Happy's Cook

Friday, December 23, 2016

Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe | Kerala Plum Cake | Christmas Fruit Cake | Christmas Special Recipes

The word plum cake is bringing me nostalgic childhood memories about Christmas. I grew up eating plum cakes from 'Greatest Bakery', 'Cake World' and 'British bakes' in Nagercoil for Christmas. When I was very young, I don't like the taste of plum cakes and hence, dad buys Vanilla Tutti Frutti Cake for me. After few years, I realised the taste of the plum cake and from then, I love it to the core. Making this delicious cake at home is a real dream come true moment for me and to my surprise it came out super awesome.

This time I wanted to follow the traditional method and hence I soaked the nuts and fruits in rum. If you are looking for alcohol-free version then you can follow the same recipe by soaking the nuts and fruits in apple juice or orange juice or grape juice. In this case, just soak it for one day in the room temperature. I too will post the non-alcohol version as soon as possible. Do check out my Homemade Grape Wine too. Let us move on to the recipe:

Homemade Grape Wine Recipe | Grape Wine | Christmas Special Recipes

Hello everyone, I am here with an unusual recipe in the blog and it is apt for this Christmas Week. Also, I am extremely sorry for posting this recipe a little late. I know you will not be able to make wine for this Christmas following this recipe. However, please bookmark this recipe and plan to make it for Easter. This process of wine making requires a minimum of 42 days to get a clear and matured wine. I started this preparation by November 1st week and being a first timer, I was very much scared about the outcome. As days past, I got the confidence and now, I am super excited with the result. The preparation is very easy and it is a no-fail recipe if we follow the steps carefully. The homemade wine and a piece of plum cake is a yum combo. The colour of the wine purely depends on the colour of the grapes used. I used light purple grapes and hence the colour of the wine is not very dark. Believe me, there is no compromise in the taste and I am waiting to get the feedback from our friends here.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffin Recipe | Blueberry Muffin | Christmas Special Recipe

I have not planned this muffin for Christmas Special recipes. However, it was in my drafts for a long time now and hence thought of posting it. I made this when blueberries were in season this year. This can be served as a breakfast muffin, it is extremely moist and has a bread like texture. Instead of blueberry, you can replace it with any available berry (chopped strawberries, raspberries or blackberries). The batter for this muffin can be prepared in no time, it doesn't require too my beating. The wet ingredients are mixed in one bowl and the dry ingredients are mixed in another bowl. Now, mix both of them together and you are done with the batter.

My daughter 'Happy' loves making muffins and she will be in the kitchen until it is out of the oven. If I make something for blog sake, I will not involve her since she doesn't allow me to click the step-wise pictures properly. This time she was very much reluctant and was with me throughout the preparation. Somehow I managed to click the pictures, though you can see a glimpse of her.😅 The muffin turned out super moist and delicious. Let us move on to the preparation steps:

Sweet Diamond Cuts Recipe | Sugar Coated Maida Biscuits | Maida Biscuits | Christmas Special Recipe

Yet another interesting snack mum makes for Christmas and school vacation is diamond cuts. After I moved to Chennai for studies and work, she stopped making it since I didn't have a long vacation as in school. I can remember and feel the taste even after these many years. I tried it for last Christmas and it didn't come out well. The sugar syrup I made went wrong and it made my diamonds soggy.

Now, I am a little more experienced in making the sweets after trying many Diwali Sweets. This time it came out super crispy and Jany loves it to the core. I made it in very less quantity and everything vanishes in a day😆. I reserved a small pack for my friend's son and he too liked it. I have seen people mixing the sugar with maida while making sweet diamonds. However, mum makes the diamonds plain and sugarcoats it at the end. I have followed mum's method here and please do try it for this vacation.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe | Choco Chip Cookies | Christmas Special Recipes

I love to make traditional snacks for Christmas rather than Cakes and Cookies since mum does it that way. Apart from making snacks like Achu Murukku, Munthiri Kothu, Adhirasam, Mullu Murukku and Sweet Diamond cuts, the only cake we focus for Christmas is Plum cake and we buy it from a famous bakery in Nagercoil. On the day of Christmas, we make many non-veg dishes along with Fruit Custard and Payasam, etc. I am receiving many requests for more cookies and cakes as Christmas special recipes. I tried few baked goodies this year too and I will be posting it in the coming days. Check out my other Cakes and Cookies too.

Eggless Walnut Brownie Recipe | Chocolate Walnut Brownie(Eggless) | Christmas Special Recipes

We are going to celebrate our first Christmas in Sydney. Happy is really excited with the Christmas activities happening. She already met Santa a few times and got her Christmas presents. Though I am very much busy, I have a few recipes in hand to post it here. Two years back when I posted Chocolate Walnut Brownies for Christmas, I received many requests from readers asking for an eggless version. I wanted to try it from that day. However, I couldn't make it. When I was getting ready with Christmas recipes this year, these eggless brownies top the list. I made it a few weeks back and it turned out well. I am here with the simple and delicious brownie which doesn't require too much mixing. Do check out my peanut butter banana fudge brownie recipe as well.

Achu Murukku Recipe | Kerala Acchappam | Rose Cookies | Christmas Special Recipes

As I mentioned in my Munthiri Kothu post, Achu Murukku is also my native special (Kanyakumari Dist) snacks made for Christmas. This sweet crispy murukku is made using a special mould in the shape of a flower with a long handle to hold. I made this murukku last January and it was waiting in my drafts until this Christmas :). I got the recipe from Vanitha Akka who helps us with the household work in my native after mum. She learned many recipes from mum since she was with us for a long time now. I am learning the recipes that I missed from mum through her. Let us move on to the recipe:

Munthiri Kothu Recipe | Roasted Green Gram and Jaggery Balls | Kanyakumari Special Snack | Christmas Special Recipes

Munthiri Kothu is one of the traditional snacks we make in my hometown (Kanyakumari District) for Christmas. In Malayalam 'Munthiri' means grapes and 'Kothu' means a bunch. After deep frying, this snack tends to stick to each other and it resembles a bunch of grapes. Maybe, that is the reason behind the name 'Munthiri Kothu'. Though my mum is a teacher, she finds time to make many traditional snacks for Christmas without missing it. She always makes Munthiri Kothu, Adhirasam, Achu Murukku and Mullu Murukku in the beginning of half early holidays (a few days before Christmas) and stocks it up. Like mum, I wanted to make all the traditional snacks for Happy. I am in the process of learning all the snacks. I got this recipe from my mom-in-law and it turned out super awesome. Do try this for this Christmas and share me the feedback.

Sweet Bonda Recipe | Wheat Flour Unniappam | Fried Whole Wheat Banana Cake | Kerala Bonda | Tea Stall Sweet Bonda | Undampori | Christmas Special Recipes

The tea stall unniyappam brings me so many childhood fond memories of my native. My grandfather, while returning home after his evening walk brings me a pack of unniyappam, parippu vada or omapodi from the nearby tea stall. My grandmother, mom and I relish it with evening coffee. It tastes so yum and still I can feel its taste. When I was planning for Christmas recipes, this snack comes to mind since mum used to make it during our Christmas vacation. I tried this a month ago when our friends visited us and they gave us a thumbs up. I have few more traditional Christmas snacks from my native that I will be posting it soon. Let us see the step-by-step preparation:

Mutton Cutlet Recipe | Minced Mutton Cutlet | Kerala Style Mutton Cutlet | Meat Cutlet | Mutton Recipes

Mutton cutlets are one of my recent favourites at home. Jany and Happy enjoy it to the core and hence I am making it whenever I get mutton. This recipe is a sure winner and I have tried it twice when our friends visited us. They liked it very much and I got good feedback about it from them too. Finally, I found a way to make Happy eat mutton since she doesn't focus much on non-veg dishes. I have already posted Chicken cutlets in my initial days of blogging, check that too. I will try to post a vegetable cutlet as soon as possible for my veg readers. Let us move on to the recipe.

Mutton Stew Recipe | Kerala Style Mutton Stew | Mutton in Coconut Milk Gravy | Mutton Recipes

I was very busy for the entire week and hence I have not posted anything here. I have many Christmas recipes in hand and hopefully, I will be posting it from this monday. Until then thought of finishing few more non-veg recipes from my drafts. A few months back I visited my friend's son birthday here in Sydney. She is a Malayali and for the dinner, she made appam and mutton stew along with other items. Mutton stew caught my attention and I even brought a box of stew back home to relish it the next day😆 I tried it the next weekend after getting the recipe from her. It turned out super awesome and I wanted to post it here in the blog before Christmas. Let's move to the preparations.

Chettinad Chicken Kuzhambu Recipe | Chettinad Chicken Gravy | Chettinad Kozhi Curry

I always make mom's Varutharacha Chicken Curry or Chicken Kuruma if I am planning for Chicken Curry since I am very much comfortable with those recipes. Recently, I started exploring Chettinad recipes and they are really awesome. Though the ingredients list seems to be a bit lengthy, it is worth giving a try. I have already posted the following Chettinad Non-Veg recipes:

Egg Podimas Recipe | Muttai Podimas | Egg Poriyal | Scrambled Egg | Egg Stir Fry

Egg Podimas is one of the easy to make poriyal for rice which we can make in a jiffy. Whenever I ran out of vegetables, I make this egg podimas to accompany rasam rice. Sometimes I pair the egg podimas with Channa Masala and rice, which is a yum combo as well. Please check out my other Egg recipes mentioned below:

Chicken Ghee Roast Recipe | Mangalorean Chicken Ghee Roast | Chicken Roast with Ghee

I will be sharing more non-veg recipes in the coming days since Christmas is nearing. I have already clicked few chicken recipes to post it here and one among them is Chicken Ghee Roast. My friend Angavai shared a video of this on FB a few days back and it tempted me a lot. When I googled about the dish, I came to know that it is an iconic dish of Mangalore. I was introduced to Mangalorean Cusine through Chef Venkatesh Bhat's show and I really love it. I adapted the recipe from here and it turned out super awesome. The Chicken Ghee Roast has a fiery red colour and I couldn't reach that colour since I reduced the quantity of dry red chilli to match our spice tolerance level. However, I have mentioned the exact recipe here and do give it a try:

Quail Fry Recipe | Kaadai Fry | Kaadai Varuval | Deep Fried Kaadai Fry

When we were in Chennai, my dad prefers to buy Quail instead of Chicken considering its health benefits. Quail is little skinny when compared to the chicken and it has less flesh. Though I make Kadai gravy at times, this fry recipe is our favourite. If we marinate it the day before and refrigerate it overnight, then in no time we can fry it the next day. It cooks very fast and we can relish this yummy kaadai fry as a starter. Let us move on to the recipe:

Sura Puttu Recipe | Shark Fish Scramble | Shredded Shark Fish Stir Fry | Fish Puttu(Shark Fish)

This post was there in my drafts for more than a year now. When I was trying to post all the non veg recipes that I have in hand before Christmas, this is finding its place here. (still, have four to five very old recipes in draft 😅). I have tasted this Sura Puttu in my friend's place and in restaurants. I was very much interested to try it at home and before leaving to Sydney, I got this fish from Supreme Seafood and tried it. It came out very well and it is very easy to make. Off to the recipe:

Chicken Shami Kebab Recipe | Shami Kebab with Chicken | Chicken Recipes

I received good response from the readers when I posted Hara Bhara Kebab and the very next weekend, I tried this non-veg kebab. I was really happy with the outcome and wanted to try more kebabs in the future. Shami kebabs are a popular snack throughout Pakistan, Bangladesh and north India. It is normally made using minced mutton, lamb or beef meat and to post it here I tried with chicken. It is a little similar to our Chicken cutlets, however, the texture is completely different. The chicken kebabs are very smooth and have melt in the mouth texture. Let us move on to the recipe:

Mint Oreo Icecream Recipe | Eggless Mint Icecream(without Icecream Maker) | Summer Special Recipes

This week we celebrated Jany's birthday and I made a special non-veg lunch platter, which includes some of his favourite dishes. I am planning to start a lunch menu series soon and I will be posting the birthday lunch as a part of that. Apart from the lunch, I made few snacks and the birthday cake. He loves mint flavour and hence I made a Marble Cake with Mint butter cream frosting and finally, covered it with chocolate Ganache. The cake came out really well and he was surprised with the mint flavour. Immediately, he was asking me to make mint ice cream. I had some leftover cream and mint extract. So the next day, I made this easy and creamy ice cream. I am not a fan of the mint flavour and hence I have not tasted it. However, Jany liked it a lot and I am here with the recipe. I adapted the recipe from here and modified it based on my choices. Do check out my Mango Icecream, Mango Popsicle and Rosemilk Popsicle too. Let's see the preparation:

Chettinad Mutton Kuzhambu Recipe | Chettinad Mutton Curry | Chettinad Lamb Gravy

Chettinad Prawn Masala is one of my popular posts in the space and I always wanted to try other Chettinad recipes too. I have already posted Chettinad Kozhi(chicken) Rasam. The Chettinad masala itself is so flavourful and when we add the freshly ground masala to the mutton/chicken, it tastes divine. I tried this recipe a few months back and Jany liked it very much. From that day onwards for any special occasion or guests at home, this mutton kuzhambu finds its place in the dining table 😆. I adapted the recipe from here and it turned out super awesome. Do try this over the weekend and share with me the feedback.

Fruit Custard Recipe | Mixed Fruit Custard | Fruit Salad with Custard Milk

This fruit custard is bringing me so many childhood fond memories with mom. I still remember the days when we bought our first refrigerator. (in 90's, when I was in grade 1 or 2). Soon after we have the fridge at home, mom makes this custard fruit salad, icecream using readymade mix (sprinkled with mixed fruits & tutti frutti,) ice popsicle of different fruit flavors and much more. Weekends are a real treat for me since I can relish on the homemade chilled stuff. Though mom is an expert in regular cooking, she always explores and tries new recipes. Maybe, I inherited this from her and I am thankful. Last month, when I visited my friend's place here in Sydney for a birthday celebration, I got a chance to taste this fruit custard again. Though I have already posted this custard with tricolored fruits for an event, I wanted to share this recipe here. This time I used readymade custard, however, you can check the previous link to prepare custard sauce at home. Let's move on to the recipe:

Mushroom Fried Rice Recipe | Mushroom Veg Fried Rice | Mushroom Recipes

Recently, I tried few mushroom recipes for the sake of blog since I have received requests from the readers. Today, I am here with mushroom fried rice to add on to my already existing mushroom recipes like Mushroom Biryani and Mushroom roast. This is another interesting rice recipe which you can pack it for lunch box. I served it with onion raita and chicken chippies. Let us move on to the recipe:

Jeera Rice Recipe | Cumin Rice | How to make Jeera Rice

I always love mild flavoured rice when compared to spicy masala biryani. The white colour basmati rice fascinates me a lot and hence I prefer Ghee Rice, Fried Rice, Coconut Rice or any simple veg pulao (Peas Pulao). Today's recipe is about Jeera Rice, which is one of the popular restaurant special rice. I had tasted this in Sangeetha under North Indian lunch menu. This is a very easy to make recipe which we can prepare it in couple of minutes. I tried this at home to pair it with Butter Chicken and tastes yum. This goes well with dal, any spicy non-veg curry, Paneer Butter Masala, Mattar Paneer or veg kuruma.

Prawn 65 Recipe | Prawn Fry | Deep Fried Prawn Fry

Prawns are always my favorite among all the non-veg dishes. I try to explore a lot of prawn dishes when we visit restaurants. However, Jany doesn't show much interest in prawn when compared to mutton, chicken or fish. I am in the phase of introducing more and a variety of non-veg to Happy since she is not trying much. A few weeks back, I tried this Prawn 65 and Happy was near me when I was frying it. She was over-tempted with the color and look. She started to munch as soon as I fry it and told me it is very tasty. This is a keeper recipe for me since she approved it and surely it is a toddler-friendly starter. Do check out my other Prawn recipes mentioned below too:

Also, check out my similar Resturant style Boneless Chicken 65

Broccoli Paratha Recipe | Stuffed Broccoli Paratha | Indian Broccoli Recipes | Stuffed Parathas

Stuffed Paratha always excites me and I make it for lunch at least once in two weeks. Initially, I struggled a lot to shape the parathas, hence I have not posted any stuffed paratha after Aloo Paratha. However, after so much of practice, now I am able to make perfect non-leaky thin parathas. Happy finishes her lunch at play school if I send Chapathi or Poori. To introduce, more veggies in her school lunch box, I started trying few stuffed parathas and one among them is this Broccoli paratha. To post it here, I made it once for Saturday breakfast. I served it with Boondhi Raita and Orange Juice. Hopefully, I will be sharing more parathas in the near future. Let us learn the method involved in making the paratha.

Onion Uthappam Recipe | Onion Uttapam | Oothappam | Easy South Indian breakfast Recipe

My taste for food has completely changed over years. When I was a kid, I like very thin crispy dosa and never bothered to try thick dosa/uttapam. Later I realized the taste of this onion uttapam and started trying it whenever I visit Sangeetha or Saravana Bhavan. Nowadays, I started to make it at home once in a while and Jany too doesn't have any complaints. A few weeks back, Jany's friend was staying with us on a Sunday and he is a vegetarian. So, I made this onion uttapam for breakfast and accompanied it with Tiffin Sambhar and Tomato Chutney. We all liked it and I managed to capture the pictures for sharing the recipe here. Check out my Idli/Dosa batter preparation too.

Aamras Recipe | Aamras Poori | How to make Aamras for Poori

Aamras is a popular dessert or sweet in North India and it is usually paired with Poori. I know, it is an unusual combination for South Indians since we always prefer potato masala(Poori Masala) along with poori. However, we can try this yum combo once in a while and kids will love this for sure. This is a very simple recipe, where the pureed mango is sweetened with sugar and flavoured with cardamom or saffron. Though it is not mango season here in Sydney, we can always see some variety of mangoes in the shops. Mango is one of my favourite fruits and hence I grab it once in a while. Last month when Jany had team lunch, I was very lazy to cook something elaborate for Happy and me. So, I made this simple Aamras poori for us and clicked it too :). Let us see the method of preparation:

Butter Chicken Recipe | Indian Butter Chicken Masala | Murgh Makhani

Butter Chicken is probably one of the most popular Indian dishes across the globe. The butter chicken is made by cooking the tandoori (grilled) chicken in the tomato based buttery & creamy gravy. It is the most famous dish in Indian restaurants paired with Naan or Kulcha for its mild and rich taste. Being a south Indian, I am very much towards the spicy chicken gravy. However, I have tasted it quite a few times in restaurants. After coming to Sydney, I came to know much about it. Even non-Indians are very much fond of Butter chicken and Naan Bread since it is less hot and spicy, unlike other Indian curries. Once in the nearby Westfields mall, for some food-related event, they were demonstrating the preparation of butter chicken. Also, at the end, they gave the recipe card and I adapted the recipe from that with few modifications. It turned out super tasty and we paired it with Jeera rice. For veg variations, check out my Paneer Butter Masala and Mattar Paneer. Let us move on to the recipe:

Coconut Burfi Recipe | Thengai Burfi | Diwali Special Sweet

Happy Diwali to all my readers, friends and their families. Hope everyone is enjoying the festival with a variety of sweets and snacks!! I am very happy about the outcome of all the Diwali recipes I tried this year. Everything turned out super awesome and I am almost tired now. I should take a break from this sweets and snacks until next occasion. To wind up this, I thought of posting an easy and yummy coconut burfi. When I was a kid, mom used to make this for me. She always makes it in pink color by adding a little beetroot juice. I still have mom's handwritten recipe of this, which she got it from a teacher who worked with her. To replicate her burfi, I tried this white and pink double layer burfi. Though Jany doesn't prefer most of the sweets, coconut burfi is one of his childhood favorites. Let us move on to the recipe:

Tirunelveli Halwa Recipe | Wheat Halwa | Godhumai Halwa | Diwali Sweet Recipes

Being from the southern tip of Tamilnadu, I grow up eating Thoothukudi Macaroon, Kerala Chips and Tirunelveli Halwa. Already I have tried macaroon and chips recipe at home, but never had an idea about, how the halwa is made. I had a paper cutting from a Tamil magazine and an article from The Hindu about the preparation of Tirunelveli halwa. However, the measurements were for bulk quantity and I had doubts in that. When I was planning for Diwali recipes a month ago, this top's the list. From that day I started analyzing about this recipe, visited many blogs and youtube videos too. Finally, I adapted the recipe from Rak's Kitchen and it came out extremely well. The last Sunday I attempted it and it was like a final assessment for me. I woke up early in the morning before Jany and Happy wake up so that I can cook peacefully without getting diverted :) I would say it is not very tough if we try it in a small quantity and we should take extra care while caramelizing the sugar and in the consistency check. Do try this delicious and melt in the mouth halwa for this Diwali. Check out my Kasi Halwa, Corn Flour Halwa, Badam Halwa, Carrot Halwa and Khajoor ka Halwa too. For the entire Diwali sweet and savories, please visit this page.

Coconut Milk Murukku Recipe | Thengaipal Murukku | Diwali Special Snacks

I am really excited about this year's Diwali since I was able to make so many sweets and snacks successfully. I face many failures when it comes to snacks and I lose confidence every year. This time I have not faced any challenge with the recipes I tried so far and I am really happy about that. After Potato murukku, I tried this coconut milk murukku and it was so delicious. Jany and Happy liked it very much. I was very tired after trying three new recipes in a row and hence I don't have patience in shaping the murukku. Finally, I made it like this broken (uthiri) murukku and it was super easy to press directly to oil. Do check out my Potato Murukku, Butter Murukku, Pottukadalai Murukku, Thenkuzhal Murukku, Mullu Murukku and Coconut Murukku too. Also, visit the entire Diwali snacks and sweets collection. Let us move on to the recipe:

Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe | Instant Gulab Jamun | Diwali Special Sweet

When I was a kid, Gulab Jamun was a very fancy dessert that is served at many festivals and occasions as a dessert. Mom used to make gulab jamun with the readymade mix. After starting the blog and for the very first Diwali, I made Gulab Jamun with Khoya. It was a super hit at home. From that day I wanted to try this Instant Jamun, which is easy to make with minimal ingredients. Finally, it happened this year and here I am with the recipe. Check out my other Diwali Snacks and Sweets too.

Keerai Vadai Recipe | Keerai Vadai with Urad Dal | Spinach Vadai | Diwali Special Snack | Chef Venkatesh Bhat Recipes - Recipe #14

This Keerai Vadai is very close to my heart since this is one of my cravings during pregnancy. I was deputed to TCS ILP centre Ambattur for few months when I was pregnant since I opted for fewer hours of relaxed work at that time. In the office canteen, we get this keerai vadai on one particular day of the week. My friends and I will go there sharp 4 o'clock to relish this piping hot vadai. I like the texture of the keerai vadai with few crunchy urad dal here and there that is very different from our normal medhu vadai. When I saw the recipe in Vijay TV's samayal samayal, I had noted the recipe immediately. I was also really impressed with the recipe when Chef Venkatesh Bhat explains how he learned it. So, apart from the Medhu Vadai and Mysore Bonda for Diwali breakfast , do give this a try this year. Check out my Vazhaipoo Vadai, Paruppu Bonda, Kadamba Vadai and Masala Vadai too. Also, check out my diwali collection of recipes. Let us see the preparation:

Boondi Ladoo Recipe | Boondi Laddu | Diwali Special Sweet

I am super excited to share you all this very famous and delicious sweet which can be prepared for any occasion. I love boondi ladoo very much and I cannot restrict myself with one ladoo. So, I avoid to buy it frequently and when I crave for it, I ask dad to buy it from Nagercoil Cake world or Greatest bakery which are my favorite bakeries.

Making Boondi ladoo at home was really a big project for me. I am very much confident in making the boondi's after trying Motichoor ladoo, Kara Boondhi and South Indian Mixture. Hence, during last Diwali, I tried this and it was an utter flop because of the sugar syrup. However, I wanted to try it again and searched few websites for making perfect sugar syrup with correct sugar quantity. I adapted the recipe from here and it turned out too good. Though I was not able to make perfect round ladoo's, the taste was awesome. I am very much satisfied and here I am with the recipe.

To make Happy try a new dish is really tough for me and if it is a sweet, then she will immediately say 'No'. She had not tasted ladoos before and I really wanted her to try atleast one ladoo. I was even searching some rhymes (silly me!!) about ladoo to tempt her and a tamil rhyme 'vattamana ladoo' came to my rescue :) Finally, she tried one ladoo and liked it. Hopefully, she will have one tomorrow too :) Jany was teasing about my marketing strategy, but I am very happy that they liked it. Check out my entire diwali collection. Let us move on to the recipe:

Potato Murukku Recipe | Aloo Chakli | Diwali Special Recipes

Diwali came to our house very early in the form of snacks and sweets :). Usually, I don't make many snacks apart from the regular cooking, but this festive season is making me go crazy and as a result, we are relishing on the yummy sweet and savory snacks. I make everything in a very small quantity (mainly with 1 cup flour) and it is enough for just 3 of us. Happy and Jany likes the murukku very much and hence this is my next try after Butter Murukku for this Diwali. Coming to today's recipe it is a very flavourful and super crispy Potato murukku. I adapted the recipe from here and it came out very well. Do give it a try for this Diwali. Check out my other murukku recipes like Coconut Murukku, Pottukadalai Murukku, Thenkuzhal Murukku and Mullu Murukku too. Do check out my entire Diwali Collection for more sweets and snacks ideas.

Malai Ladoo Recipe | Paneer Ladoo | Chef Venkatesh Bhat Recipes - Recipe #13

This is one of my favourite paneer sweets from Adyar Anandha Bhavan and I never thought about making it at home until I saw Chef Venkatesh Bhat's recipe from the show Samayal Samayal in Vijay Tv. He demonstrated it very well and even the beginner can do it perfectly in the first attempt. I just followed his instructions blindly and the sweet turned out super awesome. Jany liked it very much and Happy doesn't show much interest since it is a milk based dessert. Try my other Paneer desserts like Rasagulla and Rasamalai. Do check out my other ladoos like Besan Ladoo, Poha ladoo, Rava Ladoo, Maa ladoo and Motichoor Ladoo. Check out my entire Diwali collection too.

Butter Murukku Recipe | Easy Butter Murukku Recipe | Diwali Special Snacks

When I was browsing my Diwali Recipe Collection, I found out that I have very limited murukku recipes. Hence, I thought of trying few more murukku's this year. A few years back when I was in Chennai, my neighbour gave me this Butter murukku during Diwali along with few other snacks. Jany and I loved it so much because it was very crispy and at the same time it had the 'melt in the mouth texture'. The very next day I asked the aunty about the recipe and she gave it to me. However, I misplaced it and couldn't find it until now. So, I googled it and adapted the recipe from here. Jany and Happy, though they were not showing any interest for the sweet dishes, finished the entire murukku on the same day :) Next day, I had to make another murukku (will be posting it soon) after seeing their interest. Do try the recipe at home and share the feedback. Check out my Coconut Murukku, Mullu Murukku, Pottukadali Murukku and Thenkuzhal Murukku. Off to the recipe:

Pachai Payaru Ladoo Recipe | Whole Green Gram Ladoo | Pasi Payaru Ladoo | Payatha Maavu Ladoo | Diwali Special Recipes

As mentioned in the yesterday's Suzhiyam post, I am here with another Diwali snack using green gram. This ladoo is very easy to make with minimum ingredients and less time. The same ladoo can be made using yellow split moong dal too. Green grams are always healthy and do give it a try this Diwali. To make it more healthy replace the sugar with jaggery. Check out my other ladoo recipes like Motichoor Ladoo, Maa Ladoo, Til(Sesame Ladoo), Poha(Aval) Ladoo, Besan Ladoo and Rava Ladoo. Check out my entire Diwali collection of Sweets and Savoury snacks too. Let us move on to the recipe:

Suzhiyam Recipe | Pachaipayaru Suzhiyam | Mothagam with Green Gram Filling | Diwali Special Recipes

Suzhiyam is one of my childhood favorite snacks and I have posted a version of Suzhiyam with Channa dal filling earlier in the blog that was based on my mom's recipe. Recently, I was asked to create few recipes using green gram for an event and I had created 13 recipes for that. I will be posting all those recipes here one by one. One among them is Suzhiyam with green gram filling. Instead of the outer layer with maida, I tried the healthier version with Idly/Dosa batter. It turned out super awesome and we all loved it. Let us see the preparation steps. Also, please checkout my collection of Diwali recipes.

Hara Bhara Kabab Recipe | Patties using Spinach Peas Potato | Chef Venkatesh Bhat Recipes - Recipe #12 | My 300th Post

I have tried few recipes for Diwali and I am planning to post it starting from Monday. Until then check out my last year's collection of Diwali recipes. Today's post is a famous north Indian kabab recipe and I saw this preparation in Chef Venkatesh Bhat's show Samayal Samayal in Vijay Tv. I was super excited after seeing a full episode featuring varieties of kababs and I wanted to try at least one from that. So, I chose this recipe with readily available ingredients from my pantry and it came out really well. I am planning to try the rest of the recipes from that episode. Let us move on to the preparation steps:

Strawberry Yogurt Recipe | Sweet and Creamy Strawberry Flavored Yogurt | Flavored Yogurt

Yet another interesting and easy recipe to enjoy the strawberry season. Everyone at home really loves flavored yogurt and I always stock some flavored yogurt in the fridge to relish after lunch. Though I try all the available flavors and brands, Yoplait Strawberry is my favorite. Hence, I thought of replicating it at home and the recipe justifies it. To make this best-flavored yogurt, just beat the mixture of freshly pureed strawberry and sugar (can use condensed milk instead) or homemade strawberry jam with plain yogurt. I have used the homemade strawberry jam that I have posted earlier for this recipe. However, I have given another recipe without using the jam too. I adapted this recipe from here, let us move on to the recipe:

Milk Kesari Recipe | Paal Kesari | Kesari using milk | Milk Kesari | Milk Semolina(Sooji) Pudding

I love anything sweet while Jany and Happy don't show much interest. If I am posting anything that is very sweet, then they just taste it for my sake and the rest goes into me :( I exclusively made this dish for the blog as a special festive season recipe and I adapted it from here. It came out super awesome and I relished it in my breakfast along with Idli and Sambhar. This recipe is similar to our rava kesari however rava is cooked in milk instead of water. I have already posted Aval kesari and Semiya Kesari too. Without much delay let us move on to the recipe:

Sabudana Vada Recipe | Sago Vada | Javvarisi Vadai | Navaratri Special Recipes

This is one such recipe which I was longing to try for years after seeing other bloggers photos of Sabudana Vada. I have never tasted this before when I tried and tasted this yesterday, I could find a unique taste in this vada when compared our normal Medu Vada and Masala Vada(Parippu Vada). This delicious and crispy snack from Maharashtra is made during the fasting days of Navratri(Navatri Vrat) since it is made without onion and garlic. It is a popular street food in Maharashtra where it is served with sweetened yogurt. I adapted the recipe from here. Do give it a try and let me know the outcome. Also, please check out my other Navarathiri recipes.