5 star Zucchini Bread

This is my daughter's recipe taken over by me, when she married and left home. We can't believe it's a 'bread' recipe...it's more like a fruit cake or, to be really accurate, I should say vegetable cake. Call it by any name...it's yummylicious!

I grew zucchini in my garden for years and she discovered the recipe in a Betty Crocker Cookbook and we've kept changing/adding to it over the years.

Recently I tweaked the recipe for a friend who doesn't eat eggs.

For those of you who don't get zucchini where you are, it is similar to 'lauki'. I have often used zucchini in sambar as if it were lauki.

They are close cousins.

I'm giving you both the original recipe and the new shortcut; adapted to my 'easily-tired' stage.

I hope you'll try the original recipe too because it's on the topmost rung of 'Tried and True Recipes', in our family.

lan, the flowers were added with you in mind...the nasturtiums have run amok in my garden this year with all the rain we've been having.

5 star zucchini bread

This zucchini bread recipe makes two large loaves or four mini loaves.

• 3 eggs
  
• 1 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I use 11/2 c. as raisins add sweetness too)
  
• 2 cups peeled & grated zucchini ( use medium sized grater)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• (I use 1 ½ cups all purpose and 1 ½ cups chapatti atta (whole wheat flour) from the Indian grocery store).
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1 cup raisins
  

Beat eggs until light and foamy; add vegetable oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but blend thoroughly.

Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; mix lightly. Add dry ingredients to first mixture, stirring to blend. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Pour batter into two loaf pans, 9x5x3-inches in size. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center of a loaf comes out clean.

I used foil mini loaf pans and it baked in 35-40 mins.

**********************************.

New Zucchini Bread Recipe

One box yellow cake mix.

(you could use the spice cake mix and omit the cinnamon, cloves and allspice).

2 cups peeled & grated zucchini. (I use the medium sized hand grater/Cuisinart medium grater).

½ cup raisins

2/3 cup walnuts (Chopped by hand).

1 level tablesppon ground cinnamon.

1 level teaspoon ground cloves

1 level teaspoon allspice

(Next time I'll use 1 cup walnuts, 2/3 cup raisins.)

Follow directions on cake mix box for other ingredients like oil and water.

ADD 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup water extra to mix.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

I substituted 3 Tbsps yogurt for the 3 eggs.

(In our home it's supposed to be buttermilk that's substituted for eggs, but I use yogurt and add a couple of tablespoon of water so it mixes up in the food processor.)

When the cake mix, oil, water and buttermilk is blended, add the raisins, walnuts and grated zucchini and ran the food processor for 30 seconds.

Do not over beat.

Check the consistency of the batter… we all know what the consistency of cake batter from a box should be…if too thick add a little water.

Pour into well-greased loaf pans or a baking dish. (I use mini foil pans as I have standing orders from friends for gifts of zucchini bread.)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Check after 30 mins.

Remember baking time depends on the kind of oven you have and this cake took a long time though it was in 4 mini loaf pans.

Enjoy…your friends and family will never guess this bread/cake has zucchini in it so you might want to play a 'guess the secret ingredient' game, before you tell them.

TRIFLE WITHOUT MILK

A friend's comment that she was having adverse reaction to dairy foods (particularly milk), made me work out my favorite trifle without milk. I tried not to compromise the taste so it took three tries and many tastings (my favorite part), to get this right.

Trifle Without Milk

One box white cake mix (comes out the best and lightest).
One pound fresh strawberries, sliced. (You can used canned, frozen fruit).
4 cups water
4 Tbsps cornstarch
4 Tbsps splenda/sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch cardamom (optional)
1/2 cup strawberry jam.
Juice of one lemon...2 Tbsps
Sherry (optional)
1 small can pineapple juice or if you're using canned fruit then juice from can.
1 tub whipped non-dairy topping.
Hershey's chocolate syrup for decoration.

Bake cake according to package directions.
Allow to cool.
(I use about half of the cake baked in a 9 by 11 pan for a large bowl of trifle for 6-8 people and all the cake for 16-20 people).
If making it for 16-20 people double the custard recipe.
First set aside some strawberry slices for decoration.
In a small bowl mix cornstarch with cold water till smooth.
Bring rest of water to boil in a saucepan, add cornstarch, keep stirring till it boils for 2 mins.
Add Splenda/sugar, sliced fruit, vanilla essence, cardamom, jam and cook till fruit is soft.
Add lemon juice.
Taste. It should be sweet but not TOO sweet with just a hint of lemon.
Mix should be thick but not too thick...if it is, add some more water.
It should be like a custard at this stage or thick idli batter.

Arrange cake slices in one layer...I layer it with 2" cubes as I just have one layer...you can do slices if you want to repeat layers.
Pour sherry evenly over cake, add pineapple juice to wet cake but don't drown it.
Pour strawberry mix over it...this too will go into the cake but the rest will set as an even layer.
Refrigerate till cool.
Spread whipped topping in a layer.
Decorate with chocolate and strawberry slices.
Serve well chilled.

The last time I made it the trifle in ready-to-serve individual glass bowls and the layers showed up well. The friend who doesn't tolerate milk was thrilled and other friends I've made it for didn't miss the custard. Everyone agrees this is a scrumptious dessert.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year to one and all.

May 2011 be filled with health, wealth and happiness, and if all that does not add up to prosperity, I don't know what does.

I have been busy since Thanksgiving, trying to clean out my freezer.

By that I mean, eat all the dishes, I had stored there.

That resolution made HD and me happy throughout December. When we weren't eating with friends or family, we had 'instant meals' to heat and eat! He loved the minimal washing up, and I loved the time to turn my attention to all the holiday fun.

To date, I still haven't met my goal of freezer emptying, so I abandoned that temporarily, and started making a few new dishes.

I've often wondered if everything we bloggers try comes out great...in my case that isn't so.

I've also often wondered about those people on cooking shows who take a bite of what they've made and say, "Ummm...so good...so delicious etc...."

Do they always get it right?

Anyway, to get back to my experiences, this recipe for corn fritters intrigued me, but also left me feeling it needed something more. I got the main idea for this recipe from 3 Thai cooking sites and I'm dubbing it a 'work in progress'.

Who can resist a fried dish in this cold weather? I'm posting this recipe now, instead of trying to perfect it, hoping for two things: 1. everyone will enjoy it now

2. some cooking genius will come up with some advice to help me make a good dish, great.

Tofu Corn Fritters

1 cup rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (fish sauce can be used instead)

8 ozs firm tofu cut into small cubes

1 cup frozen corn kernels (you can use fresh kernels off the cob if you want to).

1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

4 green onions sliced fine

Red chilli powder and crushed pepper to taste.

(HD would prefer plenty of sliced green chillies, which I will try next time.)

A pinch of turmeric.

1-2 kaffir lime leaves, available at Oriental grocery stores snipped into slivers...I omitted this as I couldn't find any. (wish I had added some lime juice or a tsp of vinegar instead).

Mix rice, baking powder and spices well.

Beat eggs with oyster and soy sauce.

Mix all ingredients together.

Deep fry by heating oil well, dropping mix by the teaspoonful into the oil.

Let the underside brown, turn over and remove when both sides are a deep golden brown.

Don't mess with it too soon or it will break up in the oil...it will also do this if the oil isn't hot enough.

I fried one alone first, for a taste test, and decided the needed just a pinch of salt.

Serve hot with sweet and sour chilli sauce.

Delicious, but I would have liked a little more crunch in it...maybe next time I'm going to add some chopped red onion.

Also, I'm going to mix the batter and fry straight away...I think letting the batter rest a while, softened the scallion and bell pepper, which otherwise might have given me the texture I'm looking for.

The tofu was an unexpected ingredient that tasted delicious.

lan, this one's for you.

STUFF IT!

Most people stuffed with the Thanksgiving feast, are wondering what to do with leftovers.

When the kids were still at home, I would shred the remaining turkey and freeze it, using it later in turkey stir fried rice.

It's easy: take any stir fried rice recipe and substitute shredded turkey for the meat/chicken in the recipe.

I've even minced left over turkey in the food processor and frozen it for use in keema fry, koftas, kebabs and turkey burgers....the roasted turkey is lean and delicious.

My turkey burgers are made with finely chopped onion, cilantro,minced ginger, pepper and chilli powder. Fry half the chopped onion, add everything else including turkey mince, shape into patties and fry on non stick skillet using a little Pam spray on each side of the burger to brown it.

If the burger is too dry and falls apart...add a beaten egg to the mixture.

To lessen the carbs my 'burgers' go between two slices of bread instead of a bun.

These burgers, broken into little pieces are excellent used as a stuffing in tomatoes/bell peppers.

In fact, I decided some years ago, that I like turkey left overs better than the actual roast turkey, going so far as to roast a small turkey just to have enough to use in the dishes I like best.

Over the last month, I've been collecting other stuffed recipes and came up with this list:

Tomatoes stuffed with: pilaf, or biriyani, or tomato rice, or 'fried keema': a dish I make with turkey mince, garam masala and lots of fried, chopped onion.

Leftover roast turkey mince is great for this.

Stuffing must be dry when done and fairly cool before use.

Slice the top of the tomato carefully, saving the piece for a 'hat'.

Using a teaspoon or a grapefruit spoon, scoop out the inside carefully.

This pulp can be added to stuffing and cooked till dry, or saved for another dish.

Even the firmest tomatoes have a lot of moisture inside (picture 1) so I patted mine dry with a paper towel.

Stuff tomatoes, put 'hats' on, smear outside of tomatoes with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes...if you like your tomatoes cooked more/broiled...go for it.

I don't like my tomatoes squishy hence the short baking time.

I used tomatoes on the vine...and they looked great.

Capsicums/bell peppers do well with the above stuffings too.

My favorite stuffing for this is: potatoes.

For the potatoes: fry chopped onion, add one tomato, chilli powder and one chopped green chilli, chopped coriander, a little minced garlic and ginger, a pinch of turmeric, and cooked cubed potatoes.

Keep frying till all the moisture is absorbed.

Slice a 'hat' off the capsicum, de-seed, remove white membranes, stuff the potatoes into the peppers, put hats back on, smear outside of capsicum with olive oil and bake at 350 for 45 mins or longer.

Optional: When HD used to cook, he would leave hats off and top with a little butter.

These can also be left open, sprinkled with Italian breadcrumbs and dotted with butter before baking.

For capsicums I like the outside brown and well done.

The potatoes look so good in green or red capsicums/ bell peppers.

The yellow capsicums show off keema and biriyani well.

A tray of assorted bell peppers (some hatless), look great at a party.

In India, I've had small bell peppers stuffed with masala which were scrumptious.

Eggplant/brinjal/aubergine is another great veggie to stuff with keema/mince, or with fried prawns.

Slice the big American eggplant into half lengthwise, scoop out inside.

I broil the inside separately and make an eggplant 'bharta' with it (recipe below) to serve as a side dish or at another meal.

Use a knife to cube and then cut out inside of halved eggplants, leaving a half inch rim.

Stuff with spicy fried prawns.

Sprinkle Italian bread crumbs on top.

Dot with butter.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 45 mins. or till outer skin of eggplant is soft and shriveled.

Some people add the flesh of the eggplant to the mince and let it cook but I prefer to use it for this recipe given below.

Eggplant bharta: Broil eggplant, remove inside.

or

As in the above recipe, remove inside of eggplant and broil it.

Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan.

Put in rai, curry leaves, red chillies and one chopped onion.

When onion is almost browned add eggplant, chilli powder or chopped green chillies, and a pinch of turmeric. Simmer for a minute. Serve hot with chappattis.

Karela or bitter gourd stuffed with potatoes.

Banana peppers stuffed with potatoes.

Large mushrooms: My daughter makes this and I will get the recipe from her.

I've heard of stuffed pumpkins and gourds, and zucchinis, stuffed fish, even stuffed cabbage!

Stuffed cabbage: separate large leaves of cabbage.

Blanch i.e place in boiling water for 2 minutes.

Strain and allow to half dry.

Place a 'ball' of potato mixture/keema in center of cabbage.

Fold over edges to cover completely...use a toothpick to hold closed.

Dip the cabbage roll in a batter of gram flour, water, chilli powder and salt.

Deep fry.

Remove toothpick before eating.

A friend in Michigan, used to make a dish that I've never tried.

She took a whole large cabbage, separated the outer leaves carefully to 'open' the cabbage.

Between the leaves she spooned a stuffing of fried onions cooked with tomatoes, peas and spices.

Half this mix was cooked but kept in it's watery state.

When the other half of the filling was dry, she ran it in a food processor for a minute, to get a rough 'mash'.

After stuffing the outer leaves of the cabbage, she then tied up the whole with kitchen string like a 'belt'.

Placing the liquid half of the peas/tomato mix in a baking dish, the cabbage was placed on top and then baked in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for an hour.

All I remember about this dish was that it was delicious!

Bread is excellent stuffed with potatoes.

Dip bread slices in a saucer of water, turning them very quickly so they absorb just a little water.

If the get soggy, press them on a plate to squeeze out excess water.

Place a spoon of potato or keema in the center and roll up, pressing all edges firmly.

Refrigerate till dry and then deep fry.

Serve hot with mint chutney.

I've also made a loaf using ready made bread dough, thawed, rolled out to double the loaf pan width, stuffed, folded up over the stuffing, allowed to rise in a loaf pan and then baked according to package instructions...yummy.

Stuffing is a great way to use leftovers .

One of the favorites at our house is Japanese eggplants stuffed with masala...named 'Eggplant and Potato' elsewhere in this blog!

Just think up your own combo and... not just during the holidays but all year long... and stuff it!

Cheenachatti's Besan Laddus

Last year with Diwali approaching, the mind is on which sweets to make for the festival.
As always, I'm on the lookout for easy but tasty.
I don't know why I didn't publish this though I wrote it up before Diwali...the memory is not what it used to be but I'm glad to share this:  BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

A question from a friend triggered a memory...I had promised myself a while back, I would try besan laddus and Lan of Cheenachatti had dedicated her recipe for besan laddus to me.
I had procrastinated never thinking I was capable of turning out good besan laddus.
The part that scared me was the holding/shaping part...I've never been good at that.
Re-reading Lan's recipe I found one didn't have to shape them while hot and a discussion
with my friend resulted in another idea...I pressed the mix into an old ice cream scoop first, turned them out, waited for them to cool a bit and then shaped them with no problem at all.

They came out so good...thanks to Lan's accuracy for details. I love writers who can describe their recipes in so much detail, one doesn't have to guess at a single thing...and the outcome is exactly what it is supposed to be. If one can try out a recipe and the outcome is superior, not ordinary, then the credit goes to the writer/cook who shared it.
So now, thanks to Lan, I can add 'maker of besan laddus' to my cooking resume.
I had to post a picture to show you how the laddus turned out.

Here's the link to her recipe:
http://cheenachatti.blogspot.com/search/label/snacks
Scroll down the page to find the besan laddus.

The only thing I changed, (as I have eaten too many besan sweets where the taste is spoiled because the besan isn't fried properly) is that I fried the besan by itself, then the sooji, before adding ghee and sugar. Fry the besan slowly, keep stirring, to make sure you get the really good smell Lan mentions, without burning the besan.

Wait one hour before tasting as the flavors really improve with time...so I made mine at 7, tasted one at 8, and one at nine. After refrigerating them overnight, I tasted one in the morning. I liked the slightly hard texture refrigerating gave my laddus...and kept tasting!
The things I do in the name of research!!!

Thanks Lan for a GREAT keeper recipe.

Coconut macaroons

I can't believe I haven't written up any recipes since June 15th.
Too many other projects, so little time...that's my reason.
The summer heat that came in very late this year, has finally abated and I'm hoping the cooler weather will give some relief to a diabetic's perennial health issues. I have different ones with different seasons now...and the challenge is coping with them to the best of one's ability.
The nutritionist I saw this summer, helped me so much that it renewed my belief that eating properly is one cornerstone of a healthy life.
Does it mean a diabetic has to be a gastronomic saint? Of course not. In fact, indulging once in a while results in a contended mind that is happy to get back on the ' food treadmill'.

As always, I've been collecting recipes and thinking of ones that fit the criteria of quick and easy without compromising taste, so here's one of them.
Each macaroon is tiny (about half an inch across). Two of them don't raise blood sugars, as long as you control the carbohydrates you eat during the meal...and my sweet tooth would gladly sacrifice carbs for a chance to have dessert.
As for everyone else, controlling sugar and carbs is just a wise health move that gives you balanced sugars and therefore more sustained energy.

My neighbor makes these macaroons often and shares them with me, so this recipe has it's own special title:

Aurora's Coconut Macaroons.

This amount makes 72 tiny macaroons. (Aurora needs that quantity as she is always going to large parties of a hundred or more people. When I am at one of her parties, there are a minimum of 10-12 desserts, so these delicious macaroon morsels fit right in).

14 oz pkt unsweetened coconut flakes.
1 can condensed milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter.

Butter flavored Pam cooking spray.
24 cup mini muffin pan (If you don't have 3 you will have to bake 3 batches).

Set oven to 300.
Melt butter in microwave.
Cool.
In a food processor or in a bowl, whisk two eggs.
Add cooled butter.
Mix well.
Add condensed milk.
Mix well.
Add coconut flakes and fold into mixture or pulse on low till well mixed.
Spray mini muffin pan with butter flavored Pam.
Place half a teaspoon of batter into each cup.
Bake at 300 degrees for 25 mins.
Watch carefully as bottom may burn.
Remove when toasty golden brown.

TIPS:
1. If the bottoms burn slightly, it tastes great... but that's a matter of preference.
2. I pulse the flakes in the food processor first to make them a little smaller. Aurora does not.
3. These macaroons freeze well...I just popped one straight from the freezer bag into my mouth while taking pictures and it was great.
4. These would make a great holiday gift on a pretty plate, or a glass jar, or as part of a selection of other goodies.

VARIATIONS:
1. Aurora sometimes puts a couple of chocolate chips into each cup of batter.
2. I melt dipping chocolate and dip the bottom of each baked, cooled macaroon into it. If you do this: heat dipping chocolate in microwave for one minute, dip macaroons and allow to cool so chocolate can set.

Make the macaroons larger if you want to.
Aurora says the smaller ones are crunchier, the larger ones are moister, so it's your choice.
I'm going to try them with grated, toasted coconut flakes and see how I like them.

Aurora and I both say: "Enjoy!"

14 .unsweetened coconut flakes.
1 can condensed milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter (1/2 of the small stick of butter when you get 4 quarters in a pkt.)


Melt butter in microwave safe bowl.
Beat two eggs...add cooled butter.
Mix well.
Add condensed milk.
Mix well.
(I do all this in a food processor)
Add coconut flakes,.. fold into mixture.
(I do this with a wooden spoon).
Pour into mini muffin pans .. sprayed with butter flavor Pam.
(If you put in half a teaspoon of the batter, you get crunchier macaroons. If you put in 3/4 of a tsp they become softer.)
Bake at 300 for .Watch carefully till you s how your oven does with these, as bottom my burn. Top should be toasty golden brown when you take them out.

TIPS:

1. When bottom does burn a bit, the taste is heavenly.

2. Before I begin, I pulse the flakes for a few seconds in the food processor to make them a little smaller.
My neighbor prefers them as is.

These macaroons freeze well. I just ate one straight from the freezer when i took a photo break!
They were delicious warmed in the microwave and dipped in the melted chocolate too.

Variation: 1. Aurora puts a couple of chocolate chips into each cup for a delicious chocolate-coconut flavor.
2. I melt some dipping chocolate carefully in the microwave (one minute) and then dip the bottom of each macaroon in for a color contrast and a delicious treat.
Allow to cool so chocolate can harden before packing.

Super easy badam/almond halwa

When we were growing up, almonds were a luxury. They were mainly a product of the beautiful state of Kashmir and was sold in the ration/grocery shops or, as in Delhi, on the roadside.
I remember my mother telling me once that the price was 500 Rs. a kilo.
When I was growing up, that was an unaffordable price for us.
Almonds were thus not an item usually found in the home kitchen.

When my Dad took us kids out in a FORD V8 on Sundays for a treat, one of us invariably ordered badam halwa . We would sit at the old drive-up restaurant in Cubbon Park, Bangalore, and unwrap the banana leaf the badam halwa came packed in, trying not to get the dripping ghee on our clothes and then enjoy every bit of the delicacy. The piece we were served would be about one inch by two, one millimeter thick and so very rich.

When my mother got some almonds, it was an EVENT for her...just slightly less important than the black puttu rice I mentioned earlier in the blog.
We kids sat around the dining table and helped shell the almonds.
Then they were soaked overnight in hot water and the troops were again mustered in the morning to peel them...how hard it was to get those almonds out, yet no complaints were voiced by minds already contemplating the enjoyment of the dishes my mother would concoct for us.

Most people who did make it 'faked it' by using cashew nuts, a very few almonds and adding almond essence for the flavor.

The quintessential badam halwa was Mom's favorite dish. She would use milk and sugar instead of the condensed milk and milk powder I have substituted in her recipe. She would cook it to the setting stage and then pour it into a greased plate and cut it into diamonds.
Then there was her badam kheer/payasam which was super delicious.
Best loved by us kids and all guests, was Mom's almond ice cream, with my brothers or the servant churning the old wooden barrel. How much anticipation laced the air, while we waited for Mom to pronounce the ice cream ready to eat. We would line up eagerly for our bowls, then run into the garden to enjoy the treat. No amount of money can buy the memories of home a good mother creates for her children.

1 cup almonds/badam
1/2 cup milk (if you are using a blender to grind nuts).
1 14 oz can of condensed milk
2 cups milk powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder.

Blanch almonds.
TIP: Place nuts in water in a microwave safe dish and zap for 2-3 minutes. Be sure the water bubbles.
Wait a few minutes before you remove the bowl from the microwave to avoid 'flash' burns.
Cool or rinse immediately in cold water and then peel. The almond sheds its skin so easily!

Blend almonds medium coarse aka slightly grainy.
In the food processor it does not need milk, but in a blender it will so that the blades don't get jammed up.
(we used to fry this almond paste in butter, but I skip this in the interest of our already clogged arteries.)
Place almond paste on stove on medium low with condensed milk and milk powder.
Stir continuously till almond halwa falls as a mass from the spoon.
This will burn quickly so keep stirring.
Mix in cardamom powder and remove halwa from stove.
Place in bowl...can be served hot or cold.

As this is a 'rich' sweet I serve about a rounded dessert spoon in a small bowl/dish, as the picture shows.

If you want the burfee, let the almond mixture cook to setting stage and then pour into a greased plate, cool and cut into diamonds. Stir constantly.
The old test for doneness with a burfee was if it left the bottom of the pan when a path was made by a spoon and stayed at the sides without running back to cover the bottom of the pan.
Another test was dropping a little bit of the mixture into a bowl of water and rolling it into a ball...if it rolled easily, it was ready.
Nowadays cooks use a candy thermometer for the setting stage which has soft set and hard set marked on it...go close to hard set before removing the mixture from the stove.
I just use the old eyeball and spoon method. If it doesn't set the way it should, I have two choices: return it to the stove and cook it some more thereby messing another pan or dig in with a spoon and a philosophical 'there's always a next time' shrug.
Guess which alternate I opt for?

Another way to serve is rolled into half inch balls.

Burfees/sweets cut best when just about to set.
Dip a knife in warm water to cut in neat lines.

SHORTCUT: This halwa can be made in the microwave too.
Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
Mic for 2 mins, remove, stir and mic for another 2-3 mins. Stir.
Keep doing this till you get the halwa consistency.

I thought of this after following the stove top method and scrubbing the pot I made the halwa in...just like a tube light...flicker, flicker, flicker and then the brightness!

And yes, the petals around the plate are from one of the striped roses in my garden.