On any normal day my freezer stock more overripe and blackened bananas than ice cubes, more so because I like baking with bananas and love banana smoothies as a filling breakfast treat and always end up buying extra for the same. This Eggless Banana & Oatmeal Wholewheat Bread was yet another extremely moist and delightful bake for our Sunday breakfast. Since I did not get time to de frost the banana in the morning, I grated the banana and was happy to see a fluffy and evenly baked bread. Grated frozen banana did the magic here!

A sweet indulgence – making Fudge is very common during festivals and many religious ceremonies in India. Though Wiki defines it as a western confectionery, for me a fudge is what completes any Indian festivity as long as I remember. From the humble melt-in-mouth Besan ki chakki (chickpea flour fudge) to the more exotic Kaju Katlis (cashew fudge) Indian festivals are incomplete without these goodies. With loads of sugar, butter and milk to go into making these fudge, these goodies are truly a sinful indulgence!

Peanut butter fudge is high on calories but if eaten in moderation it could provide all the health benefits attached with peanuts in your diet. These Nutty Peanut butter Fudges are highly addictive and a word of caution is to keep a tab on the number of times you open your refrigerator

I like how versatile this humble grain Rice could be in various forms of cuisines world over. From more exotic Sushi to Risotto to the simple curd rice from South India, this ancient grain has come a long way. Though I am not a rice loving person, having married in a place where every day starts with rice and ends with it made me reinvent some of the very famous rice recipes here. Now my menu boasts of many easy to make and scrumptious rice recipes I learned from my MIL and friends here.

And yes if you are already bored with the time consuming & tedious cooking methods of your Risottos and the Shahi Pulav these quickies will win you over hands down

With the summer vacation coming to an end and the children gearing up for the school, the days are going to be more hectic and short. Gone are the days of late night outings and no wake up calls in the mornings. Hitler rule prevails again Need a good revision of lunch box recipes to be packed to school for the kids.

Okra and potatoes being the two most favorite veggies for my kids are often packed with Indian flat breads along with a fruit or fruit juice. The one recipe which wins hands down for my son’s lunchbox is this Peanut butter stuffed Okra.

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.

Eating healthy meals and including foods which does wonders to your body is no easy task. Our palates are more accustomed to eating what we eat day in and day out. And adding or excluding anything from the regular meal demands a big challenge. The onus invariably falls on the mom to make the recipe more appeasing for her family to at least try out the so called healthy foods. But for these Muffins, I could have never imagined my kids eating wheatgerm and banana which has past its prime! I was really surprised when I saw my kids reaching out for these muffins with a big smile. Chocolate chips were added to deceive them …mission accomplished

“The other bunch is free with the one you bought” said the vendor after watching the amused looks on my face. “No one buys these greens here, and I want to empty my cart madam” he continued. Yes Spinach is not a very common sight in many kitchens of South India…good for me, I got my bounty  But then after coming home I was perplexed about how should I make use of these huge piles of lovely greens strewed all over my dinning table!  Palak paneer was surely not in my list, neither was the spinach chapattis which my family is now bored of eating.

The whole of last week went on a spinach bonanza…baking, curries and smoothies..have tried more and enough with these greens in my kitchen. These starters is one such experiment, and if you are a spinach lover then this is a must try for you too. These no-oil Spinach ball starters, soft from inside and crisp on the outside is so simple to make, never new Spinach could give me a winner recipe

These unusual looking fruit never caught my fancy till I first saw the skinned and sliced Kiwi fruit! Beauty wrapped in a dirty gift wrap.. Many still brush them aside as a potato with a weird hairdo or a Chikoo fruit gone berserk

I am in love with these tiny exotica packed with more vitamin C than our humble orange! Barring the ugly exterior the fruit is extremely beautiful and quite dramatic from inside. Speckled with tiny black & crunchy seeds and a color which will put any paint company go insane!

During weekdays with hectic school schedule and busy office routine, breakfast is the only effective meal time when I can stuff my kids and hubby with all the goodness of veggies, fruits, nuts and cereals.

Over the years I have experimented with various breakfast recipes liked by my family and which also give me ample time in the morning rush hours besides providing them with good nutrition. And Vegetable Sandwich is one such recipe I count upon.