A visit to Mumbai...

V has finished her 6th grade and going onto the 7th!! Gosh, she's a middle schooler now.. They had a 3 weeks break before school re-opens again. They have classes for a month and break off again for a month. Wonder why break, commence and break off again. Why not just have a solid two months' break, does not make sense to me

V's best friend's family shifted to Mumbai last year and we have been planning a visit ever since. It finally materialized last weekend, during the Holi and easter holidays. The 3 days we spent there were so good.

The old city has some amazing Victorian structures which still stand strong

The Victoria Terminal is one such structure. The area is adorned with such buildings - colleges, cathedrals, schools!!

A visit to Mumbai is meaningless if we do not take a picture in front of the gateway of India

And a selfie adds to the trend factor ;)

Right opposite the Gateway is the Taj Gateway, where the 26/11 terror attacks happened in 2008

There are still armed personnel stationed outside these places. Spine chilling to see them there!!

We had a gathering at my cousin's place last week and I wanted to bake something for them. I did not want something chocolatey. After a lot of recipe hunting I zeroed in on this lemony loaf.

The original recipe is from Nita Mehta's book 'Eggless cupcakes and muffins'.

Here's the recipe:
Ing: 1 1/2c yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, rind of 1 lemon (you could cut it into thin strips or grate), 1/2c salted butter (I used same qty of oil), 3/4c sugar, 1 3/4c flour (I used completely wholewheat), 2 tsp bkg powder, 1tsp bkg soda, 3 tbsp milk
For topping: 3tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1tsp lemon rind, drop of yellow color (I skipped this)

Method: sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda and keep aside. As I used oil I also added a pinch of salt while sifting. Beat sugar and butter/oil very well. Mix lemon peel. Mix yogurt and lemon juice and keep aside. To the beaten sugar and butter mixture fold in flour mixture alternately with yogurt mixture. Do not over mix or beat. Add milk and mix gently. Put immediately in greased tin and bake.
For topping- heat sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice till sugar dissolves. Add color if using.
Pierce top of cake with fork and pour the prepared topping over it.
Cool cake completely for at least 2 hours before cutting

That's it folks from me today. Till next time.. take care.. Be happy.. Happy crafting.. Au Revoir

More Cooking.. err OPOSing!!

I tell you OPOS  method of cooking is totally addictive!! Though I have not started using this method for my daily cooking, I follow this during weekends. Once I am more confident, I plan to start implementing this daily as well. This is not only quick, but also healthy as there is very little or no oil used. I am now on the lookout to buy that 'perfect' pressure pan(s). Now each new skill requires the necessary tools right ;)

Here are the new trials from the OPOS card
Semiya (Vermicelli) Dum Biryani

Here's the method:

Mix 1/4C Ch (carrot, beans, paneer), 1/4C yogurt.
Wash & drain 2C roasted vermicelli (100g).
Mix vermicelli with 1/2 tsp biriyani masala, 1tsp (ghee, salt, chili pwdr). In a PC, layer 3tsp (oil, water), 1/2C Ch onion, 1 bay leaf, veggies, vermicelli & 1/4C Ch (mint, cilantro). Cook on high for 1Wh (5min).
Cook layered & sealed, spiced vermicelli

REPLACE/ SUPPLEMENT Vermicelli noodles/ pasta Biriyani masala with your favourite spice mix Carrot/ beans with your favourite vegetables Paneer with soaked soya chunks/ marinated minced meat/ mushrooms Yogurt with coconut milk.

TIPS
Ensure vermicelli is soft nut non clumpy after washing & draining. Sprinkle 1/4C water if you fear burning. Release pressure if overcooked.

Pav Bhaji

Mix 1C Ch potato, 1/2tsp (GM, cumin, chili pwdrs),
1/4C Ch (capsicum, fresh peas). In a PC, layer 6tsp
butter, 1/2C Ch onion, 1C Ch tomato, mixed veggies.
Cook on high for 3Wh (5 Min). Mash all.
Cook spiced vegetables to a mush

REPLACE/ SUPPLEMENT
GM with your fav spice mix
Capsicum with your fav veggies

TIPS:
Skip mashing & serve as Kada Pav Bhaji
Stir fry with rice to make Tava pulao.

The academic year is coming to an end. This means that other than exams, kids want to celebrate finishing of a year. V wanted to bake something for her classmates and the obvious choice was - brownies of course!! Picture is in the collage above

As you know, I only bake eggless. Gayathri's cookspot has a whole lot of eggless recipes and the instructions are very simple and ingredients very easily available too. Here's the link to her recipe. I did a slight tweak - cut down 1/2 cup flour and replaced that with cocoa to make it brownies. V was in a big hurry to cut the pieces, hence the mis-shapen ones :) But her friends, and of course me, just loved it

Another recipe we tried was banana nut choco chip muffins. I have tried this several times and it is totally fail proof and very simple. Unfortunately I do not have a picture to share. The recipe is from here. We added roasted pine nuts and chocolate chips

Whooa, that's a whole lot of cooking and baking :) With this I will sign off today

Till next time..Take Care.. Be happy.. Happy crafting.. Au Revoir