Chocolate Doodh Burfi | Chocolate Milk Fudge: Indian Festival Sweets

Chocolate Doodh Burfi is one of the most popular burfi items around festival times in Delhi. When I came across this confection the first time I was quite frankly horrified by the idea. The very thought of combining creamy milk burfi with cocoa seemed strange!! But one bite and I was hooked. This delicious sweet is seldom found in the Mithai Shops we have around here. This year I was simply craving this burfi and so I decided to just go ahead and make it. All I can say is that there were no regrets and the family just loved it!!

Spicy Cilantro & Poblano Cornmeal Muffins | Eggless Baking

I always have a bag of cornmeal handy in my pantry. We love corn bread and it can be made in a pinch for soups and stews. Sometimes I make savoury cornmeal muffins. They are simply delicious warm with lashings of butter! I also like to make these for the lunch box. They are easy to carry and not messy to eat especially on a really busy day. Just warm in the microwave and enjoy with your favourite beverage - healthy and nutritious on the go. Yumm!!

Vrat ka Khana | Fasting Foods: Farali Pudina Raita | Minty Yogurt Dip

Yogurt is a must have during fast says, be it plain, in the form of lassi, or a fruit smoothie. This is the simplest way to spice up your yogurt and probably the tastiest if you are fasting!! I love this simple raita as a dip because it perks up all fasting treats. It tastes particularly wonderful with any deep fried fasting foods - like farali pakoras, sago vada, fried potatoes, and more.

Kuttu aur Aloo ka Bonda | Deep Fried Buckwheat and Potato Patties: Fasting Foods

Here is another deep fried treat for those of my readers who are fasting this Navratri. I made some farali Aloo Bondas with sendha namak, cumin powder, and potatoes. I used kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour) to make the outer covering of the bondas. As always the kuttu did not disappoint and they turned out delicious. So delicious that they disappeared almost as soon as they were fried.

Rava Laddoo | Rava Laddu | Suji Laddoo: Indian Festival Sweets

Oftentimes we are in a great hurry and find it difficult to spend time in the kitchen laboriously making sweets. This is all too true during the festival period when there are so many activities at home and events elsewhere that attract our attention. Yet the thought of store bought mithai is so depressing, especially to many of us who have homes on other continents! All sweets tend to taste the same - full of sugar and no flavour of their own, so much so that it becomes impossible to distinguish one from the other!!

Vrat ka Khana | Fasting Foods: Kuttu aur Aloo Ke Pakore | Buckwheat and Potato Chips

Kuttu or Buckwheat is the base food in the North Indian Hindu Kitchen during key fasting dates. Navrarti is no exception and delicious treats are prepared using this gluten free buckwheat flour or kuttu ka atta during this festival period! I remember Kuttu from my very early childhood when my grandmother would sometimes add it to her diet during fasts. Usually she made roti or puri with it.

Yummylicious Banana Cardamom Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is one of our favourite banana cakes. Seasoned with cardamom that complements bananas so beautifully, it is a perfect treat for the festive season! Of course, I love that the cake is eggless too. Usually when I make this cake in the afternoons for tea, I just dust it with some icing sugar! This time however to chase the rainy day blues away, I decided to indulge and frost it too:) The frosting recipe is very easy to do, just throw it all together and blend it and you are good to go.

Khasta Aloo | Crispy Pan Fried Potatoes

Potatoes are said to be the perfect food. While I am not so sure about that, they certainly are universal. Pretty much every culture boils, mashes, and fries potatoes and seasons them in its own unique way. Interestingly almost everyone who loves potatoes enjoys them in any form available!! I know people who always look for potatoes on the menu when traveling in an attempt to ensure a vegetarian and filling meal!!

Rustic Mushroom and Corn Empanadas

The Daring Cooks September 2012 Challenge was Empanada Gallega! Yet another delightful recipe from the ever creative Daring Bakers!!! I made a vegetarian version, though not in pie form. I made individual Mushroom Corn Empanadas with caramelized onions. Oh, they were really good, kept well in the refrigerator for a few days and also warmed beautifully in the microwave later.

Roasted Cumin and Poblano Whole Wheat Scones (Eggless)

When someone mentions scones, the first thing that comes to mind are Raisin Scones that go so perfectly with butter and jam and a cup of hot tea. I love them and make them every so often. More recently though I love baking savoury scones that also taste wonderful with butter, are perfect with a cup of soup, and taste great cold too.