Carrot alwa/halwa (dairy-free, vegan)

Many years ago when we used to live in Mumbai, a Sikh family lived next door.  The lady who lived in the house, whom we referred to as ‘Punjabi aunty’, would sometimes make carrot halwa for us. In India, carrot halwa would often be made during the winter months when a variety of red carrots…

Navarathri Day 9—Healthy chocolate hazelnut and almond ‘nutties’ sweet ‘sundal’

Cadbury Nutties were a rare childhood treat. Occasionally we received a box of nutties (usually it was a good quality metal tin which we also preserved) as a gift from a relative or a family friend. Nutties had a nut and caramel core, and were covered in milk chocolate. There were usually about 20 –…

Bean biscuits (eggless, vegan)

If you walked into a bakery in my hometown Coimbatore in the south of India, you might see a huge glass jar on the counter filled with small bean-shaped biscuits known as “bean biscuits”, sometimes “coin biscuits” when they’re round instead of bean-shaped. Bakery products are very popular in South India and they are mostly…

Fruit and nut butter chocolate cups

A healthier tastier version of the Cadbury Fruit and Nut chocolate bar, which used to be very popular in India when I lived there many years ago. Inspired by peanut butter cups, these are dark chocolate shells stuffed with chewy raisins and almond butter and topped with toasted flaked almonds. When you bite into one…