(Vegan) gulab jamun

 Gulab jamuns are a favorite at our house across all ages! When we became vegan we were all sad to say goodbye to these delicious little balls dipped in sugar syrup. Somehow I felt any veganized version would not even come close and avoided trying any vegan recipe for it. I couldn't resist for long and finally gave this recipe a try. They came pretty close to the original! I do want to try a few other variations as well. That said, I would say this is a simple recipe and good enough. Good ROI :)

Ingredients:

For the Jamuns:-

• 2.5 cups white bread (I used as simple a white bread as possible - from a bakery rather than the commercial ones because they have too many ingredients. If you're confused just go with an organic option)
• 1/2 cup cashews 
• 1/2 cup water
• Oil for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:-

• 1.5 cup water
• 1.5 cup sugar

Method:

1. Heat the sugar and water together till the sugar has dissolved. Continue heating till the mixture forms a one string consistency (I do not do the string test, just ball park. The syrup should have changed the color a little and not become too sticky).
2. Break apart the bread into fine crumbs.
3. Blend the cashews with water in a grinder to make a smooth cream. Couple of options here:
1. If you've a powerful blender like Vitamix you don't need to soak the cashews
2. If you don't have one then soak the cashews in the water (from the recipe) for 4 hours or so. Or heat the water a little and then soak the cashews for an hour or so
4. Mix the cashew cream with the bread and knead into a soft dough.
5. Heat the oil to medium-low heat.
6. Take a small portion of the dough and roll into a ball in your hand. If the dough is sticky, put some oil on your hands.
7. Once you've formed balls for all the dough, start frying the balls 3-4 at a time.
8. After frying a batch, put it on a plate to absorb all the oil. Try to poke a few hole using a needle (for better absorption of the sugar syrup).
9. Then put them in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup should be warm.
10. Let them soak for a few hours (they will get a little bigger in size as compared to what they were after frying).

(Vegan, Gluten-free) Peanut and sesame laddoo

 

I got this recipe from a friend. Not only are these laddoos delicious, they are healthy and easy to make with minimal ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup, dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup, dry roasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup Almond flour
• 1 tbsp Cashew flour (you can make your own or even substitute with almond flour)
• Pinch of cardamom powder
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (you can also use jaggery powder)

Method:

1. Process peanuts and sesame seeds in food processor so that they leave enough oil to clump together.
2. In a bowl add the peanut sesame mixture and the rest of the ingredients.
3. Mix well with your hand.
4. Take a handful in your hand and press it together to form round balls.

A gentleman in Moscow

 Author: Amor Towles

Love love love this book! It has so many elements in it that it would be hard to list them all. What I loved the most about the book is the expression of the author. Had me laughing half the time. The book does get serious after sometime and at that point you're so invested in the story that you anyway want to read it. The vivid description by the author makes you feel as if you are right there.

The story is about a Count Alexander Rostov who, as his title suggests was a count and hence used to all the luxuries, is now sentenced to house arrest in a hotel. When a Count, he would stay in a suite in the same hotel and now he must live in a 1-room attic. Count is a man of wit and humor; and not one to self-pity. While you feel sad that he is relegated to such a state, his attitude towards it inspires you. He believes in "when life gives you lemon, make lemonade". It is so heartening to see how he lives his life from there on. He comes to a meet a little girl and they become good friends. There is much he learns from this girl. The story also wraps around the events that were happening in Russia around that time (1922).

As I said there are so many aspects to love about the book! I would highly recommend reading it especially if you like to read humor.

In Five Years

 Author: Rebecca Serle

The saddest part of this book was that within the first few pages itself I found out that this book is not up my alley! It is based on a premonition - just not something I believe in :( 

Dannie Kohan always has a plan for the next 5 years. She knows exactly where she will be, what she will be doing. She has the job that she was aiming for, she is engaged about to be married, they know after marriage where they want to live, how many kids they will have and so on. One day she has a dream where she's intimate with a different man. After she wakes up from the dream, she is unable to shake off the picture of the man. She has fallen in love with man in her dreams. That one dream will change the rest of her life. 

Normal People

 Author: Sally Rooney

It was anything but a normal story! I can't believe the high ratings this book had on Amazon and GoodReads! It reminded of hundreds of Bollywood movies that are based on exactly the same skeleton - boy meets girl, they are "only friends" but somehow can never find any partner they can live happily with, they are their true selves only with each other, they do coming back to each other but can never decide to stay together for the rest of their life.

That pretty much sums it up.

Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

 Author: Daniel H Pink

Loved reading this book! Very well written and really liked the content!

As the name suggests, the book is about what motivates most people. The author talks about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic true to it's name, comes from within and end of the day, it is what leads to the best work! Extrinsic is when we are motivated by external rewards; also called if-then rewards by the author. In such a case, the doer already knows that "if" they do this, "then" they will get that. The focus in such a case is on finishing the job and not so much on how the job is done. As a result, the doer will try to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal - trying unethical means, lower quality work and so on. Extrinsic motivation can work for routine jobs.

On the other hand, creative work requires intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes when an individual has autonomy be it over the task, the time, the technique and/or the team, they can see the purpose for what they're doing and can hope to achieve mastery.

Towards the end of the book, there are specific suggestions for individuals in various roles as well as organizations.

Nippat (vegan snacks)

 

These were an instant hit at home! I used this recipe - in fact that is my favorite blog for any Karnataka recipe. This was probably the second or the third time I was making them. I'd tried them years back (using some other recipe) and with less experience. It was not a successful experiment. Then this year during holidays I decided to give it a try again. Anytime you try something totally new, be ready to fail and make sure you have lot of patience as it's not going to be easy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sooji
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder 
• 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
• 4 tbsp raw peanuts
• 4 tbsp dalia (Roasted gram dal)
• 1.5 salt
• 4 tsp oil + oil for deep frying
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water water

Method

1. Grind the peanuts and roasted gram dal coarsely. I used the food processor to do that.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients. 
3. Heat 4 tsp oil and add it to the above mixture of flour and nuts. Keep aside for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Then, add water little by little to make it a medium dough. Not too hard, not too soft.
5. Divide the dough into 24 pieces to make the Nippatu, the spicy crackers.
6. Heat the oil on a medium heat. For me, setting it to "4" worked. A little less than medium is just right.
7. Grease a parchment paper. Take a piece of dough and roll it out.
8. Roll out 4-5 and then fry them in the oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough. To test, put a tiny piece of dough in the oil and it should float up immediately.
9. Fry it until it turns golden brown color on both sides.

Good Omens

Author: Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

 I had so much fun reading this book! It reminded me of Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. So if you liked that book, I think you will like this too. It is full humor and the kind of humor that I only saw in HHGG!

Crowley is a demon and Aziraphale is an angel. While at odds because of their profession, they do get along well because they are the only two from their world on this earth who have been living on the earth for so long. They have not only adjusted to the lifestyle on Earth but also understand humans. 

There is a book of prophecies, The nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, written 100s of years ago. However, all it's prophecies have come true in one way or another. It says that the world is going to end this Saturday. So the armies of Good and Evil start preparation to come out as winner when the apocalypse happens. Crowley and Aziraphale are not very happy about it because they like to live on Earth. There is something or rather somebody who can prevent this from happening. They can prevent it from happening and they can also make it happen. The armies of Good and Evil search for him, each for their own benefit.

After reading this book I'm tempted to read more from this author. It was sheer joy reading this book!

Silent patient

 Author: Alex Michaelides

This was a good thriller! If you are looking for one then consider adding it to your list! I could not guess till almost the end what was happening (well it could just be me :))!

The book is about Alicia Berenson, a famous painter and Theo Faber, a criminal psychologist. Alicia leading a happy married life, is all of a sudden accused of shooting her husband. Not once, not twice but five times. From then on she refuses to talk, her paintings become sought after and highly valued and at the same time casts bad light on Alicia. 

Theo Faber, is intrigued by Alicia's refusal to talk and wants to take up the challenge of getting her out of this state. Towards that end, he gets a job at the center where Alicia is moved to and gets assigned to her case. His journey with her has less ups and more downs. He gets some breaks where he thinks he's having success and that pumps him up. Only later to find out he has had a setback. Be it Alicia causing self-harm or harming another inmate at the center. His treatment for Alicia consumes his personal and professional life. At the end, he does have success but that changes everything.

It was quite a thrilling book for me and kept me on the edge. One of those books which given time I would have liked to finish in one sitting :)

(Vegan) Chocolate cake - the best ever!

 I've baked a vegan chocolate cake before and while it was good - it felt like a compromise. For my kids birthday I was looking for a recipe which would be as close to a non-vegan chocolate cake as possible. Since I've tried a few recipes from Nora Cooks, I thought I would give her chocolate cake recipe a shot. Sure enough it was the best ever chocolate cake (vegan or not)! I know that because DH who doesn't like chocolate cakes that much loved it and said he wouldn't know it was vegan! The cake was moist, chocolatey and just the right amount of sweet!

I followed the recipe to the T - for the cake as well as the frosting, except for a few replacements like replacing the almond milk with soy milk because that is what we have.

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

• 1 cup soy milk (we use the WestSoy soy milk which is just water and soybeans)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Chocolate buttercream frosting

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups earth balance vegan butter, softened, baking sticks preferred
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9X13 inch pan with parchment paper. I grease the sides with some oil.
  
• Add the vinegar to the soy milk, set it aside and let it curdle. Don't worry when you see it all curdled - that's how it's supposed to be.
  
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  
• Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and soy milk/vinegar mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer  until well combined. 
  
• Add the boiling water. I first boiled the water on stove and then measured 1 cup. Continue mixing till the mixture is well blended. The batter will be runny.
  
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
  
• If you want to frost the cake, let it cool first.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

• In a large bowl, add the softened vegan butter and mix with a hand mixer until creamed.
  
• Now add the cocoa and continue mixing until well combined. If you add the cocoa first and then add the butter, the cocoa blows off due to all the air. Creaming the butter first helps.
• Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the soy milk, and mix until combined. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix starting on low, and turn to high. Mix until fluffy and combined.
• If the frosting seems too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon or two at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold it's shape, add more powdered sugar until it thickens up.