Sweets

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….

Badam Anjeer Roll/ Fig Almond Burfi/Anjeer Burji/Anjeer Barfi

November 5, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Anjeer roll has many names: fig roll, anjer barfi or badam anjeer roll, it is a treat that’s pleasing to the eyes, deliciously moist, tender and nutty with a hint of rose, cardamom. And it can be made at home easily. This stuffed fig roll is naturally sweet from the figs and is refined sugar free. Perfect for a diwali platter or sweet gift box.

Diwali is the Festival of lights, family and lots of food!

It is one of the most popular festivals in India, if not the most. There are many stories linked to the reasons behind the celebration. Growing up, Diwali for me was all about new clothes, fun with family, food and FIRE CRACKERS(it was like the July 4th in India).

Ladies would start making savory and sweets a week before the big day. Snacks would be stored in big steel boxes. Cleaning was a big part, painting the home, changing linens, it was all chaotic. Shopping for clothes was also so much fun. The stores would be so crowded that we hardly had space to turn around.

We might not be celebrating how we did back then, but I love to make sweets and savory snacks and give it to friends.

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sweet bonda -Vada in Coconut Milk

October 20, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Sweet Bonda- soft spongy Urad Dal Vada soaked in sweetened coconut milk. It’s a heirloom recipe of a very culturally rich small community of a district in Tanjore/Thanjavur. Perfect Navratri Sweet.

The memories of this sweet bonda traces back to when I was about 14-15 yrs. Back road drives, our yearly trips with aunts, uncles and cousins.

That year we visited Tanjore, South India. Tanjore is known for many things: It’s paintings, the very popular temples that were build during the Chola empire, and their hospitality. How can I forget the food?! To this day, Thanjavur and it’s food has stuck with me. We stayed at my mom friend’s home. A traditional home with thatched roofs, inviting thinnai and beams that were intricately carved out of teak wood. There are not enough synonyms to describe how varied their food is and how very delicious it is.

Reaching Tanjore past midnight, we went straight to bed after a few minutes of obligatory talk….

Sesame Apple CAke

September 28, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Thinly sliced sweet apples run through this tender, fluffy and buttery Sesame Apple Cake. This apple cake screams simplicity and comfort, a cake that is not overtly sweet and so so satisfying.

That abundance mentality vs scarcity mentality. We are human, we want it all. Recognition, success, respect, money – these are all things that most of us dream of having in abundance on a daily basis.

Steven Covey in his book Seven Habits of highly successful people coined this well.

_________”Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.

The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. The also have a a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.

The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flow out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.”_____

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Sweet Paratha stuffed with nuts

August 27, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Sweet Paratha. Flaky buttery paratha stuffed with nuts, spiced with cardamom and saffron is topped with sweet condensed milk. Divine and irresistible. Perfect as a sweet treat, a great snack, and offering during festivals.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, mom made an array of quick sweet treats for a junk loving household. Although my dad was very health conscious, sweets was his weakness. He would skip a chapathi, but eat that sweet poli, or mom’s classic gulab jamun. Sweets were not a rare appearance like many homes. Mom made her famous sweet dosa, sweet pongal, pal poli, sweet paniyaaram for breakfast, and evening snacks were the classic traditional ones. When special occasions came by, there were the pricey nuts involved and more ghee, of course.

Being a working mom, she never made us feel like she was busy, she made sure to pamper us with the most delicious food and quality family time. I didn’t have to pester her a lot, a request or an order sometimes, and anything we asked was ready in minutes. Although there were so much sweets, she’d balance it out with all the veggies she snuck in into our diets. Smart lady!

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Modak/Kozhukkatai/Sweet dumplings with sesame and coconut

August 18, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Modak/Kozhukkatai, a sweet dumpling served on the auspicious day of the birth of Ganesha, the elephant GOD. It’s nutty, sweet and with a drizzle of ghee, it’s irresistible.

You are what you eat, so eat something sweet!

He sits majestically, adorned with flowers and a spread of Modak, laddos, corn, puffed rice and vada is abundantly piled on a silver platter and placed in front of him. The moment we dread, with tears: mom dad and myself have to bid him goodbye for a year. Dad does the aarti, and we take him to do visarjan( leave him in water}. Sighs. It’s a sad few moments.

Morning starts off real early, 5.00 a.m to be exact. A bath and new clothes, a brass plate in hand, dad and I get ready to go bring Ganesha from commercial street. A place where my grandfather and his father got the custom made Lord that’s made out of a mould, and liberally sprinkled with gold dust….

Walnut chocolate pinwheel cookie

November 13, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

Walnut chocolate cookie recipe is the best for your upcoming winter parties. This Walnut Chocolate Pinwheel Cookie recipe is well loved. Make it for your next cookie exchange or for your holiday place and I promise, it’s going to be a hit. I am thrilled to announce that I am a 2019 Reynolds Kitchens Ambassador.

These “cookies” are very popular for christmas parties . Practically every cookie tray has this delicious treat. I had this years ago at a party and asked the host to send me the recipe and she did. I asked my friend what she called them and she said they were “chocolate nut cookies.” I asked another friend and he said they were “chocolate slices.”

They do remind me of pinwheels too, but I decided to call them Walnut chocolate pinwheel cookie I. think that’s the most accurate description :).There were 2 surprise ingredients: 1 being condensed milk, but the most surprising was the cream cheese in the crust. And what a delicious, flaky crust it is! You will love it!…

Basic Banana Bread with Olive Oil and Maple Syrup

June 8, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

Best Basic Banana Bread Recipe that uses five ingredients, is so easy to make and super soft and moist! The very best way to use up overripe bananas this bread is tender and packed full of flavor!

Banana Bread needs no introduction. It’s cake like, easy and feels decadent and makes for a great treat.

One of my favorite recipe for Banana Bread uses ricotta and is decadent. Although I like the fancy, I make this simple basic banana bread version most of the time.

To make the very basic best banana bread that comes out super moist, it is important to start out with those ugly, overripe bananas! They need to be a dark yellow with lots of browning. The riper the bananas, the more moist your bread will be and the more banana flavor it will have!…

Classic Carrot Cupcake with Baileys Cream Cheese Frosting

April 5, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

These are fluffy, and moist classic carrot cupcake! Made completely from scratch with real grated carrots, these carrot cupcakes are always a hit! Make sure to top them off with the absolute best cream cheese frosting.

Carrot Cupcakes are my little one’s favorite and I’d like to believe that it’s a way to get his daily serving of vegetables. Give him a cupcake and a zucchini muffin for each hand and we’ve got the bottom of the food pyramid covered.

Alright, maybe carrot cupcakes aren’t the best way to get your daily vegetables, but it’s definitely the tastiest, especially when topped off with a very generous swirl of cream cheese frosting. They’re soft, moist, and cheerfully fluffy, these cupcakes taste like springtime and sunny weather (which I could really, really use right now!)….

Gujiya Pie – Modern take on the traditional

March 17, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

Gujiya Pie, a modern take on a beloved Indian treat. Gujiya or deep fried hand pies are a quintessential treat for Diwali and Holi. Gujiya Pie is a unique treat that is easy to make and impressive for a party or take to a potluck.

One of the most awaited festivals and celebrated throughout India is Holi. Holi is celebrated in India by the people to get rejuvenated after the months of winter season. People meet, hug, share sweet, play with color, visit their homes together, eat delicious foods, wear new clothes. It a nice way to form a bond, re kindle friendships and camaraderie. It brings out the child in everyone.

It’s a tradition that dates back millenniums. It is the greatest festival of Hindus indicates the triumph of good over evil. It’s a festival that is celebrated over two days and marks the beginning of spring….