This incredibly tasty savory snack is light, healthy and hit the spot. It is just as good at lunchtime if you can add a salad on side or for breakfast, alongside a cup of tea and fruit. It is a steamed savory cake, called Besan Dhokla in Hindi. When I was a kid, this was one of the frequented item in our house at any given event. Soft, & delicious, mildly tangy and sweet accompanied by the light crunch of mustard and sesame, garnished with the herby cilantro! It’s been etched in my mind.
Grain Free
Pithaud with Chaunke Matar / Gram flour Cakes with Masala Peas
I have more than a dozen gluten-free flours stored in my fridge and pantry, but the bag of besan (gram flour) is the one that needs to be restocked most often. There are many, many ways you can use gram flour in your cooking. Its characteristic nutty flavor gives besan the ability to create tasty, simple dishes that stand on their own with few ingredients. Take this Pithaud recipe for example. It looks simple, right? Well, it is! The delicate golden brown crust and silky smooth interior of pithaud really shines through in this easy dish and is well complemented by simple tomato curry and seasoned sweet green peas. I made this for my friends on Yoga retreat day and they couldn’t stop talking about how good it was.
Persian Chickpea Flour Cookies (Nan-e Nokhodchi)
Sweets made with besan have always been my favorite. So when I encountered this cookie a few years ago, during spring at a specialty store featuring chickpea flour, I was thrilled. I was even more excited by seeing the ingredients, they were similar to what we use in making Besan ladoo and Besan burfi. The recipe was so much easier. Since then, I have been making these cookies every Baisakhi. These chickpea flour cookies with pistachios are melt in mouth Persian treat, traditionally known as Nan-e Nokhodchi.
It would be a pity to deprive yourself of these petite cookies because they are very simple to prepare and delicious. Perfect for kids, (or an adult’s) party or to celebrate a festive and joyful occasion .
Dark Chocolate Lava Cake with Cape Velvet Ganache
Sometimes you get the urge to make a dessert again and again with in the span of few days even when it is extremely rich and there is no special occasion. This was one of those times. A friend brought us a liqueur gift basket and, in there was a small bottle of cape velvet. My husband told me it was a brandy based cream liqueur. I had never heard of this brand before but it was very tasty, smooth and creamy. We don’t buy and keep cream liqueur in the house so the idea hit me to use it in chocolate lava cakes. A little liqueur always spices up a decadent dessert. And now, that we are all adults in the house I don’t have to think twice to make alcohol based desserts. When I was about to make these cakes for the third time I realized I barely had enough liqueur for one try. So I made the Sunday evening Super bowl and Valentine special!
Healthy Homemade Chikki / Brittle – three types
Chikki is Indian version of brittle made with jaggery, nuts and seeds. Jaggery is a type of unrefined sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent and South east Asia. If you can not source jaggery where you live i also have a chikki recipe made with coconut palm sugar and maple syrup.
Paleo Blueberry Muffin Cake
I love to cook and enjoy the challenge of cooking for people – who by choice or by necessity have limited diets; food allergies and intolerances. Today’s recipe is specially created for Emma (who is a Google+ friend) and many others who suffer from Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) and Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). When Gill Andrews (also a google+ friend) shared a post, ‘Who has a recipe for Emma?’, I started racking my brain for something (especially dessert) that could be delicious for anyone and appropriate for Emma’s diet. I came up with quick and effortless recipe, you’re absolutely going to love. I used my blueberry buttermilk pound cake recipe as inspiration and switched things up to make it paleo friendly. I have made this cake two times now, and the whole family (plus several friends) love it.
Besan Ladoo (guest post at Nava K)
Yes, you read that correctly, today I’m guest blogging over at Nava K.
I was so pleased when Nava emailed and asked me to be a guest blogger, while she is traveling. Since it was festivity time when she contacted me sweets were on my mind hence I thought to pamper your taste buds with a festival sweet. So here I have for you a delicious post of besan ladoo.
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