Muggle Diaries

Matar/Green Peas Pulao(One Pot Meal): Weekend's somehow make me feel weak in the knees to eat rice...i feel really bored to have roti's & dosas the whole week through..!! My versatile pallets and the stomach who's used to eat variety from mom screams out and demands more variety on the weekends. However though a weekday today i broke the usual rules and cooked up my favorite "Matar Pulao" which doesn't take much time as well as it's not too much  of a labor, since it all goes in one pot and pressure cook cool and serve, so i don't need to even wash too many dishes, so last night's dinner was Green Peas Pulao, Karnataka style with a slight variation for the sake of good health..;P What goes Inside: 1Cup: Basmati Rice(i used Basmati, since this is what i can acquire here easily ) or normal cooking rice of your choice. Spices: As per your taste you may add or delete the same(Cinnamon sticks+Green Cardamom+Cloves+Cumin/Jeer

Art in Olive Oil..Going in for: Black and White Wednesday -A weekly culinary photo event. This Pic " Art In Olive Oil " is going to be my 1st contribution to any event of any sort so this one's kind of special to me,It's the first picture I've done with Black and white in mind. This One's Going in for Susan's event which is  Black and White Wednesday  -A weekly culinary photo event.

Happy birthday to my darling daughter"Anushka"(well this one's coming over six months late...been quiet busy)...we celebrated Anushka's first birthday in a very simple manner unlike everyone else, at an ashram(orphanage) in kerela, well actually a home for the mentally challenged and we celebrated it among all of them..and when it was time for the 2nd birthday i was pretty much in two mind's as to whether we should have a party or not(since she was very small and would never understand a birthday)...then i came across this article on the babycenter website and they said...just so the child could understand the fact that she/he is special and at the same time not to overwhelm a child as lil as a 2yr old...you must try and keep the party a very short affair and whatever the number of the birthday = that many children and that's exactly what we just did..!! We were just 2 families...so i decided to cook the party meal myself but as for my hubby he felt

+Busy-Day Chocolate Sponge Cake(Dairy Free & Low-Cal n Eggless)..;P Hi all i'm back and all set...Holidays really didn't go as planned....Since Hubby's granny passed away 2 days after we landed and the whole idea of a great holiday turned out on a very sad note, She was one sweetheart and great lady...i really really miss her, sooooo...unlike a great mom-in-law(which she never ever let me feel like she was a grand mom in law)...she was so much like my own nani-ma...sooo.... full of love and care and most importantly loved to feed all of us...just like all mom's n granny's. A grand era passed leaving only beautiful memories to be cherished behind. Anyways..,now that i'm back i was looking for an opportunity for the right time to make my post...and finally so i found one.... It's hubby's birthday today and me and my little daughter decided to bake a home made chocolate-coffee cake pretty late last night(psst: hubby was off for a late night m

Coffee Liqueur - (Non - Alcoholic): This is something i used when i made my daughter's Birthday Cake earlier,and i really can vouch on this one for it's taste, i actually shouldn't be terming this one as liqueur, because there is no alcohol in it.  But frankly you know what, I can't just call it plain coffee-cocoa-sugar syrup.  I'd say this one's just too plain for something so ecstatic tasting,In fact, this one is so amazing. And if you just happen to have a little extra left, just save it up and use it to make your next cup of home-made mocha, and believe me you won't just stop at one cup! What Goes Inside: 1 Cup: Water. 1 Tbsp: Cocoa powder( I used Hershey's). 1 1/4 Tbsp: Instant Coffee powder. 3/4 Cup: Sugar. How it's put in together:   In a small pan combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Set aside and cool before using. If you intend on making an alcoholic liqueur, all you need to add to this is few couple spoons of

For the Eggless Chocolate Mousse: What goes inside: 125Gms: Cooking Chocolate Bar(I used Vochelle). 100Gms: Whipping Or Double Cream. 1/2 Cup(125Gms): Butter. 1Tsp: Vanilla Essence. 1/4 Cup: Icing Sugar. 1/2Tsp: Instant Coffee Powder(Optional). How to put it in together: Chop the Cooking chocolate into small uniform pieces,add butter along with it. Melt Chocolate and butter together on high in the Microwave for 1.5-2 minutes, remove from microwave once done and set aside to cool. Tip in the instant coffee powder into the chocolate - butter mix and stir in well. In another large bowl, take the whipping/double cream along with the icing sugar and whip on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until it just forms a stiff peak(a perfect stiff peak is reached when the peak can stay up until at least a minute or two). Now the chocolate-butter-coffee mixture would have cooled up by now,if not place the bowl in another bowl of cold water, but ensure the mixture is not left to cool

5K Visitors, and a well deserved VACATION @ Sasuraal Genda Phool...Don't go Anywhere I WILL BE BACK..!! & a Thankyou Note..!! It's celebration time again..@ TS. This time it's because Traditional Secrets touched 5000 visitors since May 2010, well i really do not have words to express my gratitude to all of you who made this possible,,i'm really humbled beyond words can ever express..!!! All i can say is Thank You...Thank you and Thank You..!! When i started this blog I just had Madhuri of Cook Curry Nook Fame,Deepti of Some Salt to Taste Fame..,Suma Rowjee of Cakes & More to name a few and few more great blogger friends from whom i really really learnt a lot...Running a blog, plus home, my lil one and keeping up with the passion of my life and writing about it would definitely not have been possible without the support of these friends and of course MY BETTER HALF who i turned BITTER many a times..when i did not give much needed attention to my Home...whil

5 Minute Eggless Microwave Wonder Chocolate Cup Cake  I'm sure it's not the first time we're hearing about a Microwave Cup Cake...you google search and BAM you'll get thousands of results, but i got experimenting with Cottage Cheese (paneer) for the first time in a 5 minute Wonder Cup Cake..well i happened to see the recipe of a chocolate pound cake using paneer on a friends blog this got me all curious to see what would happen if i used cottage cheese / paneer instead of egg in the 5 minute microwave cake, the way it turned out...was aweeesomeee..!! i loved it..!! BELIEVE ME even my 2yr old just ate it as if she had'nt had food in years...saying "mama..AAA"...and opening her mouth for more until all that was in the cup was gone..into the little one Tummy..dum..dum...so go along and say Yumeey dum dum..and enjoy it...!! Try this...and to make it yummier i dunked it in maple syrup ( psst: if you wanna be a real Sinner...dunk it in warm chocolate

Eggless Choco - Nutty Cookies The Best Thing about them: I fall in love with these cookies each time i bake them, actually one can never stop raving enough even as the aroma waffles through the entire house as these cookies still bake in the oven, a heavenly combination of Chocolate and Nuts...Hmmnnn....!! The Worst Thing about them: I cant stop myself from eating them through the day, i don't wanna share them with one single soul..to top it..I'm drooling.. ahemm ...sorry about the gooey mess that went on the keyboard even as I'm typing this..!! Okay lets forget all about the mess and concentrate on the recipe of the cookies: Over the past year or two(i.e since i actually began baking out for just the sakes of passion of  baking) i realized that baking gives you such a high..even when i'm feeling down,low...or just feel any negativity creeping in me and i just resort to baking Believe me it just beats my stress away...and i'm all set and dolloped like chille

A few days back i happened to post my *Tried & Tested* version of  20 min Choco Almond - Cashew Secret Center Crumbly Cookies and a very old school friend popped me a question on how about an egg-less version and  and i decided to give that a try well with slight variations of my own..;).This is an exceptionally easy one for baking beginners.These are Classic Shortbread sort of Cookies which absolutely melt in your mouth...but technically these are cookies which use Cornflour along with normal All purpose Flour while baking these.The Cocoa in it adds a much needed twist to their melt in the mouth texture apart from the fact that these are Egg less.I used a bit of yoghurt and maple syrup while experimenting with flavours and while adding to it's health value i don't think it did much harm to the cookie's texture too...;) This one's gotta be a keeper ladies..;) So Reena, here's what i got for you especially: Eggless Chocolate Crumbly Cookies*Tried & Tested*

Absolutely delectable, pure melt in the mouth Chocolate coated crumbly cookies with Almond or Cashew surprises in their Secret Center's...;).  Sometimes they remind me of the crumbly cookies we would get along with the how cup of freshly brewed Filter Kaapi we would often get i think in Indian Coffee House,Hotel Chalukya & Grand Ashoka way back in the early 1980's in the then Garden City " Namma very Own Bangalore"...Hmmm...how i miss my childhood, where dad and mum would take me out and as they would sip on their hot Strong Filter Kaapi i would loathe my self to some Awesome Cookie's. Anyways coming back to 2011...I had a lot of cashew's and almonds lying at home and wanted to make something which would turn out real quick and perfect to the core since i was trying something like this with my lil daughter around, so i had to make it before she ran out of patience . These turned out just sooo....perfect to my ne