Darkness can be illuminating. My moonless side embraces my guilty pleasures, without making me feel, well, guilty. It tells me that I am of this earth, desirous of the decadent, dark, delicious and some would even say dangerous indulgences. Occasionally, I dive into a trashy, tempestuous romance with an inky-haired pirate hero on its cover. …
There’s no way you can escape Kama’s (the Hindu God of love) arrows wreathed in mango-blossoms. Stories of his hapless, lovestruck victims, which include gods, goddesses, emperors and subjects alike litter the pages of Hindu mythology and literature. He chose his weapon wisely. The mango’s power of seduction is legendary. To us Hindus, it is a deliciously apt metaphor for knowledge, beauty, bountiful blessings, sexuality and fertility. We festoon our doorways with fragrant…
Coffee does better when there’s chocolate involved. Their chemistry heightens conversation, cocoons us in the moment within which, the world becomes a playground of possibilities. Adventures, dalliances, inventions, alliances, partnerships and other life connections are forged, and memories are born which we continue to savour long after. Even everyday cuppas are so deeply etched into our routine that the day seems amiss if we deviate from our coffe habit. Sitting…
Love is a four-letter word. And like life, soul, fate or luck, it sits light on the tongue but can be heavy on the heart. Somewhat like whipped cream. Love and patisserie are all fluffy pastry and clouds of cream till you get greedy and gulp down more than your share. And in no time the floating pillows of cirrus are transformed into load-bearing cumulonimbus and your stomach feels denser than the…
Birthdays and bitter-sweet memories….one doesn’t exist without the other; a package deal if you like. Some birthdays are keenly awaited – milestones marked by big celebrations with family, friends and in some cases the entire village. Others sneak up on you as you go about your daily business, making you stop albeit briefly, to raise a toast and tick off another year on the calendar. And then there are birthdays…
Every time I have a dinner party I rummage through my recipe collection with grandiose plans of making decadent, rich and completely over-the-top desserts – rich cheesecakes, trifles topped with Himalayan mounds of whipped cream, syrupy gulab jamuns….the list is endless. But each time, I chicken out as my mental calorie counter kachinnnnggs crazily and poof! all thought of sweet gluttony vanish faster than I can say “Cake!”…
Wooing our sweet but finicky landlady was the motive behind baking these quick cookies. Just back from a long holiday, I was taking my time settling back into the daily routine, when our nice but neatnick landlady decided to drop in since she was passing through town. Despite being a fellow neatnick, I found myself experiencing an anxiety attack. After a few deep breaths and talking to myself to calm…
I know this doesn’t look like a cupcake all gloriously puffed and pretty but it is…a cupcake with lots of fruit and the crunch of walnuts. So it’s actually a fruitcake masquerading as a cupcake but it’s moist and so light; almost like a cloud of fruit (not dense and heavy like many fruitcakes can be). It also has very little flour which is there only to give the fruit…
Well into Friday evening, was assailed by an intense craving for something sweet but didn’t want to spend too much time making an elaborate dessert. A quick flip through my recipe collection revealed this warm and crunchy pear crisp with a twist, and what a happy coincidence that I had a kilo of fresh blushing pears just bought the day before. Chopping the pear is the only real effort ,…
Bananas, toffee and cinnamon…..three very good friends. They compliment each other beautifully and bring rich comfort to this luxurious cheesecake. I don’t make cheesecakes very often because of their calorific overload, but they are great for a party since a small slice goes a long way.…