Gougeres- Tasty Experiment | Baking Partners #12

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 6/15/2013 6:32:00 PM

'Gougeres have always been in my bookmarks. Airy crispy and flaky gougeres warm from the oven definitely would have made my day except for the simple fact that they had eggs in them. Sometimes I think why am choosing eggless stuff. I can and am using eggs occasionally,but in my bakes I somehow don't prefer them. But when it comes to things like gougeres, macarons or even souffles and ofcourse certain cakes I am stumped. I blame myself for going eggless then. This time as we(...)'

Read full article

Chewy Bialys | We Knead to Bake #5

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 5/25/2013 2:14:00 PM

'There was a time when onions were not a part of the daily diet of orthodox Indians especially SouthIndians. Even now in some households it is  a taboo along with garlic. The reason given was they were 'taamasic' products - hot for the body and inturn increase anger and also passion.Even now this policy of abstaining from onion and garlic is followed during fasts and Navaratri festival.  There are also good  reasons to include them in the diet. Onion is known for (...)'

Read full article

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Soup | Be a Cool Cucumber

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 5/20/2013 2:10:00 PM

'Soups for me meant tomato soup. Warm creamy tomato soup seasoned perfectly was the first thing I looked forward/ ordered whenever I went to a restaurant.Based on the taste and texture I used to like or dislike the restaurant. And this was before my blogging and even food review days. Ofcourse the preference still continues. Even when it hot outside, I still prefer my warm tomato soup sitting under a high speed fan or air conditioner. :)But jokes apart, I was at first surprised (...)'

Read full article

New York Style Pizza | Baking Partners #10 - I ♥ NY

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 5/15/2013 6:28:00 PM

'Pizzas are one of my favourite. I love eating them though I don't always  bake them. Sometimes I think if we could pinpoint something that mobilised India to modernise or grow or urbanise pizzas would have an imporrtant place along with or slightly lower than internet and cell phones. My association with pizza started in my late teens. A Pizza Corner franchisee had started near college and I had been there once or twice for a treat with friends or cousins. Within a year or(...)'

Read full article

Best Premium Basmati | Real Best Basmati

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 5/12/2013 6:44:00 AM

'Rice or Anna has been a major part of Indian food and in general Indian Culture. Though Anna generally refers to food, it also refers to rice or the maincourse. Rice or Oryza Sativa (Asian Rice) or Oryza Glaberrima (African Rice) has been respected by one and all and this is true not just in India but worldwide. And ofcourse there have been several varieties of rice and hundreds of rice preparations and obviously hundreds of rice brands.A popular type of rice is Basmati. Though orig(...)'

Read full article

Simit - Turkish Sesame Ring | Enjoy your cuppa

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 5/4/2013 3:21:00 PM

'I love the months of March, April and May. March as its my daughters Birthday month and April and May being the vacation months here. I love being lazy on April and May. No schools, can travel to my mom's place, simply laze around I can give several reasons of  doing no or less work in April and May. But once I started blogging, I find this urge to continue in April and May. Ofcourse these days my blogging is almost nil but I still try out items and sometimes drafts are re(...)'

Read full article

Peperonata | Goodness of Peppers Italian Way

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/27/2013 2:17:00 PM

'Recently the convenience shop n our complex was giving free veggies to their customers as they had surplus produce which cannot be stored for a long time.Prominent were red and yellow peppers and purple/red cabbage which otherwise cost a bomb in the same shop. And to think I had visited the same shop previous evening and got the red and yellow peppers at a high price.Anyway the next day I too got a bagful of these and was wondering how many dishes I could transform these into b(...)'

Read full article

Torcettini de St. Vincent | We knead to Bake #4

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/24/2013 6:48:00 PM

'If you think breads or kneading is threapeutic then I have something else to add to it. Along with breads,cookies are also my "pick-me-ups'. Ofcourse our cookie obsession starts right from childhood or say by 2 years of age. Instead of chocolate which we say " decays tooth" we give the kids cookies/biscuits with milk as snack or think about the traditional cookie- milk snack for Santa. But you are wrong if you think I love munching them. I love baking them and go for diffe(...)'

Read full article

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf | 50 & Going Strong

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/20/2013 2:14:00 AM

'There are several coffee brands and cafes but what makes CBTL a cut above the rest.? Read on..The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf  (CBTL) is the biggest private specialty coffee and tea retailer in USA. In their own words they select "only the one percent of finest Arabica coffee beans and finest hand plucked whole leaf teas". They are based in Los Angeles and opened their first cafe in Brentwood, California in 1963. Since then they has spread across 900 international loca(...)'

Read full article

Mango Cheese(cup)cake | Baking Partners Challenge #9

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/15/2013 12:48:00 PM

'For me cheesecake was a dream. I made my first cheese cake with egg replacer and cream cheese while in US. After coming here somehow I didn't feel like making one. The cream cheese was either tangy or not available. But still I went on bookmarking yummy cheesecakes that I saw on web. Finally I got down to make one or few when I was pushed into it thanks to Swathi who wanted me to suggest a cheesecake. Obviously I chose the no-bake luscious mango cheesecake from DivineTaste(...)'

Read full article

Rose Shrikhand | Wishing All A Rosy Sweet Year Ahead

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/12/2013 12:16:00 PM

'This is a simple recipe easy to make but looks and taste different. A bit like life I feel. I started making this shrikhand with dried rose petals and rose preserve (gulkhand) expecting a rosy pink dish. But it was still pure white thanks to the curd cheese. But one taste it bursted rose in my mouth.Appearances can be deceiving in dishes as well.:).But taste is an all important factor and hence my rose version is good to go when you are celebrating Ugadi/Gudi Padva/Cheti Chand. A ce(...)'

Read full article

Blueberry Slushy/Ice | Hello Summer

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 4/8/2013 4:40:00 PM

'The good thing about summer is the various cold and refreshing items we can consume . The moment heat rises out come the slushies, granitas,sorbets ices and whatnot. When I was a kid, I knew only very few of these. I could see the roads lined  with watermelon and knew then summer was here.Mostly I was happy with the 'sip ups' that where available all the year round and were much needed in summer. But now its gourmet. You get French sorbet, Italian granitas along with Indian kul(...)'

Read full article

Chickpea,Cucumber & Pomegranate Salad | Summer is here

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/30/2013 3:06:00 PM

'Summer I feel is like an unwanted guest. We want the sun in winters but when sun shows its might we feel scorched,parched and basically mad. But look at the positives, it is the time for getting a shorter haircut (my daughter got), get summer clothes (is my H listening) , trendy up yourself to show off your fit sleeveless arms and wait more important ..Runaway from kitchen!The sun helps us to avoid being in the kitchen more than just necessary. While people are cautioned about about(...)'

Read full article

Cheesy Loaf & Lost Animals | We Knead to Bake #3

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/24/2013 2:43:00 PM

'Two years backs while on a visit to Pondicherry, I chanced upon a turtle on the buffet table. No,no don't panic.It was bread shaped like a turtle and it looked so perfect that my friend took a pic of it and even put it on her FB page.That day I was in awe of baking and the baker who made it.Little did I know that I would be trying out the same with the third challenge of  We Knead to BakeIt was a fulfilling experience as I shaped the dough into these animals. Ofcourse you (...)'

Read full article

Irio | Comfort Kenyan Style

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/22/2013 1:50:00 AM

'Now I know we all have our own comfort foods. Sometimes we try to add a twist here and there and make them taste more comforting. A little extra spice/seasoning, sometimes replacing an element with another. All these jazzes up our comfort food. Exactly the same I felt when I made irio. This is actually Kenyan style mashed potatoes with corn and peas. Atleast thats what I have googled and found. The basic recipe is supposed to be made using dried peas and usually takes(...)'

Read full article

Rolls Galore - Tangzhong Way | Baking Partners Challenge #8

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/15/2013 5:37:00 PM

'This time thankfully I could finish the Baking Partners Challenge. After the macaroon debacle last time, I had almost given up on baking. This time also, few hurdles were there, but I reached the finish line. I was actually taken aback when I saw the recipe, then thought why not give it a try. And TG for that. Once the dough was ready and good to go, I went crazy, dividing it into several pieces and trying out several shapes with it. I am usually happy with variety ro(...)'

Read full article

Kozhakattai with Tomato Thuvayal | Healthy Tiffin South Indian Style

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/5/2013 1:08:00 PM

'I used to make fun of my older cousin who couldnt spell 'zh'. I used to make  him say all the words that had the 'zh' in it and we younger cousins had much fun in those 5 minutes till he got fed up. I thought the letter 'zh' or (ഴ) was special to Malayalam and not in other South Indian languages especially Tamil where instead the 'lla' sound was used. That was before I discovered Kozhukkatai. These are steamed rice dumplings popular in both sweet & savoury versions and belo(...)'

Read full article

Croissants | An Experiment Gone Wrong ?!

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 3/1/2013 10:49:00 AM

'I know I have been absent from here. There was a small trip followed by my trial with croissant. As most of you must have known(seen) I am also a part of We Knead to Bake by Aparna and as always I am late. This time I wnted to be on time, but my croissants didn't come out that great though the taste was awesome. A few mails between Aparna & me and still not so good pain au chocolat or croissants I though I will be posting it but will be baking them once more taking time and with(...)'

Read full article

Potato Salad with Ginger & Lemongrass | Comfort Goes One Up

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 2/16/2013 5:16:00 PM

'I love spuds and this fact has been repeated several times here. I also love trying several salads with spuds . Ofcourse, potatoes are full of carbs and mostly a no no to people on diets , but still once in a while you have to have your comfort. Especially this one which I recently tried out with lemongrass dressing from here. Compared to the mayo rich traditional American potato salads or even the sourcream/yogurt based ones , this one is much more lighter. It was also awesome and (...)'

Read full article

Honey Joys | Simple Joys of Life

Author : Curry Leaf      Blog : Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food      Date : 2/14/2013 7:59:00 AM

'I am always short of snacks. Especially something that can be made in a jiffy. They surely make life easy, full and tasty. Obviously I had not heard of Honey Joys. These are actually mini granola bars or mounds. Or they are cornflakes dunk in melted butter and honey and baked for a few minutes. I came across these while browsing through this blog. I gave it a try after googling several other recipes as well and they were awesome. Ingredients:Cornflakes: 1.5 cupsCandie(...)'

Read full article