Mango Cake

My refrigerator is packed with loads of golden beauties, for the obvious reason, this being the mango season. I have been trying to make as many recipes possible with these ‘king of fruits’. You name it ­­–­ mango lassi, mango limeade, mango kulfi, mango shrikhand, mango milkshake… And now, this is a long pending dessert to be tried since the last season. Yeah, mango cake…

Iced Pineapple Green Tea

All of us are aware how fast green tea is catching up the modern day buzz. True to its virtue, millions are transitioning from their daily in-take of regular tea or coffee to the green tea. For those who are still finding ways to relish green tea, and those who already are, here is a more flavorful variant with what nature has offered, a pineapple. Yes, you can make iced pineapple green tea. This is a healthier extension to pineapple lemonade, and a fruity twist to green tea.This is a perfect nutritional beverage. All you need to do is extract fresh juice from pineapple or skip this step by just adding the store bought pineapple juice.

Andhra Style Tender Jackfruit Curry

Jackfruit is a seasonal produce. I have never attempted to buy a piece of this earlier as I was afraid of the chopping part. Jackfruit excretes lot of sticky latex when cut, which is almost similar to the wood glue. So, it is always recommended to grease hands and knife before chopping this. 

For the first time in my life, I bought a slice of jackfruit from the farmer’s market and wondered how this can be cooked. Fortunate enough, my MIL has a recipe for this and it turned out so good. In short I can say this is a vegetarian’s meat curry. Try this before the season ends, and I am sure you will wait for the next season.

Bendakaya-Vankaya Pulusu

Pulusu is a tangy stew usually made in Andhra homes. The medley of tamarind, jaggery, and chili powder combined with vegetables, onions or even eggs and fish, makes this lip smacking accompaniment with rice. Check my fish pulusu recipe here. Okra/ladies’ finger and brinjal go into today’s tamarind based preparation, which is very simple yet delicious.

Fig Kulfi

This gorgeous, soft, sweet, juicy, fragrant fruit is just so versatile to be used in anything or everything. Can be eaten as is or can be tipped in any of your favorite dessert recipes. Though the dried figs are available all year round, there is nothing like the unique taste and texture of fresh figs available seasonally. They are mildly sweet with a texture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds.

This when combined with the sweetness of red wine, creaminess of evaporated milk and then frozen, turns out to be a scrumptious kulfi you may never had tasted before. For me, wine never seemed as befitting as this.

Bitter Gourd Chips

This is a great choice for one, like me, who hates bitter-gourd. I am sure everyone will like the deep fried version of this vegetable. Deep frying reduces or mostly nullifies the bitterness of karela. These chips can be made with minimum effort, and taste the best inspite its natural bitterness.

Oatmeal Raisin Banana Muffin

Few super ripe bananas were lying on my kitchen counter compelling me to try out something new by using them. Even my oven got bored of baking banana loafs quite often. So, I decided to give a different texture and shape to my recipe today. Turning a soft banana bread into a chewy muffin was the idea of the day. I thought nothing as good as combining banana and oatmeal. And here is the outcome, Oatmeal Raisin Banana Muffin.