Cake House

Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip made with chickpeas as the main ingredient.  I was introduced to this delicious dip a few years back by one of my husband's aunt who had spent many years in middle east. I instantly fell in love with this versatile dip. Serve it with crackers or slather it over your bread slice to make sandwiches, it tastes lovely in all it's avatars. Although the ingredients are very basic to make Hummus, a few tips and tricks takes it to another level. After making it innumerable times, I have come up with a recipe which tastes delicious each time. Here is the recipe to make the best Hummus. All you need is Chickpea - 1 cup Garlic cloves - 12-14 Tahini - 4 tbsp ( mix 4 tbsp sesame seeds with 2 tbsp olive oil and little water and blend in a blender to make a smooth paste ) Extra virgin olive oil - 8 tbsp Lemon juice - 5 tbsp Salt to taste Roasted cumin powder - 1\2 tsp Chili flakes - 1 tsp Warm water from boiled chickpeas - 3-4 tbsp Method of preparation Wash and...

I've always been fascinated by gourmet food stores and loved when I first visited Foodhall last year. The range of product available in this store is remarkable and you can find all things gourmet under one roof.  Be it the variety of cheeses or various type of pastry sheets, fruits that are otherwise not available anywhere else or the spice mixes you have been looking for all around, Foodhall have them all.  Foodhall, a unit of Future Group is premier lifestyle food destination with stores in Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai and Pune. Having traveled through the continents, I could easily relate to the stuff they sell in their aisles appealing to international cuisine lovers as well as Indian foodies. Foodhall is an absolute delight to visit and a must do for every food lover. So when I got a bag full of goodies from Foodhall, I was quite excited and to add to the excitements, the goodies were perfect to create a fabulous Thai Meal for two of us.  I treated my family with a Thai r...

It's been really long since I made some Indian sweet. With the festive season coming close, it's the right time to indulge in some sugary treats and so I bring you this easy to make yet very delicious Nariyal Ki Barfi. Nariyal ki barfi or coconut fudge is a must make sweet for the weddings in Mathur community and is called Pili barfi for it's yellow color. The sweet which is decked with silver foil, saffron strands and dry fruit slivers is arranged on a big thaal or plate and is send to the grooms family along with the other goodies as a token to mark the beginning of the celebration. The soft, melt in your texture of this sweet is loved by all in my family and it is so easy to make that I end up making a batch of this goodness for all the festivals. Keep the consistency of sugar syrup in check and you will nail this recipe. Here is how to make this simple yet very delicious Nariyal Ki barfi. All you need is Grated fresh coconut - 3 cups Ghee - 3 tbsp Sugar - 1 cup Water - ...

For some reason when ever we decide to eat non veg food, it's either chicken or mutton that comes to my mind. I am so used to eating chicken and mutton in the name of non vegetarian food that it takes a little extra effort to cross my limits and think about sea food and fish. That is the reason you will find very few fish recipes on the blog. But now I will try to make a conscious effort and try to make more of fish recipes as it is not only tasty is also very good for health as well. This Fish Dum Biryani is a perfect start and you will love how well the fish blends with the flavorful rice and masala. I have used Seer fish to make this recipe but you can use any fish of your choice. Here is the recipe to make this delicious and flavorful Fish Dum Biryani. All you need is For the rice Long grain basmati rice - 2 cups Cloves \ Laung - 2-3 Black peppercorns \ Kali mirch - 5-6 Black cardamom \ Badi ilachi - 2 Cinnamon \ Dalchini - 1 inch piece Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Ghee - 1 tbsp Salt -...

A couple of days back, we enjoyed a lovely evening with friends, good food and drinks at my place. I was in charge of food and we decided to use our newly acquired gas grill and a barbeque was set up. With a lot of  food and drinks around, I ended up with a big batch of grilled vegetables as left overs. Now to use up all those vegetables was a challenge and that's when this Veg Tikka Masala came to my mind. The gravy is the same that I make for my Chicken Tikka masala and the beautiful smoky flavor from the grilled vegetables made it even more amazing. Although I used the left over vegetables to make this curry, you can specially marinate the veggies, grill them on a gas grill or a grill pan and then add them in the curry. Here is the recipe to make this very delicious Veg Tikka Masala. All you need is To marinate the vegetables Capsicum - 1\2 ( cut into cubes ) Onion - 1\2 ( cut into cubes ) Baby corn - 3-4 ( cut into half ) Mushroom - 10-12 Paneer - 150 g Cauliflower - 10-12 smal...

Mango kadhi or Fajito is a Gujarati dish made with yogurt and chickpea flour. Pulp of ripe mango is added to it to give a very unique taste. You may be skeptical on how the sweet taste of Mango go with savory nature of the kadhi, but be assured, the outcome is a delight to eat. We enjoyed this mango kadhi with steamed rice and phulke. Here is the easy and simple recipe to make Mango kadhi or Fajito. All you need is Sour curd - 1 cup Chickpea flour \ Besan - 2 tbsp Ginger - 1\2 inch piece Green chili - 2 Oil - 2 tbsp Fenugreek \ Methi seeds - 1\2 tsp Mustard \ Sarson seeds - 1\2 tsp Cumin \ Zeera seeds - 1\2 tsp Asafoetida \ Heeng - 1\4 tsp Dry red chilies - 2-3 Curry leaves - 10-12 Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp Salt to taste Mango puree - 1 cup For tempering Ghee - 1 tbsp Fenugreek \ methi seeds - 1\4 tsp Mustard \ Sarson seeds - 1\4 tsp Cumin \ zeera seeds - 1\4 tsp Dry red chilies - 3-4 Red chili powder - 1\4 tsp Method of preparation Blend chickpea flour, curd, ginger and green chilies ...

Methi Thepla is a very popular Gujarati dish made with whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, spices and fresh fenugreek leaves. A dough is made and it is then rolled into small flat breads which are cooked using little oil on a griddle. These Thepla's keep good for a couple of days and are a perfect choice to take along while travelling. These are also a great lunch Box option as your kid can just roll and eat it without much hassle. Methi Thepla's can be eaten as such or can be paired with pickle and yogurt. Here is the easy recipe to make Gujarati Methi Thepla. All you need is Whole wheat flour \ Gehun ka atta - 2 cups Chickpea flour  \ Besan - 1\2 cup Fresh fenugreek \ Methi leaves - 1 cup ( chopped ) Curd - 1\2 cup Ginger paste - 1\2 tsp Chili paste - 1\2 tsp Asafoetida \ Heeng - a pinch Cumin seeds \ zeera - 1\2 tsp Carom seeds \ Ajwain - 1\2 tsp Turmeric \ Haldi powder - 1\2 tsp Red chili powder  - 1\2 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Warm water to knead the dough Oil for frying Method of ...

Vegetable spring roll is a classic Indo Chinese dish perfect for evening snacks or entertaining guests. These are very easy to make and with the easy availability of the spring roll wrapper sheets in the market, it is a very good option to make when you have guests at home or you want some snack ready within no time. You can fill and roll the rolls beforehand and cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours and can deep fry them when ready to eat. Here is how I make mine. All you need is Spring roll sheets - 15-20 All purpose flour \ Maida - 2 tsp Water - 2 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp and for frying Garlic - 2 tsp ( finely chopped ) Ginger - 2 tsp ( finely chopped ) Onion - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped ) Cabbage - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped ) Capsicum - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped ) Carrot - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped ) Salt to taste Black pepper powder - 1\4 tsp Soy sauce - 1\2 tsp Red chili sauce - 1\2 tsp Ajinomoto - 1\2 tsp ( optional ) Method of preparation Take out the spring roll sheets from the freezer, app...

Naan is one the most popular Indian breads other than Roti or Phulka. It goes very well with rich and creamy Indian curries and is one of the most ordered Breads in any Indian Restaurant. Earlier, when Kitchen was an alien place for me, I used to think that Naan could only be made in restaurants and there is no way you can recreate the same soft chewy texture at home. But after venturing in cooking at home and experimenting a lot, I have come up with a fabulous Naan recipe which has never failed me. So this time I used the same recipe for the dough and stuffed it with some spiced Mutton Mince and Voila, Delicious Keema Naan were ready in my Kitchen and were no less than the ones served in any fancy Restaurants. The best part about this recipe is that the Naan are made on a stove top using a griddle or tava and no fancy equipment or ingredients are required to make these. Here is how to make these superb Keema Naan at home. All you need is For the dough Maida \ All purpose flour - 4 cup...

Sandesh or Sondesh is a very popular Bengali sweet and is made using fresh Paneer or Chenna. It can be made in various flavors, most common being saffron and cardamom. Mangoes being in season are in my top most list for baking and cooking with and so tried these Mango Sandesh today. They came out super creamy and soft and melt in your mouth and were really easy to make. The thing that should be kept in mind while making Sandesh is to mash the Chenna or Panner nicely with the heels of your hands till it is smooth and silky. Here is the recipe to make these delicious Mango Sandesh Cooking time - 30 minutes Yields - 12-15 pieces All you need is Saffron - a good pinch Full cream milk – 1 and 1/2 liters Lemon juice - 2 tbsp Powdered sugar - 1\2 cup Milk powder - 1\4 cup Mango puree - 1 cup Pistachio slivers and silver foil for garnishing Method of preparation Soak saffron in a tsp of milk. Keep aside. Boil milk in a heavy-bottom pan. When it starts to boil, simmer the heat and add lemon jui...

Lemon rice is a popular South Indian Rice recipe. The dish is complete in it self or it can be eaten with curd, raita or any chutney and is a wonderful way to use left over rice. A tadka of mustard seeds, lentils, peanuts, cashew nuts and curry leaves is made and is added to the cooked rice. Lemon juice is added at the end to give it a slight tangy taste. Here is the recipe to make this simple Lemon Rice. All you need is Rice - 1 cup Sesame oil - 2 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1\2 tsp Urad dal \ Split Black lentil - 1 tsp Chana dal \ Split bengal gram - 1 tsp Green chili - 2 ( slit into half ) Dry red chilies - 3-4 Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Heeng - 1\4 tsp Peanuts - 1\4 cup Cashew nuts - 6-8 Salt to taste Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp Lemon juice - 2 tbsp Method of preparation Wash the rice and soak for 20 minutes. Drain the water. Add rice and fluff the cooked rice with a spoon. Keep aside. Dry roast the peanuts and cashew nuts till slightly browned. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is h...