‘I don’t need the bread, but it’s nice to do something creative‘. ~ John Goodman. My daily normal Indian meal has no place for yeast bread, I like my chapattis and rice with curries and other accompaniments. But then ‘creative & therapeutic‘ is what baking is to me and I love my breads and cakes for the same reason.

After years of baking I still feel ‘yeast challenged’ every time that I bake something and feel jittery to see the outcome. This month when Abby Dodge asked us to bake a Peasant Boule for #baketogether I instantly grabbed the challenge in order learn more from my fellow food bloggers and bake my own Peasant Boule as well.

‘With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy’  ~ Lope De Vega.  And now with my garden not in good shape I no longer live without envying my friend who has a sprawling garden to boast.
Some days back when she presented me a few bundles of fresh green fenugreek and a couple of veggies from her farm this is what I cooked. Just as the Khichdi recipe in the previous post there is nothing spectacular in this recipe also, it has the least ingredients and cooks quickly.

~’Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life’ ~Anonymous. Some of them add spices to make it more entertaining while the others enhance, give body and add value to the recipe of life.

Opposites attract…Hmm..yes they do in real life too. I am not a movie person and she hates on-line world, so when we meet we talk everything under the Sun except the above mentioned topics. Celebrity in South India and winner of many national awards Saranya has been a dear friend for past eight years. A passionate dress designer, wonderful cook, cleanliness freak and a dedicated mother of two, she has been one of the most treasured friends of mine. We have seen our children grow together, shared some of our most precious moments, celebrated numerous functions and still continue to guide each other through our thick and thin.

Rain and water logging outside the house means no play and no friends coming home, only a hearty dessert can bring cheers to the dull faces of my children. A dessert in which I can engage them to bake minus the mess I might face as aftermath. Hmm..a muffin or a cookie look easy to bake but then sifting the flour, kneading, perfect consistency…nope, forget it. Bread Pudding…yes it could give them a false feeling of baking something without much fuss. Easy and literally a child’s play recipe, nothing beats a warm bread pudding on a rainy day, a perfect comfort food for any time.

And as expected they wanted chocolate in their recipe and added cocoa to their bread pudding. The chocolate custard bread pudding you see in the picture is assembled and baked by my children, I have to admit that I did polish off half of the Ramekin from their share

“Pumpkin..what..don’t tell me it has pumpkin in it?” I baked this wholewheat pumpkin coconut bread for the 14th wedding anniversary of my friend and did not reveal the ingredients till the last piece was left. It was a delightful surprise for my anti-pumpkin friend, who never cooked this humble veggie in her kitchen and believes that a pumpkin is no good than scaring crows and keeping the evil at bay

In most of pumpkin bakes the veggie is first cooked or baked to get pumpkin puree and then added to the batter but I avoided that step…lazy…Hmm..sort of.

Naan – a popular flat bread from South Asia, always reminds me of my college days in Delhi. The time I traveled quite frequently to my home during weekends and used to eagerly wait for the bus to stop at those high way Dhabas (makeshift village side eateries) for some scrumptious meal. Charcoal smoked Naans hot from Tandoor (clay oven), generously smeared with fresh butter and served with whole creamy lentils, yogurt raita and sliced onions…Mmm. Although I often make Naan at home but nothing can beat that authentic taste of charcoal infused slightly charred stuffed Naan. If only I knew that a food blog is on the anvil…I would have asked him the recipe for sure

Certain food brings back the memories associated with it, the person who cooked it, the people we ate with, and the occasion it was cooked for. When Alicia Cowan of My Dish contacted me to write about food which makes me nostalgic, it took me a while to zero down to just one recipe! Oh yes..this Cottage cheese in exotic gravy mom prepared for almost all the parties we used to host at home is a nostalgic recipe. Though not for the flavors and the recipe itself but for the fun & frolic we had during those parties with friends. And mom was quite famous for this Paneer Jalfrzi with her hot Kulchas.Even now whenever (read rarely) I cook this recipe I make sure to call at least one childhood friend to talk about those wonderful childhood days of yesteryear.

The last few months in a year are my favorite, for the festivity it brings along with and for giving a reason to indulge in good food. The only grudge it leaves is the piles of sweet boxes from friends, work place & relatives, most of which are over sweet, artificially colored, and are loaded with Transfat.

Last week hubby got a huge box of colorful exotic Indian sweets from his work place. After disposing off most of the goodies to my maid I was left with half a kilo of this fresh creamy and scrumptious milk sweet (sweet Khoya in Hindi or Paal gova in Tamil) which my children liked and could not stop licking spoonfuls of it. But soon they got bored and the sweet was left struggling for space in my refrigerator. This is when I thought of baking a bread out of it, as baking requires very less fat and is a more healthier option, and am glad that I did it. I liked the very distinct taste of caramelized and slightly burnt milk in this recipe , and felt a sense of achievement when I turned a sinful Indian sweet into a healthy treat

A recent visit by a friend from a near by hill station, made me rich with piles of farm fresh mountain vegetables, yes these tender, young and juicy organic veggies are no less than a treasure. I could not control myself but to munch upon the crunchy carrots, cucumber and the lovely green pods filled with sweet little peas. One of my favorite snacks of all time I could spend hours together with a bucketful of fresh peas..press..open..pluck..plop..and repeat But alas, these veggies are a far cry in big cities, all I get here is lifeless, limp and tasteless vegetables.

Oh yes..you read it right..these are healthy pickle recipes infused with flavorful spices, less oil and packed with the goodness of green chili peppers! Rich in vitamin A & C, high in anti oxidants, low in fats & cholesterol the green chillies boast of many minerals as well.

What…not interested..Hmm..then these two pickle recipes will surely make you crave for green chili pepper! Very common in most parts of Rajasthan in India, these pickles are a savior recipe for many (including me) to serve those unexpected hungry guests So at any point of time you could find these two things in my refrigerator, a fresh coriander leaf chutney and this green chilly pickle.