Chatti Pathiri

For this month's Indian Cooking Challenge, Srivalli chose a multi layered sweet from Kerala. Chatti Pathiri - sweet version is from Anita of Slice Of My Life. Usually chatti pathiri is made as a savory dish with layers of pathiri sandwiched between meat fillings. It is like the Indian version of Lasagna. The fillings differ in the sweet version. Lots of nuts and coconut are added to make this delicious and rich treat. Both hubby and daughter liked it but we couldn't have more than a small portion as it is very heavy because of the nuts, coconut, coconut milk and poppy seeds. Refrigerate the remaining chatti pathiri. If you have many guests, then it would be the perfect treat for them.

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Patequeta - Valencia's Orchard Traditional Bread

For this month's Baking Partners challenge, Marisa of Thermofan suggested this very traditional bread from Spain. I will give you a short introduction to this bread. This is a traditional bread of the city Valencia in Spain. The origin dates back to seventeenth century. The inhabitants of Valencia's Orchard used to bake this bread in a moorish oven (click on link to see the image of a moorish oven) or in the wooden stoves. Patequetas are baked for their important festival Fallas. Most Valencia's bakers are requested to make patequetas during March. Marisa wanted to introduce this bread to all of us and in turn you readers will also know about this bread. When I first saw the recipe, I searched the web for any other details, but there was no other link with this name. So this recipe can be used for your future reference and I am so happy for having made this very traditional bread... 

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Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Children's Day

Yesterday when my daughter returned from school, she was so much excited. As there was going to be children's day celebration at school, it was a no bag day today and she was so happy that it was going to be her special day. She was talking about the day the entire evening. I told her about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and how he is uncle for me and for her too. She asked me not to scold her today and I told her not do do any mischief today. When she went to school, she wanted me to prepare something which she likes the most. I accepted it and dropped her at the bus stop. I had to attend a marriage today and when I returned home by 12:30 PM, there was no power. Then at 2:00 PM it was restored and I started making these cookies from Tarla Dalal's Chocolate Cook Book. It took me 30 minutes from start to finish and after baking these and arranging them on a wire rack I went to bring Sruti home from bus stop. She asked me whether her treat was ready, and when I said yes, she was very happy. After coming home, I made her close her eyes and placed a cookie on her hand, she saw it and made a happy dance as the cookie was loaded with her most favourite chocolate chips. Finally I was very happy as it ended well after so many hurdles. These cookies are very crispy and the chips add a nice crunch to them. It is very easy to put them together. Switch on the oven and start preparing the dough. By the time the oven is preheated, you will have the cookies shaped, bake for 10-12 minutes and your delicious cookies are ready...

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Varagu Rice/ Varagu Saadam - World Diabetes Day

Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the person has high blood sugar levels because of inadequate insulin or the body's cells does not respond to insulin or both. There are three types of Diabetes - Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes. Type 2 is the most common diabetes found all over the world. I have a family history of Diabetes. My mom, my MIL, my aunts all are diabetics. They try to keep the blood sugar levels by controlling the food intake. It is very easy to control the blood sugar level by controlling the food you consume along with some exercise and medication. Both mom and MIL did not take any medications but had the blood sugar levels controlled through perfect diet. I have not seen them doing exercise but they used to do all the house hold works and kept very busy from morning till night. My MIL used to take Murungaikeerai Soup every week which is very good to keep the blood sugar levels controlled. She also used to take bitter gourd, avoided sugar in her coffee and completely avoided sweets. Mom almost did the same and both successfully had their blood sugar level under control.
Avoid food items that are white in colour - White sugar, maida, white rice, white bread and so on...

                                          

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Ringna Bateta Ni Kachri - A Tribute To Tarla Dalal

Last week, November 6th Wednesday, I was so shocked when I opened my FB page for updates. One of my FB friends posted that Tarla Dalalji is no more. I just couldn't believe it. I searched for so long and after an hour, many updates started coming on friend's walls about the sad news. I am a great fan of Tarla Dalalji and I have been collecting her books for the past two years. Whenever I have a doubt regarding any recipe, I first search the books written by her, then her website and only then I go for any other alternative. If you are a foodie, you would surely be familiar with her recipes. My most favourite Tarla Dalal's book is Mithai. She has listed so many sweets and if you try them you surely can master the art of sweet making. I have bought so many of her books for giveaways in my blog and I will continue to do so. She will be remembered forever...

Logo By Preeti

We at the Blogging Marathon group wanted to post a tribute to her. The idea was given by Padma and every one wanted to be a part. So Preethi designed this logo for the post. We thought of trying one of her recipes which would be a perfect tribute to her. Tarla Dalal gives perfect recipes with accurate proportions. You can never fail with her recipe and that is why her recipes are a great hit among bloggers. This recipe is from her Gujarathi Cook book. It is a simple yet tasty dish and can be made in a jiffy. 

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Capsicum Dhal

As I have said earlier, I like adding capsicum in many recipes. One such recipe is dhal/ paruppu. While sauteing onions I add the capsicum along with it to give dhal the capsicum flavour. It is quite easy to make and I have been keeping from posting this recipe as it is very simple. But it is apt for the theme I have chosen for this Blogging Marathon so decided to post it. Day before yesterday I made this dhal along with varagu rice and an eggplant curry. It was a wonderful combination and we had a hearty lunch. For dinner, I added sambar powder and amchur powder and converted this dhal to sambar and it went well with oats dosa. 

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Capsicum Rava Upma

If you are a capsicum lover cum upma lover like me, then this recipe is just for you. I have already narrated how much hubby dear hated upma but now the scene is changing. He has accepted the fact that his wife loves upma and is trying to enjoy it nowadays. Even Sruti has changed her taste and eats it with out increasing my blood pressure. So for the second day of Blogging Marathon #34, under Cooking With Capsicum, I selected my favourite upma. Usually I add so many vegetables but as this is capsicum special, I didn't want to add other veggies. The flavour of capsicum is prominent and it tasted delicious!!! Sruti had it with sugar and DH had it with coconut chutney. I had it as it is because didn't want to suppress the taste of upma with accompaniments. Do give it a try to know how yummy it is... 

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Eggless Oats Chocolate Biscotti

For this month's Home Baker's challenge, Priya is our host and she selected the theme Biscotti. Biscotti are double baked crunchy and light biscuits from Italy. Biscotti uses eggs for binding and when ever I make an eggless biscotti I face a problem. The top cracks and it is very difficult to get perfect oblong biscotti.  For this month Priya provided us four recipes and one among those was an eggless recipe. She had got perfectly shaped biscotti and so I wanted to try that recipe. But still I didn't get the shape but it tasted delicious. Super light and super crisp it was super hit at my house. Though it doesn't look beautiful, it tasted divine and in two days all the 22 pieces were gone. My daughter needs more but as I am out of chocolate I have postponed the preparation. So don't be fooled by the look of this biscotti. Try it and enjoy it as we did.

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Capsicum Chutney

Today we are beginning the second week of Blogging Marathon #34. I will be posting under Cooking With Capsicum for the three days. Whenever I see capsicum in store, I buy it. I add it in all my recipes as it adds a nice colour and taste to the final dish. I love the mild taste it gives to the dishes. This chutney is one of the dishes I make with capsicum. It goes well with idlis and dosas.  I have used only two green chillies so that even my daughter can enjoy this chutney. Feel free to use as many chillies you want.  I paired with solam / Jowar dosai and it was very tasty. It is quite easy to make. Today is the first Sunday of the month and I am also linking this post to Lets Brunch on Sundays

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Eggless Orange Tutti Frutti Cake

This cake has been in my draft folder for so long. When I saw this recipe at Srivalli's Blog during the A-Z Blogging Marathon, I book marked it and made it for the next month's Cooking From Other Blog theme. But as I opted out of that Blogging Marathon, this has been lying in my drafts since then. The texture came out very different from Srivalli's cake but it tasted very delicious. The orange flavour was so strong and the tutti frutti added a nice colour and crunch to the cake. I served it topped with the caramel syrup. Never forget to mix the tutti frutti with flour, otherwise all the tutti frutti will sink to the bottom of the cake. 

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Diwali Special - Round up and Winner Announcement

Last month I announced a Special event for Diwali. I hope the recipes in the collection would be very helpful for your upcoming celebrations. Though this Diwali is over, there are many more festivals to come and this list would be an online cook book for many of you including me. There are 85 delicious sweets and savouries in this list and I hope you enjoy the same. And it is time for the announcement of winner in this event. I selected a lucky winner using random number generator. It is entry number 78 - Ragi Ribbon Pakoda from Nandoos Kitchen. Congratulations Nandoo. Please mail me your Indian address along with the phone number to gayathriraani@gmail.com to claim the gift.. 

Pear and Apple Crumble

For the third day of cooking with fruits, in the Blogging Marathon, I made this delicious crumble combining apple and pear. I have become so lazy nowadays. I tend to prepare for any event on the final day and at the last minute I blog about it. Though I am not missing any of the events, I am making my life very hectic with this type of activity. I need to plan every thing beforehand to avoid such situations. For the past two days, I am sort of depressed. Our jet pump, the only source of water stopped working and I have been living on the stored water for the past two days. After so many calls to the electrician, he is still busy and I am still depressed. It is raining heavily and from morning there was a power shut down. So all my plans to make the crumble in the morning crashed heavily. I thought of skipping the post today but I didn't want to do it. And finally power was retained at 3 pm and I started working on my crumble. It is quite easy to prepare the crumble. With very little water left, I have accumulated a pile of dishes in the sink and this crumble added some more to it. It took just 45 minutes to get the crumble out of the oven and finally I am enjoying the rain with the hot crumble. I am missing out on the ice cream but it is OK. After 2 days, I am little happy now for the crumble turned out delicious. The top was crunchy and the inside was gooey. I thought of adding chocolate chips to the topping but while working on the topping, I completely forgot about it. Next time I will be adding some chocolate chips to make it more delicious...

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Nutty Pear and Carrot Salad

For today's Blogging Marathon with the theme Cooking with Fruits - I made this simple yet satisfying sald pairing the pears with carrot and nuts. When you crave for some snacks in the evening but do not want to stack up calories, this salad would be a wonderful choice. It takes just 5 minutes to make this salad and is very light on your tummy. If you want you can also chill it and serve it with a scoop of ice cream for a rich dessert. The addition of honey gives the sweetness and the black pepper and cumin powder give the punch. My hubby liked it very much and I was happy to have served it...

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Eggless Pear Upside Down Cake

After a month long gap I am back in the Blogging Marathon. This is the Blogging Marathon #34 and I will be doing all the four weeks. For the first week, it is cooking with fruits. I chose Pear as the fruit and I am posting the very first recipe made with pear. As mentioned in my earlier post, I celebrated my birthday before two days. And for that I made this soft delicious cake with a nice caramel soaked pear topping. It has been my dream to try out upside down cake and it came true with this cake. Upside down cake is one in which the fruit layer is arranged at the bottom of the cake tin and the batter is poured on top. After baking the cake is flipped up side down and the fruits will become the topping. Caramel is added at the fruit layer and it gives a nice finish to the cake. I saw so many pear upside down cake recipes but finally went with my usual cake recipe. This recipe is best when done in a 9" or 10" pan. As I didn't have one I made it in an 8" pan and I was so nervous while it was in oven. But due to luck, the batter didn't over flow and it saved my day. The cake turned out so soft, moist and delicious. The caramel soaked pears were so soft and just melted in the mouth. We all loved the cake so much and Sruti was double happy as I made this for my birthday. 

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Winner of WTML October and Announcement of WTML November

Walk Through Memory Lane was started to bring out all those childhood memories and recreating them. This event has been successfully running for nearly two years and thanks to all the bloggers who have guest hosted the event and made it successful. Every month a lucky winner is chosen and is awarded with a cook book from a famous chef/ author. Last month's guest host Asiya of My Healthy Happy Kitchen has done a wonderful job in hosting the event and she is even ready with the round up. But lazy me, because of so many preparations going on for Diwali, I couldn't get enough time to draft this post. Let me first announce the winner of October event before going to the November announcement.I selected an entry from the 148 total entries received using random number generator. It is entry number 27-Paruppu Chutney by Sathya Priya of My Kitchen Odyssey. Congrats Sathya Priya. Please contact me with your Indian address and telephone number to claim the book by Sanjeev Kapoor.

And now coming to this month's host, Shailaja of Sahasra's Recipes is hosting the event this month. Please visit her page for more details and linking up your entries.. For this month the book I have chosen for the giveaway is The Pondicherry Kitchen by Lourdes Tirouvanziam-Louis. Please send in your entries and get a chance to win this wonderful book full of Pondicherry's Authentic recipes.