<div>Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything,”— this phrase by Julia Child aptly sums up my passion for cooking. A software engineer by profession, I have been settled in Bengaluru for the last eight years. I am pretty much occupied with my 9 to 6 job and post that, with my two-year-old toddler. But when I am free, one will either find me in my kitchen dishing out delicious food or browsing through recipes. <br /><br />The thought of food evokes a lot of memories for me and I believe that the art of cooking has come naturally to me. Since childhood, I used to see my mother cooking different items each day. I forayed into the kitchen when I was 12 years old. I used to spend time assisting my mother, which in turn, helped me learn little tricks along the way. The entire perspective around cooking took a new turn when I shifted to Bengaluru after marriage. A whole new world of gastronomy was in front of me, inspiring me to explore and express my latent talent in the kitchen. <br /><br />My culinary journey began with baking— getting my first cake right was like conquering Mount Everest and that spurred me to take on newer challenges. I would bake for my family and sometimes for friends and neighbours on request. I also tried my hands on desserts. With the diverse cuisines available in the City, I got exposed to different food cultures as well. That resulted in my simple everyday cooking becoming more experimental! Having been brought up on both South Indian and Oriya cuisines, I started trying out popular recipes from other regional cuisines too.<br /><br />This fantastic culinary journey is still continuing, of course with my partner-in-crime, my husband. He is my toughest critic when it comes to food and my avid supporter. <br /><br />I take inspiration from cookery shows, read cook books and browse the internet to learn more about food. <br /><br />I gave expression to this passion through my food blog ‘theflavoursofkitchen’ almost a year back. Food blogging has become an integral part of my life and I feel restless if I don’t ‘feed’ my blog regularly. It has given me greater insights on food. The blog has delicacies spread across Indian, pan Asian, Continental and Mexican cuisines that I have enjoyed making over time. I also got introduced to the captivating world of food photography in an attempt to make my preparations look tempting, while social media helped me connect and get a peek into the work and lives of many other bloggers and food experts whom I admire.<br /><br />I love trying out something new in the kitchen for every other occasion. During Diwali, an array of rich, delicious food awaits one and indulgence takes precedence over all <br />else. <br />However, the platter remains incomplete without a scrumptious dessert, more so when it comes to an Indian meal. To satisfy the taste buds with something unique, I have devised a ‘gulkand dryfruits laddoo’ recipe— a traditional sweet with an added twist that is bound to strike a chord with all those with a sweet tooth. The gulkand and dry fruits stuffing in these laddoos make them exotic and festive. <br /><br />Recipe<br /><br /><em>Ingredients</em><br /><br /> 2 cups fresh cottage cheese (chhenna)<br /> 1 cup sweetened condensed milk<br /> 2 tbsps thick cream (can also use fresh malai)<br /> 1 tbsp cornflour<br /> 1-2 tsps sugar (optional, if you want the ladoos a little sweeter)<br /><br />For the stuffing<br /><br /> 1/3 cup assorted dry fruits chopped finely (you can use cashews, pistachios, almonds, walnuts) <br /> 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds <br /> 1 tsp melon seeds roughly chopped<br /> 2 tbsps good quality <br />gulkand<br /> Silver leaf and saffron soaked in milk for <br />garnishing<br /><br />Method<br /><br /> In a pan toast all the dry fruits and poppy seeds on low heat till it becomes aromatic. Take off the heat. Once it is cool, mix gulkand and keep aside.<br /><br /> Add chhenna, condensed milk, cream, cornflour and sugar (optional) in a blender and blend to a smooth paste.<br /><br /> Shift the mixture to a thick bottom pan. On low medium heat stir the mixture till it forms a thick paste. (Don’t over cook else it will become dry and will be difficult to shape. Also once the mixture cools down, it becomes more thick.)<br /><br /> Switch off the gas and let the heat come down. When it is still a little warm and you can handle the heat with bare hands, scoop out 1 heaped tbsp of chenna mixture. Shape into a smooth ball.<br /><br /> Then using your thumb, make a little space in the middle and fill it with a heaped half tsp of dry fruit and gulkand mixture.<br /><br /> Cover and make a smooth ball by rolling gently in between both the palms.<br /> Garnish with edible silver leaf and saffron milk.<br /><br />Note: If you would like to avoid the stuffing, then please go ahead and add a bit of cardamom powder to the chhenna mix.<br />(makes roughly 15 laddoos)<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
<div>Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything,”— this phrase by Julia Child aptly sums up my passion for cooking. A software engineer by profession, I have been settled in Bengaluru for the last eight years. I am pretty much occupied with my 9 to 6 job and post that, with my two-year-old toddler. But when I am free, one will either find me in my kitchen dishing out delicious food or browsing through recipes. <br /><br />The thought of food evokes a lot of memories for me and I believe that the art of cooking has come naturally to me. Since childhood, I used to see my mother cooking different items each day. I forayed into the kitchen when I was 12 years old. I used to spend time assisting my mother, which in turn, helped me learn little tricks along the way. The entire perspective around cooking took a new turn when I shifted to Bengaluru after marriage. A whole new world of gastronomy was in front of me, inspiring me to explore and express my latent talent in the kitchen. <br /><br />My culinary journey began with baking— getting my first cake right was like conquering Mount Everest and that spurred me to take on newer challenges. I would bake for my family and sometimes for friends and neighbours on request. I also tried my hands on desserts. With the diverse cuisines available in the City, I got exposed to different food cultures as well. That resulted in my simple everyday cooking becoming more experimental! Having been brought up on both South Indian and Oriya cuisines, I started trying out popular recipes from other regional cuisines too.<br /><br />This fantastic culinary journey is still continuing, of course with my partner-in-crime, my husband. He is my toughest critic when it comes to food and my avid supporter. <br /><br />I take inspiration from cookery shows, read cook books and browse the internet to learn more about food. <br /><br />I gave expression to this passion through my food blog ‘theflavoursofkitchen’ almost a year back. Food blogging has become an integral part of my life and I feel restless if I don’t ‘feed’ my blog regularly. It has given me greater insights on food. The blog has delicacies spread across Indian, pan Asian, Continental and Mexican cuisines that I have enjoyed making over time. I also got introduced to the captivating world of food photography in an attempt to make my preparations look tempting, while social media helped me connect and get a peek into the work and lives of many other bloggers and food experts whom I admire.<br /><br />I love trying out something new in the kitchen for every other occasion. During Diwali, an array of rich, delicious food awaits one and indulgence takes precedence over all <br />else. <br />However, the platter remains incomplete without a scrumptious dessert, more so when it comes to an Indian meal. To satisfy the taste buds with something unique, I have devised a ‘gulkand dryfruits laddoo’ recipe— a traditional sweet with an added twist that is bound to strike a chord with all those with a sweet tooth. The gulkand and dry fruits stuffing in these laddoos make them exotic and festive. <br /><br />Recipe<br /><br /><em>Ingredients</em><br /><br /> 2 cups fresh cottage cheese (chhenna)<br /> 1 cup sweetened condensed milk<br /> 2 tbsps thick cream (can also use fresh malai)<br /> 1 tbsp cornflour<br /> 1-2 tsps sugar (optional, if you want the ladoos a little sweeter)<br /><br />For the stuffing<br /><br /> 1/3 cup assorted dry fruits chopped finely (you can use cashews, pistachios, almonds, walnuts) <br /> 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds <br /> 1 tsp melon seeds roughly chopped<br /> 2 tbsps good quality <br />gulkand<br /> Silver leaf and saffron soaked in milk for <br />garnishing<br /><br />Method<br /><br /> In a pan toast all the dry fruits and poppy seeds on low heat till it becomes aromatic. Take off the heat. Once it is cool, mix gulkand and keep aside.<br /><br /> Add chhenna, condensed milk, cream, cornflour and sugar (optional) in a blender and blend to a smooth paste.<br /><br /> Shift the mixture to a thick bottom pan. On low medium heat stir the mixture till it forms a thick paste. (Don’t over cook else it will become dry and will be difficult to shape. Also once the mixture cools down, it becomes more thick.)<br /><br /> Switch off the gas and let the heat come down. When it is still a little warm and you can handle the heat with bare hands, scoop out 1 heaped tbsp of chenna mixture. Shape into a smooth ball.<br /><br /> Then using your thumb, make a little space in the middle and fill it with a heaped half tsp of dry fruit and gulkand mixture.<br /><br /> Cover and make a smooth ball by rolling gently in between both the palms.<br /> Garnish with edible silver leaf and saffron milk.<br /><br />Note: If you would like to avoid the stuffing, then please go ahead and add a bit of cardamom powder to the chhenna mix.<br />(makes roughly 15 laddoos)<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
