Chocolate, Cookies, and Peanut Butter Fudge

I was browsing my blog the other morning and realized that I have not posted candy or fudge recipes here in quite a while!! Given that they are my favorite treats to make and share I lost no time in making a batch to photograph and share. Today's recipe is really simple. Just a few ingredients from your pantry and you are set.

Meethi Mathri | Sweet Mathri Recipe

The day after I made my second batch of Mathris, I decided I must make some Meethi Mathris (Sweet Mathris) too this year! Deep fried dough soaked in fragrant sugar syrup. Whats not to like? These Mathris turned out to be perfectly crunchy, sweet, and delicious. We enjoyed them with steaming hot cups of tea!!

Mathri | Classic Mathri Recipe | Crispy Deep Fried Dough

Nothing says celebration in the North of India like Mathris. A staple of weddings, get-togethers, and festivals alike Mathris are a treat! In India, making Mathri was a bi-annual affair. Come Diwali or Holi, mounds of salty dough made with maida and ghee would be shaped into discs and deep fried to a crisp. For the kids, it meant enjoying hot crispy Mathris straight out of the fryer and then the cooled down flaky ones which would be stored in air sealed glass containers for days to come.

Easy Masala Peanuts | Spiced Peanuts | Microwave Recipe

Its that time of the year when Sunday nights are game nights. I have been following the games for several years now and always feel that excitement on Sunday afternoon when the match is about the start. With butterflies in my stomach, especially when my team is on the roster, I feel no mood or inclination to enter the kitchen. Game days inevitably call for quick and easy food that can be prepared in advance and enjoyed at leisure:)

Chocolate and Nuts Biscuit Cake | No Bake Dessert Recipe

Now-a-days I am making a lot of no bake desserts. In this past week, I have been experimenting with multiple versions of Chocolate Biscuit Cake. At the beginning of the week I made a divine one with biscuits and cinnamon crackers, then shortly after that one with biscuits and candy, and today I made one with graham crackers and toasted almonds!!

Ragi Atta Bread | Finger Millet Wheat Bread | Baking Bread at Home

I love baking with ragi (finger millet). It is certainly not one of the easiest of flours to bake with but the results are always delicious and spectacular. This loaf has three flours - all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and ragi flour. This blend serves not only to balance the gluten in the flours, but also the texture and taste of the loaf.

Tamatar Chawal | Easy Seasoned Tomato Rice

Rice is the easiest of foods to prepare in a rush. Today's recipe involves cooked rice, so its the prefect recipe if you have some rice ready to use in your refrigerator! This Tomato Rice is a yummy treat for adults and kids alike. I like to serve it hot with chutney and plain yogurt. Alternatively, this is a great treat to carry in your lunch box or for a day out too.

Oats and Red Rice Idli | Oats and Rosematta Rice Idly

Of late idlis have become a staple in our diet. No, they longer belong to the weekends. The steamer is always ready in my kitchen now. The regular idlis area  combination of rice and urad dal and are the best part of any gluten free diet. However, I love to experiment with new foods and create nutritious recipes in my kitchen - trying different grains to create a yummy and healthy idli is my current fix.

Pesto Swirl Loaf | Baking Bread at Home

This morning I baked one of our favorite loafs - a savory braided pesto loaf. This super delicious bread is so simple to make and a real keeper. Its perfect as a travel meal, great on picnics, and much loved in the lunch box! Slice it, tear and share it, enjoy it warmed or with soup - in every way its nothing short of yummy:)

Marble Cake

I have been baking lots of cakes lately. Sadly, time to blog has become quite limited and so I am unable to put thing online at a regular pace. Today I decided to steal a little tie out of my schedule to share a recipe for my favorite marble cake. I usually make an eggless version of this but I thought I'd like to share a recipe that uses eggs today.

Herb & Spice Olive Oil Bread | Eggless Baking

This bread was baked around the time I did my Nutella Swirl Bread. Ever since its been too hot around here to even approach the oven!! I am glad I saved this recipe in my blog drafts, as I have been receiving so many requests from friends for more bread recipes:) Its a very simple loaf to bake, and is so very flavorful too. Just toss in your favorite herbs and spices and you are good to go.

Nutella Swirl Bread | Eggless Baking

I can hardly believe its June already! It feels like yesterday when I wrote my last post but its been two months since I posted a recipe on Annarasa. I have been cooking and baking a lot of the good stuff and am now back with new super delicious recipes to share. Spring will give way to summer and none too soon in my opinion! The weather has been really strange - abundant sunshine followed by heavy clouds and chilly winds.

Sweet Red Onion and Cilantro Quick Bread | Eggless Baking

When I first started baking bread regularly, one of my go to recipe would be Quick Bread or Cheats Bread as I like to call it. No yeast, no kneading, no shaping by hand, and most importantly no waiting!! From start to finish an average quick bread can be ready in just over an hour. Warm, soft, super delicious with globs of butter, a good quick bread can make your day. I usually make these breads for breakfast, but you can bake them at night, cool  them, wrap them in foil and save them in the refrigerator for the next day. Planning a family get together? Quick breads are perfect - bake and freeze for up to a month and you are good to go.

Maraschino Cherry and Chocolate Chip Loaf

Last Saturday, I baked a fragrant Maraschino Cherry and Chocolate Chip loaf. It was meant for a get together with friends, some of whom I saw after a really very long time. It was a beautiful sunny day and we ate outdoors, picnic style. With the changing weather its just great to get out in the open. The warmth of the sun is reassuring and there are so many pretty wild flowers around.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Almond Breakfast Bars | Eggless Baking

Almonds are a nutrition powerhouse. I love cooking and baking with them and my latest passion is to bake with almond butter. Last month I baked the super delicious Cinnamon Almond Raisin Twists where I used almond butter as a spread in the twists. And last summer my Almond Butter Oats Cookies were such a treat that I keep getting repeat orders for them!!

Dates and Walnut Cake | Eggless Baking

Date and Walnut was and continues to be one of my favorite cakes. I remember baking it as a kid in high school. We always ate it with hot custard or vanilla ice cream. This recipe is heavily tweaked from my original as it had no eggs and is made with a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. The eggless version comes out really well - great crumb, it slices well, and is incredibly moist and delicious.

Honey Wheat Bread | No Knead Bread Recipe

Honey Wheat Bread is probably my favorite loaf to bake. I love the graininess of the bread crumb and the sweetness of the bread. It tastes so good toasted with lashings of butter and good home made fruit preserve. Personally, I like it with toasted to crunchy, buttered, and with lots of spreading honey!!

Pakora Khuzambhu | Onion Fritters Curry

Kuzhambu  is a cherished curry dish in my home. Combining flavors of spicy, sweet, tart - it makes for the perfect curry. I blogged about my favorite Tomato Kuzhambhu a couple of years back. Today its a recipe for yet another delicious and tangy curry - Pakora Kuzhambu. Crispy onion pakoras, deep fried and golden, dipped in a spicy tamarind and coconut milk curry!! Could you ask for more?

Edamame Ghugra | Oven Baked Low Fat Recipe

Ghugra is a classic tea time snack in India. Savory Ghugras are typically made with green peas or green beans and deep fried. Sweet versions, know in the North as Gujiya are stuffed with Khoya (milk solids), coconut, cardamon, nuts, and dried fruits. They are especially popular during Holi or the Festival of Colors celebrated every year in Spring.

Moong Dal Paratha | Mung Bean Flatbread

Stuffed Dal Parathas are a favorite winter treat. There are many types of dal parathas and many ways of making them. But Moong Dal Paratha seasoned with just turmeric, asafoetida, and fennel are truly the best. Hot off the pan they taste super with yogurt and pickle. Save them in the refrigerator for the next day, and enjoy them warmed with a dollop of ghee and your favorite salad.

Bananas Foster Cake | Eggless Baking

Bananas Foster makes for the most addictive dessert! Whenever I have some bananas sitting on the counter that are about to get over ripe, I am tempted to make Bananas Foster for dessert. So a couple of weeks back when just about 6 bananas were about to go over the edge, I decided to improvise. If you like Bananas Foster, what can be better than a batch of Bananas Foster jam? I made the jam by improvising on the Bananas Foster recipe.

Spicy Garlic Bread | Lasun Dabal Roti | Bread Recipes

Sour Cream Breads are wonderfully moist, dense, and inevitably delicious. The sour cream adds not only to the taste of bakery goods, it also gives them great moisture. As I am baking at a fairly regularly now, I try and rotate the kinds of breads I bake. On the weekend I baked the Cinnamon Almond Raisin Twists and a loaf of Hokkaido Milk Loaf. The milk bread disappeared so fast that I did not even get the opportunity to blog about it!!

Cinnamon Almond Raisin Twists

I love almond butter and baking with it is such fun. Apart from the fact that its really easy to bake with, and the taste that almond butter imparts to the baked product, its also a great and healthy alternative to butter. Last summer I baked Almond Butter Oats Cookies and they turned out delicious. Since then I have done a lot of baking and cooking using almond butter and been very happy with both the taste and quality of the product.

Seven Cup Cake | Seven Cup Barfi

Seven Cup Cake or Seven Cup Barfi is nothing more than a variation to the regular Basan Barfi. It is a deliciously rich melt in the mouth sweet that is perfect for any festive occasion. Seven Cup Cake was my choice of sweet last Diwali. I was craving Besan Barfi and Mysore Pak, but eventually settled upon this barfi. Apart from being incredibly easy to make, this sweet will keep very well if refrigerated for several weeks.

Buttery Brown Sugar Shortbread | Eggless Baking

Shortbread is the ultimate biscuit. At least I happen to think so. I got addicted to them many years ago when I traveled to Scotland on work. Being a regular in Edinburgh, it was impossible to walk past any store, tea shop, or grocer without seeing an assortment of shortbread. I always made sure I carried back a stash on return home:)

Savory Cheddar Cheese Scones | Eggless Baking

Scones are like a quick bread and are perfect for baking in a pinch. Last weekend I made two breads - the cinnamon rolls and a vegetable bread. Both moved really fast and last night I knew I'd need another batch for the week. So instead of starting another batch of yeast bread I decided to make savory scones. Quick baking, a tasty bread that can be eaten warmed with butter, turned into a delicious sandwich, or even dunked in hot soup at dinner.

Buttery Indulgent Cinnamon Rolls | Eggless Baking

Fresh baked cinnamon rolls make for the best weekend breakfast. Chilly winter mornings make it so difficult to get out of bed. Just the thought of the chill is enough to make one want to curl up back in bed for that one last snuggle. But weekends are different, aren't they? Lazy mornings, hot coffee, and buttery cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven make it all that easier.

Semolina Carrot Quick Bread Revisited | Healthy Snacks

Semolina Quick Breads are a tasty and healthy alternative to heavy, oily snacks. They are nutritious, filling, and if you are particular about your baked goodies - eggless! Earlier this year I posted my favorite recipe for Semolina Loaf. The recipe was loaded with vegetables and made for a delicious and dense bread. Since then I have tried many permutations of the recipe, and off late we have settled on a somewhat lighter version of the same.