My friend Vasu and her husband Sanjay host the best Diwali parties that I know of.Their attention to detail always floors me.Everything from menu to home decor,outfits,gifts is so well planned.What I like best about their ideas is Simplicity and the ease of it.So,when Vasu shared this recipe,by the way,all credits of which go to Sanjay,I had to try it.

Ingredients:
Dry desiccated coconut about 250-300 gms
Condensed milk -200 mL can
Food color-optional

Take condensed milk and desiccated coconut in a mixing bowl.Combine till lumpy. Form balls,roll the balls in dry coconut.Serve.
Optional: coat the balls in crushed nuts.

What I liked best about this recipe was- there was no cooking involved.And there was no measurement involved.I am more of an eyeball cook.I just add a dash of this,a dash of that,a pinch of this and usually never bother to measure…unless when I want to share recipes here.
If you haven’t tried this recipe you must…I promise you,it will become your go to recipe.I made the first batch this morning for Aadya’s class.
SD and Aadi loved it.I just finished making another batch in 25 mins…how cool is that!

Over the last few days,Ms.Aadya has been dropping some pearls of wisdom and I have to write them here,so I don’t forget!
She calls Ananya,”Tup-Tup”..before the last school holidays,Ananya was quite sick and had lost a lot of weight.Her chubby cheeks were gone and she had turned pale.Anyway,after the holidays,we managed to bring back the cheeks and a bit of color on her face and on one of the last days,I noticed it and before SD or I could comment on it,Aadi said,”Mom,Anani looks like Tup Tup again!” So yeah..she calls her sister tup-tup!
Yesterday morning,as I was warming milk for her-
A-“Mum,can you please make sure there is no Rus Mol?”
Me- Whats Rus Mol?
A- Oh you know the white blanket that forms on the milk after its been warmed!
Me-Speechless!! (I am guessing she made the Malai(cream) and Ras Malai connection)

On Dhan Teras day,we explained to her,we can’t go out to eat after swimming,because we are not supposed to spend money on that day.On the way back from swimming,
A: Mum,can we go out to eat?I am hungry.
Me: Remember we told you,we can’t spend any money today.
A: ohh then lets use the card!
Me:LOL!then I tell her,card is money too.. and how we need to put money in a bank to use it as a card.
A:Ok..
Five minutes later,
A:Mommmmm,do we need money to go to Maccas?
Me: yes,baby..whatever we eat outside,costs money.
By which time,we are near the mall..she tried again..
A:Can we go into the mall and get the juice that I LOVEE?
Me:Remember no spending..
A:So what happens if you spend today?
SD:You lose your money..
A:hmm..too bad..all those people whose cars are parked there,don’t know any better..Should we go inside and tell them..to not spend any money?
SD&I:NO!
A:Ok Ok..I am just asking..would you like it if Ananya and I shout at you like that??

And when you finish laughing,here’s the recipe for you:)

Karanji

Yields: 20-22
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 cup coconut(grated fresh/frozen)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup creamy evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
nuts,raisins
cardamom powder-1/2 tsp
saffron strands
3 tsp semolina roasted
1/2 tsp poppy seeds,roasted.

Outer Shell:
2 cups All purpose flour
1/4 cup semolina
2 tsp melted ghee
salt
warm water.

Oil for frying.

Method :
For the shell:
Take all the ingredients except water in a bowl and knead it into a soft pliable dough,adding little quantities of water.Cover with a wet paper-towel and keep aside.

Filling:
Take the coconut,milk,evaporated milk in a thick bottomed vessel and let it cook,till the liquid has evaporated.
Add sugar,cook for two more minutes till the mix is almost dry.Take it off the flame.
Add the semolina, poppy seeds and nuts and raisins.
Let it cool.

Putting together:
Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Spread some dry flour on a clean,dry surface-the kitchen counter or a chopping board.Roll out each ball into a circle,about 5-6″ in diameter.
Put the filling in the center,brush some milk along the edge of the circle,then,lift one side of the circle and put it on the opposite side,making a semi-circle or a half-moon shape.
Fry on a medium heat,till golden brown on both side.
Enjoy-hot or cold!

Today has been a very productive day for me. While the rest of Melbourne was celebrating Melbourne Cup Day..I spent most of my day,revamping the kids room.What previously looked like an overcrowded toy shop now looks like a lovely kids bedroom.I still want to add some finishing touches..but for now this will do.
After a late-lunch,I made the first of my Diwali savories or namkeen. SD helped and I feel so proud of myself for having a productive day.

Namakpara or Mathri as we call it,is one of the easiest snack ever.It was my cousin,Runa’s favorite munchie and whenever they were visiting,my mom made sure that there was big tin full of Mathri ready to welcome her.
Anyway,now on to the recipe-

Ingredients:

1.5 cup All Purpose flour
1/4 cup oil
salt -1/4 tsp (or to taste)
a dash of black pepper
1 tsp ajwain seeds.
warm Water for kneading.
Oil for frying.

Add all the ingredients,except oil and water to the flour.Pile up the flour and make a well in the center. Add the oil to this well and mix well. Then knead the dough using water.

Cover the dough with wet paper towels and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 5-6 balls of equal size.Sprinkle some plain flour on the counter or on a wooden board and roll out the dough in to a circle.Then cut vertical strips and then horizontal strips.You should get small rectangle strips in the end.

Heat oil in a kadhai/deep bottomed pan. Test the oil by dropping a small piece of the dough.If the dough floats up straight away..the temperature is right. You can start frying your mathris now.

Add small batches at a time.Fry on a medium flame.If the rectangles are sticking to each other,in the kadhai..don’t worry,keep putting oil on them,with your slotted spoon.They should come apart.Even if they don’t..when you take the fried cluster out..you should be able to separate them and fry again.

Please do not fry on a high flame.This will just give you crisp on the outside,but soft inside mathris..not fun and they won’t last longer.

One of the reasons why I chose Mathri as my first snack was that it has a long shelf life..its another thing that they are so yummy and addictive,they don’t last long enough.

I hope the instructions are clear enough.. Please feel free to contact me,if you get confused.I will try and post a recipe of the baked Mathris too..hopefully before Diwali!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do and if you try this recipe,don’t forget to tell me,how you liked it..and if possible send me a picture!

Xox

Trish

It was Aadya’s teacher’s Birthday..sometime in July. She wanted to bring her a present.It was after 7 pm and we were tired from hosting Ananya’s first birthday party that weekend.I needed something quick,something nice..That’s when I thought of the coffee-brown sugar scrub,that a friend had shared with me.
We had all the ingredients and so quickly made a fresh batch of coffee-brown sugar scrub from here

Aadya felt so ‘rensponsible’ mixing up the ingredients.(Responsible) is her new favorite word! Now to package it nicely.
I used an empty Baby food jar-decoupaged the lid with some brown scrap booking paper,cut out a gift tag from the same sheet of paper.Filled the scrub in the jar and finished off with some silver ribbon..
Ta da.. beautiful gift ready in a jiffy.. 100 % handmade Love!

Diwali is just round the corner and I decided this year that I would be proactive and post recipes in advance,rather than on Diwali day or after,so atleast someone else can use them to make their own goodies:)
Besan Laddu is synonymous with Diwali and weddings in Maharastrian households.It was a favorite sweet in my parents home too and even now,Aadi and SD love it. Anani couldn’t care less…but then she doesn’t like sweets in general.
Nothing marks the beginnning of festivities like the smell of besan(gram flour) being roasted..cardamom being ground..The aroma engulfs the house and even neighbours two doors down know that you have started preparing Diwali snacks.I miss that here and I try to do and make as many things I can to bring Diwali here for us..
Anyway,here’s the recipe for Besan Laddus :

Ingredients:
1 cup Besan
1 cup powdered sugar(if you can’t powder sugar then use icing sugar)
1/3 cup ghee
2-3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
4-5 saffron strands
cashew nuts,blanched almonds and raisins for garnishing.

Method:

Put Besan(gram flour) and ghee in a thick bottomed pan and roast on a medium-low flame,till it turns golden brown.By now,your kitchen will be filled with a delicious aroma and arm will be ready to fall off!!(yes ! you have to keep stirring!!)
The mixture might be a little lumpy now.Turn off the stove and add the milk.The mix in the pan starts to froth.Let it cool a little.
Add the sugar and cardamom powder,saffron strands and mix well,breaking any lumps that may have formed on cooling.
Divide into equal portions and roll into smooth balls.The finer sugar you use,the smoother your Laddus will be(I figured this one out after much trial and error!!)
Garnish with Nuts and raisins and store in an air-tight container!

Enjoy!
If you use this recipe,please leave me a comment and let me know,how it was.

Cheers,
Trish!

My daughter has an excursion tomorrow..her first actually.They are taking her kinder class to the zoo. After going back and forth,we I decided to let her go.S is still not convinced.But anyway,bottom line is she is going.And when I asked her what snack she wanted,she asked for Banana Bread.
S loves it too.. but my only problem with Banana Bread is,how it gets hard and dense on cooling.I wanted it to be soft.So,I started out baking this cake.But as always,I was multi-tasking-making calls,chatting,mixing the batter! The baby cried too..so,I put her back to sleep..Anyway,to cut the long story short,I forgot to add the milk!
And then I waited for the cake to get baked..Can I just tell you,its the softest banana cake I have eaten?And when you have a recipe quite by chance, you should write it down.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cup flour
3 ripe bananas(mashed)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence.

Method:
1.Mix oil and sugar and whisk.
2.Add an egg to this and whisk more.Add the essence.
3.Add the mashed bananas and mix well.
4.Add the flour in 3 parts,mixing well.

Bake at 180 deg C(160 fan-forced) for 45 minutes,till the knife comes out clean.
Cut into pieces and store in an air-tight container(if it lasts that long!)

Happy Baking!

This post has been long over-due! Thanks for being so patient,Ami!
We went through a phase in our house,where we were tired of eating the same vegetables-cabbage,cauliflower,beans,carrot,capsicums..and I wanted to bring new vegetables to the dinner table.
When I mentioned Zuchini,the husband wasn’t too enthused ..the daughter couldn’t care less..So,I had to make it fun.What is more fun than a cutlet. So,here’s what I came up with.

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup Green Mung
1 zucchini,grated
1 small onion,finely chopped.
1-2 green chilies
fresh corriander leaves.
Salt,cummin powder,black pepper.( if you want an Indian flavor- add some red chili powder and garam masala)
Bread crumbs for coating
oil/oil spray for frying.
Preparation:
Soak Mung in warm water for 1 hour. Then cook the moong with sufficient water in an open pan,till the Mung become tender and the water dries up.If there is excess water,drain it.Mash it to a pulp and let it cool.
Heat oil in a pan and fry onions in it,till they start to brown.Add the grated zucchini and fry for a minute or two.
Add the fried onion-zucchini mix, the spices and chopped green chilies and chopped corriander leaves to this mix. knead well.
Divide the mixture into balls of equal size.
Flatten the balls and coat with bread crumbs and pan fry on medium heat,till crispy.
All done!
I served these as it is with tea and then, as Pita wraps for dinner.

For making the wraps,you need:
Pita bread-2
salad-sliced onion,tomato,lettuce,cucumber.
Green chutney or any sauce of your choice-hummus,tahini,garlic sauce..whichever you like.

Cut the pita from the middle,so that you have two pita-pockets. Stuff the pocket with salad,cutlets,generous helping of sauce-Wrap it up..Dig in!!!