THE KITCHEN AFFAIRE

Appam is one of A 's favorites. So that was among the first few dishes I tried making when we were newly weds <3. And thanks to Divya of Easy Cooking for this easy and "made from scratch" recipe which comes out looking beautifully lacy and tasting delicious.  A  loves it, so do I. Here comes the recipe as it is...   Courtesy: Easy Cooking   Ingredients Raw rice – 1 C Cooked rice – ½ C Grated coconut – ½ C Salt to taste Baking powder – 1 t Sugar – 1 T Eno Fruit salt – 1 sachet Method Soak the raw rice for 4-6 hours. Grind to a smooth batter adding the cooked rice and grated coconut and enough water. Add the baking powder and salt. Mix well and keep it covered for 8-10 hours.[I keep it overnight] Next morning add sugar and mix well,add more water if the batter is too thick-it has to be of pouring consistency. Just before you start making the appam,add eno fruit salt to the batter. The batter will froth up instantly,mix gently

A and me love to try new stuff but there are days when we love to indulge in some of our favorite "not so healthy" dishes. One among that is Poori Bhaji masala.  A  reminiscence his college days when I make this. Those were days when he used to travel from  home to his college in local trains. And those trains used to sell hot and yummy Poori Bhaji masala for breakfast. Good times for sure! So here is our weekend cheat food special for you guys out there.. :)  Poori  Ingredients Wheat flour - 2 C Yogurt - a teaspoon Warm Water - 1 C (as needed to prepare the dough) Oil - to deep fry  Method Knead the dough (with yogurt) by gradually adding warm water.  Keep aside for 10 -15 mins. Roll them into small (not too thin) circles. Heat oil in a pan and wait till it gets hot. Test heat by dropping a lil' piece of dough into the pan, if the dough rises up instantly, it is ready. Drop the pooris one by one into the hot oil. Once you drop

Courtesy: Marias Menu Maria made  9 inch loaf & 10 standard size cupcakes with the below specified qty Ingredients Milk – 1½ cups Butter – 100 gms (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp approx) Oil – ¼ cup (I used sunflower oil) Coco Powder – ½ cup ( I used Hershey’s) Self Raising Flour – 1 cup (Refer notes for substitute) Egg – 1 beaten, room temp Baking Soda – ½ tsp (refer notes) Sugar – 1 cup + 2 tbsp (250 gms) Method Preheat the oven at 180 C/350-375 F, a few mins before baking.  Heat together milk, butter, oil & coco powder till the butter melts. Let it cool to room temperature. Add flour, baking soda, sugar & beaten egg to the cooled wet ingredients. Beat it well using an electric beater or hand whisk till it is mixed well. You can either use it to make cupcakes or cake.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15- 20 mins for the cupcake & 25- 30 mins for the loaf cake. For cupcakes: Line your cupcake tin with paper liners (I use 2 liners per cupcake) &am

The thought of egg puffs brings back fond memories of my college days. The bakery near my hostel sold the tastiest puffs in the world. That too, egg puffs. An egg puff and Sharjah shake was always the popular combination at that hangout. It was just fantabulous. I was trying to recreate that aroma and taste. Though I couldn't match that taste, it was pretty close. :) Ingredients Puff pastry sheets : 1  Eggs : 3  Chopped onions : 2 cups Ginger paste : 1 T  Garlic paste : 1 T  Coriander Powder : 1 t  Garam masala : 2 pinch  Turmeric powder : 1/4 t  Red chilli powder : 1 t  Salt as required  Oil : 3 T   Method Preparing Thaw the pastry sheet by leaving it out in room temperature for about an hour or so.  Boil the eggs and take the shell.  Cut each egg vertically(lengthwise)into two halves. For the stuffing Heat oil in the pan. Fry onion until it gets brown.  Then add ginger and garlic paste. Fry till its smell goes.  Then add garam m

This drink is perfect to serve to guests at a party/get-together. Not only is it a refreshing drink but also a beautiful one. Really! Just look at the pics :) Dont you think so? I have to say thanks to my friends for introducing us to this drink. We had it a couple of times and fell in love with it. So when we had guests this time we thought this would be a winner. And it was.. Everybody loved it..  :) Ingredients Pina Colada non alcoholic frozen fruit mix - 1 can Dacqri  (red color) - fruit/strawberry mix - 1 can  Pineapple flavor fanta soda - 1 Ice cubes - 2 C Oranges, sliced -  2 Mint leaves - a sprig Cold Water - a cup Method  (Prepare the drink right before the guests come - max15 mins before) Mix Pina Colada and Dacqri fruit mix in a large bowl or a beverage dispenser (as seen in the pic). Add the Pineapple soda to it and mix. To this, add the rest of the ingredients and give it a quick stir. Close the dispenser with the lid. Your fruit punch is re

Ingredients Chana dal (split bengal gram/kadala parippu) – 2 C Onion – 1, finely chopped Green chilli – 3, finely chopped Ginger – 2 t, finely chopped Curry leaves – 2 sprigs Kayam (asafetida) – 1/8 t Salt - to taste Oil for deep frying Method Wash and soak chana dal in water for 2 hours.  Drain the water completely and make sure that the dal is dry. Coarse grind the drained dal (do not add water) for a few seconds. Make sure not to grind it to a smooth paste.  Add rest of the ingredients except oil to the ground mix and gently mix together.  Make small balls with the ground mix. Heat oil for deep frying pan on high flame.  While the pan gets hot, flatten the balls in your palm. When oil is really hot, reduce the flame to low-medium and add the vada/fritter.  Fry till the vadas (fritters) become golden brown or if you like it extra crispy, fry till you get a darker shade.  Drain excess oil on a tissue paper.  Serve hot Notes: Its alw