Pineapple season is here and what could be a better way to celebrate it than by making a nice upside down cake 🙂 !? This cake is fruity, sweet, and moist with a lovely glaze of caramelized sugar, topped with juicy pineapple pieces! And it’s so, so easy to make!

It’s such a simple yet nice looking cake to make for get-togethers and potlucks. Just one thing to keep in mind—adjust the amount of sugar according to the sweetness of the fruit. You can also add roasted chopped nuts to the batter if desired.

There are several ways to make vegan curd starters, but this one is the *ultimate* in my opinion. One major issue that people generally face with vegan curds is the absence of a natural tang or sourness, and this starter is perfect for solving this problem 🙂

A BIG thank you to Inderjeet Kaur Tinani for suggesting this idea in a Facebook post. This starter liquid is naturally sour and adds such a delightful tang to the curd! You can add more liquid if you prefer your curd to be on the sourer side. Do try and share your results!

My original brownie recipe was adapted from a non-vegan version that used dairy curd (thanks, Kavita). I made mine using soy curd and it was a hit with my friends! Check it out here.

While I was totally happy with the recipe, I wanted a simpler version with no curd. And in walks ACV like a knight in a shining armor 🙂

This brownie recipe is totally hassle-free and super easy to make! All you need is a handful of readily available ingredients and 15 minutes of active work to bake a batch of rich, dense, and moist brownies studded with pieces of melty chocolate and crunchy nuts!

I’m a part of this amazing Vegan Cooking Support group on WhatsApp where we discuss everything from easy-to-make dairy alternatives to special items fit for parties and functions.

One particular day, the discussion turned to apple cakes and someone posted a link to this Vegan German Apple Cake—Apfelkuchen mit Mandeln! Just how exotic! I wanted to make it so badly but the issue was, the recipe was too complicated for lazy me. So I googled for another recipe and came across this one—a gorgeous, drool-worthy cake that called for egg replacement powder. Once again, not a practical recipe for me.

So, ultimately I was like, “What the heck… Lemme make my own!” And so I did.

Curd is something most Indians love! Irrespective of the region, curd is an integral part of the typical Indian diet. The good news is that as vegans you can continue to enjoy your favorite curd—just make a plant-based version instead of the “regular” dairy one!

To set thick and creamy vegan curd you need a good quality starter. There are several methods of making vegan starters. I have personally tried a few methods successfully after getting inspired by posts in vegan groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. I have discussed these here: 5 Types of Homemade Vegan Curd Starters

This carrot cake is totally like Gajar ka Halwa in a cake form! The earthy flavor and rich color of carrots team up beautifully with the sweet, fruity tones of apple/pineapple to make this moist, dense, and flavourful cake. This is quite a homey cake, the kind you’d bake for a little get-together at home or for a leisurely weekend dinner with family.

What I love the most about this recipe is that it’s very easy to make—as simple as making gajar ka halwa! So, if you’re a beginner baker, you can try this without any worry. All you need is a handful of ingredients that are easily available in any Indian kitchen and a few minutes of active preparation. We humans just need to perform the simple steps; the “hard” work is taken care by the oven 🙂

What’s your take on making soups from scratch? Love the process or is it something you haven’t given a try as yet? If you love making your own soups, I hear you—same here! And if you’re yet to try, then do it! It’s really satisfying to make soups from scratch: you have the full control over the ingredients that go in and you get to enjoy the process as well!

Even though I’m not that much into healthy eating, I prefer making my own soups rather than use those processed, preservative-filled soup mixes. And since we’re talking about Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup, I wonder if we even get vegan mushroom soup mixes in the Indian markets? I don’t know as it’s been ages since I bought a ready-to-use soup mix. Anyway, it doesn’t matter as making your own soups is so easy—and fun too!

When it comes to weeknight meals, I prefer simple and easy dishes that can be prepared quickly. After all, who is really in a mood to cook elaborate meals on a Thursday evening of all the days? Well, once in a while I do prepare something special even on weeknights, but mostly it’s rotis with a simple oil-free dal or subzi like this Mushroom Palak Subzi.

Oil-free cooking might seem daunting at first, but it’s really no big deal when it comes to normal day-to-day dals and subzis. I do use oil, but I’m trying to minimize its consumption. So, most of the mundane dishes I prepare are oil-free and many times I can’t even tell the difference! If you’re interested in oil-free cooking, do try making your regular recipes sans the oil. It’s actually fun 🙂

What’s a winter weekend brunch without sizzling hot stuffed parathe, mixed vegetable pickle, and a bowl of thick and creamy vegan dahi? Curd is a necessity in winter, right? But as soon as the mercury dips, making curd becomes challenging—it just won’t set properly! Well, it’s not really the dahi’s fault.  The good bacteria that convert the milk into curd require a warm and cosy environment to work their magic. Temperature plays a major role in the process of setting curd.

My hometown is one of the coldest cities in the plains of India yet my father manages to set the perfect curd even in the almost-freezing, dreary January weather. He’s not vegan but he’s the one who taught me the techniques of making the perfect vegan dahi 🙂

You know the all too familiar scenario. It’s 4 o’clock on a lazy Sunday afternoon when a vegan friend calls you up to tell that they’re on their way to your place. Just like that, out of the blue! You hurriedly rummage through your pantry to see what you can offer to your surprise guest. Thankfully you find a packet of Hide & Seek biscuits and some namkeen. Good… But hey! What about the tea? There’s not a single drop of dairy-free milk in your fridge right now! What do you do?!

It’s at moments like this that this Vegan Masala Chai for Surprise Visitors comes in handy. If you have some cashews nuts on hand, you can easily make a flavourful vegan masala chai in no time. It takes hardly fifteen minutes from start to finish. Yass, bring on the chai!!

Also try: Foolproof Vegan Masala Chai Tea