Best of 2013

How fast time flew by! It feels like just recently we celebrated New Years and it’s the last day of the year so soon!!!  2013 was not the very best for me....  But I am thankful for all the blessings God give us all throughout the year, for protecting us and keeping us safe and healthy to see another year.... Blog wise also I was not regular, taking a lot of breaks in between.... But some good things like winning the DMBLGIT for my Orange Soaked Bundt Cake and also more recently being acknowledged as one of 30 best Indian Food Bloggers by Awesome Cuisine :)... This year I was able to do my first wedding cake for my brother’s wedding and it was like a dream come true.... Another proud achievement was a Two- Tier Fondant Cake I made.... I am thankful to all my readers, friends and family  for encouraging me every time and I hope to come up with more recipes in the coming year...  Here are some of the most popular posts from 2013 on Swapna’s Cuisine :)....

Mango Cheese Cake 

Kerala Style Pork Fry / Nadan Panniyearchi Ularthiyathu

Eggless Chocolate Mousse

Vettu Cake Recipe / Deep Fried Sweet Cake

Ombre Rose Cake

Orange Wine

Chocó flan Cake /Chocolate Flan Cake 

Kadumanga Achar Recipe / Kerala Spicy Mango Pickle 

Orange-Soaked Bundt Cake

Nelllikka Chammanthi Recipe / Amla Chutney Recipe / Indian Gooseberry Chutney Recipe

Nadan Kozhi Mappas / Chicken Mappas / Kerala Chicken Curry in Creamy Coconut Sauce 

Pepper Chicken Masala 

Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani

Chocolate and Butterscotch Fudge

Pastelde Tres Leches – Three-Milk Cake 

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies With Marshmallow Crème Filling ~ December Daring Bakers' Challenge

Whoopie pies are a cross between a cookie and a cake (not a pie!), with two round, mound-shaped halves sandwiching a sweet creamy filling. 

The December Daring Bakers' Challenge had us all cheering - the lovely and talented Bourbonnatrix of Bourbonnatrix Bakes was our hostess and challenged us to make fun, delicious and creative whoopie pies! Delicious little cake-like cookies sandwiching luscious filling in any flavors we chose... What else is there to say but "Whoopie!"

Since this is the first time I am making Whoopie Pie I wanted to stick to the Classic Whoopie Pie recipe. For filling I couldn’t find Marshmallow Fluff/ Marshmallow Crème in the market here, so I had to make it at home. Found an easy recipe for the fluff on the net. It was really fun making whoopee pie, marshmallow fluff and the filling all from scratch. This time my super picky eater son loved the whoopie pies and he was the one who ate the most!

Merry Christmas to All :)

Candy Cane Cookies

May this Christmas fill your hearts with warmth, peace and joy! We Wish You and Your Loved Ones A Holy and a Blessed Christmas!

During Christmas season I try to bake at least one new cookie every year. This year I tried the Candy Cane Cookies for my little one's school Christmas party. It was a little more time consuming than I expected but it was fun. Hope all of you are ready with your Christmas menu and if you are looking for ideas please go through my Christmas special menu…

Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani

Like I said in my Mutton Biriyani post there are plenty of ways to make biriyani and every household has their own unique recipe for the same. This recipe is from my mom which many moons ago was published in Vanitha magazine. Whenever I make chicken biriyani I stick to this recipe as it is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time and baked just before serving. So if you are planning to make biriyani on Christmas or New Year try this one and let me know :)

Classic Fudge Brownie

As Christmas and New Year’s draw close, everybody must be busy baking cakes and cookies… I too have baked my first batch of Christmas Fruit Cake… To ring in the festive cheer I thought of sharing this decadent Classic Fudge Brownie, a perfect Christmas gift if you don’t want to make fruit cake and cookies… These are quick and easy to put together; yet immensely rich and satisfying; I am sure people will definitely love this little bite of chocolate heaven! Always use the best quality dark chocolate and cocoa powder for making brownies. The original recipe uses pecan nuts, since I didn't have pecans I used a mix of cashew nuts and almonds… You can reduce or completely omit nuts in this recipe if you so desire… do try this heavenly little bits this holiday season and enjoy it as is or serve warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce!  

Gingerbread Doughnut Muffins

Holidays are around the corner I am sure everybody is looking for an easy yet different recipe to try out. I found this irresistible breakfast treat at Annie’s Eats and after reading the recipe, I found myself in the kitchen baking these! The spices that go into this muffin, the cinnamon-sugar topping and of course the name all inspired me to try it immediately :)... These are soft and tender and with the right amount of mixed spices, it is a real treat on a lazy holiday morning to share with family and friends over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate... the best thing about this recipe is you can prepare and serve in less than one hour....You can even bake them in a doughnut pan too..... Try these muffins during this festive season.... 

Kerala Style Potato Stew / Urulakizhangu Stew

Potato Stew is a very easy and simple dish of Kerala that goes well with Appam, Poori, Chapathi, Puttu, Idiyappam,  or even with plain bread.... I have posted another Vegetable Stew earlier with strong and spicy flavors with darker hues due to the masalas used in it, whereas this one has a more subtle flavor.... Here is how we make Potato stew in our homes.... 

Homemade Mint Wine Recipe

Christmas is around the corner and many of you may have already started your Christmaspreparations..... I know some of you have already made wines and soaked fruits for your cake as I have been getting several emails with doubts regarding the same.... I am trying my best to reply to all of you.... But I have a small request.... please read the recipe thoroughly as most of your queries are already answered in my recipe. For e.g. I have clearly mentioned in every recipe how many days you have to stir the wine and how many days to keep the wine.... so please don’t send me questions that are already answered.... Also do check the post “Tips for making Homemade Wines” as this will help tremendously.... Thanks for understanding :)....If in case you are looking for a nice Christmas Cake recipe here is the link....

I made this Mint wine last April. It’s a really sweet dessert wine with a subtle mint taste....  Even though you can consume it after 30 days, the wine looks little cloudy. I got this very clear wine after keeping it for almost 6 months. So I suggest you allow this wine to age for approximately 6 months after which you will get a mild mint flavored clear wine.

Two-Tier Birthday Cake with Marshmallow Fondant ~ My first fondant attempt on a two tier cake

I made this cake on my birthday last week. Every year, at Christmas, I used to make homemade fondant and decorate a small fruit cake… but I had never tried fondant on a regular sponge cake… so  to experiment fondant on a two tier cake I made this on my birthday… Bottom layer of the cake was a Vanilla Buttermilk cake and top layer was a Dark chocolate Cake and I layered and lightly crumb coated the cake with Buttercream Frosting and then covered and decorated the cakes with homemade Marshmallow Fondant… I really enjoyed making this cake :) …. 

Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake

I love simple citrus cakes and I enjoy making bundt cakes:).... It’s amazing to see the beautifully baked bundt cake in front of us when we remove the cake from the pan..... My heart always beats faster when I try to remove the cake from the bundt always apprehensive of whether the cake will retain its beautiful shape or not ;)..... Now a days I am obsessed with collecting bundt pans along with props; so if anyone is planning to give me a gift, hope you got some ideas right?? ;).... Jokes apart, this is a fabulous cake with the orange and cardamom flavor and the citrus glaze drizzled on top of the warm cake makes it a delicious treat!

Spicy Barbecue Sauce Recipe

I always keep a bottle of barbecue sauce in my kitchen and I add a little when I make chicken for pizza topping or in sandwiches or while grilling chicken, fish etc.  I used to make homemade Tomato Sauce when tomatoes are in season … When I saw this Barbecue recipe in a burger book, I tried it and it came out really good. It is easy to make but a little time consuming and definitely healthier than the store bought ones as it does not contain any preservatives … Here is how I made Spicy Barbecue Sauce…

Pastel de Tres Leches – Three-Milk Cake ~ Daring Baker’ September 2013 Challenge

Pastel de Tres Leches or Three milk cake was on my do list for quite some time and I even bought all the ingredients once too… But somehow I was never able to make it …. When this month’s Daring Bakers’ challenge was announced I did not want to miss the opportunity to make this cake. I did not add fruits to the cake layers, just decorated the cake with some raspberries. If you want you can add fruits like peaches, mangoes, berries or cherries. I really enjoyed this month’s challenge and will definitely make this cake again!

This recipe slightly adapted from an interview given by one of Mexico's best Pastry Chefs; Paulina Abascal to the magazine Revista Secretos de la Pastelería Caserais it produces a super moist yet light Tres Leches.

Pastel de Tres Leches– Three-Milk Cake is a super moist, light, airy and super delicious sponge cake soaked in the three kinds of milk (evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream). Tres Leches is a very light cake (especially if made without butter), with many air bubbles in its crumb. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.

Inma was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!

Tomato Jam Recipe

My mom was an expert in jam making and I have already posted her Mixed fruit jam and Banana jam recipe... But this Tomato Jam was something new I learned from my mother-in-law... she used to make it frequently and she passed her recipe to me... recently while flipping through my recipe collection I noticed this one and realized that I haven’t made it in years!.... It was my hubby’s favorite jam while he was a kid and he used to eat straight from the bottle and still does the same :D.... Try this tomato jam when tomatoes are in season but make sure not to overcook it.... if you cook more it will become very hard and sticky after cooling....  

Ombre Rose Wedding Cake

Hi everybody.... I am back after a 2 month vacation..... Usually I used to schedule a few posts when I go on holidays but this time around I couldn't find time to do so and hence my blog was idle for the last 2 months! I have been away from my blog most of the time..... and could not respond to your comments or queries.... After returning I tried my best to reply to all of you and if I have missed any please let me know..... And thanks a lot to all my readers who have visited this space and to those who liked my FB page too.... 

Chocolate and Caramel Tart ~ June Daring Bakers' challenge, Life Of Pie :)

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! :)

Rachael gave us four delicious sweet pie recipes to choose from and I really wanted to try all of them… But I could only make this smooth and utterly indulgent French Chocolate and caramel tart before I left for our vacation in beautiful Switzerland…. I used store bought caramel (Dulce de Leche) for the caramel layer and we really enjoyed this chocolate indulgence…. Thank you Rachael for the great challenge :)

Eggless Chocolate Mousse Recipe

I have posted a couple of Chocolate Mousse recipes earlier, an Instant ChocolateMousse with Marshmallows, a White Chocolate Mousse and an Eggless ChocolateMousse from Nita Mehta’s book.... I used to make the eggless chocolate mousse a lot during those times.... the Eggless chocolate Mousse I am posting today is also from Nita Mehta’s, this one is more richer and chocolaty as it has chocolate along with cocoa powder.... It’s very easy to make and you can use either gelatin or China grass (agar agar)..... Do try this rich chocolaty treat next time when you arrange a party for chocolate lovers :)

Uppumanga Curry (Salted Mangoes in Coconut Gravy)

A traditional vegetarian side dish of Kerala made with Uppumanga / salted mangoes in brine..... I made this curry following the same recipe of Chakkakuru Manga curry .... A plate of boiled rice with this curry, a piece of fish fry and some stir fried vegetable is bliss for lunch! 

Pazham Jam Recipe / Banana Jam Recipe

I grew up watching amma making different kinds of jam according to the seasonal fruits available. The varieties she made included mixed fruit, pineapple and Pazham (banana) jam.... and if you ask me which is my favorite, the answer without hesitation will be Pazham Jam :)...I love it to the core... This banana jam we made while I was in Kerala last summer, I know almost a year back :D… When I went for a short visit to my aunt’s place she had lot of Palayan kodan pazhams in her backyard.... I ate a lot of them and then she made a bottle of jam for me as she knows how much I like banana jam :)...

Pazham jam is a Kerala specialty and it is best made out of Palayan Kodan pazham (sorry I don’t know the English translation), a smaller variety of bananas available in Kerala. The jam get’s its deep reddish colour from the quality of the banana used... unlike other regular jam’s pazham jam will be little watery in consistency and if you cook more it will become very hard and sticky.... You can use other types of bananas but the colour and the taste will definitely vary....

Foodpanda ~ a unique online food ordering service!

I have never done a review on my site before. But when Foodpanda requested me to do a review I thought it will be helpful for some of my readers.

Foodpanda is an up and coming website that operates by delivering food from a wide range of restaurants as well as fast food outlets to either homes and/ or offices in 11 cities in India, namely Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, etc. Foodpanda introduces a convenient food ordering service for their customers that provides a great variety of culinary choices online. Simply enter your post code and search for cuisine type, restaurants or even price range. The restaurant index also includes address and delivery hours.

So next time you are too tired to cook and just want to relax and chill at home try ordering from Foodpanda and experience the convenience of ordering online with just a few effortless clicks!

I will be back with some delightful recipes soon… Enjoy your weekend!

Nelllikka Chammanthi Recipe / Amla Chutney Recipe / Indian Gooseberry Chutney Recipe

Everybody knows the nutritional benefits of Nellikka / Amla / Indian gooseberries. I buy some whenever it’s available and the best way to eat it is raw dipped in some salt.... Sometimes I make wine, pickles, chutney and once in a while I even throw it in the blender and make juice.... If you haven’t tried it as chutney do try this tongue tickling chutney..... 

Chicken with Bell Peppers

I have been making this for quite some time and it’s a Ree Drummond recipe. The original recipe is with Beef and here I used chicken instead, but I have tried beef also many times and both are equally good.... The main thing we love about this curry is that it goes with almost anything like rice, noodles or even with chapathi.....  It can be served as a side dish or as a main dish after mixing it with some noodles..... 

Mango and Passion Fruit Flavored Savarin ~ April 2013 Daring Bakers Challenge

Savarin is a yeasted cake made with the same dough as Rum Baba. I made Rum Baba a couple of years back… the difference between the two  are, rum baba has raisins or currants in the dough and is baked in tall cylindrical baba mold and served without a filling. Savarin is made without raisins and baked in a large ring mold and the hole in the centre is filled with pastry cream and fresh fruits. 

Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!

I made a Mango and Passion Fruit flavored soaking syrup. The glaze was made with mango jam. I served the Savarin with fresh mangoes and vanilla whipped cream. I halved the recipe and used 2 small bundt pans for baking. We all enjoyed the Savarin and thank you Natalia for a great challenge.

Orange-Soaked Bundt Cake

Recently when I saw this recipe I tried it and we really loved this amazingly moist cake.... The cake has a good orange flavor and is very moist.... both flavor and moistness improves with time..... I made some changes from the original recipe, the amount of oil in the original seemed a little too much for me so I reduced it to ½ cup, I used orange zest in the cake not lemon zest and for syrup I used fresh orange juice not frozen.... It was a really good cake and the best part is you can make it 2 or 3 days ahead of time if you are planning a party and the cake tastes wonderful after 2 days.....

Uppumanga / Salted Tender Mangoes in Brine

I think Uppumanga (Raw mangoes in brine) with kanji along with a kanthari mulaku (bird’s eye chilly) is the Malayali’s favorite comfort food... right?? I know my husband will not agree with it :D...  Almost a year ago when Sarah of Vazhayila posted this recipe it triggered my childhood memories...  But I never got tender mangoes (kannimanga) here...  so this year when I saw some green mangoes I decided to make it with that... so I selected the smallest thin skin mangoes available and made Uppumanga and now I am a happy girl having it with kanji and making uppumanga curry and chutney! Traditionally uppumanga is preserved in a big bharani (earthen pot).... In one of my old recipe books it’s written that to prevent it from fungal attack, in the old days people make a pouch with clean sand in a cloth and tie the bharani with this sand pouch and the Uppumanga preserved this way lasts yearlong! If you don’t have a bharani use clean glass bottles, make sure to add enough salt water to cover the mangoes.... My aunt told me to add little coriander powder tied in a clean cloth in the brine to givethe mangoes and the brine a lovely smell.... Always use clean sterilized bharani / jar to preserve mangoes and use a dry spoon, else you will see fungus attack....

Arabic Stuffed Zucchini in Tomato Sauce / Kousa Mihshi Recipe

Kousa Mihshi (Stuffed Zucchini) is an Arabic main dish and widely popular in this region. Minced beef / lamb is mixed with raw rice and spices and then stuffed inside the cored Kousa / koosa (marrow squash / Arabic zucchini) and cooked in tomato paste. I used minced chicken instead of red meat.... I got the basic recipe from my maid and then I searched on the net and made this dish to suit our taste buds.... While searching the net I remember reading on one site that you can make a vegetarian version of this dish by replacing the meat with chopped mushrooms, I never tried it though.... If you like zucchini you will enjoy this mildly spiced dish. Serve as a main dish along with some nice salad.... 

Passion Fruit Squash Recipe

Like I have said in many of my passion fruit recipe posts, my appa collects and freezes passion fruit pulp for me which I then bring back to Kuwait. Since my son loves passion fruit juice appa always tells me to make juice for his grandson....  alas little does he know that his daughter uses most of the pulp for her baking / desserts or wine than for making squash for his grandson :D.... But this time I made sure to make some squash as I received many requests for the squash recipe... Amma used to make passion fruit squash using this recipe.... Potassium meta bi sulpahte is used to preserve the squash, so that you don’t need to store this syrup in the fridge.... But if you are making small quantities I suggest not to use preservatives and to keep the juice in the fridge and it will lasts months.... Do make this squash if you get hold of some passion fruit and also you can use this squash to make fabulous cocktails with rum or vodka.... 

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

Hope you all had a great Easter celebration with family and friends! In Kerala traditionally we make IndariAppam on Maundy Thursday and have it for supper. Good Friday we spend 6-7 hours in church and  serve piping hot Kanji and payar at the end of mass.... And on Easter it’s always Appam and Chicken curry for breakfast, followed by a lavish lunch and dinner with non-veg delicacies made with chicken, beef, mutton and pork... Hot Cross buns are not even part of our tradition :)... But since I see a lot of Hot Cross Bun recipes all over the net during this time I too got tempted to try and made a batch of these.... I followed Poineer Women’s recipe and the buns came out super soft and delicious.....  

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.....