Pinku-Enchanted Life

For Diwali this year we planned that we would attempt to make sweets at home instead of buying ready made.  Now the partner is the one with a sweet tooth and I only nibble at sweets once in a while. My one weakness however is the rasmalai.  I can have 3-4 of those lovelies and for someone who as a rule doesn't eat sweets, that's a lot. So it was decided that we will make rasmalai as it would be a pity if the maker herself wasn't inclined to eat.  I got out my recipe notes and pulled out my trusted rasmalai recipe.  It iis fairly simple and the only real concern is the timing for taking it off the gas, as over heating tends to break the balls.  This is what you need for it: 2 Litre full cream milk 1 cup sugar - as I mentioned I don't have much of a sweet tooth so this quantity works for  Blanched pistachios and almonds cut into small slivers - half a cup Half a cup cream Few strands of saffron 1 cup milk powder 1 tablespoon all purpose flour/ maida 1/2 teasp...

During graduation one of our texts was D H Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and in it we were frequently told how an oven and baking as an essential part of a kitchen in the early 20 th century was a very powerful allegory. It stood for the whole act of giving birth and shaping a child. It seemed all too far fetched to me back then. All those lessons came back yesterday when I and Aarini attended a cake mixing event at The Park. Both of  us were pretty excited about this outing, as it was only about her and me and I had promised her there would be lots of ‘ happy birthday ’ her word for cakes. It was a pleasant October morning neither too hot nor cold and we set out on our long drive to The Park in the center of town from our home on the south western fringes of Delhi. Aarini had a lot of questions about the red bus, green bus and blue bus that we spotted on the way which needed answering. Every small thing evokes a question in her and I try my best to give her an answer that’s not far...

Yummy sweet fritters which are good as snacks if a sweet tooth runs in your family or as an unusual dessert. How to make it? Half kg sweet potato, boiled and peeled. Half cup grated coconut. Half cup sugar. Half cup suji. Half cup white oil. 5-6 green elaichi. A tablespoon each of crush kaju and kishmish. Mash the sweet potato well with the kaju, kishmish, grated coconut, sugar and suji. Add powdered elaichi powder. Leave the mix in the fridge for about an hour. Heat the oil in a kadhai, using your palm and fingers shape the sweet. Keep water in a bowl handy to help you with this. Having wet hands ensures the mixture doesn't act to sticky. Fry them carefully on medium flame. Let one side fry to a golden brown only then turn the sweet, this will ensure it doesn't break while turning. You can serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!!

Pratima at RK Puram Kalibari Pujo Durga Pujo - the annual vacation of Goddess Durga when she comes visiting her parental home alongwith her children is a time of joy, festivities and gluttony in Bengal and all those pockets of the world that Bengalis inhabit. Unlike the austerity, fasting and prayers followed through the rest of the country during the autumn Naratras - Bengal alongwith neighbouring Assam, Orissa and Jharkhand erupts in joy. The Pujo is all about new clothes, socializing, reunions, cultural activities and food. Its a carnival of sorts and it runs for five days!! While the rites and rituals are carried on by pandits the rest of us are kept busy with pandal hopping, participation in dance, music, recitation competitions, catching music and theater performances all of course accompanied by liberal doses of chops, cutlets, moghlai parathas, radhabolobis and many, many kinds of mishti. The beginning of this gastronomic 5 day extravaganza is rightfully marked by Anando mela. ...

Pizza – has been my weakness for a very long time. Those sinfully calorie laden gooey cheese filled slices of heaven. So when a pizza eating competition was announced on the FB page of Chef at Large I was tempted however hesitated as I wasn’t sure how many I would need to eat to be able to compete. Interest up I kept following the thread till a message from Sid showed that volunteers hadn’t lined up – I took my chance and said yes. Having agreed, nervousness set in – will I be able to eat fast and enough to not let the team down? How many people would be there, watching me eat? The doubts were many but having said yes I wasn’t about to back out. So on the first day of Navratras with a quick prayer to the Mother I set out to participate. On the way read about people exercising, taking digestives etc. in preparation and a lot of others wishing us good luck. It felt nice to be a part of a big family and having people root for you. Forgot to mention that the organizers had arranged for a...

When the leaves turn and beckon, winter comes calling The kaash and the shiuli wave their heads in glee The breeze turns balmy hugs common between him and me Little children's laughter rise up to the skies The sun wakes up with a smile and fades with an orange sigh We know Mother its time for you to come with many a gift and surprise

Neil French is one of the most amazing advertising legends and his book 'Sorry About The Lobsters'  on advertising is what inspired the post title today. Leaving the tried and tested in order to set out and do something different and exciting needs courage and loads of inspiration, hence reminding myself of Neil French pretty often these days. There have been many advertising greats...but this is one - who is alive and kicking and on my FB friends list to boot (there I have said it...cant stop gloating you see). Neil's work life has been unpredictable and colorful and am sure Neil would agree these are understatements. You may wonder what exactly does Neil French have to do with this post on a food blog so here is how I see the connect: 1)  his booktitle has lobsters - so does this post 2) his life has been about seizing a situation and making the most of it - so is this post Now that I have explained the connect lets get back to the business of Heads...Lobster heads to be ...