Super Moist Banana Nut Loaf

Let's start with a little note before we preheat our oven for this one - Where in the world have I been all this while? Well, to cut things short, I had been to you-seriously-cannot-be-this-lazy kind of a town. Yeah, so let me be brutally honest and agree with you if you think I've become so hopelessly tardy with my food blog. But, I still am trying to revive it and in that attempt I do hope to keep you entertained, engaged and satisfied with whatever little I share every now and then.

Now jumping into the Super Moist Banana Nut Loaf here...

Let me give you some time to jump in.

Done jumping?

This was my first baking adventure after a really, really long break of almost two and half years. And, then I took really, really long to post it, too. Good heavens, I made this sometime in summer and am posting it here in winter. But, well at least I am posting it, after all!

So yes, I made this one day to satisfy my sweet tooth and to serve up to a couple of relatives who dropped by for tea one evening. Ripe bananas come together in the oven with toasted nuts into a delicious, aromatic experience you too can feel, just after one bite into this loaf!

Roasted Chicken Sausage Pasta with Pomegranate Garden Salad

The July sun's scorching up the East Coast, not to mention, late sunsets and long, humid days. The kids love it, however. I mean, who won't like to stay out playing till nine in the night, carelessly chasing fire flies and never wanting to accept that it's almost beyond dinnertime!

The hardest thing for me is to have my little boy stocked up with energy for his summer evening playtime. Summer vacation in a new neighborhood brought with it new friends for him and new challenges for me to keep him up and running. I would have to ensure he's eaten a healthy lunch before he steps out.

I always stash up on boxes of pasta and tons of veggies to make this easy lunch for him. He loves pasta. Yes, most kids do! But, more often than not we all end up cooking pasta along with store-bought sauces. In my case however, my son is not fond of ready sauces, which certainly increases my efforts, but gives me more opportunity to explore new flavors that enhance pasta. So, most often I end up making pasta in other ways.

So, here's a dish that can perk up your protein and satiate your taste buds!

Sabakki Sandige | Sabunada Papad | Tapioca Fritters

If you know anything about making papads, appalams or any type of sandige then you must be wondering how in the world I managed to make them when Bangalore just faced the wrath of Cyclone Nilam (Those of you in Chennai and surrounding areas, I hope you are fine after the havoc). 

Now, back to the crunchy side dish that will perk up every meal. One of my mother-in-law's friend was nice enough to lend us her expertise to make these for us. All we did was follow her instructions.

We made this  way back in Summer. I just did not find the time to post it. But hey, you have enough time to read and memorize this recipe until next summer. And, try it!! Just make sure you're up early in the morning so you're not working on your roof-top in the hot mid-day heat of Summer.

These fritters are more than just a side dish. They stay fresh in an air-tight container forever! All you need is to cook up a good South Indian meal (Think drumstick sambar, rice and a dry vegetable on the side) and deep fry these babies to perfection. Yum-O!

Ingredients

1.5 kg Sabudana/Sabakki/Tapioca pearls, soaked for about 6 hours
12-15 Green chillies, very very finely chopped (add more if you desire)
3-4 tbsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
2 small Onions, finely chopped (Optional)
A large sheet of plastic to dry the papads
And, some salt to taste!

Method

This is probably my first step-wise pictorial recipe description. So just go with the flow and drop me a line if you think I've missed something out.

Making this is no rocket science. Just needs a LOT of patience and an equal amount of sunshine!!

STEP 1 - Soak the sabudana for about 6 hours

STEP 2 - Place the soaked sabudana on a stove, over medium flame, continuously stirring, allowing the little pearls to cook.

STEP 3 - Add the chopped green chillies, jeera, onions and salt to the hot sabudana mix and stir to mix. Add more water if you find the mixture becoming too thick. Sabudana has a tendency to absorb water and thicken. Transfer it into a dish with a handle. Yup, we used a bucket!

STEP 4 - Haul your dish to your roof-top terrace. Don't forget a spoon. Lay a mat/bedspread on the floor. Place a large plastic sheet of paper over this and fastened on the ends with something heavy. The sabudana mixture has to be hot while you're at this step. DO NOT DELAY!

STEP 5 - Spoon little circles of the sabudana mixture onto the plastic sheet. Now, the waiting game begins! Allow the sun to do his job and let the papads-in-the-making get bone dry.

STEP 6 - As the papads dry, they tend to peel of become transparent, bubbly and fragile to touch. When they peel off easily from the plastic sheet (takes a whole day), pick up a cut of tea and a air-tight container and hit your terrace again.Sip tea as you peel away the papads and store them into your air-tight container.
Ensure that they are completely dry. If they're not, you might want to lay them out in the sun again the next day.

Once completely dry, the papads are ready to be deep-fried. Make that scrumptious meal and get chomping away. Now! 

Indo-Chinese Style Chicken Lollypop

As much as you're stuck up with the notion that India still fancies those little cart-style joints that churned out the most delicious Indo-Chinese food - Think again. They've moved on. The food scene in India has changed. So much so that I was left dumbfounded when I saw pasta at a popular Pizza chain. Oh yes, I was fully stumped when the waiter offered me a choice of Fusilli or Penne with my alfredo sauce, since I did not want fettucine. Now, why am I discussing Italian cuisine when we're here to deal with Indo-Chinese? Oh well... End of the day... Food is food is food! And, in truth, this post is to update all you people who were ignorant (until now), like me, in estimating India's culinary growth. Be enlightened!

Coming to the availability of world cuisine. All you got to do is ask for it. There's probably some place in some corner of every city that imports, makes or grows the ingredient or food you're looking for. My joy knew no bounds when I discovered I can get the freshest of cold cuts from a store cum deli very close to my office. Oh yes, that's another thing that's kept me off the blog. I landed myself a job a couple weeks ago. Just getting into the groove of work-life after a sabbatical of six years, really. So now. Back to the topic. The office is so beautifully located, I seem to find restaurants serving just about all cuisines in the world. I've downed Italian and Mexican and I can say, the taste is very authentic (or at least as authentic as these cuisines are in America).

All the while that I was at home before I took up the job here in India, I tried to put in efforts to prepare different types of dishes. It is certainly nice to see everyone enjoy something off the monotony. On one such Sunday, I dished out these uber-succulent indo-chinese style spicy chicken lollypops to go with fried rice. Yum-o!

If I've given you enough reasons to go beyond Indian cooking, then you should probably try out this currently-in-vogue-everywhere dish. Perfectly trimmed chicken wings, appropriately cut and formed into little pops, marinated in a spicy sauce, dipped in batter, deep-fried to golden crunchiness and then bathed in a seasoning of soy sauce, onions and chillies.

Oh my gosh. Someone please either make this for me NOW or buy it from somewhere. I am DROOOLING!!

New Beginnings

Vehicles honk past on the main roads, waking us up. Street hawkers giving their best hollers, reaching out to a prospective buyer. The maid renders her stone-washed look to clothes. Milk coming to a boil on the stove-top. It's morning. It's India.

Just when you concluded that I've banished my blog, I am back here. And at the risk of sounding non-promising, let me tell you I may not be as regular. Life is certainly a lot more hectic here. But all said and done, this is home. And, we're here. Now!

It's taken me a good two months to settle in. I was itching to blog. I did miss you after all, you see! So, I thought let me share with you something as fresh as the mornings. 

Here's a picture of the hibiscus plant on our terrace - A place I visit every evening to refresh myself in the cool breeze of the evening, once the sizzling sun has blazed us down. Summer has been killer, to say the least. And, our terrace mini-garden is quite a retreat for sore eyes.

Here's a close-up of the pretty pink that captured my heart.

On this fresh note, I plan to restart Some Salt To Taste - with more vibrant, fun-filled stories and recipes, of course. Isn't that what we're here for? India - Here we are!

Citrus Golden Sangria

I told'ja I'd see you around New Year's, didn't I? Here I am. For starters, how about we have a rapid-fire round of questions before we close this year's posts? Here we go!

Ever had a sip of a drink and wanted to jump into it and live in there forever? Ever wanted to go all the way and make your own drinks for guests rather than just pick up readily available wines, beer and soda? Ever wanted to quench your thirst with something home-made, yet with the right amount of 'hiccity-hic'? Ever wanted to feel like it is summer when it is bone-chillingly cold outside with some cheery looking drink?

Sangrias are the answer! Inviting hues ranging from blood red, fiery oranges, pretty pinks, golden yellows and clear whites - These are down-right amazingly flexible wine based drinks. And talking about color, let me mention to you that I bring to your party this drink only because of the Free-Spirit Bloggers (pun totally unintentional).

This winter, FSB-ite Mridhubhashini decided to throw more than a snow-ball at all of us. The chirpy young lady gave us a theme fit to liven up any occasion. It being New Year's and all, she made this one really vibrant. She randomly assigned colours of the rainbow to numbers and asked us to pick one each. Next she said, go ahead and make food/drinks which would finally look that colour that we picked. We FSB-ites sure love such games. And, it was my turn to paint it orange!

Many on-board FSB have chosen to make a three course meal using the colour they picked, but I decided to make just a drink, not due to shortage of orange coloured foods, but simply due to shortage of time and some other reasons (which I will fill you in shortly).

And so...yes, Sangria! They're basically wine punches supposed to have originated from Spain and Portugal and have found their way into pitchers across the world. Fresh fruit, wine, sweetener, soda and a hint of brandy if you like, is all it takes. Oh and yes, about a day for all these wonderful flavors to get to know each other well in your refrigerator.

Coming to a wee bit of news from my end - We're moving back to India for good from the US sometime early next year. So this might well be the last post from me for a long while now, unless I sneak in some sit-down-and-write time amidst all the packing that's going on. I'll certainly see you all back, but for now, I'll be taking a break. So, until next time, here's sending you and yours good luck, best wishes and good health in the coming New Year and always.

For now, go ahead and finish that pitcher of Sangria!

Classic Red Velvet Cake

Jingle bells, candy canes, cookies and winter,
Lit up homes, decorated trees and warm apple cider!
Santa's on his sleigh, commanding his reindeer,
Would you believe Christmas is already here?

Ok, I get it. I'm no good at poetry. But, here's what is good. I have something lovely to share with you. And, it is, after all the season of giving and sharing. This time around its a classic recipe for a cake that will give you every reason (if you haven't any yet!) to celebrate - Red Velvet Cake.

I had no clue something this divine and delicious even existed until we got to the US. Call me ignorant, but I had my first taste out of a two slice packaged box at my local grocery store, which was baked at the bakery on premises. It was both love at first sight and bite, really. The gorgeous red layers bathed in serene white cream cheese frosting had me swooning.

So, yes, it was a new thing for me. I obviously wanted to try it and I did not want to experiment the first time around. I found  the recipe on a popular baking website because I did not want to mess this up. Not one bit. It turned out great as you can see. 

Did you know that although this cake looks so very red, it even has cocoa in it? And, buttermilk? And vinegar? The cocoa heightens the rich flavor and the buttermilk  renders tenderness. Some believe that the red color comes from the reaction of the vinegar and the buttermilk. But, these days everyone uses food coloring to enhance the red. 

It is said that the Red Velvet is a distant relative of the very famous Devil's Cake. For certain, this one has the colour of his horns all over himself!! Before you start growing a pair of your own out of sheer sinful temptation - Go bake!

Brown Rice Spaghetti with Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken

A couple of stores in the US carry some really interesting things. Among others, I hate why Trader Joe's hasn't yet opened a store around where we live. So, every time I'd go to meet people who lived near one, I'd never miss a chance to hop by and gape at all the line-up of organic, naturally delicious stuff they stock up. I flip like a teenager in love, each and every time I see their packaging and brown bags made using recycled paper.

On one such voracious trip to Trader Joe's I picked up this packet of brown rice spaghetti. Following the package instructions, the first time around I cooked it and tossed it in some regular marinara sauce. No great shakes. Tasted good. But, this spaghetti was so earthy and wholesome I just had  to put it to better use.

On another (not so voracious) mundane grocery shopping day, I picked up some Oscar Mayor  Carving Board Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken. I could possibly eat just this thing all by itself and not want anything else with it. Randomly cut the chicken into chunks, add tomatoes, onions, lettuce, seasoned bread croutons and your favorite dressing and it is a meal in itself! 

And, on another wonderful day when I really was voraciously hungry, I married the most delicious spaghetti with the best deli chicken in town and made this scrumptious lunch.

You need very few ingredients for this one but the outcome will make people thing you slogged for hours in the kitchen. You can even make this with regular pasta and deli chicken (or cooked shredded chicken). Yum is the word. Try it for yourself!

Karanji | Sweetened Coconut Filled Deep Fried Crescents

We're landing head-on into Christmas, and here I am, still blogging about Diwali goodies. Call me lazy, but hey, goodies are goodies - no matter when they're eaten. So, perhaps, you could make these sweet treats for your family and friends for these holidays, after all!

Now that you bought my excuse I feel a little lighter and free of guilt for not having these up around Diwali. But they're here now and they're still as good. These beautiful, crunchy crescents stuffed with sugar, coconut, cardamom and couple other things will have you clean up the platter and lick the left-over crumbs.

You can store these for over a week in an air tight container. No better reason than to stash away some right on your counter-top!

Cupcake Mania | Buttercream Frosting Recipe and Icing 101

There's really nothing much to be said on this post. I made this for a couple of close friends when we all met up at a new vacation home in the Poconos, that one of them had bought.

It was celebration time, so cupcakes were the perfect answer.

I baked over 3 dozen egg-less cupcakes. One batch of plain vanilla, one of vanilla with chocolate chips and one of good ol' chocolate. I then made blue, white and brown buttercream frosting and decorated them.

Here's the super simple recipe to the best and most popular frosting on this planet!

Buttercream Frosting Recipe


Ingredients
1 Cup Unsalted Butter/Vegetable Shortening, at room temperature
4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar, sifted
1 tsp. Vanilla Essence (Or any other flavour that you want to use, like almond, pineapple etc.)
2 - 4 tbsp milk (Or more depending on the consistency of icing you want in the end)

Other
Icing Colours (optional; as desired)
Electric Hand Mixer (Using a whisk would just take you much, much longer)

Icing Notes

1. Using Vegetable Shortening in place of butter will ensure you have pure white buttercream frosting

2. In order to make dark brown/chocolate colored frosting you will need to substitute one cup of sugar with cocoa powder. If it turns out too thin, add more sugar since sugar stiffens icing.

Method
- Place vegetable shortening/ unsalted butter and vanilla essence in a large bowl
- Add sugar about half cup at a time and mix using the hand mixer/whisk until all the sugar is well blended
- Add milk, one teaspoonful at a time to thin the icing to desired texture and mix well
- At this point the buttercream frosting is ready and you can colour it with desired icing colours

Icing Texture Guide
a) Very Stiff/Minimal Milk usage -This type of icing takes effort to spread because of its extreme thickness. It is best for icing flowers and decorations that need to hold their shape
b) Medium Consistency - This type of icing spreads when pressure is applied but still holds shape. It is best for cake borders and icing patterns
c) Thin Consistency - This type of icing spreads very easily and is perfect to cover cakes

Adding Colour to Icing
- Icing colour comes in the form of gel. If you plan on using liquid food colouring, remember that the liquid can thin out the consistency of your buttercream icing.

- Use toothpicks to pick colour from the icing gel tub and then dip into the buttercream icing. Mix in the colour using a rubber spatula.

- If you need to add more colour, always use a new toothpick to pick the icing colour gel

I hope you found all this information helpful. I am no professional at this stuff, but all this is based on what I've read, learnt and experimented with.

And, to end this post I'd like to share a picture that I personally love the most, even with some flaws in the frosting/frosting technique.

Drool on!

Kodbale | Savory Rice Flour Rings

I've been missing in action, I know. No wonder they call it the holidays out here. Diwali followed by Thanksgiving, I've been doing nothing but cook, eat and repeat!

Do you have memories associated with food? I do. Especially with kodbales. I'm in awe of all those tiny shops in India that churn out these kind of fried snacks, pack them in cellophane bags and sell them. They put a tiny white placard with the name of their store in tiny-er letters, along with details like the price and weight - all the ink smudged and oh-so-soggy with oil after having been snugly wrapped in along with the fried goodies. These little things were'nt fancy like well packaged, loudly colored snack boxes we get today, but they certainly made many memories. As a part of a after-school snack, or just something to much along on holidays,movies or picnics, they were always a hit.

I've tried recreating kodbales at home and this recipe works like a charm always. I made these during Diwali, as a part of the festive spread offered to Goddess Lakshmi. Ever since we got to the US, this has indeed been a mandatory snack because of its easy, although slightly time consuming, preparation.

I think this recipe is good enough, but somehow they did not turn up as crunchy as I intended them to be - Just about 95% there. Any suggestions are most welcome.

Microwave Dudh Peda

Let me start with a confession. This is no secret recipe. Google it and you will get umpteen links to the same one. But, here's why I made it. I wanted to try it, of course. And, it was Diwali. I heard it was a fool-proof, super-simple recipe so I got all gutsy and decided to make it anyway! 

Besides, who would want to stand next to the stove waiting for humongous amounts milk to reduce when you can just pop things in the microwave and being eating pedas instead?

I personally found that the final peda, although tasted exactly like the elaborate version one, was slightly sticky to bite into. Also, the butter was on the higher side as well. You can opt to reduce about 2 tablespoons.

This was the first of my Diwali line up of sweets and savory snacks. And to say it took less time to make than to roll out into sweets would be another confession. Just three main ingredients and a microwave is all you need. So, you know what you're making the next time you crave something sweet!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (8oz) Unsalted butter
1 Can (14oz) Condensed Milk
2 Cups Milk Powder
1 tsp powdered cardamom seeds

Other
Wide microwave-safe bowl

Method
- In the microwave safe bowl , toss in the butter and melt it in the microwave
- Add the rest of the ingredients and give a good stir to mix well (The bowl remains uncovered throughout the process)
- In 30 second intervals, microwave on medium, stirring frequently to bring the ingredients together into a soft dough-like consistency
- Once all ingredients come together, set aside for about a minute or two to allow to cool a tad bit
- Grease a plate with oil/butter, and using your hands make pedas out of the mixture. Go on, taste it and you will be lying if you said it did not taste delicious!
- Decorate with dried fruit and/or nuts

DO NOT allow the mixture to rest too long because it will dry up. Cover it as you make the pedas, lest you end up having cracked ones. Has anyone come up with a solution to this? My pedas cracked up on the outsides although they were staying together.

Makes about 30 to 35 one inch wide pedas

Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies

Ever come across a moment in life that changes the way you see a certain thing, person or sometimes even a situation? Among other larger such 'moments-of-change', to me is hidden this one moment that revolutionized the way I saw a little button of a thing - Mushroom. And, such was the theme for last month's Free-Spirit Bloggers. It was chosen by none other than Anupama of Love and Lentils. 

Anupama challenged us to pick out a food/ingredient that we steer clear of. Something we've never liked as a child or even as a grown up and cook with it. Not to forget she asked us to have fun doing so. Here's my story keeping in mind this wonderfully challenging theme.

It would seem normal for a pure vegetarian to state he or she did not like mushrooms because of its taste and texture. But for me, being a meat-eater did nothing towards how I saw mushrooms until very recently. I must thank my very close pal, V, for introducing me to this way of cooking mushrooms. V found this recipe in some cookbook, apparently. Now, there's almost nothing to hate and everything to love when I think of mushrooms.

I love pasta, but I never for once imagined it would gain a new dimension of taste when you throw is a dash (or more, ahem!) of cream and mushrooms. I was so in love with it the day I ate it and now, I make it for lunch at least once a week (cutting back on the cream of course!). I must add my son loves this as much as I do. So, all you moms looking for a fresh new perspective on pasta - This is IT!

What's even more awesome is that you can club this with a side of fresh steamed veggies and voila what do you have? Creamy Mushroom Farfalle with Steamed Veggies!!

Pasta leaves me stumped when it comes to showing off its ability to adapt and absorb any flavour you toss it in. And this recipe is a winner, hands down. In fact, if you love mushrooms, but not pasta you GOTTA TRY THIS. You will come back to me and thank me, telling me this was your 'moment-of-change'.

Diwali Greetings!

It's that time of the year again. Yes, its Diwali season. I now I am about a day late, but hey, Diwali is celebrated for a good 3 days, and beyond in some cases. So, better late than never!

Happy Diwali to all you readers and bloggers out there. May the festival of lights fill you heart with joy, home with warmth and life with prosperity!

So, what did you make for Diwali? Were you asked this? I was umpteen number of times. Well, so I decided why not post something in response. I know most of you would want the recipes of these items. They're on their way. But, for now, drool on!

The simplest of all items I made - Shankarpali

Another easy to pull off sweet-dish. I wonder who ever thought about this one. It will seem like you slogged for hours, but only takes a few minutes - Microwave Dudh Peda

This one is a traditionally made item during Diwali - Karanjia

And, finally, the famous spicy snack - Kodbale

As a custom, we offer these items (called 'Faraal'), fresh fruit and a platter of all items cooked as a part of the days meal, first to God (called 'Naivedhya'). This is done as a part of the 'Puja' or prayers before we eat the same. I took a couple pictures to share with you all, and here they are.

Naivedhya

Faraal

Will share the recipes to all the Diwali snacks and sweets I've put up here, shortly. So, stay tuned and enjoy the celebrations while they last! 

Masala Vada

The last few months of every year come strung with festivals knit together one after another. I made these masala vadas for Dussera and we're already well into Diwali! We're all surrounded with lots of good food and festivities. Crunchy munchies and sweet delicacies adorn the counter-top of ever kitchen in an Indian household around this time of the year.

Sorry about the sad quality of the pictures here, it was raining outside and clouds barely allowed any light indoors.

These are not only made during festivals. Think about the number of times you would've stopped by the corner shop to pick up a newspaper cone filled with fresh, hot masala vadas. Yum! This one is an ode to all the delicious street food we have in India.

I have explained making these vadas using a mixer/blender. Traditionally they are stone ground and the resultant texture is simply mouthwatering. This method yields something to that effect.

Make these this Diwali along with your festive spread and watch them disappear. (Psst...Instead, keep a couple of them in the kitchen and away from the grabbing hands. Don't complain if you have nothing left for yourself in the end!)

Cafe Casa | The Round-up | Free-Spirit Bloggers

You've been waiting for this, I know. I'm here now, so keep those daggers down and pick up something to drink as you read on. Confused as to what to fill your cups and glasses with? Oh think no further. Allow us, the Free-Spirit Bloggers, to pamper and spoil you with ideas.

Cafe Casa was the theme for FSB all September, where I invited bloggers-on-board to make cafe inspired drinks, the ground rules being:

- Pick any coffee-based drink recipe from this listing OR choose your own from anywhere else OR conjour up your own
- Share with us your inspiration for the drink, if its your own or why you choose a certain drink
- Present it the way it would be in a Coffee Shop (Think cinnamon dusting, whipped cream etc.)
- Add a snack to accompany your drink (Optional)

That said, I did allow some jiggle-room for my FSB mates who did not like coffee too much. So, they went ahead and made cafe style drinks instead. Keep your eyes peeled for there's a host of thirst quenchers listed up here! So, what are we waiting for. Let's roll!

CAFE CASA ROUND-UP

DK of Chef In You

She's sure to have your palate tickled pink with her Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino

She suggests you down this with her Very Berry Coffee Cake. I would blindly take her advice!

Lataji of Flavours and Tastes

Even though she's not too much of a coffee person herself, she whipped up something just as sweet and cool as her. It's called Iced Caramel Macchiato. 

   

Take a bow and glug it down with Egg-less Apple Cinnamon Muffins. It cannot get better, can it?!

Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook

You can almost never go wrong with this tall one - Frappe Mochacchino! Cold, creamy and most of all - It. Has. Chocolate.

We need not another excuse.

   

Want to make this a complete snack and drink party? How about some Spinach-Corn-Cheese Sandwiches on the side. Burp!

Mridhubhashini of Slurp, Chomp, Yumm!


A staunch tea lover gives us this western world version of our very Indian Masala Chai. Presenting Chai Tea Latte, made from scratch at home!

     

This one is certainly on my to-do list, because tea was, is and always will be my first love when it comes to beverages. And, what's more to love you ask? Well, the Glazed Lemon Blueberry Cream Scones that are peeking at you from behind that cuppa. Grab 'em now!

Siri of Cooking With Siri

Like your tea iced? How about some Ginger and Honey Iced Tea? The pictures are so inviting, you wouldn't think about NOT making this one.

  

I don't even know why I never looked at tea this way. Just plain superb!

Anu of Love and Lentil

I will update her offering to this theme the moment I hear from her. So, stay tuned!

Nags of Edible Garden had to excuse herself from this theme because she was traveling on work. But, I wouldn't be surprised if she surprises us. Hang tight!


And, finally my Caramel Macchiato which you already must have tried by now. If you haven't, well then I've just handed you a bunch of drinks on your to-try list. Go!! 

Caramel Macchiato

You knew something on these lines was coming, didn't you? If I've made caramel, then I was going to use it somewhere! Okay...Okay! You win this one time. But, there's a little thing you don't know. Ah! Now I have you're attention. So, read on.

You're aware of the Free-Spirit Bloggers by now. Well, as cliched as it may sound but time has flown by since this group of bloggers was founded. It's been a good six months. We had our share of fun making interesting appetizers, challenging bakes, imitation food and nostalgic entrees to mention a few themes from the past. This time I suggested to my buddies on the group that we should kick back and take a break. A coffee break, at that! And that was the basis of my theme.

What better way than to put all our heads together and come up with coffee based drinks served up at your favorite coffee-shop? I named this theme 'Cafe Casa', to mean that you bring the Cafe to your Casa (home) and invited all my FSB pals to bring on their best coffee-based drinks!

You will find that some of them made a snack to accompany the drink, too, so they create a very cafe like ambiance. Also, I shared this website with my friends to give them various ideas on the kind of drink they can make. But, knowing this group of bloggers, I don't think they even needed this kind of an heads-up!

So, that pretty much rounds up the theme that we FSB-ites had for September - Cafe Casa!

Here's my part of the story. Once, I am done with this, I will share links of all the other drinks (and snacks, if applicable) that all other Free-Spirit Bloggers have come up with.

I'm not sure about you, but every time I hit the lines of modern day coffee-shops my eyes are rolling all over their menu wondering and wandering like a deer that wanted to stroll in the well-known limits of the wilderness but lost its way and was left bewildered in the middle of New York City.

So, for all those wide-eyed mob of deer out there, gaping at the coffee shop menu, this month the Free-spirit bloggers are here to solve a few mysteries. Mysteries of the coffee shop! Join us as we recreate the coffee shop drinks at home without any fancy equipment. Welcome to Cafe Casa!

I'm not big coffee drinker myself. But, being raised in Bangalore, I've had my share of 'filter kaapi', especially after downing a large, butter-laden masala dosa at the next-door restaurant all my childhood. Coffee took a backseat when tea entered my life. But, all of last month I lost count of the number of coffee cups I gulped down just to make this one drink that I so love in my favorite coffee shop - Starbucks. Oh yea, S.T.A.R.B.U.C.K.S!! So fancy, so accessible and so very compelling to all of your senses. Hot or Cold. Drenched in whipped cream or just a simple latte. They have it ALL.

Over the last couple months I kept hopping in and out of every Starbucks cafe I passed by, trying different drinks they offered. Here's what pleased me the most - Caramel Macchiato. This drink is served both cold and hot. I tried the hot one on a unusually cold day in late summer and was in love with it. Light coffee (which pleases someone who likes milky coffee), sweet notes of caramel and warm frothy milk. Bliss!

So, before we jump into how to make this surreal temptation, let's get down to some history and science. First up, history.

Caramel Macchiato is a variant of the original drink called Cafe Macchiato, caramel being the extra factor (X-factor, tee hee!). Macchiato in Italian literally translates to 'stained', which refers to the way coffee/espresso is 'stained' with steamed/frothed milk.

Now, let's move on to the science of this drink - The steamed or frothed milk. Did you know steaming or frothing milk is an art that baristas across coffee-shops have to know like the back of their hands? Oh yeah. It is the very basis of a plethora of coffee based drinks. So, yes the equation for this drink is simple. Caramel + Espresso + Steamed Milk = Caramel Macchiato.

Before you conclude that you can simply whip this up in no time, think again. It took me a good gallon of reduced fat milk and about 3 weeks until I figured out the exact way to get that froth you see on top of that cuppa. Still, I'm not too satisfied with it.

I made Caramel Sauce at home, to give this drink a complete 'Homemade' tag. If you've missed that recipe, read it here. So, like I said, I was trying hard to get the foamed milk on my coffee, which means I had to first start off by learning to make Lattes, which are a combination of espresso and steamed milk.

Once, I mastered the steamed milk to a certain extent (as far as possible it was without any equipment at home), I made my first caramel macchiato which you see below. I hated why I poured it in that wine glass. It was the only one I found (before I bought what you see above) and I decided I will sip out of it anyway!

If you ask for this drink at Starbucks, they serve it with their signature caramel crosshatch on top of the foamed milk. This was something I was unable to recreate. I fumbled, stumbled and fell on my face in despair. But, well, there's always a next time!

I'll get down to the recipe now. So, now that you know this is very much a do-it-yourself fancy coffee drink, what's stopping you?

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Hot chocolate fudge, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, peanut butter, nuts,  fruit and the like - Please step aside. Welcome the queen of all dessert toppings - Caramel syrup. Golden and royal from head to toe, need she do anything to woo you? Svelte like velvet and sweet as sugar, you'd be lying if you said you were not in love with her - Again!

I'd be lying if I said this was my own concoction. But, yes, I did mix up two recipes to make this wonderful sauce. One from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Ina Garten (Recipe here) and another from yet another Food Network Chef, Anne Burrell (Recipe video here). 

I know you're wondering what the waffles are doing with the syrup. Shouldn't it be ice cream there? Boy oh boy, you're right. But, I could not wait to eat the syrup and paired them with whatever I had on hand.

Chef Garten has not added butter in her recipe, but I opted to have it in for extra creamy texture. Chef Burrell added lemon juice and corn syrup both of which I opted not to add. The end result was good. So, its up here for grabs!

Now, before you come to a conclusion that this recipe is made by chefs and it's something not in your capacity. Think twice. Or even thrice! I mean, you're going to have a whole jar of caramel sauce at your disposal, and here's the best part - ONLY FOUR INGREDIENTS!! Just as Chef Anne Burrell says in all her shows "You certainly don't have to be a restaurant chef to cook like one".

Baked Coconut Bites - Modak Makeover (Egg-less)

To say Lord Ganeshji is the most adaptable would be an understatement. He's been disguised into so many avatars by us humans every year when Ganesh Chaturti comes along. Ambedkar Ganapati, Cycle Ganapati, Computer Ganapati... I mean seriously?! God really has patience with us humans for all the antics we show him.

With all that said, every year, we all serve him with the one thing that's considered his favourite food - Modak. I personally love modaks, too. I made them for Ganesh Chaturti (and forgot to click pics to post it here, but will make it for you all again soon!) and they were over in the blink of an eye even with a minor glitch in them.

But here's what happened. I ended up having extra Modak filling. Plus, like I mentioned earlier about the slight mistake I'd done - I had used shredded dry coconut instead of grated dry coconut and my filling turned out to be very dry. Still, I'd say the modaks tasted good because the jaggery/gud melted when the modaks were steamed.

So, what do you do when you have left-over Modak filling? Of course, eating it up as is can be one idea. But, how about transforming it into something else? Like these crunchy baked coconut bites?

Now, we're talking. And, you agree don't ya? These coconut-y bites are so easy to make you could even use your gooey modak filling for the same as well. Just add more flour to aid in binding. I know Ganesh Chaturti was over two weeks ago. But hey, won't you just make that filling again to eat these crunchy munchies??