Bye Bye 2014 ~ Eggless Plum Cake

Tick tock tick tock ... The countdown clock is ticking down. Its time to bid adieu to 2014 and welcome 2015. Looking back at the year's best times, I move ahead with memories of happy moments to be treasured for years to come and welcome year 2015 with new hopes and aspirations for brighter future. 

                                Wishing all of you A Very Happy New Year 2015 !
                           "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
                                                 whispering, it will be happier "
                                                      ~ Alfred Lort Tennyson ~



So here comes my cake for this year, a delicious eggless plum cake using sour cream. The original recipe is by Farrukh which you can read here. I prepared it for the first time following her recipe to the core [the first pic]. Later I decided to experiment by including wheat flour, brown sugar to make it more healthy (seen in below pics).


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Eggless Non-Alcoholic Fruit Cake - Merry Christmas !

Christmas fruit cake is a 'must have' cake for holiday celebrations. It was always a wish to bake this cake but my understanding that the dry fruits which are integral part of it needs soaking in rum/ brandy, so till date I never made an attempt. Few days back I came across Cheryl's recipe on baking group. She had mentioned using non-alcoholic substitute for soaking fruits. That led me to hunt for other recipes which used non-alcoholic substitutes like apple juice, orange juice. I followed Cheryl's tip of using grape juice because as per her tips grape juice is good alternative to brandy. Below recipe is loosely adapted from here but before that you can check Cheryl's page for Christmas Fruit Cake - tips and more and then proceed with baking this cake instantly. 





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Choco Crinkle Cookies

A must try cookies which I had bookmarked long long back when this recipe was doing rounds on FB baking group . Recipe by Cheryl from KitchenKemistry which you can check here. I got a chance to bake them this holiday season. If you don't have ripened bananas apples can be substituted in the form of applesauce. The below recipe is with applesauce.




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Eggless Butterless Dates Cake - Mini Bundt Cakes With White Chocolate Glaze ~ Happy Holidays

A simple to prepare cake that had caught attention and was prepared by many bloggers as well as FB foodie group members, me too couldn't escape this recipe adapted from here. The original recipe mentions number of dates, but I have weighed the quantity of dates [deseeded] that were used to prepare this cake [ since the size of dates vary from place to place]. The amount of oil has been reduced in the below recipe, and white sugar has been substituted with brown sugar making it a low cal version. I made them in mini bundt cake pans [inspired by my friend Jay] but you may use regular baking pan or any other shape baking pan.




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Achari Chana Pulao

Pickles make a great and delicious side dish when eating Indian food. We all know they enhance the taste of food and excite our taste buds. So when I read Tarla Dalal's recipe to prepare a delicious chickpeas pulao using mango pickle, the achari twist was interesting and I immediately tried it. During my initial attempts I tried with basmati rice and mango pickle itself. Since then this dish has been regularly cooked at my place. Last weekend there was this urge to prepare and eat chana pulao. The pickle was mixed pickle that was store bought and so I just decided to adapt TD's recipe and try out the below variation. I have used sona masoori rice and mixed vegetable pickle here. Also I didn't use pressure cooker but prepared it in open pan.




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Bhenda Upkari / Simple Okra Stirfry

Okra or Bhendi, being a slimy vegetable doesn't appeal to everyone's tastebuds. Not just that but the sticky sap that oozes out from the ends of this veggie can really discourage a novice cook and this happened to me. Both of us, me and hubby loved to eat it but for many months after marriage I avoided buying it. Slowly, as I got to know about different cooking techniques as well as tips to minimize or eliminate the sliminess, I dared to buy it regularly and the only dish I would attempt those days was Bhenda upkari [Konkani cuisine], simple yet delicious side dish to go with rice and dal. Below is how you prepare this stirfry.



Here you go to read about the tips while cooking okra. Pick up the tip that you are comfortable and gives the best results for cooking this veggie.


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