mayurisjikoni

something different   What are brownies? No I'm not talking about the girl guides who are between the ages of seven to ten and called Brownies. I wonder if they still have brownies and girl guides in schools? I was a brownie and a girl guide when I was in school. No, my post is not on girl guides and brownies, but the brownies from the cookery world.  Brownies is a baked flat dessert that became popular in US and Canada during the first half of the 20th century.Depending on the density, it can be cakey or fudgy. They are made with chocolate, either melted chocolate or powder or both with nuts and sometimes dried fruits added to it. You can have a brownie either with tea, coffee or even milk or with a generous helping of ice cream on top to make it really 'evil'. So what is the main difference between a chocolate cake and a brownie. Well, simple... cakes have a baking agent to make the texture appear crumbly but most brownies have none or very little baking agents to make th...

A refreshing treat   When I came across the shhh cooking secretly , I wanted to be a part of the group immediately. Firstly, because it would challenge me to cook with  two complimentary ingredients or not so compatible ingredients. Secondly, it would give me the opportunity to get to know other food bloggers and become their blogging friends. Thirdly, it would give me the opportunity to go through my never ending jotted or bookmarked recipes. Its like you try out one and 2-3 get added! And lastly, which eventually we all want is an exposure of our blogs to the rest of the ever so competitive blogging world. I joined the group in July 2014 and have enjoyed being a part of it ever since. For a while no challenges were set as members were losing interest or had other priorities. The group has been revived and Priya Suresh's baby is slowly learning to walk. In order for this group to be active again we need more members to participate. Its a monthly challenge where each of us is...

A Portuguese bread     I have not been posting new recipes on a regular basis like before as I am updating my old ones. Whenever I write a post, I do read it again to check for grammatical or spelling mistakes. However, sometimes the eagle eye misses them. I am also updating the photos as my old ones were not good or too hazy. I still am not a professional photographer, but with my iphone, I try my best. Today's post is a Portuguese corn bread which was our February challenge for the We Knead to Bake  (started by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen) members. Milho means cornmeal. This cornmeal is quite different from the one made in US. Its not sweet,it uses yeast, its a bit dense, with a nice crust and soft interior. This bread is usually served with a soup or stew but can also be served with eggs. I had it dunked in milk and it was really so yummy. It was traditional made by the peasants from white or yellow cornmeal and wheat flour. This bread is also very popular in the Span...

Here are some desserts you can make for Valentine's Day. Actually, can make them anytime to spread the love among family and friends. Happy Valentine and spread love.  Pomegranate and vanilla panna cotta Cardamom chocolate fudge Eggless chocolate crepes with strawberries Strawberry frozen yogurt Strawberry oreo cheesecake Beetroot red velvet muffins (eggless) Chocolate barfi Ravioli dolci with strawberry sauce Chocolate date mousse Fruit tartlets Mango and passion fruit paleta Coconut chocolate

Vitumbua #BreadBakers From the East Coast of Africa Vitumbua (singular kitumbua) pronounced as vee toom booa are the local answer to pancakes/ doughnuts in East Africa especially in Tanzania and the coastal part of Kenya.Instead of being deep fried, they are made in a special vitumbua griddle/pan. Its similar to the aebleskiver pan or appe pan or paniyaram pan. Vitumbua is a common Tanzanian street food and found during Ramadhan in Mombasa. Its usually served with hot tea as breakfast. Beneath the crust the interior is light and fluffy, melt in the mouth texture. Most of the East African Coast cuisine has been influenced by Indian, Yemeni and Omani culture so perhaps vitumbua too may have been brought here by one of the settlers. The Bread Bakers theme for February is Griddle Breads hosted by Ansh of Spiceroots .  Thank you Ansh for such a wonderful theme.  As soon as I read griddle bread, I knew I had to post the recipe of Vitumbua and share a bit of the East African cuisine ...

Thinking healthy     For the January Shhh Cooking Secretly challenge, my partner Veena Krishna Kumar of Veg Nation  challenged me to cook with bell pepper (sweet pepper) and poppy seeds. I nearly asked her change the bell pepper. No don't get me wrong, bell peppers are so versatile that one can make anything with them. The only reason I wanted her to change it was because hubby dear is allergic to them. Well, he doesn't break out into a rash or anything but feels that it upsets his stomach. But I love bell pepper, so thought that I really don't have to make something that he will like or appreciate; some day it has to be my choice too. So I decided to work with the given ingredients and was trying to think of something healthy. Salads are healthy, but I had this crunchy cauliflower bite recipe bookmarked for a while. So decided to make both sweet pepper and cauliflower to make the wonderful healthy bites.Cauliflower ones for hubby and sweet pepper ones for me :) I baked t...