Odisha Mo Odisha

 After the success and multiple bakes of the simple vanilla cake 🍰 🎂, this mango cake was a just calling out to be baked & devoured... Yes Devoured... :)  This mango cake is a twist on the Simple Cake recipe on this blog which is one of our go-to recipes during the pandemic. What I used... 1.5 cups Pancake Mix 2 Eggs (brown) 1/4 cup vegetable oil + wee bit more to grease the cake pan 1/2 cup mango puree 1/4 cup sugar (white preferable) Process Set the oven to 350 F Grease a small cake pan with wee bit oil Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl until a smooth batter is obtained Pour the batter into the cake pan Bake for 15 - 17 mins & do a toothpick test.

 So lunch is over, we had left overs. Breakfast was super boring as well. I can't remember what we had. I am wondering if I did justice to my heart by not loving what I ate? I know, I should always love what I eat else it will not do any good to my stomach. It is definitely not doing any good to my heart today.  So I get up & scour up the social media for quick dessert inspirations. I remembered seeing an Eggless version of a Coffee Cake & had wondered what that'd be like. So here I am, all ready to go with that recipe from a Food Blogger who makes yummy looking Vegetarian food.  No Eggs - 2 mins recipe What I used (Measurements are for 1 mug cake) 2 tbsp AP flour 1 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 baking powder 2 tbsp Milk 1 tsp vegetable oil Topping Ingredients 1/2 tsp brown sugar  1/4 tsp ground cinnamon MW safe ramekins or MW safe coffee mugs Process is super simple --> Mix everything except for the topping ingredients in a ramekin until everythi...

 The holidays always brings the zeal to bake. I am unsure why that is but every time Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays come around, you'd see almost everyone in the world will be baking something at home. The sweet smell of home baked goodies is so satisfying that even if I am staying away from Gluten, I want to bake cakes & cookies & tarts and stuff my family with them.  PS : No, I am not allergic, I am just reducing gluten in my diet to help with my migraines Growing up in Odisha, cakes & cookies were a rare thing. Mother would bake this simple vanilla cake in her Bajaj electric oven (with a glass top) or in her BIG HUGE Hawkins pressure cooker without the sealing ring or whistle and it'd be perfect in taste. Sometimes the cake's top would be so puffed up that it'd look like a volcano (Hindi word : Jwalamukhi).  This simple tutti fruity cake is kind of inspired by that home made vanilla cake that mother used to bake. Most of her bakes were eggless ...

 Thanks to my dependable Vegetable chopper & the super innovative Instant Pot, making Gajar Halwa is literally "Halwa" (Indian street language for something super easy & silly).  It was an Odiya festival. Now, I have forgotten which exact festival it was but I do remember is that we were asked to make "bhoga" for "thakura" and something sweet should be made for "Thakura". Also, it was a weekend & I was in the mood for wearing saree (it being a festival & all). So there I was draped in a yellow saree which my M.I.L gave me the first time I went to her home after the wedding, with my small food chopper & about 2 Lbs of carrots, all ready to make the famous Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Porridge) What I used 2 Lbs Carrots  Cleaned --> Peeled --> Chopped into small pieces --> Chopped further in the food chopper into very very fine (almost created) texture 4 - 5 tbsp Ghee 1/4 cups halved cashews 1/4 cups raisins 4 cardamoms crush...

 Do you remember any wedding that you went to which had amazing desserts? Any reception or wedding party where you enjoyed a bowl full of kheer rather than the actual main course meal?  I do. I remember very vividly my brother-in-law's wedding in Winter 2010 where the rice kheer (In Odiya we call it Kheeri) was to die for. Whoever knows me will know that I do not have a sweet tooth. I don't prefer sweets. Given the choice between sweet & savory, I will always pick savory. BUT... this kheeri was so yummy & the more it sat in the fridge, it tasted yummier.  After some asking around, I found that the trick was the whole milk & milk powder that was used & the kheer was cooked on low heat for a very very long time and it had the perfect mix of rice + mik etc etc. Well all these statements were not really helping me because no one (I repeat NO ONE) knew the exact measurements.  So I tried & tested this recipe almost every year during the winter break (B...

 With the entire internet culinary world revolving around the Instant Pot, how could I stay behind. I have been following My Heart Beets website for all my IP related dessert ideas & this fudge or barfi (Indian Fudge) is just that. This recipe is inspired from the internet & turned out to be a little painstaking yet delicious.  This is a 4-ingredient fix. This is a Sugar-Free recipe.  I am sure this can be made in pressure cooker or open pan but I have not tried it that way. I made it in the Instant Pot like the recipe called for.  This is the dessert that I made Pre-Thanksgiving just to get the sweet juices flowing.  What I used 1 Lb pitted organic dates (Note to self : Next time, let's try the regular mezdool dates which are darker in color) 2 tbsp Ghee 1/4 cup each chopped almonds + chopped cashews 1 tsp cardamom powder 6 Qt. Instant Pot with the trivet A round oven safe glass bowl which fits into  the 6Qt. IP A sheet of cling film Process Roughl...

 Sometimes when we have finished a late lunch on a lazy Sunday, I feel like having warm dessert. Please do not ask me why I feel so.. I just do. It could be some small hereditary emotion that I inherited from my mother. She's a sweet lover & after every meal (or with every meal) she prefers to have something sweet. I am not a huge sweet person. In fact, I prefer deep fried salty snacks anytime above sweets. But then sometimes on lazy Sundays, it feels only right to have something sweet & warm to make you feel cozy inside & out.  Fall is almost done & winter is here for the year 2020. This year, there will be no parties to go to where I can flaunt my baking skills. There'll be no get-togethers where I can show my cake skills. Hence, I was trying to combine two emotions together on this lazy Sunday.  Chocolate Cake... No Baking ... Easy & quick ... Minimal ingredients... Soft, Warm & Sweet !! A cake in a coffee mug concept in not new in our world. Us...