2-minute Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake
If you have a food blogger for a wife, chances are she won’t ask you get her a Louis Vuitton bag or Jimmy Choo shoes…
If you have a food blogger for a wife, chances are she won’t ask you get her a Louis Vuitton bag or Jimmy Choo shoes…
As grandmothers go, she fit the bill perfectly. Her softly starched, block printed or sheer woven Chanderi sarees would whisper as she walked slowly around…
Baking in India is a challenge. It is highly upsetting to walk into the best of markets and not find all the gorgeous bakeware and…
It’s really hot in this part of the world right now. Metabolisms are sluggish, and kitchens are too hot to cook anything in. I have…
I just realized I hadn’t put up any pictures from Avanee’s first birthday. Considering I write a food blog, it’s quite a shame I don’…
The original, Marathi version of this article appeared in Loksatta on November 10, 2012 and can be read here. I got married on Dassera, and…
Give me a roomful of chocolate desserts and one miniscule piece of baked lemon cheesecake, and you know what I’ll choose. That I love cheesecake…
No, I’m still not coming to terms with the fact that Indian stores do not carry ready rolled pastry. Surely you remember this rant? I’m…
I’m not particularly fond of chocolate. Did I ever tell you that? I don’t remember throwing tantrums for chocolate or chocolate-y things. Except once. When…
If you bake a decadent chocolate cake for my birthday, I will probably be a tad bit disappointed. I know. “80% ” means little to…
Few things go well with coffee–any form of fresh bread slathered with butter, khaari biscuits (an Indian flaky pastry), and cake–no frills cake. So when…
My mum and I are salad freaks—we love a good salad any time of the day. This is a salad that she’d make back when…
For quite some time now, I have been complaining about the lack of baking material in India–especially the complete absence of ready-to-use pastry. You know…
I had been reading about the Arusuvai chain on Indian blogs for a while and watching everything like a silent passerby when I realized I…
Avanee likes cookies, and thankfully, she is equally excited about savory crackers. I try to bake them as often as I can because then I…
Phew. This one took a lot out of me. Two hexagon-shaped chocolate walnut cakes, one cut into triangles and glued to the other, the whole…
I’m a sucker for all things seasonal–strawberries top my list because they come for only a while, and I love them. In season, there is…
Ever since this little thing came out of the oven, I have been dreaming of practicing things from this baker superwoman’s blog. One of the…
My dear friend, Rhea Mitra-Dalal loves her coffee. It’s so easy to please her–a good cup of unpretentious coffee and loads of gupshup is usually…
A few days ago, a journalist from a popular daily called to ask if I could help her with some information for a story on…
I am not a big fan of dried coconut. Dessicated coconut, at least the kind we get here is probably worse—it is dry and tastes…
Every Thursday, when the family would fast for the family deity, my great grandma would make naralachi vadi or coconut fudge squares for prasad or…
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the Mumbai launch of Café Coffee Day’s new premium coffee, Mysore Royal. I have…
A few months ago, when I first met an old blogger friend, Anjali Koli for the first time, she showered me with treats–some homemade peanut…
It’s been breads, breads, and breads for a while now. Let me start with the highlights: 1. I did a feature for BBC Good Food…
Two days ago, my nieces, Shreya and Ananya, kicked up a racket when their grandma came over to pick them up from my place. They…
Playing mum to a pair of newborn twin boys and a hyperactive kindergartner while working on one’s debut book is not easy; take it from…
A trip to Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, has become an annual tradition of sorts. Of course, it gets cool…
My local fruit vendor told me recently that he can now procure “egg-jotic” fruits for me at a day’s notice. These exotic fruits being my favourite…
Choux pastry. I made it last when I was studying Confectionery in college. That was gods knows how many decades ago. Then, last week, I…
Every so often, I get the urge to bake something, and fast. Remember this? And this? Usually, this urge comes-a-calling when I am chasing the…
Turns out, the last post I wrote was my 100th. This little jhola of mine has been with me through so much–I started writing the…
If you’ve been following this blog long enough, you’d know that I don’t do too many (if at all) promotions. I’m making an exception this…
I usually soak fruit for my fruitcake the moment we enter into the new year, just days after I make cake for Christmas. The fruit…
I’d choose lamb over chicken any day. And yet, I have not a single recipe for lamb on this blog. In all these years. You…
I’ve been feeling a bit uninspired lately. There’s too much going on at once and I feel I’ve lost all creative abilities. The scorching heat…
Before Maushi and Kaka moved to their lovely little red bricked bungalow in Khanapur, they lived in a rented love nest on the upper floor…
Blueberries are rather rare here in Mumbai. Thanks to some exotic food stores, however, we’ve been getting an occasional supply of good blueberries without having…
I did a course in Bakery and Confectionery. Did I tell you that? Long ago. Two years. Of which, we did only breads one whole…
I don’t exactly remember when I first tasted lemon curd although it could easily have been at Radha Kaku’s Radha kaku was my great grand…
My father is a simple man. He has few needs—three mobile phones, two laptops, and god knows how many cameras and music players; a good…
My maternal grandmother always had some chutney or other in her refrigerator. It’s a tradition I try to maintain. Not half because I like to…
If you’ve been reading my blog (ahem), you will remember this mango curry recipe. I make it every season, by the kilos, and it gets…
When we were children, WIT (Women’s India Trust) would rent our school’s prayer hall for their exhibitions. On sale were beautifully block printed aprons, bedspreads,…
I am not one to write posts about a year gone by. Reflections are lessons of a personal nature, and resolutions are best kept secret,…
My daughter has a stomach infection. Why? Because she’s teething at the speed of light and is tempted to help herself to whatever she finds…
Here’s the latest on the Pavlova scene! These were made this last strawberry season: Since the TV debut, a lot of people have been writing…
It all started with a craving for Tiramisu. I had gathered all the ingredients the day before–went all the way to the supermarket to buy…
One night, when I was craving the goodness of cheese and the comfort of rice at once, risotto seemed the obvious choice. The only risotto-able…
So. I did a workshop this Saturday. It was my first real workshop (I mean I charged fees) after this dry run. 10 women, 3…
So it looks like the year is ending on a good note. Today, Gourmet Company launched Saee’s Corner, a recipe section on their website, authored…
Apart from the fact that Naarali Poornima is the day Coastal Maharashtra celebrates the coconut and that fisherfolk offer coconuts to the sea on this…
I have always loved cheesecake—baked or chilled, I have always loved the sharpness of this otherwise delicately flavored dessert. However, I have, at the same…
I don’t own a barbecue. I don’t even own one of those fancy stove-top grills. What I do have, however, is my trusty old cast…
I was craving for some tandoori flavors but the thought of all the grease was scaring me. With cuz Ashish’s wedding barely a week away,…
Aai’s picture, courtesy: Nirmala Purushotam My maternal gran has been one of the biggest influences to my culinary obsession. As a kid, I would…
Nothing can get fresher than a bunch of recently cut greens. A bundle of un-torn, fresh-as-the-morning greens tied up in string or with a blade…
When I was little, and there were no supermarkets around, we would buy our stock of weekly fruit (which was usually a lot) from Amitabh…
I use peanut butter for cooking; but somehow, I can’t bring myself to slap it in between slices of bread. MK likes his bit of…
There are some things that you must have when you’re entertaining. For me, it is this salsa. It is a ridiculously easy thing that you…
I share my mum’s love for Roulades. Swiss Rolls, as they are known in bakeries here. When we were kids, my mum would make a…
I love upside downs. I think they make for pretty tea cakes, and they look gorgeous with very little effort. I’m always on the lookout…
It was in the dark space under the main staircase. The chapel was right next to it but who cared about god other than during…
MK can’t stand my fisherwoman. I don’t blame him. She’s kind of…insistent. Unfortunately, when she comes in every other morning, I’m usually attending to Avanee’s…
This is something I first made a year ago, at least and have been making and teaching a lot ever since. It’s a simple bread…
Way back in the 1970s, my maternal grandmother picked up a copy of one of Tarla Dalal’s first cookbooks—The Delights of Vegetarian Cooking. A lot…
I think Marathi cookery shows are a disgrace. The sets are ghastly. The props are mediocre. The photography is ridiculous. The cooks are downright untalented….
My mum insists she hates cooking. She’s an artist, a dreamer. She says she’s rather spend a day at the art gallery or reading a…
Avanee turned four months old this 28th. The rate at which time passes by these days! A whole year has passed by since I got…
This is a perfect cake or those sudden cake and chocolate cravings. It is a lovely moist cake with the aromas of orange coming through…
When I saw this video on Nags’ blog, I knew that I had found the easiest way to convince my filmmaker brother to make a…
It’s been a while since I posted a recipe video. A few days ago, we finally got down to shooting a casual one as we…
Every year, we celebrate Christmas with as much (if not more) enthusiasm than we celebrate Diwali. We put up the tree and do gifts. I…
I hope you’re having a lovely Diwali–surrounded by loved ones and so drunk on happiness that the diyas and lanterns are all dimmed by the…
Remember this? A lot of people wrote in and oohed and aahed at the possibility of making pita bread at home. And because my determination…
When I first started cooking, my mum introduced me to this recipe and I made it for every little party that happened. I made a…
I love this time of the year because it brings in my favorite fruits. I never mourn the end of the mango season because it…
Lonavla. That tiny spot on Maharashtra’s map that looks like a piece of broken chikki. The entire town is perennially wafting with the aroma of…
On Ranade Road in Dadar, there once sat a man who sold lemonade. Limbu Sarbat, actually—the Maharashtrian version of lemonade. On a crowded corner of…
Many years ago, in the bright and airy classroom of Grade 1, I was first introduced to Bengali Mishti–Bengali sweets. My classmate and bench partner…
I sometimes wonder if my in-laws think of me as the eternal “jeans-wearing,” “diet-food-eating,” “rebel feminist” soon (daughter-in-law). Which, I guess, I am (evil laughter)….
As kids, my brother and I would satisfy mid-meal hunger pangs by pulling out a juicy red, plump tomato from the fridge and eating it…
The original, Marathi version of this article appeared in Loksatta on December 22, 2012 and can be viewed here. Mumbai has never really had a…
The market is flooded with color (who needed Holi and its painful issues with water and chemical color?). There are greens in a zillion shades,…
When the first real showers of the Mumbai monsoon finally strike, I go into one-dish-meal mode. I cannot, cannot, cannot bring myself to make or…
{Scroll down for the giveaway winners!} All of last year, I spent in wrapping some projects up, writing my book, being pregnant, and then of…
As a foodie, any excuse for cooking is welcome–one goes all out of the way to cook the best recipes, confident of the oohing and…
My current favorite snack is a couple of crackers dipped into or topped with something. Non fussy, easy to put together, enjoyable, and filling. That’s…
Every day, I have at least one e-mail or comment asking for a cake recipe. Turns out, I post cake pictures often enough to prompt…
The original Marathi version of this article appeared in Loksatta on July 7, 2012. Click here to read the Marathi version. It takes just a…
The original, Marathi version of this article appeared in Loksatta on Saturday, August 4, 2012. Click here to read the Marathi version. We never bought…
My love for strawberries continues. Check out my super simple recipe for Vanilla and Coconut Panna Cotta with Fresh Strawberries on Gourmet Company’s recipe section….
For many weeks now, I have been looking at this Cupcake goddess’s blog in sincere awe. The course I took in bakery and confectionery back…
It’s funny how the day I decide to write my second ever blog post also happens to be the day Mrs. B has taken off…