Saffron Latte

Saffron, one of the most expensive spices in the world, was used a few thousand years ago by Indian queens to decorate their forehead with motifs such as sun, moon, crescent moon, or star. It was ground into a paste along with ghee and used as kumkum, hence the name kumkum flower/ kunguma poo. This tradition of applying kumkum is still practiced by almost every Hindu woman even today. Nowadays we use turmeric powder instead of saffron for preparing kumkum powder, and we prepare a beverage, Saffron Latte, using saffron.

Classic Blackgram Porridge

Oil bath is almost a forgotten weekly routine followed by every South Indian family until 3 or 4 decades ago. Surprisingly it offers pretty much the same benefits of Ayurvedic massage. But people nowadays prefer to visit Ayurvedic clinic for massaging therapy, and spend a few hours & a few bucks there. Most of us take oil bath at home only as a religious ritual on the day of Deepavali festival every year.

Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Despite the fact that peanuts can cause ama (indigestion), my father, an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi, encouraged us to snack on peanuts even at a young age mainly for 3 reasons: Peanuts are the only legumes that grow underground hence the rich sources of micro-nutrients than any other legumes; they are beneficial to vegetarians for being the greatest sources of plant-based protein; it is possible to rid of ama while taking peanuts. Raw peanuts and roasted peanuts cause ama but not the steamed peanuts, so we can avoid taking raw peanuts altogether. Instead, we can take roasted peanuts along with jaggery, some spices, or herbs that aid in getting rid of ama. Here I have prepared a peanut butter using jaggery and added it into my mug cake.

Tapioca Pearls Payasam

Indians usually celebrate every new beginning by distributing sweet boondi laddu. We follow a tradition of serving sweet boondi to our guests to celebrate the arrival of a new born in our family. I usually make a payasam during every festival and special occasions. On this New Year I follow the same tradition of serving tapioca pearls payasam garnished with sweet boondhi (chickpea flour pearls) to my family.

Ice Apple Pudding

Ice apple pudding (nungu payasam) is a delightful dessert nowadays featured in the menu of premier restaurants here to treat the people with impeccable taste. Lately it is also served in the wedding banquets particularly in South India. Ice apple pudding is a creamy dreamy dessert with enticing flavors of saffron, cardamom and ice apple (nungu or palm fruits) considered as a perfect finish to a sumptuous feast. You may click here for my other payasam recipes.

Indian Popsicles

Hot sunny days always remind me the summer vacations spent during my childhood days indulging in ice pops (Popsicle) like paal-ice, semiya ice, javvarisi ice, thengai ice, pazha ice, panchamirtha ice, etc. Indian popsicles are so flavourful that we could find delicious chunks of native fruits like mango, grated coconut, chopped nuts, slimy tapioca pearls or smooth vermicelli while relishing chilled pops. Nowadays it is hard to find ice pops with Indian flavours, those milky ice pops are replaced by creamy ice cream, chocolate sticks, etc.

Creamy Peas Masala

Green peas masala is a creamy Indian curry particularly enjoyed by children as it does not have sharp pungent flavors. Nevertheless, this scrumptious curry meets the dietary requirements of children; the protein in green peas ensures their growth, shallots give them the immunity from disease causing germs and fresh coriander leaves loaded with iron make them active.

Golden Milk with Pepper

I remember drinking Golden Milk for the first time when I was…