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.

“What does a Cheesecake remind you?” To me it conjures the feeling of digging into soft snowy mountain, a refreshing dessert you really don’t want anyone to tell you about how much cream cheese, ricotta and quark has gone into making it. Just dig..eat..and repeat.
I am not much of a cream fan and try to replace the same in all my cooking & baking for good and also avoid gelatin in my recipes if the food is for the consumption of my family. Somehow Gelatin makes me feel unnatural, but …

Grilling is probably one of the best way to enjoy a whole lot of veggies which I find it difficult to use in my normal day Indian recipes. I often use cottage cheese and Tofu in many of my recipes but cherry tomatoes and colored capsicum find its place in salads only. And eating soya nuggets and raw capsicum in salads is a big ‘No’ for my children with the exception of these Kebabs which is their favorite snack.

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.

Time flies when you are enjoying what you are doing and doing what you enjoy the most. And I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation at my native Udaipur. Learned to cook a few authentic recipes from mom, visited all the historical places which were in my wish list for long and most important met many of my schoolmates after almost 30 years!

Mom made these two versions of Stuffed flat breads or Parathas for my travel food. My kids dislike air travel and given a choice would always prefer trains over flights. They love to watch green fields, rivers, animals and villages over the dull and gray clouds so I booked for the flight for one way and came back by train.

Summer vacations for children and my kitchen counter is all strewn up with chocolate shavings, marshmallow bits, cookie cutters and all that excite their fancy. My mommy cap is on to create special dishes to please the children and also keep them interested in eating food which is healthy and scrumptious as well. Food which should be exciting enough to make them forget the cravings for the junk foods they always love to have given a chance. These grilled cottage cheese and soya nuggets kebabs proved to be a right choice for a great weekend. Crisp, healthy and a great munchy recipe to snack upon while playing a favorite board game together in the hot wheather.

Aha… the time of the year has come to sit and relive some of the enduring moments that has gone by 2010. And by far the most fascinating one is Lite Bite, my tiny space on the net, linking worlds apart.

A string of reminiscences….fellow bloggers, a meet and Tasty Bites.

With the above note I would like to bring forth WWC, the first event on Lite Bite.

What better than a light and healthy dessert after a scrumptious meal. This strawberry flavored Cottage Cheese Cake falls in the same category and makes a perfect dessert for my family most of the times. The fact that this recipe is egg less, no gelatin and no cream bake, unlike the normal cheese cakes which are cream based or use condensed milk, makes it a healthier version too.

Fresh pineapple gives a refreshing flavor to this cake, since my daughter likes anything that comes with pink and strawberry, following is the outcome

“What !! Exotic and healthy sweet, are you nuts!” is the reaction from a friend with sweet tooth. More often we associate exotic foods with recipes which are rich, takes time to prepare and need loads of work outs on Treadmill to shed those extra calories & kilos they add to the unwanted areas

Be it Malai Koftas, Ras Malai or an irresistible Black forest cake, they all bring in the same feeling of sheer indulgence. Nutty Delights are exotic and healthy at the same time since it is made with cottage cheese and nuts. But you must keep a watch on the numbers