Tag: Saffron

Meethe Chawal | Saffron Rice | Kesar Pulao

Sweet and fragrant, simple saffron rice or meethe chawal
09/27/2024 12:50:07 PM vindhyadesai

A comeback to blogging after a long hiatus (really long) is difficult. As I sit here at my table and type I am trying to find inspiration from the innumerable food photos I have clicked and the efforts that went into it. Trying to find words and ideas to write a good introduction to this post after a long time makes me think about those initial days of blogging 2016. Now that little ‘S’ is at school full time I will be able to give time to food blogging. It’s been so long and here we are going to learn a very simple dish, sweet saffron rice or meethe chawal. ... “Meethe Chawal | Saffron Rice | Kesar Pulao”

Eggless Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Cake Recipes

Soft, delicious, Parsi special, eggless mawa cake
06/05/2020 4:23:29 PM vindhyadesai

Who doesn’t love a piece of well made soft cake! I am yet to meet someone who does not like cakes. Cakes are made in different ways with different flavours all over the world. Birthdays and celebrations are incomplete without cakes. So today we are going to learn to make eggless mawa cake, it’s my take of the very famous Parsi mawa cake.
Eggless mawa cake will melt in the mouth owing to its ingredients. The most important one being the mawa or khoya. Milk solids in a cake, what is not to like! It is a very rich cake and equally decadent and delicious! I have used my homemade khoya recipe for this cake and it is simply out of this world. ... “Eggless Mawa Cake | Parsi Mawa Cake | Cake Recipes”

Sweet Potato Halwa | Genasina Halwa | Sweet Recipes

Creamy and delicious, healthy and fibrous sweet potato halwa
04/26/2020 11:35:01 AM vindhyadesai

Sweet potato is such a versatile root vegetable. It is nutritious and healthy and it does not have an overpowering smell. Hence the dish, sweet potato halwa or shakarkandi ka halwa. Halwa originated in the Middle East and travelled to India. And we make all sorts of halwa, carrot halwa, lauki halwa, beetroot halwa, badam halwa etc.
Last year for Holi I was looking for a very simple sweet to make along with Thandai and rose milk. Sweet potato halwa came to the rescue. I had never made it and anyway I had to photoshoot it, so a delicious halwa was made! It was quite easy to make and we loved the soft creamy texture. ... “Sweet Potato Halwa | Genasina Halwa | Sweet Recipes”

Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani | Veg Dum Biryani

Delicious weekend lunch, fresh vegetables in a gravy, Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani
05/11/2019 9:34:10 PM vindhyadesai

So after the recipes for biryani chawal and biryani masala, here is the grand entrant on the blog. Like a royal with royality flowing in its every grain, Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani. We do not make biryanis at home very frequently, it is rich and royal, so once in a while it makes it worth it!
First let’s see what a dum biryani is, dum means cooking in its own steam. All the biryani layers are made and then ‘dum’ is given to it. Getting the biryani chawal consistency is very important to make a delicious Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani. Flavours are so layered and so deep, you need to savour this dish in a royal way – the shahi/nawabi andaz as they say! ... “Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani | Veg Dum Biryani”

Rice Kheer | Chawal Ki Kheer | Kheer Recipes

A delicious thick creamy dessert, North Indian style rice kheer or chawal ki kheer
04/22/2019 7:00:21 PM vindhyadesai

A creamy rice kheer is pure bliss! It can be dessert, a sweet, sometimes a light lunch or snack. Ok, don’t tell anyone, it is absolutely to die for! Once in a while, rice kheer or chawal ki kheer for lunch is fine, yes let’s say it is 🙂
For this rice kheer, I have made it North Indian style using fragrant basmati rice. Rice is slowly cooked in milk and then sweetened with sugar. It is then simmered until rice cooks completely and the sugar gets fully absorbed. ... “Rice Kheer | Chawal Ki Kheer | Kheer Recipes”

Basundi | Homemade Basundi | Sweet Recipes

Creamy Basundi with lightly crunchy dry nuts and delicate saffron
03/25/2019 3:45:55 PM vindhyadesai

This month, March’19 Food Of Interest completes 3 full years. I did post the 1st post on March 4th 2016 but I would like to think March and April 2016 were the founding months of FOI. It laid the foundations, setting up the website, finding a nice format for the posts, easy to read and make recipes, indeed it is a special month! With over 15K users per month I thank my readers for trying my recipes 🙂 So here it is and to make it even more statistically special, the 400th post on FOI, on a sweet note with “Basundi“.
Creamy milk sweets are too good to ignore. Imagine thickened sweetened creamy milk loaded with pistachios, almonds, cashews, with subtle fragrance of elaichi. Makes you go into a different world, a world filled with creaminess of milk and nuttiness of rich nuts! This rich introduction is for a traditional Maharashtra and Karnataka special sweet dish, “Basundi”. ... “Basundi | Homemade Basundi | Sweet Recipes”

Badam Poori | Paaka Poori | Sweet Recipes

Delicious and decadent, loaded with hidden oozy sweetness in layers, badam poori
11/03/2018 4:18:54 PM vindhyadesai

Crisp pooris dunked in sugar syrup, flavoured with almonds, elaichi and kesar/saffron, sounds mouth-watering? And why wouldn’t it! Crisp oozy badam poori is my indulgence, something that makes me want to go into the kitchen and dig in! A single bite and you are in trouble because you can’t stop 🙂
Badam poori is very easy to make, needs a bit of time and patience though. It has a few steps to it but totally worth it. Badam poori makes for great sweet during festivals like Varamahalakshmi pooja, Deepavali and more. If you are looking for a lighter sweet instead of big ones like bele holige/obbattu, kayi obbattu etc. then look no more. These delicious, decadent badam poori is your answer. ... “Badam Poori | Paaka Poori | Sweet Recipes”

Kesar Elaichi Peda | Kesar Peda | Sweet Recipes

Melt in the mouth, fragrant and favourite, kesar elaichi peda
10/30/2018 8:42:58 PM vindhyadesai

As a kid I was always fascinated by big sweet shops. The idea of tasty, succulent sweets all lined up behind a counter makes one drool isn’t it? I have always loved pedas, there are all shapes of pedas, round, square, oval or random shaped. And the flavours, simply superb, kesar, badam, kaju, pista, elaichi, gulab and what not. The best ones for me are the elaichi peda or kesar elaichi peda with a distinct peda stamp/chaap.
Kesar elaichi peda is a standard when it comes to Indian sweets. The shape, the texture and the taste, all of it a perfect combination. Whether from bakeries, sweet stalls or from milk parlours (how many of you buy kesar elaichi peda from Nandini shops in Karnataka?) ... “Kesar Elaichi Peda | Kesar Peda | Sweet Recipes”

Badam Kheer | Badami Payasa | Kheer Recipes

Blanched chopped nutty almonds in fragrant, smooth and thick milk, badam kheer
10/15/2018 10:44:47 PM vindhyadesai

Anything that involves dry nuts and milk is a sure-shot hit combination. Dry nuts like badam/almonds or cashews add richness and a lot of crunch to a dish. Especially if it is a sweet dish like this badam kheer. Badam kheer has a rich base of badam/almonds of course. Read-on what goes into this kheer and don’t forget to try it 🙂
So, as I was saying badam kheer has badam and along with that, it has kesar/saffron and elaichi. They make this badam kheer really flavourful and you do not need a lot of sugar at all. It’s best to use full cream milk and not skimmed milk. The fats in the milk are definitely required to make the badam kheer thick and flavourful. ... “Badam Kheer | Badami Payasa | Kheer Recipes”

Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera | Kesari Recipes

Bright yellow and fragrant, super special and a favourite sheera, pineapple kesari
10/08/2018 1:55:13 PM vindhyadesai

Kesari is a very commonly made sweet all across India. It is like a halwa but has a league of its own. Kesari or kesari bhaat or sheera is made with rava as the base. It can then be laced with different flavours like kesar, elaichi etc. The liquid added can be either milk or water, if making it with milk, check out my haal kesari recipe. Here I have made a pineapple kesari!
Kesari can be enriched with extra flavours by adding a fruit or fruits into the mix. Pineapple, apple, mango, banana can go into making kesari. Pineapple kesari is one of the most famous ones amongst the lot! It is rich as it is made with pure desi ghee and loaded with cashews and raisins. ... “Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera | Kesari Recipes”