Upma with a twist.......and my new Blog design...:)

Let me tell u first that I am not a very big fan of Upma. Specially the plain upma that my mom used to make often for night (palaharam) light Dinner. I like my upma with vegetables...(if I really need to have upma...that it......if I can avoid it...well and good.) Thats my relationship with this food item. But after I got married, I really understood y my mom used to make this dish so often.... Coz its so easy to make.... and so tasty...(now I have started liking it.... coz its a comfort food..;)...)

As I said earlier plain upma was never my liking, so I always end up adding some or the other vegetables to it. This is one twist I have added to my upma.... I added some leftover soaked sago to it. When I started making it... I had no idea how it will taste....but believe me the outcome was nice and amazing. Thats y they call cooking the result of trial and error I guess..... sometimes these errors and trials give out such amazing results. So here goes my upma with a twist.

You need :

Semolina (sooji rava) - 1 cup

Indian pearl Sago (Sabudana ) - 1/2 cup (soaked overnight - soft and rubbery)

Red bell pepper - 1/3 cup

Onions chopped - 1/3 cup

Potatoes cubed - 1/3 cup

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Green chilli - 2 slit

Curry leaves - few

Ghee - 1 to 2 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves

Method :

Soak the sago for an hour. After 1 hour sprinkle around 1/2 cup water over it and leave it overnight to soak. In the morning the sago should be soft and rubbery to touch. Keep aside.

In a big vessel, heat around 4 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

In a different pan take some oil and add the mustard seeds and alloe to splutter. Now add the green chillies and Curry leaves. (you may even add ginger if u desire.) Now add the onions and saute well. Once the onions become tender and transparent add the potatoes and red bell pepper. saute well. Once the potatoes are half cooked and the pepper is tender, add the sooji and the sago to it and mix well. Add salt. Stir once again.

Now , add in around 2 and a 1/2 cups of water tot the semolina. Remember this upma wont be dry.... it has to be a buit gooey.Keep stiring while you add the water so that no lumps are formed. If u feel the upma is becoming to dry add some more water... you want your semolina and sagoo too cook right?.Make the flame medium low and stir well to remove lumps. Soon your upma will be cooked.

Remove from flame, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and a spoon ful of ghee. Stir well and serve hot.

Serve hot with coconut chutney. Best when served as a breakfast. Filling a s well as very tasty.Enjoy!

This is my new blog design. Do suggest any changes and give me comments on how it looks now...better or worse.. Thank you...:D

Once again....Mysore Masala Dosa for dosa mela

Yes, I am a complete Late comer, or a tubelight. I didnt send my dosa recipe to the Dosa mela on time and then was so hesitant to send it. Thanks to Srivalli who agreed to accept by entry now.. as she is planning for one more round up.... Thank my lucky stars and Srivalli. Thank You.

So here is my entry for the Dosa mela. I have posted this recipe around 2 weeks earlier and I am just linking that post to this one, as an entry to the event. Here is the recipe for this lovely looking Mysore Masala Dosa... My style...! Enjoy and give me ur reviews :D once again...:D

Talking about Mysore masala Dosa...reminds me of Mumbai...yes Mumbai not Udipi or mysore from where this dosa actually originates.There are these 3 places in mumbai (ofcourse other than my house) where I relish dosas.Mumbai is where I first got introduced to this speciality dosa. I still remember the Dosa wala near my college... in VT (now CST) and his amazing varieties of dosas and uthappams. Wow! is the lovely thing I can say for it.He used to make so many varieties of dosas, spring dosa, masala dosa , special masala dosa, mysore masala dosa and special mysore masala dosa(which consisted of grated carrot, lots of dry fruits, raisins.beetroot, aloo bhaji, sweet and spicy chutney.... yummmm..) doesnt that bring water in ur mouth.... The special varieties in each had ghee and dryfruits in the masala.... too many calories rt? but amazingly tasty... hmmmm I really miss those days. We used to stand near the dosa stand and watch him make these amazing mysore masala dosas... which were always our favourite. I got a bit of idea of what all he used to add in it for the ultimate taste. Today after like 5 years of missing that amazing mysore masala dosa I tried to recreate the dosa walas magic in my kitchen, and I can say I was somewhat successful. The compliments from my hubby and his colleague and friend proves that. :) what say?

Another place in mumbai where I have relished dosa is the famous khau gali in Ghatkopar. There is this one dosa wala there who makes around 40 varieties of dosa. Its a small roadside stall... and if u visit this place in evening it is hell crowded with people waititng to be served. And the best part is his schezuwaan chutney that he gives with the dosa...its finger lickingly tasty. You get so many varieties there like sada dosa, butter sada dosa, spring dosa, chinese spring dosa, manchurian dosa, chinese dosa, schezuwaan dosa, palak dosa, paneer dosa, bhaji dosa and ofcourse the amazing masala dosa.... these are just a few names that I remembered and have tasted there. So next time u visit mumbai do visit the small roadside dosa stall in Ghatkopar and relish the amazing dosas.U can also relish the nearby stall's pani puri and frankies... they r worth a try too.

My delicious mysore masala dosa....with the filling..:) doesnt it look gorgeous

The third and the last place is one near Andheri station I dont remember the place well but it was in a small shopping complex.... just opposite the andheri railway station. I remember, once my dad took me and my friend there to eat and I can still remember the taste of that mysore masala dosa..... sweet as well spicy yummmm.... this is again a roadside stall... but it was so clean and nicely kept.... actually all the three stalls I refered here was soo clean and nice... I am as such very picky about the place where I eat and I can guaratee u this was heaven....so what if it is on the roadside??..

After eating such amazing dosas... who wud like the so called mysore masala dosa that they sell in the indian restaurants here in US?... hmmm I didnt.. I shud say I got disappointed everytime we went to a new restaurant and I ordered my favourite mysore masala dosa... which is actually masala dosa with some powder sprinkled on it.... hmmmm..... so in vain i thought the best way to tingle my taste buds again to this favourite dosa of mine is to try and make it myself. The recipe i have given below is my own recipe and I would love suggestions from other great cooks and foodies about what else can be added to this dosa to make it even better ofcourse other than dryfruits...:P..I know dryfruits will make it amazing... but I am trying to be a bit calorie conscious here girls..:P.

To make this dosa u need :

For the Dosa batter:

Raw rice - 1 1/2 cup

Idli rce - 1 1/2 cup

Urad dal - 1 1/4 cup

Methi seeds - 2 tsp

Moong dal - 1 tbsp

Toor dal - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method :

Soak the raw rice, idli rice, moong dal,toor dal and methi seeds together and the urad dal in a different bowl. Soak it overnight or for 7-8 hours. Grind the rice and the urad seperately and mix it together and keep it aside for 10-12 hours till the batter is fermented well. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Now, ur batter for making crispy dosas are ready.

For the stuffing:

Potato stuffing :

Potatoes - 4 boiled

Onions - 1 large

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

Ginger - 1" finely chopped

Green chillies - 2

Garlic - 1 small pod (optional)

Turmeric powder - 2tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 3 tsp

Few curry leaves

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

the onion and potato filling

Method :

In a pan take some oil and put in the mustard seeds. Wait till the seeds splutter and then add the ginger and garlic and stri well. now add the onions and turmeric powder and mix well. Let the onions become tender and a bit transparent. Now add in the mashed potatoes and the salt.Pour in a glass of water and cook covered for 7-8 minutes or till the potatoes take in the water but yet remain a bit mushy.See that ur potato stuffing shouldnt be to dry.put in some lemon juice and mix well.Garnish with fresh Coriander leaves.

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Spicy Red chutney:

Red Bell pepper - 1 big

Dried red chillies -4-5

Garlic - 6-7 pods (i like more of garlic u can reduce the quantity according to ur taste)

Salt to taste

Capsicum and chiili spicy chutney

Method :

Soak the Red chillies in a cup in say 1/2 tbsp water. Chop the red bell peppers in small chunk and put in the blender along with the garlic and salt. Now add in the dried red chillies from the water and put it in the blender too. Blend well into a paste. Be careful while putting in the red chillies. I like my chutny a bit spicy, u may reduce the quantity again according to ur taste.Ur chutney is ready U can store this chutney for like 3 days and use it for plain dosa and idli as a side dish.

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Sweet red Chutney (sorry have no snap of this one.)

You need :

Tomato puree - 1 can (u may even grind in fresh tomatoes)

Salt - a pinch (my can already had some salt added to it)

Sugar - 4 tsp

Method :

In a small pan pour in the tomato puree and heat well, it the puree almost starts boiling. Now add in the salt and sugar and keep stirring.It can become a bit messy as the puree starts to boil. Lower and flame and keep stiriing till the sugar dissolves well. Your Sweet red Chutney is ready too. You can also use tamarind or any sweet sauce u get in shop to savethe time. But it tastes much better.

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Carrot Stuffing :

Carrots - 3 grated (Some other variations will be Raddish, cabbage, beetroot or maybe all mixed)

Fresh coriander leaves

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 1 finely chopped

Salt to taste

Chaat powder - 2tsp

Grated carrot

Method :

Mix the grated carrot, salt, chaat powder, green chillies and coriander in a bog bowl. Your carrot stuffing is ready.This is also a very good side salad for ur chapatis or rice.

The final assembly:

Now that we r ready with all the preparatory work and items, lets start making some mysore masala dosas. I have used a non stick pan to make dosa....:P well its a rather old one... not much like a non stick anymore... heheh yet it give me some best dosas.Try using a non stick dosa griddle or dosa pan, if ur trying to make this for the first time. You need some judgement and timing for removing the from the pan in one piece.:)...

Take a non stick dosa gridle and spray in some cooking oil and let the pan sit on the gas for 5 minutes. The tava shud be moderately hot (not too hot or too cold) for the dosas to cook well. The best way to judge if u pan is hot is to wet ur hands and sprinkle some water on the hot pan.. if the water sizzle for sometime and then vanishes... that means ur pan is right and ready for the dosa.. If the water just bubbles and vanishes immidiately, or smokes,u may want to cool ur pan a bit by sprinkling some more water on it.

Now take a laddle full of batter and pour it on the centre of the griddle. Take a round bottomed laddle and make small circles in the centre of the batter that u have poured. Now slowly and gradually keep increasing the diameter or ur circle and hence spreading the batter.See that u dont leave gaps in between.Even if u do so.. take some more batter and fill up the gaps. I will try to take a video next time and post it here.:)
Once ur dosa is ready, Pour oil or butter around the dosa and allow it to cook a bit say for 2 -3 minutes. when u see that the batter on the top is kind of dry. Put in 2 spoonful of the spicy red chutney and spread it well on the dosa as given in the picture above.leave it for a minute. Now pour in 2 spoon ful of the sweet red chutney as spread it the same way. Put a spoon ful of potato filling in the centre of the dosa and then top it with the carrot filling. With a spoon lightly mix up the potato and carrot. Do it with very light hands.... Do want to to tear the dosa right?see picture below.

The masalas after mixing.

I wanted the caroot to be raw and give its natural sweet taste so i wanted to add it raw.. u may even add it to the potato bhaji if u desire.Let the dosa cook till the edges become dark golden brown in colour. Lightly lift one side of the dosa to see if the base has become golden in colour.

Fold the dosa into half and serve hot with ur favourite chutney.This taste very good even without any side. Dosas r so easy and amazing to make once u master the art. I was a person u could never make a dosa without tearing few to pieces.hehe... But I guess experience and dediation towards the thing u want to learn perfectly...gets u there where u want to be..Now I can make nice and lovely dosas....:P

I served it with Vaishali's amazing avacado and tofu chutney...which u can see in the pic. I first thought i will post the recipe here in this post, but i think this post have become too lenghty and posting the delicious chutney recipe here is an injustice to it. So i will be dedicating a new post to the Amazing avacado and tofu chutney. I will post my experience with the chutney there,till then relish my mysore masala dosa and give me ur amazing comments...:)

Serve hot however and where ever u like. No side required as such But will go amazingly with a subtly chutney.

Moong dal dosa & an Award

This dosa is an instant choice when I feel like eating the lovely tasting Adai. This is made of moong dal which takes very less time to soak compared to the traditional adai, which is made by soaking rice, toor daal and chana daal overnight......and hence can be made without any prior prepaprations.It tastes no less than the Adai....Enjoy this lovely recipe next time, when u dont have much time in hand.

You need :

Washed moong dal ( yellow lentils) - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 3
Fresh Coriander - 1 cup
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
Ginger finely chopped - 3 tsp
Oil for shallow frying


Method :
Soak the washed moong dal for 1 to 2 hrs. Once they r soaked well...put them in a blender. Add in the other ingredients except the oil and make into an almost fine paste. Leaving it a bit coarse gives nice texture to the dosa. Once ur batter is ready, Ur ready to make ur dosas.

Heat ur tava or gridle well and apply a sppon oil to it orelse u may also spray oil to the gridle. Now, put on ladle full of dosa batter on the tava and spread it into a big circle. Pour oil along the edges and turn over once one side is cooked. Cook it just like a normal dosa till it is golden brown in colour. Enjoy ur lovely moong daal dosa. This dosa tastes best with Allam Chutney (ginger chutney).

Serve hot with any chutney.enjoy!

Another Yummy Blog award!

I was so surprised to see another yummy blog award for me. Today, my friend and fellow blogger the lovely Vaishali forwarded me "The Yummy blog award". Thank you so much Vaishali. I really appreciate it. So here it goes...:)

One more lovely and shiny award for me. Isnt it beautiful? Thank u so much....and keep visiting my blog.

Thank you so much.

Celery Soup!? or mixed Veggie soup

I started this one as a celery soup but didnt like the plain colour and added up some more veggies for the colour.....I like my soup too be nice and colourful. Doesnt it look pretty? Well call in veggie soup or any other soup... but yet for me this is a basic celery soup recipe. I kind of adore this soup and the vegetable celery for the flavour it gives. This is a very very easy soup

You need:

Celery - 3 stalks finely chopped
Red bell Pepper - 1 medium
Sweet corn - 1/4 cup
Mixed vegetables ( I used stir fry veggies) - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Salt to taste
Olive oil / Butter - 3 tsp
Oregano - 2 tsp
Crushed red chilli - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish



Method :
Boil some water and put in all the vegetables in it one by one. Let them come to a slight boil. See that the vegetables are just cooked and not overcooked or mashed.
Add the herb and salt. Top with some butter / olive oil and mix well. Garnish with fresh corinader leaves and serve hot. This low fat, tasty and nutrious soup is our family favourite. Whenever our dinner is not decided... we always go for this as our choice.Serve it in ur favourite soup bowl with some nice salad. Garnish with crushed red chilli of u desire.

Serve hot as a dinner. Serve with nice Salad. Enjoy!

My First MEME

This is the first time I have been tagged for this lovely MEME by my lovely fellow blogger Friend Roopa .
Thank you so much Roopa. Here goes my MEME.



1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE? : Tashan...The Ishtyle, The goodluck, and the Phormoola.....uhhmm uhmm.... hehhe I have no comments for this movie.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?? : First Among Equals - Jeffrey Archer

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? : Carrom Board and Ludo/Snake & Ladder

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? : Femina, Indoor Outdoor

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS? : Smell of the first rain, Jasmine flower (Mogra), Petrol (The smell u get in indian petrol pumps),

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS? : Baby Laughing or making sounds,Kenny G saxophone music,
Wind chimes.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? : When taken for granted, When misunderstood, when I miss my loved ones, being home alone.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE? : I plan what to do the whole day. Generally I never do what I plan at that time of the day... Yet I think of it without fail. Habit I guess...:P

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE? :
In USA : its Chipotle and Subway and yeah sometime Taco (I can hear -"not at all healthy"...:P)

In Indian : Jumbo Vada paav, KunjVihar / Tip Top (near thane station) and any chat stalls ont he road.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME? : Hmm, will leave for the elders to decide.... my dad and my amma-appa (MIL & FIL).

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’ : Okie. Tellme how much is lots first?... So that I can decide my choices that way.... By lords grace I think at present we have lots compared to so many others. So I would wish that I should be able to live a life full of love, joy and a comfortable life that I am living right now.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST? Iam still on instructional permit. But I do drive almost everyday...ofcourse under the guidance of my hubby.... and yeah I get lotsa shoutings (often)...Yet havent gone out of control though....(I am fast under speed limits :D) .....wait till I get my license ....heheheheh...

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? I used to until my hubby fought with it and threw it away in a corner in our living room.... Hmmm... I miss u doggy.....:(


14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Cooooool.... thunderSTORMS are scary.... eeewww..

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Well I never had a car of my own.... If I can call my hubby's car as mine.. then its a Nissan Maxima..... Would want to own a Beamer...:D ..If only desires were fullfilled that easily.... hmm :P

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Mango Frooti...fresh and Juicy, Home squeezed fresh orange juice.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD : I have lotsa time.... but I dont do anything worthwhile with it...... so guess my answer would be "Do Nothing..." :D

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? : Yes, I like it... and I make sure R eats it too...... hehoo huahaha ( that was a Rakshas's laugh..).. Believe me it has lotsa vitamins.....y waste it rt?

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? : Maybe Burgandy.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN? :
Indian : Born in Chennai , Nagpur, Mumbai, Hyderabad.
USA : Cleveland (Ohio), Los Angeles (CA).

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Cricket...(influnced by family...grrr) , Have taken interest in golf nowadays...:D

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? A very lovely female...got to know that from her blog and ofcourse her MEME... guess we have similar tastes and likings.... Just know her from a few weeks.... Would love to know more. Thanx for this Roopa.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?A box spring.... and under that carpet.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? : Yes...not only this... I want the same family, same set of friends, everything dicto..... Now, tell me is my wish granted? :D


25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? : Ooooooooowwwwlllll... Wt do u think? Can u guess?

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?Hmmm I cant decide.... Maybe both..well depends..:D

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? The patio in the evening

28) FAVORITE PIE? : I am so sorry I really dont like Pies.

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Butterscotch and Chocolate.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?...Lets wait and see

I am tagging these people : Enjoy!



Notyet100hub of Asankhana

Coffee of Spice Cafe

Aditi of Peepinmykitchen

Manasi of A Cook at Heart


Well its not a compulsion for anyone to do this MEME.... But i Would be happy if u do it and pass it on just for the sake of fun.....and "Foodswomanship" (hmmm didnt get a better word to rhyme with sportsmanship....hehehe) Enjoy!

Maharashtrian Masala bhaath.....yummy!!

If ur from Maharashtra, Iam so sure u will be knowing about this dish. One of my mom's maharashtrian friend taught her this dish and since then it has become and eternal part of our daily menu. I Remember my mom used to often pack this rice dish in my tiffin box, along with some salad. It used to taste so yummy. Hmmm... It is very very easy to make and is a quicky. It takes less than 30 minutes to be ready...:) So, without wasting anytime I will jump on to the recipe.

You need :

Cooked rice : 3 cups

Onions : 1 medium sliced lenghtwise

Green peas - 1 cup

Potatoes - 2 cut in cubes

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp

Tomato - 1 (optional) I skipped it

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Kitchen king masala - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Green chilli - 2 slit

Garam masala - 1tsp

Bay leaves - 3

Fresh Coriander leaves - 1 cup (I didnt have it so I skipped it too)

Salt to taste

Oil - 1tbsp

Method :

In a big pan pour oil and add in the cumin seeds. Let it splutter well. Now add in the bay leaves and the garam masala powder. Stir for 1 minute on medium flame. See that u dont burn the masala. Now add the onions, peas and stir and cook for 3 minutes or till the peas are tender. Now add the tomatoes if ur adding them and stir well again. Once the tomato is tender and mashed, add the potatoes, sprinkle some water and cook covered for 10 minutes.

Now, put all the other masala and salt and stir till the potato cooks well. Once the potato is cooked well add the previously cooked rice to the potatoes mixture and mix well until all the masala is taken in by the rice. Cook covered for 5 minutes keep stirring in between. Now cook uncovered for 6-7 more minutes and remove from flame. Garnish with corinader leaves and if u prefer about 2 tsp of lemon extract. Your Masala bhaath is ready.

Enjoy with Raita. Its a complete meal in a jiffy :D

Little hearts Biscuit or Palmiers?? - from Dhivya's Kitchen to Mine..!

Palmiers - Flaky and crunchy, sweet as well salty. When I saw this recipe in Dhivya's blog...it instatntly reminded me of the little hearts biscuits I used to relish on in india. Britania Little heart biscuits. These cute heart biscuits resemble them so much.

I was so happy to see this recipe that I immidiately wanted to try it out. I made this that evening itself and the result was outstanding. It tasted a bit different from the little heart biscuits... but it looked so nice and same...:) Thank u Dhivya for sharing this amazing recipe.

What are palmiers? Palmiers are traditionally frech pastries. A lot of people call these Elephant Ears, but in the European baking world they will always be known as Palmiers.Palmier (pal-mee-ay) is the French word for a palm tree and these cookies are said to resemble palm leaf.Light, buttery, cripsy, sweet french cookie. Takes a little effort the first time through but it's rather fast when you get the hang of it and it looks like you spent forever on them.

I always feel they look like hearts more than palm leaves...... checked out few more snaps of internet, they all look more like hearts.... hmmmm duno y they named it palm leaves... hmm..

Anyways, I made a few changes to the recipe....specially in the timings, and to enhance the flavour in my second batch of these biscuits. You can find the Original recipe from dhivya's blog here. Here goes my recipe with few changes.

You need :

Puff pastry sheets - 1 packet

Powdered Sugar - 3/4 cup

Salt - 2 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1 tbsp

Almond powder - 1 tbsp

Method:

Thaw the pastry sheets in room temperature. Dont microwave it.. I did that mistake so I am warning u. When I tried to defrost the sheets in microwave the edges became soggy....and it was difficult to handle it. So avoid thawing in microwave. Its better to keep it out before hand and allow it to thaw in room temperature.

Keep 1/4 of the total sugar aside and mix the rest of the sugar, cardamom powder and nut powder together. This powder should be fine. Keep it aside.

Dust the kitchen surface with the some sugar powder that we kept aside. Now unfold one of the 2 pastry sheet and dust the inside with some sugar powder. Now sprinkle the nut, sugar and cardamom powder over the sheet and gently press using a rolling pin to press the sugar in completely. Reapeat the same procedure from the other side too.

Fold in the 2 horizontal edges of the pastry to the centre of the pastry...from either sides.Dust with sugar and nut powder and press with a rolling pin. So see the steps with pictures see here. Again take in the folded horizontal edges and get them to the centre. Dust with sugar,nut and cardamom powder and press with a rolling pin. Now once again for the last step... fold the pastry sheet from the middle as in both the horizontal edges meet. Be gently...dont press too hard. Once ur roll is ready. Trim the edges keep aside (u can bake these too). Cut the roll in pieces, sprinkle sugar and nut powder over the pieces and place them in a cookie sheet. Keep about 2 inch space between the cookies. These take in lot of space when they bake. Keep it in the refridgerator for 15 minutes or so allwoing it to set a bit.

Now, bake the cookies @ 350 degree F in a preheated oven for around 10 minutes. Keep checking in between as these cookies become brown too soon. You dont wanna burn your cookies. So, one they become golden brown in colour, take them out. You can be assured they r done.

When I baked in my first batch I covered the cookie sheet with an aluminium foil, hence it took the cookie a lot of time to bake. So if ur baking ur cookie in an aluminium foil sheet, Adjust the time accordingly.When i baked in a foil, it took me nearly 20 minutes for the cookies to become golden brown. Guess its all trial and error. The best way is to keep checking the pastry in between to assure that its not burnt.

Your cookies are ready. Serve at room temperature. Tastes amazing and crisp when served hot. Enjoy.

Serve these crispy golden beauties with a cup of coffee... for those evening snacks. I am sure you will love it. :)... ENJOY!

Kudos to me - Showing off my First Award !

I was so excited to see my FIRST award given to me by my dear blogger friend Madhavi. The "Yum Blog Award"...woooooooow!!!! I really cant believe it....Thank you sooo much Madhavi for such a lovely award and all the appreciations...U really made my day!... Okie now, about the "Yum Blog Award" .This award was started by Roopa who says that....

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos"

Here now I am showing off my lovely award.......TADA....!

Isn't it Shinny? uhh uhmmm.. So, here goes my award speech... I dedicate this award to my sweet hubby who always encouraged me... by eating any new recipe (crap) I created.., my lovely family and all my blogger friends and well wishers. Thank you all for always appreciating me and encouraging me. Thank u soo much!

Now about the Award.....

As per the rules I have to share with u guys my favourite desserts that I have prepared / eaten and pass this amazing award to award to four of my fellow bloggers...Both are tough choices to make as I love so many desserts and also there are so many lovely bloggers out there...Anyways...here are myFavourite desserts.

On Nupur's advice I am removing all the pictures I have used earlier on my post from google search. Thanx Nupur to guide me in the right way. Really appreciate it.. Now.. againt o my desserts :D

Chocolate cake : specially Black forest... yummmmmm

Gulab Jamun : hot and soft...yummy-licious...

Kaju Katli : Specially the ones from Haldiram.... yummm I miss them so much....

Chocolate mousse : Chocolate mousse pudding.... yummm!

Now comes the toughest part, giving this lovely award to four food bloggers.... I wanted to give this yummy blog award to all the lovely and creative food bloggers, But I have to choose just four amongst them, which is soooo tough. Hence, as per the rules laid down, I hereby pass this "Yum Blog Award to four bloggers/ blogs......

They are.........

Vaishali of Earth Vegans

Bhags of Crazy Curry

Usha Prasanth of Samaikalamvanga

Nupur of One Hot Stove

Congratulations to all the winners ! You all really deserve it...:)

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver :

1. The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog!" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

2. The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome).3. Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

Enjoy!.....Thank again Madhavi for making my day....:P