Dessert

Saffron and Ginger Spiced Chocolate with Nuts

October 18, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

15 minute Homemade Spiced Chocolate with saffron and nuts. Quick, delicate and taste is smooth, silky dark chocolate flavor coupled with a pungent spice mix that is sure to impress your friends this Diwali or any celebration! It’s so easy to make chocolate at home with just a few ingredients. Try it and see for yourself!

“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” – Forrest Gump

In the scheme of things, yes, life is like a box of chocolates. It is that simple. It appears mysterious, that box, on the outside. Who knows what kinds of chocolates are inside? Then you open it and see the forms and shapes of the various chocolates, but you don’t know how it tastes. Take a bite and find out! The mystery unravels itself in time, as you are living.

That’s life, taking a bite of that unknown piece of chocolate, but more than than simply taking a bite out of the chocolate and seeing how it tastes, but appreciating that taste. Not judging it for not being the taste you expected, or disappointed that it wasn’t as tasty as it looked. Nor, should it be the case, being sad it only has 5 pieces instead of 10, or that the box isn’t as big as you’d hoped. Enjoy the piece of chocolate, every piece, and don’t leave a single piece behind….

Figs and Nuts Gujjia/Sweet Samosa – Sugar free

October 16, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Gujjia, aka sweet samosa is such a delicious treat that’s crispy on the outside stuffed with sweet yummy filling. This is a sugar free fig and nuts gujia that is so addictive.

Sweet Samosa is what we call this at home. For as long as I was India, the only version I knew had dried coconut, sooji and nuts. The other with khoya dipped in sugar syrup. Once I ventured into a whole new world, learnt new recipes, I realized there’s so many more delicious fillings that work great for Gujia. Gujjia is a must make dish for Diwali at home. Mom made hundreds a week before Diwali and stored in large steel containers. They were addictive and you could never be satisfied with one.

Although I love the traditional kind my mom makes, I enjoy making a lighter version. There’s nothing healthy or light about deep fried crispy goodness, but hey, If you prefer, air fry it. I’ve done that and it works great too.

Today I share one of my new favorite ways to make gujiya. Filled with cashews and sugar free figs, I think you will love this fig gujiya. The stuffing is made out of cashews and almonds, ground together with figs. It makes for a delicious stuffing that is healthy and no sugar added since the figs add the texture and sweetness….

Dumroot/Ash Gourd Halwa/lWinter Melon Halwa

October 15, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Dumroot or Dumroot Halwa is a classic, rich, delicious halwa which is unique to the state of Karnataka, particularly Udupi cuisine.

Summer comes, mom and I enter the days of chats, chaat and Bhagatram sweets. Particularly gulab jamun and dumroot, a recipe that’s a pride and joy of Karnataka, Udupi cuisine. Walking down Commercial street decades ago was way different to what it is now. No glitz and glamor, it didn’t have parking, so it was meant only for people to stroll, shop and eat. To the left was the clothing stores that never caught our attention. We mainly came to eat a gulab jamun each and the famous Dumroot. We are a family obsessively in love with DUMROOT. My dad, cousins and now my hubby and boys….

Thandai Gulab jamun Mousse

October 29, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Thandai Gulab Jamun Mousse is a fusion dessert which has two delicious treats in one. Thandai a spiced drink made like a mousse stuffed with spongy soft gulab jamun.

Be the light. Find the light.

It’s that time of the year, the festival of lights, festival of together, festival of celebration of the lightness within us and around us. Diwali….

Blueberry Walnut Poppy Seed Cake

September 29, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

This blueberry walnut poppy seed cake is laced with fresh blueberries, filled to the brim with nutty, crackly poppy seeds, and drizzled with a delicious caramel glaze. It’s the perfect “company cake.” This Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake is a must make.

If you’re looking for a fruity cake that’s perfect to take to parties or just a pick me up, this is for you, Blueberry Poppy Seed Cake or as I call it the Best Sour Cream Cake.

I make this cake to take to friend’s, for picnics, it travels well and the perfect snack time cake. We enjoy dense fruity poppy seed cake –from when I made this recipe decades ago-so I can definitely tell you that this is a recipe that stands the test of time….

Easy Strawberry Almond Cake

May 2, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Simple from scratch delicious one bowl Strawberry Almond Cake with Cream cheese frosting. Tastes like a bakery cake and it’s studded with strawberries in the cake. The cake flowers are a perfect touch to celebrate every mom.

“Motherhood is an ultimately complex journey―breathtakingly beautiful and achingly difficult in a single moment.

Mom’s are judged all the time, I am guilty of that too. We are but, just human. We can be hammered into thinking we are just not doing enough: working moms don’t spend enough time with kids, we don’t like to cook, we are not feeding our kids well. You’ve gained weight after the baby, you look so tired, dammit, we’ve given birth to an 8 pound baby!!! The list goes on, the things we are judged for. Most talk about skills, but what about compassion and psychological development?

In the quest for perfectionism, some of us lose sight sometimes. Learning from those experiences helped me let go of my need for perfection so that I could be a happy, healthy mom to my boys. It’s so easy to let the need for perfection take control of your actions and forget to live in the present. Life with children is messy, literally and figuratively. Embracing the imperfection will help you enjoy your time together. You are enough for your kids, and your imperfections are what make you perfect to them!…

Urad Daal Halwa/Ulundu Urandai

March 11, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Urad Dal Halwa or Ulundu Urandai is a sweet treat that’s very healthy, protein rich and a traditional recipe passed on by grandmothers.

My paternal grandmother was anything but traditional and conventional. She wanted all her grandkids to call her “Amma”(mom). She was progressive in many ways. I was 18 when she left us. I wasn’t matured enough to really ask her about her beliefs, her likes. Interestingly though, I didn’t need to interview her to know she was a lady after her own will. She danced to her own tunes.

She was not one to tell me: you need to learn to cook. All her boys were great cooks and helped her around. She most definitely didn’t scare me or her children into living a life like everyone did. She let me believe in me, gave me the strength to think for myself and supported me in ways no one did. She went against all norms. She had a big personality….

No Bake Orange Cheesecake

February 12, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

This no-bake Orange cheesecake is a perfect delicious dessert. It’s light, smooth, tangy and folded with candied almonds, SO GOOD!

Love is many things. It is varied. One thing love is not, is unsure. ~Maya Angelou.~

In my many years on this beautiful earth, I’ve had the opportunity to learn love comes in many forms. Romantic love is wonderful, so is friendship, family and all the little acts of kindness towards strangers. Love is making people feel seen and heard, and allowing myself to receive the same in return. Because I’ll be honest, I’m all heart. I smother the people I love with Love and there are few things that make me happier. Being honest and open and truthful about how I feel is the core that drives my connections — and drives my writing.

Everyone’s love language is not sending-love-notes, wearing-their-heart-on-their-sleeve, saying-how-they-feel-all-the-time like me. Sometimes it’s quieter, sometimes it’s louder, but once I’ve started taking the time to see how Love, with a capital L, shows up in the world around me, it’s given me a little bit more hope in humanity and made my heart grow about 10 sizes bigger. So love big, your own way….

Eggless South African Donuts – Eggless Donuts with Cardamom & Coconut

December 19, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Donuts are my kyrptonite and these Eggless South African Donuts have my heart. These are slightly different from the American donuts. They are sweet, spongy and pillowy, spiced and traditionally dipped in sugar syrup. SO GOOD!

Food feeds the soul. To the extent that we all eat food, and we all have souls, food is the single great unifier across cultures. On a larger scale, food is an important part of culture. Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of preserving their culture when they move to new places.

Being in America has opened up a pandoras box of global cuisine. What stays the same though is the extent to which each country or community’s unique cuisine can reflect its unique history, lifestyle, values, and beliefs. As the world becomes more globalized, it is easier to access cuisines from different cultures….

Gluten free Best Tahini Brownies with Peanut Butter

December 4, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

The BEST brownie recipe! These Tahini Brownies have a crispy top and edges, fudgy middles, and rich chocolate flavor, these homemade brownies will disappear in no time. Double the recipe!

I’ve been making “homemade brownies” that were average for years, until I found the perfect recipe. Anytime I made homemade brownies, I wanted them to be just like the ones I ate made by my team member for Thanksgiving for the old age home – super fudgy, moist, and chocolaty, with crispy edges and crackly tops. They were the best, I’d sneak a few to bring home for the boys. And Grace graciously would box a few for me. She said the recipe came from a friend and almond butter made it ever so perfect….