Happy Diwali

Though this space has been sleeping for a while, due to some technical difficulties but we are here to wish you all a very happy Diwali with most famous motichoor ladoo (store brought) from Coimbatore and water rangoli. May the twinkling lamps illuminate your lives with endless joy, eat loads of sweet, delicious food and if possible say no to crackers.

Guest post for Sohini's Cassia Bark - Dark Rosy Kisses

Rare are those recipes when an unexpected combination turns out surprising well. This dark rosy kisses is an outcome after spending hours in flea market and organic shop looting alluring brown tableware and some organic rose buds. After a series of imagination all I dreamt was the combination of brown and pink. Cherry on top was when my colleague gave me organic honey, creative instincts worked magic thus these dark rosy kisses were created.

The recipe is the combination of dark chocolate, honey, rosewater and dry rose buds. Honey gives these kisses a dense and moist feel. Rosewater in the desserts and sweets are more of an acquired taste for those tasting it for the first time; let me warn you since you might feel them like a scented dessert! Give it an elegant touch by serving the individual pieces on rose petals with a little ribbon tied, an eye appealing treat!

Ok! Now this post is my first guest post for Sohini's blog Cassia Bark, dancing feet. I have known Sohini from our initial days of blogging; her sweet and encouraging comments drove me to her blog where I felt warmth through her words. Very soon we befriended each other through facebook and now no looking back. I’m a great admirer of her sugar art for cakes and cupcakes, different versions of beautiful princess cake and her eastern food makes me drool. Not forgetting to mention the pictures of her little adorable edible princess, which wants me to her a big bite, but I go aww! So people do hop over to Cassia Bark for interesting recipe and for the recipe of  dark rosy kisses!! 

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New Lessons - Peach Lemon Cake

Occasionally downcast days, breezy evenings, lots of jasmine flowers, endless amount of mangoes and tender coconuts, doesn't my days sounds relaxing? It is such a pleasurable time in Coimbatore. I have just started my car driving lessons, traffic, clutch, break, gear and accelerator everything is new but still exciting. I wish there were automatic cars in India it would have been easy, but my master says its better to learn from manual car. Ladies who is already driving any interesting stories on driving lessons? Mine is yet to come as of now, i'm still working on gear and clutch.

This is totally a fruity cake topped with fresh mascarpone cream cheese, truly a winner. Girls in south India do we get mascarpone cream cheese here? or is there any alternatives, feedback please?  I'm back to business of cake baking, hopefully i will be regular here as well :))

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Namaste from India - Whipped Lingonberry porridge (Vispipuuro)

I'm at home enjoying my most awaited holiday. I had been missing blog world, but somehow work trips, paper works had kept me occupied before i started from Finland. The day i arrived to home land, my mum and sis gave a super warm welcome, that i felt like a celebrity. When i saw my one year old nephew for the first time and my niece all grown tall, almost reaching my height, happiness new no bounds. We are creating havoc at home playing day in day out, that roof is about fall. Sometime to my niece i'm a beautician, event manger if she feels like its dolls birthday, or a watchman for water guns and indeed a photographer too! All we play is with her kitchen set where she cooks endlessly and i have to eat endlessly, hitting each other with water guns, papers drawings and colors, and to watch whole lot cartoon channels. Little one is a happy boy, never complains and growing fast. He has just started to walk by trying hard to lift his little bum, diapers are heavy i say, poor lil ones. He like to eat anything on floor and bits everything available at home. Its a beautiful phase, we are making the best use of their summer holidays, soon we are flying to our native place to meet our extended family. Before I get drown with family and endless parties waiting for me, here is simple and very special porridge from Finland. I can say Finland has spoiled me so much that India's sun isn't treating me well and i'm trying my best to hide from him. 

Lingonberries are very typical Finnish berries which are handpicked during Autumn. My friend took me to pick mushroom and these berries, i came back home with one bucket of these berries. Not knowing what to do, she taught me how to make this porridge and jam (hope to post the recipe sometime). This serves as light breakfast or meal with cold or warm milk, i prefer warm milk. Marjut thank you so much for this recipe, can't tell how much i miss you all and your food. My niece is obsessed with pink as me, soon we will trying with strawberries. So people if you don't get lingonberries, you could very well try with strawberries or cranberries! Shall try to update during my trip if not shall catch soon after my travels, till then happy summer time, though i'm not happy with sun i'm making the best of summer fruits naam naam!   

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Present - Tamarind rice / Puli sadam / Pulihora

“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.” Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist 

That's exactly how i see life now. Flooded with all love, attention, care from loved ones. Living to fullest in the present is the most beautiful thing. All I do is reach dear ones, talk endlessly over cup of tea, food and cakes. Past few weeks has been so much full of food, specially when most treasured friends cook everything special, it can't get any better. One of the best experience from last week was when i went with my God mother to meet her friends (most of them were senior citizens) and did henna tattoo for them all (just for fun) their motherly affection, warm hugs, i came back home teared eye feeling human connection is the best in world.  

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Doll House - Zucchini chocolate cake

I finally started to go through my hard drive. These pictures are from summer 2010 (couldn't skip though it is old) when I visited a friend's baby girl's first birthday party. A doll house was exclusively built for her, in their garden beside the lake. The doll house was extremely adorable, with little bed, dinning table, kitchen utensils, toys and chairs. Party was filled candies, chocolate, desserts and kids high on sugar. Those were the days when I was learning portraits, still learning, it is tough with kids, so it was a fun evening. The b'day girl was center of attraction, a social baby and she enjoyed her day completely. I had this cake at the party, I couldn't come out without asking for the recipe simply because it was delicious, later I paid back her mum with party pictures. Today is writers block day for me, it took more than one hour to write this (in state of shock to see pic untouched from 2009). I tweaked this recipe to my own choice, but unfortunately didn't note down the changes. So i'm giving you the original recipe, this makes a  large portion, coffee table at work saved me, feel free to half it or just go by this! Happy baking! 

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I need cheese - Passion fruit cheese cake

Its beautiful time here in my city, thought it is freezing cold (will be reaching - 30 C this week), no complaints,  i'm enjoying the scenic beauty with thin layer of ice on trees, which makes the place look gorgeous, just like star studded trees when few rays of sunlight falls on them. Wish I could take few pictures, but I don't dare to do it, after one experience of burning my fingers. Anyways, as always winter time is always high calorie food for me. Bowl of soup I'm never happy, there should always be something to bite or cheesy that could make me feel warm. 

We had a wonderful Asian fusion dinner party during weekend, yet again I was doing the dessert my fav! Sometime back I was in Porvoo a beautiful old city in Helsinki, my friend had passion fruit cheese cake, the cake looked extremely gorgeous that I some wanted to redo it at some point, couldn't find any better day. Though that cake was baked version, I went for unbaked version. I didn't intend this recipe for blog post, unexpectedly it turned out be fantastic that I dare to post with a bad picture. Passion fruit gives beautiful freshness and flavor I'm falling in love with it!  One year old baby couldn't stop eating she was jumping on the table to eat more. Please ignore the pic and go head with it, butter, biscuit, cheese, cream, crunchy passion fruit seeds and winter.... with some margarita may be? ...perfectly cozy!  

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Wish list - Kashmiri pulao

Hola gente! I had tank list of dreams to chase soon after PhD, like very student have, to do this to do that, my list is still growing. One on the priority is to travel to Spain, Iceland, Athens and once again to Rome to eat all over again and again! let me see how far i can go. When mum was here we planned but couldn't get them working, winter was too rough on her. But we had gala time with heavy baking and shopping. She flew to India and i'm back to work as post doctorate researcher for short term, not doing much of research work i seriously mean it! You know dissertation hang over, i need full solid holiday to get out of it, which i hardly see any near! There are more than 15 recipes, many trip photos to edit and post, which should be one among the  wish list....so better get active and stop ranting (note to self).   

Lets go to Kashmiri pulao which mum made last year, for my Finnish God parents they thoroughly enjoyed it. Since combination of fruits, nuts and salty rice is something special. Not many may like and i can't handle pineapple there. The very tiny tinky pineapple in photo was used just for the photoshoot. The use of fruit can be according to ones own choice, make sure to mix the fruit with lukewarm rice just before you serve, to prevent cooking of fruit, if done well in advance pulao may become slushy.

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