Cherry Cheesecake

Makes 6 slices

Inspired by Nigella Lawson, I tried this out at home - and I'm proud to say that it was a success. Overall, it works out to be expensive - but makes every paisa spent completely worth the while! This is the non-bake variety of cheesecake.

You need -

200gms Philadelphia/Danish Cream Cheese

90gms of digestive biscuits

50gms of butter (unsalted preferred)

40gms of icing sugar/powdered sugar

175mls of Amul fresh cream

A fresh lemon

Vanilla essence

A bottle of fruit preserve - I chose St. Dalfour's Black Cherry preserve

What you have to do -

- Beat the fresh cream into a thick mixture and set aside in a bowl

- Put the icing/powdered sugar, a dash of lime, vanilla essence and the cream cheese into a bowl and beat it up until it's consistent and fluffy

- Put the biscuits and butter in a blender until you get a coarse mix for the base

- Butter a flat medium-deep bowl and press the base on to it evenly

- Mix the fresh cream mix with the second mix until you get an even consistency

- Pour the fresh batter over the base evenly and then put away in the fridge for a few hours

- Place on a plate and pour our generous portions of cherry preserve on top of the cake just before serving

Serve cold and don't count the calories!

Aloo Jeera

Serves two.

I love the flavor of ginger and coriander. Typically, you wouldn't make this side dish with these ingredients. But, I do. Feel free to make without.

You need -

4 small-medium sized potatoes

Some red chili powder, garam masala, asafoetida, salt to taste

Cumin seeds for garnishing

Freshly chopped ginger and coriander

What you have to do -

- Pressure cook/Microwave the potatoes until they're soft enough to be eaten directly

- In a kadai, heat some oil and add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and chopped ginger

- Once it turns dark brown, add the chopped pieces of soft potatoes

- Allow the oil to coat each piece gently - do not add more than a total of 2 tsps of oil unless you want it crunchy

- Mix the salt, garam masala and chili powder in a spoon of water and then sprinkle on to the potatoes

- Mix it up well and cook for another 3-4 minutes while ensuring that no one side burns

- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander for an interesting flavor

Serve with -

- Rotis & dal

- Rasam & rice

Coconut Laddu

Makes 12 balls.

I had some left over coconut after I was done making Kozhakattais. So. I decided to quickly try my hand at coconut barfi. That didn't work out very well, so I was left with coconut balls. Trust me, they taste as good - just look different!

You need -

1 large cup of shaved coconut

3 tb spoons milk

2 spoons sugar (more if you want it sweeter)

6 pieces of ground cardamom

Some ghee

What you have to do -

- Fry the shaved coconut in one spoon of ghee until it gets crispy

- In a kadai, boil the milk along with the sugar, a spoon of ghee and the ground cardamom

- Add the fried coconut shavings and sautee until it's hard

- Make small balls and put away in the fridge until you have to serve it

Bread-Jam & Milk

Serves one.

My mother would make this for me when I would return from school ravenously hungry. It's fuss-free, fast, filling and delicious!

You need -

2 slices of bread

1 glass of milk

Jam of your choice (I prefer the fruit preserves by St Dalfour)

Vanilla essence (optional)

What you have to do -

- Make jam sandwiches and then chop it up into small cubes

- Heat some milk until it's warm enough to drink and then add a drop of vanilla essence

- Put the sandwich cubes in a bowl and pour the milk over it

Spoon it up and you won't be hungry anymore!

Spaghetti

Serves two.

This turned out to be surprisingly easy to make and is quite fulfilling as a dinner.

You need -

Good quality wheat spaghetti

2 tomatoes

1 onion

1 bell pepper/capsicum

Some oregano/basil seasoning, salt to taste

Some olive oil

Chili flakes, cheese (optional, be recommended)

What you have to do -

- Boil a portion of the spaghetti in hot water until it turns soft - be careful not to break the strands

- Make a paste of the onions in a blender

- In a kadai, let the paste turn golden brown by heating in a small tsp of olive oil

- Similarly, make a paste of the tomatoes and add to the mix

- Once it's cooked adequately, add the capsicum (chopped lengthwise)

- Add salt and the oregano

- Add the soft spaghetti and let it cook together for 4-5 minutes

- Add chili flakes (if you want it spice) and Parmesan cheese (use regular cheese slices if you want it to melt fast)

Serve hot!

Serve with -

Garlic bread & salads

Rajma Masala

Serves two.

Rajma Masala was the standard Sunday family lunch when I was growing up. It's not very easy to make, but is definitely worth all the effort!

You need -

1.5 cups of red rajma beans

Finely chopped - 2 tomatoes, 2 onions, some ginger and chillies, coriander

Garam masala and salt

What you have to do -

- Soak the beans in 8 times the amount of water for 24 hours and then pressure cook for 10-15 whistles depending on how soft you want the beans

- In a kadai, sautee the onions, ginger and chillies in 2tsps of oil until golden brown

- Add the tomatoes and salt to taste

- Once it turns soft, add 2 spoons of garam masala, and the rajma with the water, and cook until the water evaporates to make it as dry/wet as you prefer it

- Garnish with fresh finely chopped onions and coriander

Best served with -

- Basmati rice

- Rotis

Enjoy on a cold rainy Sunday afternoon!

Dal Tadka

Serves two

This is one of the easiest foods to cook up and goes with both rotis and rice.

You need -

- 1 cup toor dal/lentils

- Some cumin seeds, turmeric, freshly ground pepper, chopped chillies and coriander, salt to taste and asafoetida

What you have to do -

- Steam cook the dal in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles

- In a kadai, heat some oil with 1 tsp of cumin seeds, asafoetida and chopped chillies

- Take the dal out of the cooker and add it with the excess water

- Add a pinch of turmeric and salt and mix well

- Cook until dal boils and the water is no longer separate from the actual lentils

- Garnish with freshly ground pepper and chopped coriander

Arbi / Chepankazhangu (Colocasia) Fry

You need -

A bowl full of Colocasia / Arbi/ Chepankazhangu

Some chilli masala, garam masala, rasam powder, turmeric and salt

5-6 spoons of oil

What you have to do -

- Steam the unpeeled arbi in a pressure cooker until the whistle goes off 4 times

- Take it out after the cooker cools and and peel the arbi

- Chop it up into similar sized pieces and add the masala powders

- Shallow fry the arbi in a pan until it turns dark-brown and crisp

Serve with rasam, rice and papad!

Choc-Almond Fudge Drops

Makes 12 balls

You need -

2 bars of dark chocolate (bournville)

1 can of condensed milk

1 tablespoon of butter

A handful of crushed almonds

What you have to do -

- Break the dark chocolate into little pieces, put in a bowl and heat

- Add condensed milk immediately and mix it up until the pieces melt into the batter

- The batter will get bubbly (within 5-6 minutes) so be careful to make sure it doesn't burn - mix until you get an even consistency and the batter seems to be consistent

- Add the almonds and take it off the flame

- Wait for it to cool and then use your palms to make small Ferrero Rocher sized balls

Wrap these little drops of heaven in small pieces of foil and share!

Channa Masala

Serves four.

I'd never made Channa Masala before and I decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be surprisingly easy and so gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

You need -

3 cups of Kabuli Channa

3 tomatoes

2 onions

Chopped Chillies & Coriander

Channa Masala Powder

Coriander Powder

Garam Masala

Salt

What you have to do -

- Soak the Channa overnight in a bowl full of water - before cooking, drain and wash the Channa

- Cook in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles on high flame

- Chop up the onions and tomatoes in small cubes

- In a Kadai, sautee the onions in oil until golden brown and then add tomatoes and chillies

- Add salt, 1 tsp. Garam Masala, 1 tsp. Coriander Powder and 2tsp. Channa Masala Powder (add more Channa Masala Powder if you want more flavor)

- Add the steamed Channa into the mix and add water based on how dry/wet you like the Channa and then cook for another 15 minutes

- Garnish with chopped coriander

Serve with -

- Rotis

- Basmati Rice

- Poori