It has been raining incessantly for the last twenty-four hours. The river has become fierce and ferocious, mighty and monstrous.  It looks like a wild beast roaring through the valley. It is powerful, unstoppable and in flood, cutting through the banks, gulping down anything that comes on the way.
The rain has given birth to several tiny waterfalls that are emptying into the river, adding to its power.
Clouds kiss the high peaks and sheets of fog keep rolling across the hills. The forest looks lush and rich. The sound of the rain feels like a lullaby – soothing, sonorous and continuous.


 Far on a terrace, we saw a pigeon enjoying the rain.


The rainy season calls for light meals and we plan to bake focaccia buns for dinner. These will be paired with tomato soup. Mini focaccia or focaccia buns make a great snack too. Slit and slather with butter or cheese spread and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. We love to make sandwiches and pack them in the tiffin box. You’ll love to take them for picnics.


Warm, freshly baked mini focaccia is moreish and irresistible.
We added some millet flour into the dough and added some garlic powder too. The focaccia turned out soft and spongy. One can play with the flavours by adding herbs of choice.

 


Mini Focaccia | Focaccia Buns with Millet flour (Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup red millet/finger millet (ragi) flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon rock salt/Himalayan pink salt 
  • ¼ cup olive oil (reserve 2 tablespoons for drizzling)
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder (or freshly minced garlic )
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt flakes or salt to sprinkle
  • 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs to sprinkle

Instructions

  1. In a deep bowl, take water, add sugar and yeast and cover for 10 minutes. The yeast will begin to foam.
  2. In another bowl, take all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  3. Add yeast mixture and knead for 5 to 8 minutes till you get a very soft and smooth dough.
  4. Add more water if the dough feels hard or dry.
  5. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and keep for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until double.
  6. Punch and knead again. Cut dough into 15 equal size pieces. Shape each piece into tiny buns/ rounds. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover and keep to rise for 30 minutes or until the focaccia becomes slightly puffy.
  7. Make dimples on the surface of each mini focaccia. Drizzle reserved oil and sprinkle herbs. Sprinkle some salt.
  8. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes or until nice and golden.
  9. Drizzle some more oil and serve warm.




It rained heavily last week. And when it cleared up, everything was clean, fresh and green. Puddles of water left by the heavy downpour have become home to tadpoles and dragonflies. Sharp and shrill notes of beetles and crickets rend the air at night.


Myriad shades of green dot the landscape. Our village looks like a beautiful painting of nature.
The evening air is fragrant and cool and a cup of hot ginger tea with homemade cookies is a pleasure beyond words.

We baked oat cookies recently with a generous quantity of cinnamon. Butter was replaced by coconut oil. This experiment worked out quite well and we did not miss the butter at all. And we also added ¼ cup crushed salted peanuts. The cookies were crisp and delicious.


The cookies come together in a matter of minutes. The cookies are fuss-free, 100% wholegrain and delicious.

Vegan Oat And Cinnamon Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup wholewheat flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup crushed salted peanuts or almonds
  • ½ cup coconut oil (butter for a non- vegan version)
  • ¾ cup unrefined cane sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tablespoon coconut milk (dairy milk for a non-vegan version)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together first four ingredients, keep aside.
  2. In another large bowl mix coconut oil and sugar.
  3. Add vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients. Now add a little milk to bring the ingredients together into a dough. Add peanuts/almonds
  4. Add more milk if needed. Cover the dough.
  5. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.
  6. Pinch small balls of the dough and flatten them into rounds.
  7. Arrange on a parchment paper lined baking tray, two inches apart.
  8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or, until the sides become golden.
  9. Cool. Store in an airtight jar.




We absolutely adore summers for Mangoes. By Mid July, every variety of mango that grows in north India arrives in the market. And every time we pass by a mango vendor, we end up buying mangoes that adds to the stock already sitting at home.  We love to relish these sweet little things in all the glorious forms. Milkshake, mango lassi, slices, ice creams. We are definitely this fruit fanatic.

Mango is truly called the king of the fruits. You can never have enough of the juicy and sweet fruit and the different flavour that every variety has to offer. Every summer we are overstocked and the same sequence of mango recipe is repeated, loved and enjoyed every season.


It is always the Mango Jam first. The golden jam has robust mango flavour. We love to store it to relish when mangoes are out of season.



Mango Rabri is a traditional Indian dessert that is creamy, fruity and the stuff dreams are made of.



Mango Sandesh is a twist to the traditional Bengali dessert. Mango adds a great flavour to it.



Mango bread is a yeasty bread with a mild hint of the mangoes. Though the flavour is not very strong, the moistness and sweetness it adds to the crumb is incredible.




Mango cake is a delight. It is soft and full of flavour.

This season, mangoes have reached the peak in availability and taste. And, a new recipe adds to the collection. Mango Laddu.

If you love mangoes then this is definitely worth giving a try. It is melt in the mouth mango treat that is addictive.  Condensed milk and mango is a combination made in heaven. Coconut adds a good texture to the laddu. You may add cardamom powder or freshly grated nutmeg if you wish, but the plain avatar has a great flavour and taste.


Mango Laddu | Mango Coconut Laddu | Mango Coconut Balls


Ingredients

  • 1 can condensed milk (400g)
  • 2 cups desiccated coconut
  • 1 cup mango puree
  • ¼ cup desiccated coconut to roll the laddu

Instructions

  1. Take 2 cups desiccated coconut in a thick bottom steel pan. Roast on low flame.
  2. Turn off the heat when it just begins to change colour.
  3. In a thick bottom steel pan, add condensed milk mango puree and roasted coconut. Mix well.
  4. Cook on low flame. Keep stirring continuously.
  5. The mixture will begin to thicken. Keep cooking till it reduces and collects in the center as one big lump.
  6. Turn off the heat.
  7. When the mixture is warm enough to handle, make walnut size balls and roll them in reserved desiccated coconut.
  8. Let the laddu cool completely. Store in an airtight container.                     
Use the standard 240ml cup for the measurements.

Coconut laddus have a unique flavour that comes from mango puree. You may add 1 teaspoon. cardamom powder or ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg after turning off the heat. 

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