Black Forest Buns

"Valentine's Day" is the theme for February month's challenge of "We Knead to Bake". I don't think there could be a better choice than the "Black Forest Buns" that Aparna chose for us. A German tradition, "Black Forest Gateau/Cake" pairs rich chocolate cake with cherries. Flavored with kirsch (fruit brandy from cherries) and with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and more whipped cream on top, makes a stunning dessert for Valentine's Day. Now, think of the same deliciousness (sans kirsch & whipped cream) rolled out into cute little "Black Forest Buns". An ambitious baking project, I would say.. but is extremely tasty.

Bisibele-bhath

India is popular for its varied diversity in culture, language, religion, climate and most importantly FOOD!! Infact, every household has unique recipes, proudly carried over for generations, that are special in their own ways. One such signature dish from Karnataka (Mysore/Bangalore region) is "Bisibele-huli-anna" or "Bisibele-bhath" (Hot lentil rice).

Quick Bean & Corn Quesadilla

A quick 10-min evening snack idea that your kids will love! For the stuffing, I made a sautéed black bean & corn mixture, and for the side I made a mild tomato salsa and served it with chopped avocados.

Rice Idli

There is no better food than "idli" to start your day on a rich & healthy note. These soft & spongy streamed rice cakes, made out of rice and black lentils, is a quintessential south-Indian breakfast that is now savored all over India and across the globe too!

Unlike US, where the first meal of the day is mostly grab-and-go, make-ahead, packaged-and-ready-to-eat types, Indians tend to have freshly cooked, detailed and complete breakfast. Especially in South India, idli stands out to be a popular breakfast food, for it is calorie-rich, steamed and fat-free.

Whole Wheat Spinach/Palak Pizza - Indian Style

There is nothing Italian about the pizzas anymore. Today, pizza is more of an universal food. But, the most wonderful thing about pizza is that it is very accessible and can be easily customized to fit people's needs and taste. Infact, it makes me think that India has indirect roots to pizza through naan, as both share similar ingredients, prep and cooking methods. Again, the texture of all base sauces of Indian curries kind of resembles Italian pizza base sauces. So, what's wrong in tweaking an Italian pizza to suit Indian tastebuds?!

Well, this recipe is one such experiment of mine - "Whole Wheat pizza with Spinach/Palak sauce" loaded with onions, tomatoes, pineapple and jalapeños finished with cheese on top... YUM is the word!!