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…
A third set of grandparents and a recipe for fruitcake
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…
Apple Pie with Samosa Pattis (or Wonton wrappers)
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…
Avanee’s first birthday cakes
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’…
Baguette | Mushroom and Bell Pepper Bruschetta| Black and White Wednesday No. 6
When a Birdy’s outlet opened up bang opposite my house, I did a little jig to celebrate easy access to decent bread. (In this area…
Baked Karanji and Baked Namakpare
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…
Baked Lemon Cheesecake
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…
Baked to perfection
Avanee Khandekar, born April 28, 2010–baked to perfection.
Baklava with Samosa Pattis (or Wonton Wrappers)
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…
Basic Brown Bread
Basic. Brown bread. Most times, that means bread made from unrefined, wholemeal wheat flour. In India, that usually means bread made from regular flour with…
Basic Chocolate Cake
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…
Best 1 Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe (No butter)
If you bake a decadent chocolate cake for my birthday, I will probably be a tad bit disappointed. I know. “80% ” means little to…
Blueberry muffins
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…
Brioche
One of the foods Amma offered me when I was ill or generally low, was a fruit bun and a mug of hot Bournvita. It…
Cashew and Vanilla Bean Cookies
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…
Challah Recipe (And what I did all year)
It’s the end of the year, and it’s time to look back. I’ve been lucky. For starters, the year opened with some very interesting offers…
Cheat’s Haandvo Recipe (Baked!)
Almost every corner kirana (grocery) store in Mumbai stores little plastic packs of Idli, Khaman (Yellow dhokla), Dhokla (the white kind), and Theplas, each with…
Cheese and Chive Crackers
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…
Chinese Checker Cake
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…
Chocolate and Strawberry Tart
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…
Chocolate Cake Balls
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…
Chocolate Cake with Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting
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…
Christmas Fruit Cake
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…
Ciabatta
A few weeks ago, when someone posted a picture of a Ciabatta loaf on one of the social media forums I follow, I was very…
Coconut and Pistachio Cake
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…
Coconut Fudge and Jam Tart
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…
Coffee and Hazelnut Biscotti
The original, Marathi version of this article appeared in Loksatta on October 6, 2012. When I was a kid, a middle-aged, tall, bearded, slightly annoyed…
Coffee and Orangette cake | Black and White Wednesday No.2
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the Mumbai launch of Café Coffee Day’s new premium coffee, Mysore Royal. I have…
Croissants (and getting published in BBC Good Food)
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…
Crumbs!
Writing a book is a long, laborious and very deeply isolated exercise. I have been at it for a while now (and that’s an understatement)…
Diabetic-friendly Carrot Cake
It’s been a while since I posted a recipe for cake. The truth is, the overload of frostings, fondants, and other forms of “perfect” cakes…
Donuts
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…
Easy Bread Recipes
I thought it would be a good idea to compile all my easy bread recipes in one post. Hope you find something you’d like to…
Easy Strawberry Tart (Video)
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…
Easy Vegan Chocolate Almond Cake (and a lesson in tolerance)
Harini is one of the first food bloggers I met in Mumbai, and we instantly became friends. It’s not very difficult to make friends with Harini–she’s…
Easy Victoria Sandwich Cake
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…
Eclairs and Profiteroles
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…
Eggless Microwave Raspberry Muffins
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…
Eggless Vanilla Cake with Grandma’s Plum Jam
The ever-so-kind gadget guru dad has gifted me a brand new, kickass camera. The Canon 500D. Everything I wanted and more. The obsession with photography…
Fat-free baked samosas
I had never picked up samosa strips from the supermarket’s frozen food section, shuddering at the thought of deep frying. I’m kinda slow that way….
Food processor focaccia and 100 posts
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…
Ginger, Lime and Meringue Tart for Asahi Kasei
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…
Gingerbread Cake with Jaggery and Molasses
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…
Gingersnaps/Ginger cookies
You know how, as children, we never liked grown-up cookies? Spiced, low sugar, bitter-ish cookies that looked so unappetizing? I mean, at least compared to…
Hokkaido Milk Bread Loaf and Nutella Rolls
If you’ve been following this blog lately, you’ll know that I’m participating in Aparna’s fantastic year-long festival, We Knead to Bake. Breads are my Achille’s…
Inspirational People: Harini Prakash | Recipe: Lemon Cake with Mint Syrup
I’ve always talked about how this blog gives back to me much more than I give it–over the years, I have benefited in terms of…
Lemon and Blueberry Pound cake
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…
Lemon and Vanilla Madeleines
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…
Lemon Curd in Vanilla Bean Cake
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…
Low sugar Coffee and Cream Cake
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…
Marmalade and Valencia Orange Cake
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,…
Mawa and Doodh Masala Muffins (and what I did in 2014)
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,…
Mini Strawberry (and Mango) Pavlovas
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…
Mocha cake
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…
Mocha mini muffins
Having a 7-month-old who wants to master her standing and walking skills every second of her waking time can leave you with little time to…
My first class: A Desserts Workshop
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…
No-bake Mango Cheesecake
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…
Olive, Basil, Sundried Tomato and Garlic Bread
No story this time. Just the simple desire to bake a good home-style bread. Ingredients: 225 gms. all purpose flour 2 tsp. dried yeast 1…
Orange and Nutella cake
Is it just me or is the weather really horrible? It makes me want to do warm, fuzzy things–things like orange cake. So that’s what…
Peach and Apricot Upside Down Cake
When AK went off to film school a few weeks ago, I cried. Well, almost. I had a lump in my throat that called upon…
Peach and Cherry Cake Squares
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…
Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies
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…
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
One of my favorite tea-time treats is the classic pineapple upside-down cake. Place a platter containing the de-molded cake next to a steaming hot cup…
Pistachio and Cranberry Cookies
Once Diwali is over and the ingredients for your Christmas cake have been soaked in copious amounts of alcohol, you are left with huge amounts…
Pita bread and Hummus
I’ve got a lot of feedback on my Baguette post–readers telling me they loved the recipe and that they are slowly warming up to the…
Plum Jam and Vanilla Mascarpone Roulade
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…
Plum Upside Down Cake (Eggless)
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…
Pull Apart Pesto Rolls
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…
Pull-apart bread rolls
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…
Quick Chocolate Strawberry Cream Tarts
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….
Raspberry Cream Cheese Tarts
It’s that part of the year again, when the stone fruits have gone and the berries have yet to come. There’s pears and apples galore…
Recipe video: 1 Bowl Chocolate Orange Cake
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…
Recipe video: Blueberry Focaccia
I generally prefer local fruits over imported ones. I cannot tell you how much juicier and tastier our Indian plums are over the “Chinese” ones…
Recipe video: How to make Bebinca
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…
Recipe video: How to make Bread
These past few days, I’ve seen a jaw too many drop promptly to the floor every time I say anything about baking bread at home….
Recipe video: How to make Calzone
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…
Recipe video: How to make Gingerbread cookies
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…
Recipe video: How to make Pita Bread
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…
Recipe video: Peach Upside Down Cake with Warm Cherry Sauce
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…
Roasted Baby Carrots with Sea Salt and Thyme
Many, many years ago, on a trip to Mahabaleshwar, I ate baby carrots for the first time. Slender little things with their greens still on….
Sesame Cookies (and memories of Sankranti)
After all these years of having grandmas scream down our ears that seasonal, local produce is good for the body, we now have bomb-charging nutritionists…
Sharing mediocrity
Over the past few days, I’ve had some not-so-successful kitchen sessions. Edible; yummy even, but not exactly blog show offs. Nevertheless, I enjoyed making them…
Spanish Flatbread with Chorizo, Oregano and Tomato
Finding fresh herbs in the suburbs may have become easier than before, but supply continues to be unreliable. So, when one does discover an innocent…
Spiced mini cookies
As a result of diligently following the chef’s recipe for the Pineapple upside-down cake, I was left with a good dollop of the butter and…
Stollen
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…
Sundried Tomato Couscous Stuffed Baby Peppers
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,…
Sweethearts cake
Arguably the sweetest of all my bros-in-law, PDP got engaged to PAJ last weekend in an elegant ceremony with family and friends. When I first…
Thalipeeth Crackers with Thecha Dip
{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…
Tiramisu Liqueur Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone and Strawberries in Syrup
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…
Top 10 Easy Cake Recipes on saeekhandekar.com
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…
Top 5 Tips for a Home Run Food Business
In the 8 years that I have been blogging, I have worn many hats—I have taught cooking, manufactured food products for sale, designed food products…
Top 8 Mango recipes
Every year, when the first tart green raw mangoes make their appearance in the market, I start planning the dishes I want to make. I…
Translated Loksatta article: How to make Sundried Tomatoes and Sundried Tomato Bread
Last month, I wrote my first Marathi food article for a leading Marathi daily, Loksatta. For those of you who wrote in and called with…
Translated Loksatta article: The Perfect Birthday Cake
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…
Vanilla Cupcakes with Lemon and Vanilla Royal Icing
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…
Vanilla cupcakes with Strawberry Curd
There are some days when you wake up in the morning thinking of cheesecake. Well, at least some days when you’re pregnant. Several hours into…
Vegan, Gluten-free Granola Bars
Every year, a day before the Hindu month of Shravan, Mrs. B takes the day off, no matter what (she takes a lot of other…
Veggie Pizza (from scratch)
I was so fascinated by the painting that Ashok did on his wall at home that I talked him into painting one for me this…
Wholewheat and Bran Bread with Sundried Tomato, Garlic, and Rosemary
Sometimes, in the summer, I like to slip into the shoes of those old aunts and grannies who would climb up to their terraces in…
{Recipe Video} How to make Dinner Rolls
Amma learned how to make dinner rolls from a Tarla Dalal book. They used to be pretty but a tad yeasty–thanks to the substandard domestic…