Rasaswad

I baked a cake (well, she's in India..but we wanted to celebrate anyways). I tried this different kind of cake. I wouldn't call it a complete success. I didn't get as much volume as I should have and I burnt the brown butter the first time around (I was lost in thoughts..really)..so had to throw it away and start over...but overall it was delicious...the cake did rise, and encompass pear and chocolate like the recipe says...just that I felt that I still need a lot more experience with eggs-flour-sugar... Link to the SmittenKitchen Blog Al Di La’s Torta di Pere [Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake] Courtesy of Al Di La Restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn (Notes from the blogger) Aside from the chocolate chunks, the bits of pear and the browned butter (like I you need to hear anything else before you take off in the direction of the kitchen) one of the coolest things about baking this cake is the eggs, that are beaten far beyond “combined” or “fluffy” but until they have the v...

This Makar Sankrant was all about tradition - well actually only food traditions..There were no kites..there was no Haldi Kumkum...but there was food... My MIL makes carrot halwa every year..so I did. My mom sometimes makes Khichdo, so I did (actually a couple days later), and I grew up with Tilgul..so I made some of those too... Here are the quick recipes: Carrot Halwa: Peel and grate carrots. Heat some ghee and saute them. Add whole milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream and keep stirring. Add sugar and keep stirring till the mixture thickens. Add cardamom, nutmeg, fried cashew, etc. Tilgul: The important thing to remember here is: one part "stuff" (Til, Dalia, peanuts, etc) and half part gud. Roast one cup Til on a low flame, till nice and nutty. Roast a quarter cup each of Dalia and peanuts and break coarsely. Add some fresh cardamom powder to this dry mixture. Heat 3/4 cup gud on a low flame and sprinkle some water. When the syrup is ready (drop a ball in cold water, and ...

I always find menu planning more challenging than actual recipes. These days there are millions of recipes online and you can find one for practically everything. But there is not enough material out there that talks about planning the perfect menu. It's so cool when everything goes well together and the meal works out perfectly. I think the reason menu planning is so challenging is that it is not static (well..even recipes should not be static and should change based on seasons, availability of fresh ingredients and the taste and preferences of people you're cooking for..but you can get away by following a good recipe closely). Menus are inherently dynamic. So much depends on the occasion, and the number of people and events that are to follow or precede the meal, etc. But like good recipes, good menu planning guidelines are wonderful. And every once in a while, you stumble upon the perfect menu...and the perfect setup. This New Year's Eve dinner was like that. Here's ...