Spicyana Blog Posts

• A TEA PARTY !
  on May 27, 2016 in Cakes and Cookies
  In a vase full of roses, a garden ! On a plate full of dainty cakes, a tea party !Cardamom sponge mini cakesAll purpose flour - 1 1/4 cupsGranulated sugar - ½ cup + ¼ cupBaking powder - ½ tbspSalt - ½ tspMelted butter -¼ cupSoftened butter - ¼...
• Ice cream !
  on May 14, 2016 in Desserts
  Some days you have to have a scoop of chocolate ice cream, some other days you have to have many :)   No churn, dairy free, banana chocolate ice cream Ripe/overripe bananas peeled, cut into ½ inch pieces -2 Unsweetened cocoa powder - ¼ cu...
• remembering a meal
  on Mar 24, 2016 in Breads and Rotis holiday Kerala Vegetarian
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• Cashew-Almond bars
  on Mar 15, 2016 in Appetizers Vegetarian
  RecipeCashews - 1 cupAlmonds - 1 cupWhole pitted dates - 3/4 cupCardamom powder ( optional) - ¼ tspDried ginger powder ( optional) - ¼ tspHeat a thick bottomed pan, dry roast almonds and cashews just until the cashews turn pale golde...
• A simple vegetable curry
  on Mar 8, 2016 in Curries Indian Kerala Vegetarian
   Mixed vegetable curryRecipeClean and cut vegetables into small bite sized cubes and measureCarrot - 1 cupPotatoes - 1 cupBeetroot - 1 cupCauliflower - 1 cupGreen peas or Garbanzo beans cooked - 1 cupTomato chopped - ¼ cupFinely chopped o...
• Mango papaya salad
  on Feb 16, 2016 in Appetizers Vegetarian
  Here is some proof for a certain clean eating habit someone was trying out for a couple of days :)  Mango papaya saladRecipeGrated semi -ripe mango - 1 cupGrated papaya - 1 ½ cupThinly sliced shallot - 1 tbspLemon juice - 1 tbspMinced green chi...
• Fish !
  on Jan 27, 2016 in Curries Fish Indian Kerala
  Have you ever had rice served with three kinds of fish curries, two types of fish fries and no less than two other varieties of fish preparations accompanying it ? If you have not, you must time travel to Arthinkal of some 20 years ago. That is what...
• A grape drink
  on Jan 20, 2016 in Appetizers Kerala Vegetarian
  The memory is so vivid that I really don’t know what it is about :) There was a grape juice drink that we used buy from a restaurant in the town where I stayed while in school. We always shared this drink among friends in a dedicated effort to s...
• We wish you a Merry Christmas !
  on Dec 25, 2015 in holiday
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• Light !
  on Dec 21, 2015 in Appetizers Cakes and Cookies holiday
  Just because I can never have enough Christmas bokeh , here is a plateful of cardamom doughnut holes placed right in front of our Christmas tree :)  Cardamom doughnut holesRecipe : Add 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder to this King Arthur Flour's Ve...
• MERRY!
  on Dec 17, 2015
  Pictures from a gingerbread village ! ...
• The pink tomato sauce
  on Dec 1, 2015 in Appetizers Indian Kerala Vegetarian
  During the Thanksgiving weekend,I casually sat and reflected about many scattered matters. My other two options were to clean the whole house or fold a pile of washed clothes, I decided to take the tough way out and sat thinking for the longest time...
• Light !
  on Nov 12, 2015 in Desserts holiday Indian Kerala Vegetarian
  May your inner light shine so bright year around, Happy Diwali ! Karikku payasam ( Tender coconut payasam ) RecipeTender coconut pulp - 2 cups ( more the merrier)Condensed milk - 14 oz ( 1 can)Tender coconut water - 5 cupsWhite rice cooked...
• Happy Halloween !
  on Oct 31, 2015
  Here is a stuffed mushroom recipe to scare you, Happy Halloween !    Stuffed mushroomsWhite mushrooms - 24 nosMinced chicken breast or minced beef or minced uncooked prawn - 1cupPanko bread crumbs - 1 cupParmesan cheese grated - 3...
• Soup for dinner
  on Oct 5, 2015 in Rice-Pasta-Noodles Soups
  I love everything about fall season, the thousand shades of yellow everywhere, the lingering rain( which we are yet to see), and the wind whirling the fallen leaves around. There is so much going on in nature that I really need my time to sit and soa...
• Panchara palpayasam
  on Aug 24, 2015 in Desserts holiday Indian Kerala Onam Vegetarian
  I now officially enter the week of nostalgic ramblings, please bear with me. This Friday marks the day of Onam, the state festival of Kerala celebrating the glorious days of yore. Getting together with family and friends and sitting down to enjoy a...
• Cherry almond cake
  on Jul 12, 2015 in Cakes and Cookies Desserts
  This cake is too good to be existing, really ! Whole wheat flour, cherries, whole almonds, and a no stress mixing method, but the result is a moist and tender cake which is served best with a cup of black tea.   Cherry almond whole w...
• Happy 4th !
  on Jul 4, 2015 in Desserts
  To the country I have come to love, more by each passing year, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! Mascarpone- berry custard tartAlmond tart shellAll purpose flour-1 ½ cupAlmonds-3/4 cupSugar- ½ cupSalt - 14/ tsp.Softened butter-9 tbsp.Egg yolk - 1Grind almonds...
• Egg pulav for the understocked
  on Jun 22, 2015 in Indian Kerala Rice-Pasta-Noodles
  This egg pulav is for people like me, whose unrelenting enthusiasm to cook something special for dinner is only matched by their abundant reluctance to go grocery shopping. When faced with empty refrigerators, we dream the impossible, set our ba...
• Baked eggplant curry
  on May 29, 2015 in Indian Kerala Vegetarian
  This vegetable, to the best of my knowledge has neither bitten anybody, nor has it chased someone into a ditch. So I will never understand as to why some folks in a “certain” household run the other way when egg plants are served for dinner !Kee...