Custard Halwa

Happy Diwali to all. We don't celebrate it but having brought up in North India, it definitely gets real nostalgic every year when Diwali comes. We have been sharing pics of Diwali sweets over the family whatsapp group for the past couple of days. Everybody is either making it or getting it from the market to refresh the memories of Diwali spend in the small township that I was brought up in. Getting days off from school or work was always the highlight. But nothing can beat the fun having some diwali sweets or snacks and busting crackers with friends in our neighborhood. Ahh well, those days are gone, having left us with some memories to cherish.

That last minute rush to make some goodie for festivals is always there. No matter what the festival is. Well at least in my case it stands true. I go for the last minute rush. Even though I would have made n number of things , I might just add up one more thing to make it even more memorable or interesting. If it stands true in your case too, then this might be the last and right thing to make this Diwali. A halwa that hardly has anything fancy involved but would definitely have its absence been felt if not put up on the menu. So grateful to have found this recipe while I was so badly craving for sweets having gone through so many Diwali posts from fellow bloggers and friends. Made me calm down the cravings so easily :). So go for it, this Diwali. 

Rasgulla

Belated Diwali wishes. I love diwali season because of the enthusiasm filled in everyone to decorate their houses with lights. Even the shops are decorated with lights - different types and in different colours. They look amazing. Every weekend and sometimes on weekdays too, we have a walk outside. The streets are pretty busy irrespective of whichever day we choose to go out for the walk. The chaat walas, balloon vendors, vegetable vendors etc. make sure that the street is always lively. My main attraction amongst them is the Halwai/ sweet shop vendors. It would be very unusual if we don't stop by the sweet shops. They even know how to make sure that we stop by, even if we were not intending to.

The other day, we were double minded if we should get some sweets, since we were feeling guilty of having them on a regular basis. And by the time we passed by the sweet shop, the vendor called out, Jalebi garmagaram , meaning Hot Jalebis. Oh god, this is called temptation. We were trying to control ourselves and there we let go our control over those two words that guy called out and fell for it.

Bread Gulab Jamun for a celebration !

Gulab Jamun has always been in my list of favorite sweets. But the effort involved in making it kept me procrastinating the plan of trying it. Sometime back I happened to see a post on Gulab Jamun made with bread and that too an instant one. I had to add it on to my to-make list. 

It would have remained in the to-make list like so many other dishes, if the happy news of Palaharam having featured as one among the Top 16 socially active food blogs, wouldn't have appeared in my mailbox. And there was a cute badge that I got to put up on the blog, which I placed on the right hand side among other recognitions.

Ellunda / Sesame seed ladoo / Til ke Ladoo

I have always been a fan of it. So when Papa mummy visited us, I asked them to get it. Now once you trigger your taste buds of the long forgotten taste of this ladoo, instead of calming down the craving, it gets doubled. 

Its just one of those cravings that hit me, which resulted in multiple visits to the Indian store. Every time I was there they had ran out of stock for these Ellunda.  So finally I gave up. After all its just a matter of 3-4 ingredients combining together to make these. So I bought the ingredients and made it at home. 

Chocolate Brownie

Chocolate brownie brings in uncontrolled water flow in my mouth. I love them so much. Even though I love it, at times I have left them half eaten because they taste too sweet. So I have always wanted a recipe that would give me exactly the same amount of sweetness that wouldn't leave me sugar high and finally I found it.

If I was physically present to narrate this recipe to you , you would have caught me mouthwatering so badly. Oh god, I need to make it again soon to calm down my craving that hit me right now. All I have to say is, try it and you would love it. I bet.

Cinnamon Rolls

I am back after a long break. I would keep on disappearing here and there, depending upon how my little man behaves and cooperates. Well, this time my absence had little to do with him. This time it was the virus attack. Yes the viral fever took each of us down one by one. Ufff, I don't even wanna think about those days and I wish it does not repeat here nor to anyone out there.

The last time I logged into blogger was about a month ago, to write this post and then we fell ill and by the time we got better, it was time for my parents to leave. No doubt, I miss them. At the same time, Jordan also is missing them. Because he gets to see only two people always welcoming him after he gets up from sleep or may be to play with him. Well, we have to live with it now. We are trying our best to get back to a normal schedule now.

Carrot Halwa / Carrot Pudding

As a kid, I always liked to munch fresh carrots. I still do love to eat it raw. The other day when I was picking up carrots at the grocery store, an old lady came up to me and said, "You wouldn't stock up these many carrots unless you have a rabbit at home".... I just smiled. What else was I supposed to respond? That I am the rabbit at our house :P.... Oh that reminds me, I kind of skipped having them for a week or two and I was surprised to see those organic carrots still fresh in the refrigerator. Hmm..that makes me wonder, how organic are those "organic labelled" carrots ?

Anyways, it was usually during winter that we used to get these fresh red carrots, that my mom would make the carrot halwa out of it. And we would stay near the kitchen premises to check out every now and then if it is done :).

Hot Jalebi for the festival of colours!

Happy Holi everyone !

Any festival is incomplete if you are not served with a sweet. On Holi, everyone looks forward to playing with colours. But at the same time, having sweets is yet another activity that has its own priority and can't be replaced. So how about having some Hot Jalebi's this year to make Holi special.

Hot Jalebi had been an obsession for myself and my brother since we were kids. I guess all kids like it- remember the Dhara ad, where the kid gave up the idea of leaving home just to have jalebi :). We looked forward for a holiday to enjoy having it. We would get it from a Halwai's shop on Sundays, the only day we didn't have to go to school. How much ever we got it, it wouldn't stay long.

Bread pudding ~ My mom's style of making it....

Another lazy day it was.Neither in a mood to cook, nor to eat heavy. 

Deep in thought, figuring out a way to spend less time in the kitchen, and get something ready.

As I went wild in thoughts, my mind got stuck onto something that my mother used to make. The wonderful dessert - Bread Pudding! Now, this is one thing that has most of its ingredients found almost everyday at home, which makes it a super simple dessert to prepare.

I remember, during my school days, returning back home for lunch. Post lunch, mom would have a sweet treat, ready for us. On a hot summer afternoon, this chilled bread pudding would help soothe out the heat that might have burnt us.