Ras Malai is a popular dessert in India. Ras malai consists of sugary, cream to yellow-colored balls (or flattened balls) of paneer soaked in malai (thick milk) flavored with cardamom.

It was only after coming to US, I learnt to make this easy Ras Malai using ricotta cheese (as substitute for paneer) and that makes the recipe simpler. I am not sure if this is the authentic taste but I am sure it is close to the original.

This is a very easy dessert to make, even though the steps may seem complicated. But if you try it once, you will get a hang of it and realize how simple it is to make. The dessert by no means is a low-fat and not the right one to eat if you are counting calories. But then the taste is delicious, creamy and tasty that it is definitely worth a treat. And come on, a little dessert never hurt anyone right

Since this is a fail proof recipe I usually make this when we have guests over. And it has not disappointed me so far.

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There are many variations of this spice powder/curry powder and not to mention different names Khara Pudi, Palya Pudi or even chutney Pudi that it can get confusing. So to avoid any confusion I am referring to this as multi purpose Spice Powder.

At home our pantry is usually stocked with different powders, but they are either store brought or the ones that we got from India courtesy of our parents.  So it is rare that we make powders from scratch at home. But this one is an exception and the credit goes to DH for making this.

As the name suggests it can be used in many different ways, in dry sabjis, with plain rice and as accompaniment with idlis, dosas, rottis.

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We usually do our Indian grocery shopping once a fortnight and time permitting, we go to different groceries each time. During one such trip, I found these husked split moong daal in the lentil aisle.  Since I had not used them before, I was skeptical but knowing their nutritional value I decided to buy them anyway. 

I was not able to find recipes over the internet using this, so I decided to stick to the known and unfaltering and made Sambhar. We could not make out any difference in taste and this tasted like our regular old Toor Daal Sambhar. If you want you can add some greens like Spinach or vegetables into it and make it healthier. 

Dear Reader, I am looking for more recipes using the split moon daal, so I would appreciate if you can briefly share it with me or just point a link to the recipe. Thanks in advance.

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Ever since I saw those beauties on her blog, I have not been able to get them out of my head and have been meaning to try them ever since. Something about them brings back warm memories and takes you back to those childhood carefree days. These savory buns called as Khara Buns in Kannada were regular in our house and we used to have it as a tea time snack. The famous Iyengar Bakeries of Bangalore specialized in making them.

 I am so glad that I tried them at home. They are easy to make and as Sharmi says, most of the time is spent in the waiting for the dough to get fermented.

 We had this with our evening tea and with our deeply engrossing conversation they were gone in no time.

 Me “Do you think they turned a little dark and hard on the outside?”

DH “No they are just fine, I wish they were spicy like the khara buns we got back home”

 Me “Sigh, they did not turn out as golden as Bharthy’s or as fluffy as Sharmi’s”

DH” You definitely need to make them again and make sure you make it spicier”

 OK, next time I will make it spicier and make sure they are light brown and not hard on the outside! But this is definitely a keeper and worth a try. Thanks Bharthy  and Sharmi for sharing this.

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Hope you are all having a good weekend. This week has been better for me compared to the last one. Even though it was a stressful week at work, the cold from last week has subsided making me feel normal and not so grumpy J

Weather wise, it continues to be hot here in our neck of the woods. By hot I mean really scorching hot; temperature continues to be in the range of 102 – 108 ⁰F for the past month or so. This drives us to be creative and come up with ways of beating the heat. Drinks like Watermelon Agua Fresca, Watermelon Limeade Cooler, Milkshakes are common along with this blueberry lemonade.

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CSNStores had asked me if I would be willing to do a product review and I gladly agreed. They have more than 200 online stores and choosing one product was no easy task. But then we had plans of buying a grill and we used this opportunity to buy a grill from Cookware. After some research we decided to settle down for this grill”

George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor BBQ with Dome Cover – GGR50B”. So far we have had a positive experience with this grill and would recommend it to anybody. Please read the review for more details about the grill.

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Shipping and Delivery from Cookware: There We had a positive experience with their shipping. Even though we requested Standard Shipping, we received an email that the product would be shipped to us much earlier (much to our delight, of course). We were able to track the shipment online and so we had the correct estimate of the delivery date. The product arrived on time and thanks to Cookware for the prompt delivery!

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