♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ My blog turned 1 ♬ ♫ ♪ ♩

Originally I baked this cake to celebrate my sweet sis-in-law's birthday :) In-spite of she staying many air miles across, the much  justifiable excuse for this chocolate indulgence was that I completed one happy year of blogging, Now does that not call for a celebration :)

When I started my blogging journey, the only expectation I had set was,  irrespective of any situations, I should post consistently and I am happy to say that I was able to meet that expectation. Many a thanks to my better half for all the positive criticism, nudges n reviews n what not! I found myself truly immersed in drafting the many posts, clicking photographs, styling food and last but not the least experimenting recipes... My family, friends & readers have also supported me to keep my blog live... Thank You to each one of you :) I hope you continue enjoying my culinary trysts. 

Coffee & Chocolate Cake ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa {Ina Garten}

Of the many things in my life which brought happiness, I can proudly say that this blog is definitely one of them. Cheers to my fellow bloggers out there, who have made a unique niche for themselves in the world of food blogging!

Featured in this post is an easy to bake chocolate & coffee cake which is super moist and perfect for celebrating any occasion with a bunch of chocoholics! Give this recipe a shot and make any day even special.

Chicken Pot Pie ♨ - My first Daring Baker's challenge!

Although I remember reading some interesting posts about daring baker's challenge on some of my favorite blog's, it was quite recently that I decided to register. So like any other enthusiastic blogger I was all eyes for the month's challenge. I am sure by now you know what my challenge was. So in the following weeks I laid out my choicest plans for creating an out of the world pie. I decided to settle for an authentic pot pie with steaming chicken (& lots of veggies) filling in white sauce, well contained in a flaky buttery short crust pastry!  
Watch this space for a similar post on fish pie (salmon in coconut milk as filling)...but for now I would like you to bake and dig into a nice chicken pot pie on a chilly night... I am sure once you prepare a pie, the request for more would keep coming in!!

Hannah of Rise and Shine was our October 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to bake our own double crusted savoury pot pies. Using any from-scratch crust and filling we choose, we were allowed to get completely creative with our recipe, showing off the savoury flavours and fillings from our own home or region.                                                                                           

Chicken Pot Pie ♨ - My first Daring Baker's challenge post
Recipe adapted from MariasMenu

There are a few ways to get creative here, try different kinds of crust and fillings. Once you decide these, inspire the artist in you and get your creative juices flowing with pie side crimping or top crust designing (lattice, cut out shapes ...). Use your signature style and personalize the pies as these are definitely going to get repeated on your menu!! Thank you Hannah for this challenge, you made me go that extra bit to make my pie super special :D

Thakkali Curry {Tomato curry}

Thani Naadan! (absolutely traditional!) Well this is yet another simple curry which you can rely on any time-crunched day of your life. This is indeed a comforting food which can be stirred up on  any rainy day for a bit of sunshine :) Kerala meal can be made special quite easily by combining an assortment of plain and simple dishes. Fish fry, thoran (vegetable stir fry of sorts), a portion of fluffy rice and a creamy tomato gravy is one of my favorite combination. So here is Thakkali Curry {Tomato curry}, a curry in a hurry!

Thakkali Curry {Tomato curry}

⁂ Golden Chutney ⁂

Chutneys are pretty popular these days. Many seasonal fruits & vegetables are enjoyed all year through in the form of chutneys these days. But at home when we say chutney, there are a few variants which have been around for quite some generations ( especially in south India)! Mostly we refer to them by their colour {red orange green} :) 
Now this is one chutney my amma kind of discovered as we are a couple of nut lovers. It is rich spicy crunchy and brings forth a whole new twist of flavours from the roasted nuts dancing on our tongue! Indulgence is what this recipe really is! So I hope you would definitely try this out :D

Golden Chutney
My Amma's recipe

Carrot & Beans Thoran {stir fry of sorts from Kerala}

Thani Naadan! (absolutely traditional). One of the most common comment from some of my friends were that I should post some day-to-day Kerala recipes which I cook @ home. These may be simple recipes, but they still have their takers (it seems). The only problem is my laziness to pull out my camera and take some good snaps before eating my meals :) Anyways this month I have decided to dedicate this space for some simple dishes right out of my kitchen... 
So this one here is a simple method of cooking for most types of vegetables. For this recipe I have combined beans + carrot (a personal fav among many others). So here's to traditions and traditional recipes!

Carrot  & Beans Thoran {stir fry of sorts from Kerala}

As I had to keep reminding myself to click the finished product, I thought why not keep clicking till it gets to the table!