Carrot Pudding - Gajjar ka halwa

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food". - George Bernard Shaw

Few pleasures in life can match the joy of preparing a dish for your loved ones and then watching their faces light up with ......well, honestly.......hunger! I know it sounds pompous, but love it when a dish is well received , love the little shrieks and squeaks and the ahhaa and the ummm.. My close pals  know it by now  n they make the perfect sounds , if they forget, well, I simply remind them. A woman must do what is essentially good for her self esteem ;-)

A dish is not just a mix of ingredients cooked together, its much more complex than that. The love, the warmth, the underlying emotions all add up to turn the ingredients into an expression of love. We all have these amazing food memories that we nostalgically remember, but if you sit down to think, they actually are special coz  they take you back not only to a great meal but also to those times of togetherness . 

I keep going back to my mom for her recipes, trying to recreate my favorite food moments. Just want my son growing up with the same feeling of  being valued, loved and cared for. Its a typical Punjabi trait  to show your love through food, but, then, cant really help it! (smiles ..smiles...smiles)

Nothing screams winters more to me than a bowl of hot gajar ka halwa, with a generous sprinkle of nuts and seeds. This is my mom's recipe and trust me its one of the best gajjar ka halwa I've ever had . Its got this beautiful red color, which is so inviting, that I actually hear it call out my name, each time I open the refrigerator . If sweet's your poison, here is the recipe. 

Gajjar ka halwa

Carrots                1 kg 

Sugar                  180- 200 gms (Adjust the sweetness depending on the sweetness of the carrots)

Khoya                 250 gms (If unavailable substitute with Condensed Milk - In this case omit sugar)

Seeds n nuts        100-120 gms

Cream (optional) 1-2 Tbsp

1.  Wash, scape and grate the carrots.

2. Dry roast the nuts and seeds and keep them aside. (I added a mix of sesame seeds, flax-seeds, musk melon seeds, watermelon seeds, poppy seeds, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Or any other nuts/seeds you fancy).

3.  In a heavy bottom pan/ kadhai put the grated carrots and turn the flame on medium high. (there is no     need to put any oil/ghee) 

4. Fry it on medium high flame for 3-5 mins.

5. Add sugar to the carrots. (I added 200 gms of sugar) Once the sugar is added, the carrots give off a lot of moisture.

6. Also add the cream at this point. 

7. Bhunno / Fry the carrot sugar mix till its completly dry and has acquired a nice beautiful orangish red colour. This should take around 10-15 mins

8. Add in the crumbled khoya and continue cooking on medium - high flame till the khoya melts.

9. Tip the dry roasted nuts & seeds in the pan and fry the halwa (yes, its a halwa by this stage!) for the last 5-7 mins.

10. Garnish with sliced almonds. Serve hot.....

Quick n Easy Black pepper chicken

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces — just good food from fresh ingredients.” ~ Julia Child

Some recipes are extremely fancy and complicated, with exotic ingredients, great techniques and definitely an end product that justifies all the hard work put in. But there also are a few others that use minimum ingredients, a simple cooking method, not too many pots and pans, but the end result - simply exotic! I'm shameless enough to admit that I am a huge fan of all the recipes that simplify the process of putting something drool worthy on the platter.

This recipe was given to me by my sister, Deepa, when I had just started cooking. And  I'm so glad I tried it! Though honestly I wasnt expecting anything great when she told me that the only ingredients going in were oil, salt and pepper. But, this turned out to be the first 'successful' chicken recipe that i ever made and it tastes so good that anyone who eats it wants the recipe. And the funniest part is that when i give out the recipe, I am almost always asked  'is it really that simple?'. 

Its actually the quickest, easiest and most definitely one of the yummiest chicken recipes I've ever tried or tasted.  Its perfect for a quick evening snack or even as a side dish for a meal. A low fat chicken recipe, ideal for those watching their calories !

Black Pepper Chicken

Chicken                             400 Gms

Black peppercorns              1/2 Tbsp (you could adjust this as per your taste)

Oil                                    1 tsp

Salt                                   to taste

Water                               1/4 c

Fresh Coriander                 to garnish

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan. 

2. Add the chicken pieces and cook on high flame, till the chicken is slightly brown on all sides. This should just take about 2- 3 mins. 

3. Add the salt and freshly crushed black pepper (pound the peppercorns coarsely). Mix well.  

4. Add water, put the lid on and cook on low flame till the chicken is done.

5. Once the chicken is cooked through and you take the lid off, there would be a lot of liquid in the pan. Keeping the flame high, dry out the moisture and keep stirring till the masala coats the chicken. ( check out the pic, after the water has evaporated).

6. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. 

7. Serve hot with fresh  green salad.

Chocolate fudge cake

"God gave the angels wings, and he gave humans chocolate." - Anonymous

Finally......after much dilly dallying and endlessly putting off, i did manage to kick myself out of slumber. And here i am, writing my first post. I wanted the first one to be simple yet something which is an absolute favorite. Whats better than a chocolate cake covered with more chocolate ? And the best part was that I managed to get a few pictures too......thank you sooo much Aditi for helping me out with the pics and most importantly with Ud! My son, UD, who is 5 had to be distracted and bribed for us to take a few shots and its is nothing short of a miracle, that we managed. He is a 'chocolate demon' n the cake was over before i cud even realize.....now I'm not complaining about it, actually its  something I absolutely love....empty plates!

So for those of you, who are not just interested in looking at the pictures, but want to bake your cake and eat it too, here we go, as simple as it can get.

Chocolate Cake

175 gms                Butter 

175 gms                Flour/Maida

175 gms                Castor sugar

40 gms                  Ground almond

40 gms                  Coco powder

3 Tbsp                  Honey

3                          Eggs

2tsp                      Baking powder

1-2 Tbsp                Milk

1. Cream the sugar and butter till light and fluffy (i use an electric beater for this)

2. Add one egg at a time to the creamed mixture and beat well.

3. Sieve the flour, coco powder and baking powder and add to the mixture.

4. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon gently fold in the mixture together.

5. Add the ground almonds (simply grind the almonds in your mixer-grinder) and  honey.

6. Finally, if required, add milk, to get a pouring consistency.(i used about 1 Tbsp of milk)

7. Bake at 180° C for 30-35 mins in a greased and lined cake pan or till a skewer inserted comes out clean. 

8. Cool the cake completely and then cut the cake horizontally into half.

For the fudge icicng

250 gms butter

250 gms dark chocolate

4 T milk

60 gms brown sugar

½ tsp vanilla

Melt butter on low heat and add the chopped chocolate, stir till it melts. Take it off the flame and add sugar, vanilla and milk. Give everything a good stir. Once the icing is ready its going to be rather runny, don't be alarmed. Pour in a bowl and  either let it sit out for 30-35 mins or you could refrigerate for 10- 15 mins, for it to thicken slightly. 

To assemble the cake

Take the lower tier of the cake and spread the fudge icing on it generously, there can never be too much of fudge, so go ahead and indulge. Place the upper tier of the cake on top and spread the icing on top and on the sides of the cake. 

I didn't have the time to let the fudge icing to thicken, remember, i mentioned about, a very excited 5 yr old......lol......so i applied a generous layer between the two tiers and then put my cake on a wire rack and gave it a fudge bath. 

Decorate the cake with some sugar sprinkles or grated chocolate. 


The only thing to be done now .....sit back and enjoy!