•  Preheat oven for 7-10 minutes at 200 degrees and prepare your cake tin by lining it with a butter paper, greasing and flouring it well
•  In a separate bowl sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Mix them well
•  Melt butter (I also added chocolate at this step). Add sugar and cream the mixture
•  Add eggs one at a time and beat the mixture thoroughly  
•  Mix vanilla 
• Add dry mixture 1/3rd at a time and beat well. The mixture will be very thick
• Add zucchini and mix well. The water content in zucchini will set the batter consistency right 
• Pour the batter into prepared cake tin and bake for 30-40 minute until the cake is well risen and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Ciao..

I workout in the evenings and light dinners are simply not for me. My plate needs to be warm, hearty and comforting. Anything less and I feel starved. I am very particular about getting my macros right with every meal. I love dishes which are easy, flavorful and full of nutrients.

1. I cut Tofu in to 1 inch cubes and marinated it in vinegar, ginger and a little soy for 30 minutes

1. I sprinkled 1 tsp cornstarch on it and shallow fried it until it turned golden brown

1.  Sauce: Mix water/ broth, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, corn starch, ketchup, garlic paste

1. Sauté vegetables on a low flame for a minute and add the sauce mixture, cook until thickened

1. I sprinkled roasted sesame ( Totally optional)

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. It just sets the tone for my day ahead. A hurried rushed breakfast means that I am struggling throughout the day. A skipped breakfast makes my day dull and empty. When I started with weight-lifting (Seriously - Back in 2012) I understood the importance of a good breakfast and what it does to you. Before that, I would just eat about anything unhealthy for breakfast. It changed my outlook. I am not a hearty breakfast eater because it makes me feel sleepy.
A breakfast buffet is a different story altogether and that should be discussed in a separate post.

I am from the school of thought that preaches - " A good breakfast can make or break your day".
These days I wake up early and cook my meals for the day in the morning. Oh wait, I have already written about it. I am always on a lookout for breakfast recipes that I can take to work. I feel very peaceful at my desk. A couple of weeks back my Instagram was flooded with Banana Ice cream pictures.. I thought to myself why not this for breakfast?

So I decided to give it a shot and it was a surprise. Lovely flavor, quick, good and hearty morning breakfast packed with all nutrients. It sounds like a win-win. Isn't it?

Before I type the recipe there are 2 ways to have it. I like it frozen, creamy ice cream consistency.



Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 banana
handful of nuts ( I used a mix of almonds and cashews. Also tried with walnuts and peanuts)
Dash of milk
1/2 cup oats
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2-3 drops of vanilla essence 
For Garnishing (Options):
Berries
Pineapple
Nuts
Chocolate chips
Method
Cut a banana in to coins and place it in a ziplock bag and freeze overnight
Blend all the ingredients together
You can garnish with ingredients of your choice


Ciao..
Please ignore my ugly Tupperware box. I carry my breakfast to workplace so that explains.. ;)

I love Mexican food. There are so many memories around Mexican food that probably just make this cuisine special for me. I remember eating Mexican food on a date during the early years of my job in the heart of Hyderabad. I keep thinking of that place. It is no longer operational but I remember the details quite vividly. Back then, that was my authentic go-to Mexican place.
Another place that's really special for me is a small germanized Mexican eatery.
I have had such lovely time with my Macedonian friend and Zee. I can keep talking about that friendship all night long. It was a perfect example of how three cultures, people with totally different upbringing and girls bonded over Mexican food and Cuba Libre.. Oh boy, what beautiful days. The friendships made over food are stronger and that's my belief.  The most authentic Mexican experience for me was when I traveled to Spain for the second time. I was treated to some authentic Mexican flavor. I had tears in my eyes because of chillies and yet I couldn't stop eating.
Oh and I how could I forget this place in good ol' Pune. Endless conversations over Margaritas and Nachos. That place is special or rather Poona is special.

Last weekend we went to this newly opened Mexican joint and all these memories came rushing back. That's when I decided to give Mexican food a shot in my Kitchen.
I constructed a dish in my head and it turned out amazing. I just couldn't resist myself from sharing here:
Mexican Rice with Pulled Chicken
I bent the rules a bit for cooking pulled chicken. I used my pressure cooker for that. I love pulled chicken and I think its a blessing to mankind.

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown rice ( You can use plain white rice as well)
1/4 cup Kidney beans
4 Skinless chicken breast
Any Barbecue Sauce
6 Tomatoes
4-5 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
1/4 cup Baby Corn
2 Peppers
Salt and Pepper
1 Tsp Red chilli powder
Paprika Powder to sprinkle (Optional)
Cajun Mix (Optional)
Sour Cream
1/2 cup curd
1 teaspoon Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Cream

Preparation
1. I soaked Brown rice and Kidney Beans together overnight. (Brown Rice takes an awfully long time to cook). In case you are using regular rice then just soak Kidney beans for 4-5 hours or use canned beans
2. Cut Tomatoes into quarters. Place them on any ovenproof dish (I used my smallest cake tin) put garlic cloves, sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper and heat it in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

3. After 20 minutes take the pan out from the oven and squish tomatoes. This can be done well in advance before making this dish. I did it over the weekend and cooked the dish on Monday

4. Place curd on the center of a clean cotton cloth and tie the ends together. Hang the bundle a little  high. I tied the bundle to my kitchen shelf handle and placed a bowl beneath it. After 1 hour the water separated and my hung curd was ready. Whisk hung curd and then add vinegar, cream and salt. You can season it with celery (if available)
Update: I used Greek yoghurt and mixed vinegar and a pinch of honey and mustard

Method

1. Place onion at the bottom of the pressure cooker and spread barbecue sauce over it
2. Place Chicken Breast on top of onion
3. Spread the oven roasted tomato and garlic sauce over it
Update: I also made this dish with simple tomato puree and it tasted very nice
4. Drain water from the rice and kidney beans and put rice and kidney beans Over tomato sauce
5. Pour just enough water to cover all the ingredients. Add red chilli powder,  salt and pepper
(Optional: Sprinkle Paprika powder and Cajun Spice(Optional))
6. Pressure cook for about 20 minutes
7. Once done, using a spatula shred the chicken. The chicken will be very tender and will pull apart easily
8. Add all the chopped veggies and mix
9. Garnish with Coriander and serve with sour cream

Notes:
1. There are so many ways to make pulled chicken but in this dish all the flavors blend together when cooked in a pressure cooker
2. You can use vegetables as per your preference add korn, broccoli, bell peppers etc
I used the ones with crunchy texture which I didn't have to cook 
3.   The market was full of Big sized Green chillies. I decided to seize the opportunity and use them here. It was a very good idea. The flavor was impeccable


It is a comforting meal and a lot of preparation can be done beforehand.
Ciao..

I am fascinated with color yellow. I just love the way it makes everything look so bright.
The mood changes in a matter of seconds. I never had any yellow color food related issues while growing up. I happily binged on kadhi chawal. There is something about this color. I connect it with happy times. I like yellow in food, songs, clothes etc.. I definitely don't like yellow in spreadsheets because that usually brings bad omen but lets not digress from happy things.

When I first came across this recipe I was immediately drawn towards it.. Yes, I admit it was the color. I noticed the word - "eggless" and closed the page immediately..  Those who know me know my love for eggs, butter and flour in every possible combination. Majority of our problems can be sorted with these three beautiful ingredients. Yes, I try to healthify my recipes every now and then but the core remains the combination of these three ingredients.

It was a long weekend and I wanted to bake something. Something different. My parents gave up non vegetarian food before I was born. We were raised as vegetarians with eggs making appearances in the pantry every now and then. Every time I bake for my parents I am always asked if I could try the vegetarian version of this recipe for them. So I decided to give it a shot. The previous attempts were not fruitful at all. I recalled seeing this yellow colored cake and decided to bring out my armor..

This recipe uses only 4-5 ingredients and the best part is that prep time is only 10 minutes. also, it is a one pot cake which makes things even simpler.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour (Maida)
3/4 cup  Vanilla Custard Powder
2.5 Teaspoons Baking Powder
150 gms butter
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar ( or Plain sugar if not available)

Variation: I added pineapple chunks to make an egg-less pineapple fruit cake

                                                                    Steps


1. Preheat your oven at 180 degrees.
2. Line a cake tin with butter paper, grease and flour it well
3. Sift Flour, Custard Powder and baking powder together
4. Cream Butter and sugar together until it is soft and fluffy
5. Add the dry ingredients one third at a time alternating with milk
5. Whisk everything together well until it is yellow and creamy in texture
6. Pour the batter on the cake tin. If making a pineapple cake spread the chunks on the cake batter
7. Sprinkle brown sugar
8. Put it in the oven and bake for 40 minutes (at 180 degrees)
or until the cake is well risen and toothpick when inserted in the center comes out clean

In my excitement I forgot to take the picture when it came out of the oven. The cake was nice and moist. Just while writing the post I decided to take a quick picture of the leftovers
*Make a mental note of religiously taking pictures*

Lessons Learnt

Click better pictures

So after much deliberation I have decided to blog my food journey. I think I should thank my sister who left no stone unturned in her pursuit to get me start blogging about food.
I am not a great cook and to be honest I am really amateurish in the kitchen. I decided to give it a shot and see where it takes me.

I have another place where I have been blogging about anything and everything. Talking/ Posting/ Blogging about recipes there would have been quite out of place so I decided to start a new blog.

I love food and my tastes have evolved over a period of time. I am an everyday cook who is always up for experimentation. It is such an adventure to try different cuisines, to cook with different ingredients, to create my own recipes. I am so excited to get started on this blog..

On that note, I hope food blogging is here to stay for me.

Ciao..