and rasam powder to this and let it come to a boil. Add the coconut milk and coriander leaves, now turn off the stove. Add a simple tadka with ghee and just curry leaves. Serve hot with Rice.

Rasam Powder ( Saru Hudi )

I got this recipe from my mom. It's very easy to make.  You can store this one for up to a month or so.

• 1 Tbsp of Oil
• Handful of Red Chili's
• 10 spoons of Coriander Seeds 
• 2 Spoons of Fenugreek Seeds
• 3 Spoons of Cumin Seeds
• 1/4th Spoon of Asafoetida 

Fry the above listed ingredients in the order,adding one by one. Let it cool completely before grinding to make the powder. Store in an air tight container (no need to refrigerate).

Rose cake

I made this a long back when my best friend left for India. I made 60 ribbon blue roses as border and at the center. This cake decor was really easy to make when compared many others.

McQueen Lightning Car Cake!

This car cake I made for my baby and he loved it. It's somewhat easy to make and like any other decors, this also takes a lot time.

Pink Fondant Cake!

I made this cake for my final project in the wilton's decorating class(3rd course). This is a very easy to make, but time consuming!

I baked 8*2 (2 layered eggless chocolate cake ) cake and covered it with buttercream icing followed by rolled pink fondant. Those strips are made of light green fondants.

Carnations take a lot of time to make but it's worth the effort. I used 25 carnations to decorate this cake. 

Poori Recipe

Poori's are south Indian favorites of all time. Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner it goes well with all!  Poori bhaji is the famous food combination in most of the parts, but believe me poori chole is also delicious. Here is the ingredients you will need for poori,

• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Wheat Flour
• 1 Tbsp of Oil
• Salt to taste
• lukewarm Water for kneading
• Oil for deep frying

In a mixing bowl add the flour, oil, salt and give it a mix. Add water to this to make a dough ( dough should be a little drier than chapati ). Keep it aside for 10 to 25 minutes. Make balls and roll it to make a small circle ( not as big as chapati ).  Fry this in oil on medium flame for a minute or so until it turns golden brown. Remove the poori and place it on the paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve hot with bhaji, chole or any other curry.

Long bean seeds' Curry Recipe!

Long beans are everyday part of mangalorians diet. This curry is made of it's seed and coconut with the mixture of spices. This goes really well with chapati and rice. Here is the recipe,

• 1 Cup of Long bean seeds, soaked in 2 Cups of water for 8 hrs
• 2 Onions, sliced
• 1/4 Cup Coconut, Grated
• 1 Tsp Tamarind Juice
• A small piece of Jaggery
• Curry Leaves
• Salt to taste

For Curry Powder-

• 2 Tsp Oil
• 5 Red Chili, Slit
• 1 Spoon Coriander Powder
• 1 Spoon Urad Dal
• 1/2 Spoon Fenugreek/Methi Seeds
• 1/4 Spoon Cumin Seeds

Pressure cook the seeds in the water it has been soaked in. Now to this add the onion and let it boil. Meanwhile prepare the curry powder. In a pan, add the oil and once it gets heated add the red chili, and fry for a minute. Now add the coriander powder and fry for a minute. Add Urad dal, fry until it turns golden brown. Add the fenugreek seeds and saute for 30 seconds. Now add cumin seeds and turn off the stove. Let it cool completely before grinding.

Blend the coconut, tamarind juice and curry powder until the mixture is smooth. Add this to the boiling mixture of seeds and onions. Mix really well. Now add the salt, jaggery and curry leaves. Let the mixture come to a boil. Turn off the stove and serve hot with Chapati or Rice.

Thambli Recipe

Thambli is a famous mangalore side dish usually served with rice. It's the blend of coconut and onions that gives the taste. Thambli is a very simple to follow recipe,

• 3/4 Cup Coconut, Grated
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 3 Tsp Yogurt
• 1 Onion, chopped finely
• 2 Green chili, or to taste
• Salt to taste
• Tadka or Oggarane of your choice

Grind the coconut in water until smooth. Pour this into a mixing bowl and add the onions, green chili, yogurt & salt. Mix well. Now give a tadka of your choice with curry leaves and the thambli is ready to serve :)

Banana Muffins!

Banana muffins tastes exactly like the mangalore buns'. These are easy to make yet sweet to eat. Here is the recipe,

• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Maida
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 3 Bananas
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 5 Tbsp Butter, Melted
• 1 Tbsp of Flax seed Powder dissolved in 3tbsp of Water
• 3/4 Cup White Sugar 

For Crumbling-

• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Maida
• A pinch of Cinnamon Powder

In a mixing bowl, add the maida, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In another bowl, add in the flax seed powder mixed well in water, butter, vanilla extract, sugar and the bananas, mashed. Mix really well. Stir the maida mixture into the banana mixture until its well mixed. Pour the batter into prepared muffin pan.

In a bowl, mix the maida, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon powder and sprinkle this over the muffins.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degree F for about 20 to 25 mins, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Spicy Dosa

Dosa, a south Indian special, is usually a breakfast food but can be served for lunch or dinner as a side dish. This spicy dosa contains the batter with additional spices. It's our all time favorite. Here is the recipe,

• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Rice soaked in water for about 2 to 3 hours
• 1 Tbsp of Coriander Seeds
• 1 Tsp of Jeera Seeds ( Cumin Seeds )
• 5 to 8 Red Chilies
• Tamarind ( about a size of cashew )
• 1/4 Cup grated Coconut
• 1 piece of Jaggery

Grind rice with all the above ingredients except the jaggery. Blend it until the rice is smooth. Now add the jaggery and give it a quick pulse. The batter is ready. Pour it on to a thawa and make the yummy dosas. Serve hot with butter or any chutney.

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have found a new method to bake many recipes which requires egg. Yes, it's the flax seed. I can now bake any egg needed recipes without actually using egg. Before I couldn't try any of these recipes as they required egg. I substitute one egg with one tablespoon flax seed powder in three tablespoon water.  Here is the recipe,

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Flax Seed dissolved in 6 Tbsp of Water
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 2 Tsp Hot Water
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Mix the white sugar and brown sugar in butter until smooth. Add in the flax seed in water and mix well. Now add in the vanilla, baking soda dissolved in hot water and salt. Give it a nice mix. Add the flour and mix really well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop into ungreased cookie pans. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes in preheated oven at 350degree F.  This recipe yields 3o to 40 cookies. 

Basket-weave Flower Cake Picture

Dabeli

I was unknown about this delicious chat until last month. One of my friends bought Dabeli for a potluck which I loved. I tried to make the same at home and the taste was really good. Thanks to the girls for letting me know about this yum chat. Dabeli name is very unique, though not sure how the name came! here is the recipe i used,

Ingredients for the stuff-

• 2 Tbsp of Butter
• 1 large onion 
• 2 to 4 Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp of Dabeli masala
• 3 boiled & mashed Potatoes
• 1 Tbsp of Lemon Juice
• Salt to Taste
• 1 Tsp of sugar
• Hamburger Bun or Pav Bun

For Garnishing-

• 1/2 Cup Pomogranate
• 1/2 Cup Spicy Peanuts
• 1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
• 1/4 Cup Sev
• 1/4 Cup Onions
• A few Cilantro leaves

In a pan melt the butter and fry the onions. Now add the tomatoes, dabeli masala, salt and cook until they are soft. Add in the mashed potatoes and give it a nice mix. To this, add the sugar, dabeli masala (more, if required) lemon juice and mix it. Switch off the stove and pour this to a plate. On top of this, add the pomogranate, peanuts, coconut, onions, sev & cilantro leaves. 

Lightly toast a pav bun or hamburger bun and spread date chutney on sides. Fill a big spoon of above stuffs inside the bun and serve immediately.