milli

Found this to be a wonderful and informative thread with some great tips.Thank you!

Ling,would you mind sharing the recipe for the coffee chiffon cake. Patrick,those macaroons are just awesome.Black forest cake

Kantola is a cousin of bitter groud(karela) but is not as bitter and is prepared in the same way as karela.Keep in mind that when you buy them ..pick up the fresh green ones which are younger and show no signs of aging (traces of yellow).The seeds of the green ones are tender and as the gourd ripens the seed hardens and develops a red color.Discard those as they are of no use.You can use kantola as a direct substitute for karela. I use kantola in my kitchen regularly.Its a very healthy veggie and has a lot of medicinal properties and is recommended as a dietary supplement by many herbalists in South East Asia. Kantola Stir Fry Scrape the spikes of the kantolas(1/4 kg) and slice them into thin rounds.Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add sliced kantolas ,salt to taste and 1 tsp sugar and fry on medium heat stir frying the kantolas till brown.Remove from heat. In the same pan add 1 tsp oil and add 1 cup of sliced onions and fry till rawness disappears.Remove from fire and cool.Grind the onions to a coarse paste. Heat 1 tsp oil in the pan.Add curry leaves (optional) and fry for few seconds.Now add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minutes stirring constantly so that it doesnt burn.Add the onion paste and fry for 5 minutes.Add 1 tsp coriander pwd,3/4 tsp chilli pwd,1/4 tsp cumin pwd and mix well.Now add the fried kantolas and mix well.Cover with lid and let it cook in the masalas for 10 minutes on low heat. Remove lid and stir fry constantly till the kantolas turn soft.Adjust salt and you can add some sugar if desired.Add 1/4 tsp garam masala pwd and mix well.Add chopped coriander leaves for garnish (optional) and serve hot with rice or rotis. It goes well as a filling for sandwiches too. Hope this helps!

Etalaian, its must have been a lot of fun.My son's play school is arranging a party for all the mama's on similar lines...where all mama's are supposed to bring in cookies or cakes of their choice.And mama's are supposed to bake the cookies or cake along with their ward...actually a school assignment on 'baking with mama for christmas".. I am looking forward to baking with my toddler...who sure is going to mess up ..but that's the whole point..having fun together this christmas season .. Am actually looking out for an excellent chocolate cookie recipe.The links in this thread have been very helpful..but there are so many recipes to choose from.. .....

Here in India as we drive along the beach we have bajji walas selling street food. Its here that we pick up puffed rice mix called 'bhel'...made of puffed rice,onions,tomatoes,peanuts,coriander leaves,lemon juice and green chillis.Tastes great..

Shalmanese, that picture is lovely... just wanna grab the lamb and...

All the dessert pictures are so yummy...just want to grab them off the screen and....

Made a ayurvedic healthy carrot salad with grated carrot,yogurt,onions,spices and coriander leaves.

Stuffed green peppers dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried.

awesome pictures..

plantain(green)stir fried in masalas (called arati kaaya masala vepudu in telugu) btw telugu is the language spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh,South India

Snow angel,here are two variations of cilantro chutney recipe which is a regular in most Indian homes. One of them is cilantro (coriander chutney) and the other raw coriander pachadi (pachadi is south indian term used for chutney which is basically a north indian term). I have written a little about coriander leaves in my food blog

Regulary make this Mixed Sprouts Corn Salad which is an ayurvedic recipe with cumin powder,fresh ginger and lemon juice.