Popsicles are enjoyed by both grown-ups and kids on a hot summer day. I usually prepare these hand-held treats at home as they are kid friendly. This time though there was a little twist to these treats. They were not sweet but savoury. Yes you read it right! Savoury ,,, beacuse I made them from popular Indian beverage "Pudina Chaas". Simple, delicious and inexpensive, just prepare pudina chaas, pour into popsicle moulds and freeze them. Kids enjoyed this frozen concoction and I didn't mind they having two at a time. 

You can prepare your own version of flavoured buttermilk, pour into popsicle moulds and ta da..super cool savoury summer treat ready. The burst of fresh mint flavor and chilli kick with each bite, you will have your family and friends asking for more.




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When I found out about availability of red rice powder in supermarkets here, I immediately bought it to prepare string hoppers. This was a variation to shevayin/iddiyappams that I usually make from unroasted white rice flour. 




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Have you imagined a guiltfree gulab jamun treat? 
With 2 packets of instant gulab jamun mix in my pantry and no plans to make gulab jamuns (deep fried dumplings), I started to browse recipes online and my search for such treat ended here.

This cake is soft and delicious, and when I took a bite into this cake it was full of gulab jamun flavors. A super recipe that is prepared with easily available ingredients and no fancy equipment. So friends try original recipe or the below recipe (an adaptation of the original recipe ) and let me know your feedback. 




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The baking season is on, so why not try these eggless tutti frutti cookies for this festive season? The colorful tutti frutti in these biscuits that represent colors of Christmas are sure to attract attention of kids, family members and friends. 




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Tick tock tick tock ... The countdown clock is ticking down. Its time to bid adieu to 2014 and welcome 2015. Looking back at the year's best times, I move ahead with memories of happy moments to be treasured for years to come and welcome year 2015 with new hopes and aspirations for brighter future. 

                                Wishing all of you A Very Happy New Year 2015 !
                           "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
                                                 whispering, it will be happier "
                                                      ~ Alfred Lort Tennyson ~


So here comes my cake for this year, a delicious eggless plum cake using sour cream. The original recipe is by Farrukh which you can read here. I prepared it for the first time following her recipe to the core [the first pic]. Later I decided to experiment by including wheat flour, brown sugar to make it more healthy (seen in below pics).


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Christmas fruit cake is a 'must have' cake for holiday celebrations. It was always a wish to bake this cake but my understanding that the dry fruits which are integral part of it needs soaking in rum/ brandy, so till date I never made an attempt. Few days back I came across Cheryl's recipe on baking group. She had mentioned using non-alcoholic substitute for soaking fruits. That led me to hunt for other recipes which used non-alcoholic substitutes like apple juice, orange juice. I followed Cheryl's tip of using grape juice because as per her tips grape juice is good alternative to brandy. Below recipe is loosely adapted from here but before that you can check Cheryl's page for Christmas Fruit Cake - tips and more and then proceed with baking this cake instantly. 





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A must try cookies which I had bookmarked long long back when this recipe was doing rounds on FB baking group . Recipe by Cheryl from KitchenKemistry which you can check here. I got a chance to bake them this holiday season. If you don't have ripened bananas apples can be substituted in the form of applesauce. The below recipe is with applesauce.




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A simple to prepare cake that had caught attention and was prepared by many bloggers as well as FB foodie group members, me too couldn't escape this recipe adapted from here. The original recipe mentions number of dates, but I have weighed the quantity of dates [deseeded] that were used to prepare this cake [ since the size of dates vary from place to place]. The amount of oil has been reduced in the below recipe, and white sugar has been substituted with brown sugar making it a low cal version. I made them in mini bundt cake pans [inspired by my friend Jay] but you may use regular baking pan or any other shape baking pan.




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Excitement of Diwali festive celebration has already gripped the Indian blogs... buzzing with goodies - sweet as well as savory varieties.... Must say the food photography these days on food blogs has just grown in multiples and I am left marvelled looking those presentations! Looking at so many beautiful pictures I keep wishing ' kaash these Diwali goodies could reach at my place by now" would get a chance to taste them. You too feel them same right? I am sure you are nodding your head in agreement to what I wrote above ;) 

Jumping from one recipe to other recipe unable to decide which one to try for this season, finally I settled down with a small list and happy to be part of this festive buzz. 




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Diwali is just around the corner and me busy preparing goodies especially sweets [family being fan of sweets]. Soyi Khadi is the simplest sweet that I can think of preparing, for any joyous occasion or festive celebrations and it always remains on my list especially during Diwali ... If you are interested to know the recipe for this sweet, I have posted one which you can check here.  This time it was coconut sweet with a twist, yes the khadi was prepared but in different shape and made rich with inviting flavors. 

I have tasted sweets/desserts with mango flavors, but have you ever tried tasting sweets with Kewra essence? Read more about Kewra here. I was not sure about how it would and that's how I decided to experiment and taste it. Added it in place of cardamom powder. Melt in mouth, juicy soft coconut laddoos with subtle mango flavors and hint of kewra essence added unique flavor taking this sweet to next level . You wouldn't want to stop eating on one, such are these laddoos ~ an exotic treat to your tastebuds! Happy to share with you all the its recipe here.




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Breads can be a lifesaver for most of the times. A handy ingredient, pick up at anytime of day and there are numerous dishes that you can prepare from it to serve either for breakfast or evening tea time snacks. I had posted Bread usli recipe. Today it's pizza. Pizza is a dish mostly liked by baccha [kids] team and here its made with bread slice as its base.




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After a gap for few months I am back with my guest series. Today's guest is Anusha Joshi. 
When Anusha wrote a feedback for the first time on F and C's FB page, it was heartwarming to read her comment "had tried making them so many times but never came up with good results... this time they have come really nice spongy and soft... I think your recipes are lucky for me :) "  ... This was about the rasgullas, she had tried preparing following the recipe here. Since the inception of Flavors and Colors, she has been supportive trying different recipes and providing me with her genuine feedback. 

Though initially it was virtual acquaintance, later I got to know that she knew me even before Flavors and Colors ! It was actually a friend of my hubby who is related to Anusha and there we got connected. I am happy to have found a friend in her who is a mom to an infant now. What I appreciate in her is her enthusiasm and her own creative touch to different recipes. Check the below photo [chocolate cake with ganache prepared by her] and you will be left drooling, thinking how you can grab that plate.



Over to my guest today,

Hello foodies, I am Anusha and love cooking ! My cooking hobby started after I got married and my cooking inspiration is none other than Aparna akka. Her clicks made me crazy about cooking and photography. Getting to share the below recipe in her blog is like an honor for me and I would like to thank her for giving me this opportunity.

The recipe is for a sweet dosa [my favourite ;)], which you can have at breakfast or can be a great idea to pack in lunch box.




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Are you searching for kids lunch box recipes? Sometimes do you get stuck for kids lunch ideas as well as healthy eating ? Then here is happy news. 

Indusladies has come out with an E-book having simple and easy recipes [besides 30 printable lunch box love notes as bonus] that will help you in packing your kids lunch box. Its a beautiful compilation of 100 yummy recipes from different bloggers around. I am sure this list will be helpful for busy moms, and make us worry less once we see empty tiffin boxes back from school.

The book is officially available for free download and you can get it at the link given below 
http://www.indusladies.com/food/kids-lunch-box-recipes





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I had posted recipe for savoury semolina cake few months back, that was tried by few of my friends who enjoyed it as a tea time snack. If you haven't do try after you check the recipe here

Today the post is again a cake made from semolina, and its sweet rather than savoury. Its eggless and I used mango purree as egg substitute here. A big thanks passed to my friends D, U and J who inspired me to bake the below cake, definitely a keepsake recipe at my place.



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Surnalis are cottony soft, dimpled dosas with a texture similar to pancakes. Traditionally served with butter or ghee, it tastes heavenly and a favourite of kids in most of the GSB families. Addition of jaggery to the batter and the dosa prepared from this batter is called as Godda Surnali [sweet dosa]. If jaggery is excluded, then the dosas are known as Cheppi Surnalis [bland dosas]. Presenting to you here today are the sweet ones.




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When I received a mail from IndusLadies Partners asking my interest to participate in their contest event Kids Lunch Box Recipes, I replied them back about my willingness and send them list of few dishes. The first dish was Stuffed Appos, and you can check the recipe posted here. 

Today it's "Oats Rawa Idli". The idea of using oats in making idlis was inspired by many fellow foodies across food groups on social websites. There were variations seen across the recipes such as proportion of rawa to oats powder being 1:1, 1/2: 1 or 2:1. I decided to go with 1:1 proportion and rest of the ingredients were used as per availability. You can use different veggie combinations. Here you see use of grated carrots. You may mix the grated carrots directly into the batter [mind it this tends to change the color of idlis] or place the grated carrots first in the greased moulds topped by batter [see the below pic where you see few idlis been decorated with grated carrots on top]. I sometimes dont add carrots at all and place roasted cashews in the moulds before pouring the batter. Let's see the recipe below.




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