Usually there is a way to fix it – I take a quick walk with a friend and pick up a small pudding cup.
Or I remember there’s chocolate in my bag. Or maybe some blessed soul has brought mithai to office.

But on the days when there is nothing sweet around, I’m a little like this:

So I’ve always been on the lookout for something healthy + sweet that I can keep by my desk for those pesky sugar cravings.

And you’ll be please to know – I have found it, my sweet peas.

And here they are.

Made with just dark chocolate and an assortment of dried fruit and nuts, they’re the perfect healthy sweet fix.

You can experiment with what you want to put on the discs – I did coconut, almonds, cashews, prunes and raisins.

Once you have the ingredients, all you have to do is happily plonk the dry fruit and nuts over the chocolate. Or you could arrange them with precision and artistry. Just have fun with it!

Mix and match to make each one look different.

They’re the perfect size when you want a hit of sweetness.

Make some now!

2-ingredient mini dark chocolate discs
Adapted from: Undressed Skeleton

Prep time: 5 mins, plus setting
Makes: 12

Ingredients:

125 g dark chocolate
a handful of your favourite dried fruits and nuts

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or in a double boiler. Line a tray with some grease-proof paper.
2. Using a tablespoon, scoop out melted chocolate and create small circles on the paper, flattening gently as you go. Add a mix of dried fruits and nuts over the circles and leave to set in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Remove gently from the paper and eat, or store in a sealed container in the fridge.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT*

Have you guys heard of Food Panda? A website that allows you to order food online, these guys have scouted your city and put together the menus of hundreds of restaurants in your area. It’s super easy to use, really fast and they’ve even listed places with discounts and special vouchers together for your convenience. Pretty cool, right?

Food Panda wants to offer 6 lucky readers a 150/- INR voucher to use the next time you’re hungry! All you have to do visit Food Panda, and tell me which restaurant you’d love to order from. Yup, that simple.

I’ll pick 6 winners by a random draw and announce them in my next post

Have a fun week ahead, lovelies!

The bright orange colour?
The happy crunch it makes when it meets your teeth?
The gentle sweetness?

I do.

These days I often just wash and eat them as they are – a mobile snack.

On other days when I have more energy, I cut them into sticks and eat them with a yummy yogurt-mustard-garlic dip.

So I decided it was time to use this bright and happy vegetable in a cake.

Not a carrot cake smothered in so much cream-cheese frosting that you can’t taste the carrot any more.

No way. In this cake, the carrot is the star.

It’s also really healthy and good for you. So reach for that third slice like you own it, sistah.

There’s something so happy about the colour orange, isn’t there?

Look at this freshly squeezed orange juice. Sunshine

I made one large cake and 2 mini cakes with this recipe.

The cake isn’t too sweet at all, and it’s crazy moist.

Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a whirl.

Carrot and olive oil cake
Recipe adapted from: The Diabetes cooking book

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 90 mins
Serves: 10

Ingredients:

250 g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
250 ml olive oil (I used Leonardo Olive oil)
100 g brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp honey
juice and zest of 1 large orange, plus juice of one more
400 g carrots, roughly grated
50 g walnuts, roughly chopped
butter, for greasing

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160º C. Place the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda in a large bowl and mix to combine.
2. In another bowl, mix together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, honey, and juice of 1 orange. Add this to the flour mixture and mix well until smooth. Add the orange zest, carrots, and walnuts and mix to evenly distribute in the batter.
3. Grease a 9-inch round cake tin with butter and pour the batter in. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until set and firm.
4. Remove the cake from the oven, and while it is hot, pierce it all over with a toothpick. Drizzle the juice of 1 orange all over the cake. Let it cool in its tin and absorb the juice, before turning out onto a wire rack or serving plate. Eat warm.

Think about it. Bite-sized pieces of veggies and chicken covered in a creamy sauce and topped with a flaky, buttery, crisp puff-pastry cover.

Soo good.

But all that cream and butter, you say?

I hear you, my darlings.

Which is why I’ve given these pot pies a healthy spin. Don’t worry – they still taste as comforting and creamy. But a touch healthier.

I substituted the cream with yogurt which allowed me to retain the creaminess minus the fat. Also, I chose to load up on the 1 vegetable I used because I love it.

The zucchini-chicken filling is simply flavoured and the puff pastry is store-bought so it’s super easy to put together.

If you’re a puff-pastry purist, and you only make it yourself and wouldn’t dream of using store-bought, I can only say this:

If you’re a baker, I agree you should know how to make it, but once you do, you realise HOW much easier it is to buy it! And it’s tastes just as good, if not better

Healthy chicken and zucchini pot pies

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Makes: 3-4 mini pot pies

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
100 g cooked chicken, shredded (or boiled with salt and pepper, then shredded)
1 zucchini, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
100 g yogurt
butter, for greasing
flour, for dusting
1 sheet puff pastry

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the onion and garlic. Stir for a few minutes on medium heat and then throw in the herbs and chicken, mixing well. Add the zucchini, season, and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Take off the flame and stir in the yogurt, mixing to coat everything well. Leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180º C. Grease 3-4 small ramekins lightly with butter. Divide the cooked mixture between the ramkeins.
3. Dust a clean surface with some flour and roll out the puff pastry. Use a cutter or a bowl to cut out 3-4 circles the size of the ramekin tops, and then use to cover the mixture in the ramekins. Seal the edges by pressing in a downward motion with a fork. If you have leftover bits of pastry, cut out shapes and stick over the top. Like this heart

Make a slit on the top of each pie and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden. I switched to the grill setting for the last 5 minutes and got a lovely crusty top. Remove from the oven and eat warm.

There’s a magical feeling in the air. Everything works just the way it’s supposed to.

You’ll find yourself smiling.

And you’ll know because the cake will bake evenly, and to just the right degree – firm, yet soft.

The frosting will almost whip itself up into a fluffy bowl of creamy, delicious goodness.

And when you cut a slice and taste it, you’ll know you’ve been given special baking blessings.

This is what happened with this wonderful cake.

Look how the yummy whipped frosting peeps out so sweetly.

The cake itself was buttery and soft, with a hint of cinnamon and chocolate. The frosting, loaded with Baileys was sweet and so decadent.

And look, just look at this slice.

Come to Momma.

If you love Baileys, you will love this. It’s an explosion of subtle flavours in your mouth- sometimes coffee, sometimes sugary, sometimes chocolaty.

It’s really quite simple to make too! Give it a whirl and see

The Ulimate Baileys Cake

Largely adapted from: Irish Genealogy Toolkit

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 45-50 mins
Serves: 10

Ingredients:

For the cake

100 g butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaped tsp cocoa powder
175 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 caster sugar
2 eggs, separated
120 ml Baileys (any flavour)
a big handful of chocolate chips

For the frosting

75 g butter, softened
175 g icing sugar, plus a little more if needed
2 tbsp Baileys

For the icing top

100 g icing sugar
2 tsp Baileys, plus a little more if needed

Method:

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180º C and grease a 6 inch round tin (with a removable base) with butter. Sift together the the salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder, flour, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Whisk the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix well again. Now add the flour mixture and the Baileys alternately, in small quantities, mixing well until you have a smooth batter.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Mix one spoon of the stiff whites into the batter and stir vigorously. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold into the batter very gently.
4. Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool, remove and leave on a wire rack, before slicing in half horizontally.

For the frosting

Whisk together all the ingredients, adding a little more sugar if you like it stiffer. Set aside.

For the icing top

Mix together the ingredients until you have a sludgy icing mixture. Set aside.

To assemble

1. Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate. Spread the frosting evenly over this layer, and cover with the top layer.
2. Pour the icing over the top layer, and immediately scatter over the chocolate chips. Cut into slices and serve.

Thank you my baking fairies. Please make my house your home

It also left behind a lasting tradition of Mughal food – food fit for kings.

The last emperor in particular, Bahadur Shah Zafar was known for his love of food. His royal kitchen witnessed food made with dry fruits, herbs and spices. Fresh fruits and vegetables were often prepared with meat, while unusual ingredients like orange blossom, jasmine flowers and pomegranate juice were used in special preparations.

To celebrate this very distinct cuisine, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi has an ongoing food festival called The Last Mughal – food from the kitchens of Bahadur Shah.

Sid, Aishwarya, Christine and I went to Baywatch, the all-day dining restaurant at WelcomHotel Sheraton for a taste.

There was an elaborate buffet (lots of choices for both vegetarians and non vegetarians), but here’s a look at what I enjoyed.

The Mahi Badam Qaliya was a rich dish of sole shaped into small balls with a slivered almond centre.

The Murg Dilruba was chicken cooked in yogurt and spices with dry fruits. What was interesting was that the chef told us the chicken was marinated and then cooked in the marinated juices without the addition of anything else.

I really liked the slow-cooked Subz Haleem. Being a strong supporter of the non-vegetarian version of this dish, I myself was suprised by how similar it tasted to the meatier version.

Tursh-e-paneer was a delicate, white almond gravy in which sat melt-in-the-mouth paneer rolls stuffed with dried plums and spring onions.

The Yakhani pulao was a good accompaniment to all the dishes, as was the crispy Garlic naan that was brought to us at the table.

There were also 3 types of raita – beetroot (sweet), cucumber (fresh), and Bhurrani (spicy). All three were distinctly flavoured and very refreshing.

Here’s a look at my plate. As you can see, it was a complete meat feast.

Another dish I enjoyed was the Qeema Hari Mirch, although I thought it looked and tasted like chicken and not lamb as the chef mentioned.

To end, we had a delightfully creamy Phirni – not too heavy and not too sweet. Just right.

If you want to try these dishes and more, here are the deets:

Venue- Baywatch, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi
Date & Time – Dinner (Buffet)- 15th-21st April
Price- 1750/- plus taxes

Lazy afternoons? Sun-kissed tables? Family time?
Mimosas? Bellinis? Bloody Marys?
Cheese platters? Fresh bread? Garden-fresh salads?

Brunch is interpreted in many unique ways across the world, but it usually is a languorous meal between 11 am and 3 pm, involving all kinds of food and drinks.

This is why I was intrigued by the idea of the Sunday Brunch & Sundowner at the 24/7 Restaurant in The Lalit, New Delhi – which starts in the afternoon and melts, most blissfully, into late evening.

Let me paint you a picture.

You begin at 1 pm.

Start with a colourful salad. How do you like kiwi, mandarin and beetroot?

Now a nibble of sushi.

How about a crumbling of stinky blue cheese?

Perfect with a warm spinach bun.

Let’s wash this down with some champagne, shall we?

Now, maybe we step out for a while. I love Alfresco seating on a pleasant day

Sausages, lamb, fish, paneer, kebabs – all barbecued up in front of us.

Oh you know what I’m missing? A plump prawn.

Step back inside for a slice of pizza now?

Or a swift slice from the revolving shawarma stand?

The chef can rustle up a Chinese stir fry just for you.

Or would you prefer Indian tawa veggies?

Maybe you feel like the creamiest pototoes ever?

With a piece of chicken, a side of pork, some button mushrooms, and some crispy skinned fish?

This place does the BEST salsa. These are the four types on offer: Pineapple (my fav), cucumber, sun-dried tomato, and regular.

Time for a another glass of bubbly.

Now we shall sit outside for a while. Don’t we look happy?

Gossip and conversations with old friends who are family are an essential brunch component.

Dessert time! Fruit tarts, carrot cake, pistachio cake, or the creamiest panna cotta you’ve ever eaten. Once of each, I say!

We’ll wind down with some green tea please. And suddenly- it’s 6 pm.

What a wonderful, wonderful way to spend a Sunday. The brunch price at The Lalit also includes the use of the pool (perfect for hot summer days) and a complimentary pedicure/manicure at the hotel spa- Rejuve (really takes a relaxed brunch to the next level!).

Head over to The Lalit, New Delhi, Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place for a blissfully lazy and decadently delicious Sunday

Prices: 3000 +taxes for the Alcohol buffet, 2200 +taxes for the Non-Alcohol buffet, and 1500 +taxes for Kids.
Timing: 1 pm – 6:30 pm
Venue: 24/7 restaurant and Al fresco
For reservations, call + 91 11 4444 7777, Ext. 331

I have a thing for chefs. And I have Pinterest board to prove it.

But I have an even bigger thing for chefs with no hair or not much hair. Yes, I’m weird.

So I don’t need to tell you what happened when I met this man.

David Rocco, for those of you who live under a rock, is a fabulous Italian chef. He’s done several tv shows, but my favourite is called David Rocco’s Dolce Vita. In it, he roams the Italian countryside with his friends, family, and miscellaneous cute animals, cooking up honest, fresh, home-style Italian food.

David is currently in India shooting a brand new tv show that’ll be on air later this year. ITC hotels have been hosting him and I had the fantastic opportunity to meet him twice!

The first meeting where I was all goo-goo eyed happened at ITC Rajputana in Jaipur.

You can read about it here.

The second meeting (where I was still goo-goo eyed) happened just last week at ITC Maurya in Delhi.

A group of Delhi food bloggers had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy an intimate sit-down lunch with David Rocco at Westview in ITC Maurya.

We ate some delicious Italian food (all David’s own recipes) paired with Fratelli wines.

Here’s a look at the yummies.

First course was Rigatoni con Pomodori e Melanzane (Neapolitan style pasta with eggplant and Mozzarella sauce) paired with Fratelli Sauvignon Blanc.

The pasta was an example of how just a few simple ingredients can result in a delicious, wholesome dish. The sauce was the right mix of cheese and tomato, with small bits of fried eggplant.

Second course was Saltimbocca di Pollo (Chicken with prosciutto and sage, cooked in Marsala), beet risotto, and baby carrots with cilantro, paired with Fratelli Sangiovese.

The pretty pink beetroot risotto was perfectly done – the right amount of bite and full of flavour. David was a little skeptical about whether we’d find it underdone to our taste, but we assured him we loved it.

To end, we had Torta Caprese (flourless chocolate cake) and Zabaglione con Frutti di Bosco (mixed fruits with espresso zabaglione). I enjoyed the dense cake and the bits of almond that I happily discovered in every bite. The zabaglione however, was a bit too egg-y for my taste, though I loved the coffee flavour.

Through the meal, David shared his experiences with us in his signature candid, lovable style.

We chatted about olive oil in India and Italy. He told us how some working professionals in Italy, take a week off work and go olive picking. They then get paid for their labour in top-notch olive oil which they use for the rest of the year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have something like that here? I love the idea.

He also spoke about the importance of making the best of the ingredients you have. David himself often shops at the “back of the store” where you get ingredients that have been on the shelf for a few days, and are past their prime. For things like tomatoes that have to go into a sauce or eggplant that can be fried, you can use produce that is not in the front of the store (and the most expensive). It’s such a great way to discourage waste and learn how to cook delicious food with whatever is at hand. I just love the fact that a world-famous chef, who can have his pick of the best ingredients, still chooses to do this.

These days there is much talk about making your own pasta – so I asked David what he thought about it. I learnt from him, that making fresh pasta isn’t something that is always preferred. It works for some dishes, but for some, dry pasta is certainly preferable. If store-bought pasta is good enough for David Rocco, it’s good enough for me baby!

I can’t wait for his show to be aired in India – it’s going to be awesome.

A big thank you to ITC for this wonderful opportunity.

And thank you David, for being so warm and wonderful.

We need more chefs like you- chefs who are passionate about their food, and want to share that knowledge.

Oh one last thing. David Rocco gives the best hugs ever. Just look

Here’s a collage Sangeeta made for me. (I love her btw) You can see how smitten I am

This year I’m not at home with my family, and so I’m a little sad.

If I was home I’d be in Church with everyone. There would be a happy family lunch, and I’d most definitely get an Easter egg! (Mom called and told me mine has been bought and I’ll get it the next time I meet them )

So I needed some joy. Some colour. Some happy way to celebrate Easter.

This is what happened.

Aren’t they the cutest darn things you’ve seen?

All you have to do is soak hard-boiled egg-white halves in any food colour you want.

I did four colours.

The yolks are mixed with yogurt and mustard. I decided to lay off mayonnaise just to be healthier. It tastes wonderfully creamy and the minced garlic gives it even more flavour.

I think I didn’t make quite enough. These things are so cute and so delicious, you can very easily eat a ton of them without realizing it. They’d make such adorable appetizers for a party too!

I had so much fun making these.

The next time you need a pick-me-up, a pop of colour, or just have an egg craving, make these. You’ll love them

Coloured devilled eggs

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 12-15 mins
Makes: 8 pieces

Ingredients:

4 eggs
red, purple, yellow, and green food colour
3-4 tbsp thick yogurt
1 tsp mustard paste
1/2 tsp minced garlic flakes
salt and pepper to taste
sliced black olives, optional

Method:

1. Boil the eggs for 12-15 minutes. You need them to be hard-boiled. Once cool, peel off the shells and slice the eggs in half. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl. Carefully rinse the whites, and place them on tissue to dry.
2. Mix 1 teaspoon of each food colour with about 50ml water in 4 separate bowls. Add 2 egg-white halves into each bowl, and leave for 10 minutes. Try to use small bowls so the eggs are completely submerged for an even colour.
3. Add the yogurt, mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper to the egg yolks and mix to a smooth paste. Place this mixture in a zip lock bag, pushing it to one corner. Tie it up tightly with a rubber band.
4. Remove the egg-white halves from the colour and dry on tissue. Once dry, snip the corner of the zip lock bag, and pipe the mixture into each egg-white half in a swirl. Top with a piece of black olive if you like, and serve.

Happy Easter! Have a wonderful day and stay blessed

My most favourite summer ingredient has to be yogurt. You can eat it in/with anything and be refreshed by its wonderful cool freshness.

Curd rice. Yum.
Lassi. Oh yes.
Raita. So good.
Frosting. Wait whaaaa?

You heard right, baby. Yogurt frosting. That’s where it’s at.

Here’s what happened. I had to make cupcakes for my gym friends. I knew super-rich wouldn’t cut it. It had to be healthy.

So I pulled out some thick yogurt and played around with it.

The result? A beautiful, light, airy, not-too-sweet, healthy frosting, that went perfectly with my mini chocolate cupcakes!

The best part? It was done in 30 seconds. No joke.

Now you can lick the frosting bowl clean guilt-free

30-second healthy yogurt frosting

Prep time: 30 secs
Makes: enough to frost 40 mini or 20 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:

200 g thick yogurt
50 g icing sugar, sifted, plus more if needed
1 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla extract
a few drops of food colour, optional

Method:

1. Mix the yogurt and icing sugar together until there are no lumps. Add the vanilla and stir again. You can add any food colour of your choice and mix till you have an even colour.
2. If you like your frosting quite stiff, mix in a little more sugar and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up. If you like it looser, slather onto cupcakes immediately and enjoy!

If you’re in India, and love frozen yogurt, you’d be interested to know that Chef at Large, one of the best online food networks (my favourite one anyway!) just announced the results of the 2013 Indian Frozen Yogurt Market survey. Some really interesting results came up, including the fact that most consumers feel taste is more important than health, and Cocoberry is the most preferred yogurt brand in India (it is kinda awesome- I love it too!). For more details on the survey, check out: http://chefatlarge.in/surveys/yogurt

Here’s a look at the cupcake box I packed. The purple ones are regular buttercream (for those who aren’t health freaks) and the pretty pink ones are yogurt

I love their versatility – how you can bake, fry, boil, steam, and poach them. I love how they add their wonderful creaminess to everything you drop them in. They make soups yummier, pies glossier, sandwiches dreamier, and no self-respecting dessert is ever egg-less.

Or so I thought.

I’m the first person to stick up my nose at “egg-less” cakes. I view them with great suspicion, kinda how I view math.

But a couple of days ago, I had to bake an egg-less cake. It was for my cousin’s birthday and some of her friends don’t eat eggs. (I need to meet them and set them straight.)

I wanted this cake to be gooey and moist. And that’s quite the opposite of what egg-less desserts usually are.

Then I chanced upon this blog. One look at the picture and I knew I had to try it.

The batter was the first sign this was going to be good.

The cake came out crazy moist and utterly chocolately. I could not believe that it had no eggs. How was this possible?

I think the magic ingredients are the yogurt and the coffee mix. Whatever it is, this has become my favourite chocolate cake and you’ve got to try it.

Sorry, eggs. I still love you. I promise.

Egg-less chocolate cake
Largely adapted from: Maria’s menu

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 35-40 mins
Serves: 10

Ingredients:

For the cake

220 g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
6 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
165 g sugar
110 ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
1 tbsp strong coffee powder dissolved in 50 ml boiling water
50 ml milk
50 g yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting

60 g butter, at room temperature
2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
150 g icing sugar, plus more if needed
2 tbsp hot milk, plus more if needed
1 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkles, optional

Method:

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180º C. I used a foil tray to bake this cake since I had to transport it, but you can also you a regular 8-inch round cake tin. Grease and line with parchment.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Make a gap in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Whisk everything thoroughly until well combined. You should have a smooth batter with no lumps.
3. Pour into the greased tray/tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting and assembling

1. Mix all the frosting ingredients (minus the sprinkles) and whisk together thoroughly till you have a smooth frosting. You can add more icing sugar to make it stiffer, or loosen it with more milk if you like.
2. Once the cake has cooled, transfer it to a serving plate (if you baked in a tin) and cover the top with frosting. Scatter over sprinkles if you wish. This cake is gooey, and doesn’t slice very neatly, but that’s a small price to pay for the yumminess If you prefer neat slices, chill for about an hour before slicing.

Look at this happy face. This is why I bake