White Chocolate Caramel Slice

Hope all are ready for Easter celebrations.... Wishing all my readers a Blessed and Happy Easter! 

Today I am sharing an absolutely decadent little indulgence of White chocolate caramel slices....Got this recipe from Australian Women’s weekly.....I had posted Banoffee Slice recipe from the same book earlier.....This too was really delicious and some of my guests who tried it really loved it..... The only problem for me was cutting the slices into neat pieces after setting as my white chocolate had become very hard.... I suggest using really good quality white chocolate for this....Do let me know if you try this recipe.... 

Mini Carrot Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting ~ March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge: Hidden Veggies

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

It’s been a busy month as my son has school holidays and my whole day is spend with him.... I didn't even read the challenge properly to understand that we have to hide the veggies.... I made this carrot cupcake for the challenge.... Though the carrots are not hidden, these cupcakes are really soft, moist and tasty with the lemon cheese frosting.... try it I am sure you will love it....  

Kadumanga Achar Recipe / Kerala Spicy Mango Pickle Recipe

Kadumanga pickle is every Keralites favorite and since it’s mango season try to make some. Kadumanga is also very popular during Lent; as we abstain from non-veg dishes pickles are in high demand. In our church Kdaumanga pickle is served along with piping hot Kanji and payar after the long Good Friday service.

You can make this pickle in two ways, either grind ginger and garlic along with spices and sauté like I did or you can add chopped ginger and garlic as it is and sauté. I like thick gravy for kadumanga, so I opted for grinding. Also while making pickle one thing to remember is never to add water to the pickle, if you want to store it for a long time... If you need gravy add vinegar not water please and adjust salt....  I have seen a lot of people store their pickle in the refrigerator and I never liked the taste of refrigerated pickle ;)... So here is how I made Kadumanga pickle....

Vettu Cake Recipe / Deep Fried Sweet Cake ~ A Special Chayakkada Palaharam of Kerala ~ Step by Step Recipe

Vettu (Cut)Cake is a famous chayakkada / local tea shop palaharam (snack). Amma used to make this when we were kids and I used to help her cutting and shaping the dough while she fried them in hot oil. The cross like cut on the square shape should be deep, so that when we add the dough to the oil it will puff up and the cut will open up and resemble a flower.... Well mine didn't come out perfect in shape as I was doing it all alone and by the time I started frying the cuts had started joining back :D.... So the point is if you want a perfect shape like a flower ask someone to help you while you are frying them :D.... Eggs used in the original Vettu cake recipe are duck eggs and since I don’t have duck eggs I used large chicken eggs. Another important point while frying is that the heat should always be on medium low; do not over fry vettu cake.... Since its summer holiday time in Kerala make this for your hungry kids and their friends while they are enjoying their holidays! 

Saucy Paneer Recipe

Since it is the Lent Season vegetarian recipes are much in demand.... deciding the daily menu without any non-veg dish is challenging for a Christian family :D.... Since Paneer is loved by almost all I thought of sharing this Saucy Paneer recipe with you today.... with just a couple of sauces you can make this curry very quickly and it goes well with fried rice, noodles or even with chapathi.....  If you don’t have 8 to 8 sauce at home you can easily omit it or substitute with sweet and sour sauce like I do when I run out.... Instead of paneer you can also use Tofu for a vegan version..... Check out the other Paneer recipes I posted earlier too.....

Kerala Style Pork Fry / Nadan Panniyearchi Ularthiyathu

For special occasions like Easter or Christmas, meat is an inevitable dish in Kerala Christian homes, especially Erachi Ularthiyathu / Meat stir fried! I was surprised that I had not posted a Kerala meat fry recipe even after 5+ years of blogging!! It is because whenever I make meat, it does not last long enough to take pictures and also for such common recipes I have wondered about the need to post as almost everybody knows how to make it :).... But now a days I have been getting many requests for such recipes and hence I will make it a point to post those common Kerala recipes.....If you have any such requests do let me know :).... 

Pork is an absolute favorite of mine… I know a lot of you may be thinking while reading this as to how I could possibly think of eating Pork during Lent ;)....  Sorry guys I made this dish quite some time back and somehow delayed posting it.... Whenever I get hold of Pork, I tend to make Pork Veengali and this time for a change I made it like Kerala Beef fry..... Every home has their own way of making erachi ularthiyathu and this is how we make it at home.... If you are a Pork lover do try this and enjoy it with rice, appam, chapathi, bread or as a short eat with your favorite brand of rum/brandy/whiskey/toddy like a true Achayan (malayali Christian guy) way :D :D

Orange Wine Recipe

Last month I decided to experiment by making orange wine. I am glad I did because the result has exceeded all my expectations. It has a very unique zesty flavor that is quite distinct from other types of wine. So far all those who have tasted it have loved it. The wine is ready in less than a month and is quite strong too…so you don’t need to wait months for it to mature. If you like to have a unique wine this Easter try this, it’s easy to make with easily available ingredients and you can have a blast with family and friends :)....

Pacha Manga Chammanthi / Raw Mango Chutney

Pacha Manga Chammanthi, every Malayalis’ favorite with a bowl of kanji and pappadom.... This simple tongue tickling dish is best when prepared on an Arakallu but in modern kitchens we have to make do with the small wet grinding jar of our mixer grinder.... This is best when made with Kanthari mulaku/ bird’s eye chillies and if that’s not available you can use green chillies or dry red chillies.... Make sure not to add any water while grinding.... usually manga chammanthi is serverd with rice but it can be eaten as a quick snack by spreading between bread slices....