Flattened rice or beaten rice or Aval or Avalakki or Poha is one the widely used ingredient in Indian kitchen. Each and every house hold has their signature recipe with this ingredient. Today I am presenting the popular Chivda or Chiwda or the Bombay Mix. Chivda aka Namkeen Chiwda Chivda is sweet and spicy mixture prepared with flattened rice, along with peanuts, nuts, raisins, roasted daliya and spiced up using red chili powder or green chillies....

Is there a better kind of cheesecake than chocolate cheesecake? How about one that’s served in a deep Oreo cookie crust, enriched with real dark chocolate, and decorated with pillowy clouds of homemade whipped cream? Nothing better comes to mind for me, anyway. Cheesecake has a reputation for being a bit fussy, but I’ve cracked the code to give you flawless, smooth, creamy crack-free results, no water bath required! Now let’s go over a few things to make sure your chocolate cheesecake comes out perfectly, every time....

Attention, coconut lovers! These cookies are for you: dainty mounds of sweet coconut, lightly toasted on the edges, with a decadent chocolate coating. Classic macaroons are unique, easy to prepare, and universally popular. How long it takes: 45 minutes Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, baking pans, parchment paper Servings: makes 2 dozen Coconut macaroons are a fairly healthy choice when it comes to cookies. Each good-sized macaroon, with a chocolate coating, is only 139 calories....

My New Favorite Pound Cake I’ve shared quite a few pound cakes here on the blog, but today’s cream cheese pound cake might just be my favorite. While it looks modest, it’s a nice heavy (but not too heavy!) cake that is anything but plain. The cream cheese adds great depth of flavor and makes the cake so tender. The texture is dense (as pound cake should be) and melts in your mouth....

The BEST Cream of Crab I’m extremely particular about my cream of crab soup. It’s a favorite of mine and easy to find here in Maryland but, frustratingly, too many places don’t do a good job with such a simple recipe. My recipe tackles some of my biggest pet peeves with this classic soup. Why You’ll Love This Recipe Simple. Cream of crab soup should be simple. Sometimes, chefs try to get too fancy and add ingredients that just don’t belong....

Be sure to check out the quick, easy how-to video just before the recipe! I am totally aware that the official start of summer is merely days away. I recognize that “swimsuit season” is very much here and now. I get it, healthy recipes are pretty popular right now, they’re monopolizing prime real estate on Pinterest and maybe you’re restricting your diet to things made with quinoa or kale, or labeled “skinny” this or that....

Eggless Baked Mini Donuts Doughnuts / Donuts are one of the simple breakfasts that you can find in all the breakfast joints. In fact, there are countless donut varieties with yummylicious toppings. But instead of fried donuts how to baked donuts without any yeast and eggs? Sounds great huh? Most noteworthy, I can assure you that it tastes great too. So today I am sharing two types of baked donuts – one with butter cinnamon sugar topping and the other one with maple syrup topping....

For the final day of this week’s blogging marathon under ‘Diwali Savorites & Sweets’ theme, I made these melt in your mouth Dulche de leche-Almond peda aka caramel fudge. This dessert is a nice variation to regular peda and is sure to be a hit with your family and friends. Also check out these coconut malai peda that is equally rich and delicious. Idea for this peda came from Jagruthi’s Badam Salted Caramel Mawa Malai Peda recipe....

So it continued this way till this year’s Valentines……for which I finally ended up making a “Lemon Tart” with not only the scary lemon curd but also chocolate hearts ((: So Loooooooong Story Short, here’s the Curd Recipe…….For all of those just like me, TRY it once, its really easy if you are Careful over the double boiler part……Now the ONLY problem was not eating the curd all at once but using it for the actual dessert ;)) Easy and Quick Lemon Curd

Easy Cantaloupe Salad Recipe: As the warm rays of the sun envelop us during the summer months, it’s the perfect time to indulge in light and refreshing dishes. One such culinary delight is this easy sweet-lemony cantaloupe salad. This vibrant and juicy fruit, with its distinct sweet flavor, pairs beautifully with an array of complementary ingredients. Also, known as ‘Kharbuja Salad’ (in India) or ‘Muskmelon Salad’, this one is super easy to make and absolutely delicious to devour....

Light and comforting tamarind poha in less than 20 minutes flat! I am back with another aval upma recipe, and this time it is the puli aval or tamarind poha. If thengai aval is coconut rice without rice, and vella aval is jaggery rice without rice, this puli aval is tamarind rice without rice. :-) Yes, whenever I crave for tamarind rice, I make this instant puli aval upma. While I like thengai aval and vegetable aval for my breakfast, I love this puli aval for my evening tiffin or dinner....

How long it takes: 60 minutes (much of the prep can be done ahead though) Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, sauce pan, mixing bowl Servings: 6 The homemade dressing also is infused with fall-inspired flavors. Warm cinnamon, maple syrup, and sweet apple cider tie this salad together perfectly. This farro salad is hearty enough to stand alone. It also works as a side dish. Pair it with maple cranberry chicken breasts or baked salmon with maple mustard glaze....

How long it takes: just under 2 hours (includes time for the dough to rest) Equipment you’ll need: large bowl, heavy skillet Servings: makes 8 flatbreads Goes with everything. What meal isn’t made more perfect with the addition of freshly made yeasty bread? It’s delicious with this roasted romaine salad with crispy chicken and tomatoes. With homemade hummus, flatbread is a perfect dipper, too. Or wrap dill chicken salad in a homemade flatbread....

How long it takes: 30 minutes to marinate your tomatoes, plus a bit of prepping and boiling the pasta Equipment you’ll need: one bowl and a pot for cooking the pasta Servings: 4 Of course, that’s not to say it wouldn’t be just as delicious any other time of the year. Every bite tastes like an al fresco lunch in the Mediterranean – and who wouldn’t want that mental holiday in the dead of winter?...

Sprinkle-Studded Cheesecake Bars These fun & easy Funfetti cheesecake bars are the party-version of my favorite cheesecake recipe. Perfectly sweetened, bright and colorful, they’re simple to make and a guaranteed showstopper. As with my other cheesecake bars, this recipe does not require a waterbath, making it as simple and low-maintenance as it is beautiful. Spread over a slightly crisp golden Oreo crust, the filling is smooth and creamy. These Funfetti cheesecake bars are great served as-is cut straight from the pan or topped with my homemade whipped cream or hot fudge sauce....

The next recipe after baked boondi with rabri and namak para in the Deepavali/Diwali recipe series is the rich and creamy gulkand panna cotta. You can make this a single-serve dessert or set the panna cotta in a cake pan and make it a centerpiece dessert. Check out the detailed recipe with step-wise pictures and variations, and substitutions. Rose-flavored recipes My love for rose-flavor is no secret. You can find many recipes on my blog with the refreshing flavors of rose syrup, like rose kulfi, rose lassi, rose-flavored ricotta cheese sandesh, Karachi halwa, and many more....

How long it takes: 15 minutes prep time, 2½ to 3½ hours to roast Equipment you’ll need: roasting pan with rack Servings: 14 (7 lb. turkey breast) Shorter roasting time. You won’t have to get up at 6 AM to put that twenty-five pound turkey in the oven. Because a turkey breast is a lot smaller than a whole turkey, it doesn’t need nearly as much time to cook. Perfectly cooked....

Perfect Cream Puffs From Scratch Ready to feel like a fancy French pastry chef? Today we are making perfect cream puffs from scratch! We’ll be using my grandmother’s easy recipe for choux pastry (also known as pâte à choux) and filling it with my simple pastry cream. These are impressive and bakery-display-window-worthy, but also super simple to make (shockingly simple!). They are always a huge hit at parties! A quick rant/clarification: yes, these cream puffs are filled (not sandwiched!...

Make Your Own Poultry Seasoning Did you just run out of poultry seasoning, right in the middle of a recipe? Don’t panic, because you can easily make your own! This recipe has saved me so many times when I couldn’t find or didn’t have any seasoning on hand (especially when I’m in the middle of making my turkey chowder!). It’s made with just 6 simple spices and takes seconds to whisk together....

These honey cookies are one of the sweetest and simplest treats of summer (rivaling my lemon cookies)! While I’d hoped we would have harvested at least some honey from Zach’s bees this year, beekeeping is a little tricky and my husband’s a novice beekeeper, so maybe next year the bees will stick around and I’ll be making these honey cookies with our own honey. We can only hope! Regardless of whether you have home grown (home harvested?...