Anshu's Food Odyssey

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase through them, helping me retain and maintain this blog. Starting tomorrow is the auspicious festival of Ganesh Chaturthi , also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in many parts of India. One of the most celebrated Hindu festivals , it marks the birth anniversary of the beloved elephant-headed Hindu God, Lord Ganesha. The excitement for this 10 days long fiesta can be seen weeks before the actual day; people begin cleaning their houses, prepare different sweets and snacks and artisans across India start carving the idols of Ganesha in different poses and sizes. On the actual day of the chaturthi, these idols are installed in elaborately decked up pandals, temples, and even individual homes accompanied with various poojas, aartis and large processions. Not to mention, the mood of ecstasy, joy and blissfulness can be felt everywhere. Along

Malai Peda is one of the most popular Indian sweets . These little discs of deliciousness are primarily made using fresh chhena (cheese curd), khoya (dried milk solids) and condensed milk. There are numerous variants of Malai Peda that are available in the sweets shops these days; while the plain peda and kesar peda are the most common, what I am fond of the most is the chocolate flavored one. Absolutely decadent and melt-in-mouth, these chocolate pedas make for an apt sweet for any festival or special occasion.  Well, I am making them for the upcoming Raksha Bandhan , if you too are looking for some homemade sweet recipes, do try them out. I promise, you won't be disappointed. Chocolate Milk Peda | Milk Peda Recipe Before I jump to the recipe, let me tell you that I have used fresh chhena. For that, bring about a liter of full fat milk to a boil. Let it cool for 5 minutes and then slowly start adding a little vinegar until the milk is nicely curdled.

If you remember, about 2 weeks back I had posted the recipe of " KHOYA PANEER GULAB JAMUNS " on my blog. To my utter happiness, the recipe was loved by a lot of my readers and I was swamped with appreciative comments on social platforms, especially on Facebook and Instagram . These Gulab Jamuns were so addictively delicious and melt-in-mouth that as soon as the batch got over, I was again bombarded with demands from my family and friends to make another batch at the earliest. Since its the Diwali time, I thought of fulfilling their demand and instead of making the usual big sized Gulab Jamuns, I made these mini ones which came out equally inviting and finger-licking. I even packed a few in individual decorative boxes and distributed them amongst my friends in the form of Diwali Goodies.  If you too are looking for some Diwali Gifting Ideas , then I must say this recipe is just for your sorts. Do try and I promise, you would thank me later!!    Angoori Gula

Festivities like Ganesh Chaturthi , Dussehra and Diwali are just around the corner. For me, this is the most awaited time of the year with decked up markets, a little chill in the air and happiness all around, emanating an aura of positivity and elation in each and every heart. This is also the time when I gear up for the celebrations indulging in shopping, decorating the house and offcourse preparing some traditional sweets and savories at home for all my friends and family. While last year, I made this melt-in-mouth kalakand , vanilla sandesh with strawberry dust and Punjabi style meethi mathri , this time I am planning to go ahead and make this popular sweet from the state of Gujarat: the sweet sata also called as thor . Traditionally, sata is a deep fried pastry, but just to keep the calorie count low this festive season , I decided to go a healthy way and instead of frying, opted to bake them. Trust me, they came out as flaky, crispy and delectable. If you are also looki

One of the most popular sweets from the land of Bengal, Ras Malai or Rosh Molai does not need any introduction. The juicy and melt-in-mouth cottage cheese balls dipped in a thick and flavorful sauce of milk makes for an excellent treat during festivals and other auspicious/special occasions in India. Well! the most crucial part of this traditional sweet lies in making the cheese balls, which can be a daunting process at first but once you get the hang of it, you would not be able to resist yourself making this dessert time and again....and not to explicitly mention, this is what exactly happened with me; I tried making Ras Malai a couple of times in the past but, it always came out a disaster with cheese balls always turning out hard and not absorbing the milk even when kept in the same overnight. So, it was only last week that my perseverance to make these little sweet balls to a perfection paid successful results; it won't be an exaggeration to say that me and my husband

Come winters, and my Mum is all geared up to make one of our most favorite winter delights, the divine and yummilicious Besan ke Laddoo . I still remember my childhood days when she would prepare dozens of these laddoos, loaded with whole lots of dryfruits such as almonds, raisins and often gond (edible gum); everyday both me and my sister were given a laddoo each with a glass of hot milk before we left for our schools...growing up, when we asked her about any specific reason for this kind of a daily ritual 😉😊 she told that besan keeps our bodies warm in chilled weather and also improves our immunity thus preventing us from catching cold and flu which is very common during the winter months. Whatever the reason may have been, I would only say that we simply loved our daily dosage of these tiny sweet little melt-in-mouth balls... Today, I am married and based out of Singapore, and though the weather here remains warm throughout the year, I still make a batch of these laddoos aro

Karva Chauth is one of the most awaited festivals in Northern and parts of Western India after Deepavali; a pious festival during which the married women fast for a whole day praying for the well-being and long life of their husbands. The fast gets started early in the morning just before sunrise and gets opened only after offering a small prayer to the moon. During the fasting duration, women abstain themselves from eating or drinking anything, even water. The preparations of this vivacious fest generally gets started about a week in advance; decked up markets with stalls selling anything and everything ranging from cosmetics, bangles and jewelry to traditional sweets and delicacies. Women queued up at Henna stalls waiting to get beautiful designs tattooed on their hands is truly a sight to behold. Needless to say, if someone visits Northern India during the time of Karva Chauth and Deepavali, he is sure to be smitten by the awe and grandeur of the mesmerizing festivities. W