The Art of Simplicity

 1. Take 200g of digestive biscuits and crush them to powder. Mix it with 85g of semi-melted/softened butter and press the mixture flat with soft hands in a 6-7 inch tart mould. Bake this base for 5 mins at 180 degree celsius and then refrigerate. After an hour cut two small/one big banana into pieces and put them inside the tart. 2. Prepare the toffee caramel sauce by heating 30gms of butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar and stir on medium flame continuously. Add a tin of condensed milk to it and bring it to a boil(cook it for a minute or two) and keep stirring continuously. As soon as it is done pour the mixture over the bananas and refrigerate. 3. Take 150gms of fresh heavy fat cream and whip it till soft peaks are formed. Do this over an ice bowl. After the cream is thickened, spread it over the cooled toffee layer and top it with chocolate shavings. Refrigerate it for some time before cutting and eating!

 1. In a bowl, add 2 cups of all purpose flour(maida), 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 2 tsps vinegar, a pinch of salt, 1 tbs eno (fruit salt) and 1/2 cup lukewarm milk and knead a dough. After kneading for 8-10 mins, add two tbs ghee/butter and knead once again. Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let it rest for about 2 hrs. 2. Take big portions out of the dough, roll them into a ball and then with a rolling pin flatten it: take a small bowl for making the bigger circle and a small bottle cap for the inner circle. 3. Fry the donuts on low to medium flame till they turn golden brown. Frying them on high flame will turn them golden quickly but they will remain uncooked from inside. 4. Do not drain the excess oil from the donuts after frying as it will make them hard; dunk them in chocolate ganache and cover them with chocolate chips/ sprinkles/ dry fruits etc.

In a pan, add 1 cup milk, 2/3 cup oats, 2 tbs brown sugar, 1 tbs cocoa powder, 1 tbs desiccated coconut powder and cook on medium flame for 5-7 mins. Keep stirring in between. When the oats swell up and absorb the chocolate milk, remove from flame, serve it in a bowl and top it with coconut and chocolate chips. You may also add peanut butter and honey.

 For the cream cheese: Boil 1 1/2 litres of full fat milk and add 1/2 cup of heavy cream(malai) to it. Once it comes to a boil, bring the flame to medium level and add the juice of 1 big lime to curdle it. After that when a cottage cheese like consistency is obtained and the water has become translucent, strain it using a muslin cloth and cool it down.  Till then, take 150 gms of digestive biscuits, crush them and then blend them into a fine powder using an electric grinder. Combine it with 1/2 cup melted butter and spread the mixture in a cheesecake mould(6-7 inch) and bake it at 180 degrees celsius for 8-10 mins. While the base is getting baked, take the cream cheese, add 1/4 cup curd/yogurt, 1/2 cup cream, 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla essence to it and whisk them all together into a fine and smooth mixture using an electric beater but make sure not to overmix. Pour the mixture over the baked biscuit base and wrap the sides and base of the tin with foil. Place it...

Take a big bowl and add 2 cups rolled oats (I used broken oatmeal instead) which are slightly toasted in the oven for a minute or two. To this bowl, add-  1/2 cup almonds roughly chopped (I just sliced them from the mid)  1 tsp cinnamon powder + 1/4 cup granulated brown sugar  1 tsp vanilla extract  2 tbs peanut butter  1/3 cup melted butter  1/2 cup honey   1/4 cup shredded coconut/if not freshly grated coconut then dried coconut powder  2 tbs coconut oil 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/4 cup chocolate chips Mix all the ingredients very well so that they combine nicely and then pat the granola mixture evenly in a baking dish. Sprinkle more choco chips and cranberries from top if you like and press them into the mixture well. Bake it at 170 degrees for 18-20 mins until golden in colour and crisp in texture. After cooling it down, cut it into bars and enjoy! If the weather is hot and humid, store the bars in the refrigerator.

1. For the dough- Take 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour in a big bowl and add 3 tbs of oil, 1/2 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt and add approximately half cup of lukewarm water(do the adjustments accordingly) and knead a smooth dough. Let the dough rest for an hour or two. 2. For the sour cream- Take 1 cup of hung curd and add 1tbs of lime juice to it and mix well. 3. For the salsa- Take 2 large charred tomatoes(roast on high flame for a minute from all sides) and then grind them with 1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1tsp oregano, 2 tsp chilli flakes, salt to taste, 1tsp cumin powder in an electric grinder into a "rough" paste. Add 1 medium sized finely chopped onion to it and mix well; try to make this part of the dish the last as the salsa starts leaving a lot of water. 4. For the filling- In a big pan on medium to high flame, add 2-3 tbs olive oil, few pods of finely chopped garlic, 1 small onion thinly sliced, 1/2 cup of coloured bell peppers finely sl...