I’m Madhuram living in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA with my husband and my son who is two and a half years old. Although my mother tongue is Telugu, we are convenient with Tamil because we were born and raised in Tamil Nadu. The language we speak is a mixture of both.
I’ve always had interest in cooking. Back in India I used to follow all the cooking shows regardless of language, eagerly look for recipes in magazines be it veg or non veg. Being vegetarian, I used to think maybe I can use cauliflowers/potatoes in a non-veg recipe. But the truth is I didn’t cook as much as I watched the shows. Occasionally I used to try some interesting recipe or cook when my grandmother or mother was not feeling well which was very rare.
AFTER MARRIAGE:
Like many others who come to US from India after their marriage I also packed as much as I can, which included a LOT of books on cooking. But again I didn't get a chance to experiment all those recipes because my husband was a VERY VERY VERY DIET/HEALTH CONSCIOUS person. He didn't want anything fried in oil, nothing spicy or salty, nothing very sweet. God that was a tough period to learn a different kind of cooking altogether! So again I was just reading recipes, now from websites. That was the only difference. We didn't have cable TV connection then, so was not able to watch FOOD TV.
MY NEW LOVE:
We had to move to Canada for a couple of months. There I started watching Food TV regularly, or to tell the truth, I was watching only Food TV. I was so thrilled to see the hosts baking cookies and cakes, breads and muffins. I just fell in love with baking. Until then I did not know what to do with the oven, I was just using it like another kitchen shelf, storing my oversize cooker, Dosa pans etc.
MY EXPERIMENT WITH BAKING:
One day my husband and I were watching an episode in Food TV. Yes my husband also, even though he doesn’t eat much, he likes to watch Food TV. In that episode, the host was preparing potato puffs with puff pastry sheets. My husband told me that I should also try that, and to my surprise he also said that he will go to the store immediately and get the puff pastry and baking sheet and meanwhile I can prepare the potato stuffing. So I prepared the masala and switched on the oven to preheat it. My God, that was a big process because I had kept so many boxes etc in my oven, remember I was using it as a storage only. I had to remove all of them, find a place for it. (Now that I’m using the oven more often, not for baking per se but for preparing the store bought frozen French fries and making pizzas, my mother in law has converted the dishwasher into a storage area, seeing me moving things out each time I want to use the oven) My husband got the cookie sheets made in aluminum foil and the puffs came out very well. Hey I can hear what you guys are telling, this is not baking, it’s just using the oven. Yes I agree, but that was by itself a big deal for me.
Sometime later I bought a baking set because it was on sale. It was just lying idle. I didn't know from where to start. Because I’ve seen in the Food TV shows, that they were using the big hand mixers etc. I didn’t want to invest in them without having a clue how to use them. So I used to google to see if there were any classes for baking nearby. But found none. Earlier I had bought the Magic Bullet blender and one day I was going through the recipe book given with that. There were some recipes for muffins. The process of preparing the batter was so simple, just put flour, oil etc in the blender’s big jar and pour it in the muffin pan. I wanted to try it, but I had to use eggs. As mentioned earlier being a vegetarian I was hesitant to bring eggs home. (But the secret was I started eating eggs after coming to US, I love Dunkin Donuts’ egg and cheese sandwich very much. Sshhh….. don’t tell my mother.) Then somehow I mustered some courage to buy eggs and try the recipe. I simply followed the instructions and it came out well, but both my husband and myself couldn't tolerate the smell of egg in the muffins. I don’t know whether it was psychological or something, we didn't feel like eating it at all. We do enjoy the pastries bought from the store, we are conscious of the fact that they are made with eggs only, but the idea of bringing it home and baking with them made us uncomfortable. The same happened when I tried chocolate chip cookies also. So I didn't bake anything later. But I did want to learn to bake and got a book “BAKING FOR DUMMIES”. I did see some eggless recipes in that book for cookies, but I don’t know why I didn’t try them. With a newborn and related pressure I forgot all about this.
BACK TO USA:
We moved back to US again. Once I was googling to find out how to break the Jaggery mounds we get in the Indian store. That time I found a link to Indira’s site. I was really dumbfounded after visiting that site. It was EXCELLENT. There I found a recipe for an eggless cake made with bananas and carrots. I tried it the next day itself and it came out very well. I have tried that cake with so many variations and each time it’s a hit. This rekindled my passion for baking.
MY INSPIRATION:
From Indira’s site I visited lot of other fabulous blogs. Until then I had no idea what blogs were and was not aware of the fact that there were so many other passionate cooks out there. Shilpa’s www.aayisrecipes.com, sunitha’s blog and so many other food blogs inspired me so much that I also wanted to become a part of this delicious world.
So that's how egglesscooking.com was born.
Back in Canada again, since 2009.
Hi Madhuram,
Your blog is a goto place for eggless baking! I also learnt about mono-di gyceridies from here. Thanks for your fabulous job. Many cake and frosting recipes call for white sugar. I think white sugar is not vegetarian due to its prcessing. How is your thought on that? Please share. I have the same q for powdered sugar too.
Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words Raji. Animal bones were used in the sugar refining process. I read that, that practice is outdated as more and more manufacturers have moved on to other methods. I don’t know where you live and what brand you use, but you can check the website of the brand/company for that information in the FAQ section. Here in Canada, I have tried that for the Red Path sugar I use and they have specifically put that their sugar is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
i am wondering if you would know if i can make like cookie dough with the egg replacer and freeze it raw for later use. i recently found out i am allergic to severel products and eggs being the highest. I am wanting to make cookie dough, meatloaf, etc and freeze it. Can i do this with the ener-g egg replacer? I have not found anyone that can answer this question yet.
Yes you can use Ener-G egg replacer to make cookie, freeze the batter raw for later use. I have done it many a times. But I have not tried eggless meatballs because I’m a vegetarian to begin with. So not sure if it will work in the same. I’m thinking some cornstarch, whole wheat flour can be used to bind the meatballs.
My son is allergic to eggs. We don’t have anything containing eggs in our home. I am so grateful for your website. Whenever there’s a family gathering and I need to make dessert (which happens often since I like to make sure the food is egg free) I look for recipes on your site because I know that they will turn out well! The first recipe I used was for eggless pancakes and now I’m a regular visitor 🙂 I just want to say thank you!
You’re very welcome Jennifer. Thank you very much for taking the time to leave your precious feedback. Much appreciate it.
Hi Madhuram,
All your recipes rock! I have tried a ton of your vegan recipes – mango cake, sugar free, Blueberry, chocolate, vanilla. All of them have turned out splendid !
Thank you very much for the feedback Swetha.
Hi mam! How to replace 12 eggs in the recipe? Is it possible make replacement for each egg?
Wow! That’s a lot of eggs to be replaced and I have done for only 4 eggs in a recipe at the most. 12 is a lot and I’m thinking it might not work. What recipe it is?
Thank you so much for your website! My son is severely allergic to eggs and I cannot even have them in the house. Thanks to your website I was able to make wonderful cookies for my family for Thanksgiving without having to use eggs or expensive weird hard to find ingredients. The Chocolate chip cookies are amazing!
You’re very welcome Sesha.
Hello Madhuramji
I want to post something on your blogs if you will allow me please let me know?
Thanks for contacting Kapil. I’m not using outside content at the moment.
What should I use instead of Tofu in this recipe
Which recipe Jayshree? You have commented in the About page.
I’ve made the vegan red velvet cupcakes and want to freeze them. Is it better to freeze them before or after frosting?
I have never froze with frosting. So not sure about it. Without frosting will definitely work.
My 1.5 year old is allergic to eggs so when I wanted to introduce him to pancakes, I had to google several times for eggless recipes until I came across your blog. Absolutely in love with your recipes, esp the pancakes to the point that I don’t use eggs at all now and only make them with your recipe for everyone.
Thankyou for such user friendly recipes for amateur bakers like me!
You’re very welcome Saman.
Hi
I have tried ur tutti fruti recipe but my cake was a bit dense . I forgot to add the milk and have added half cup more of apple sauce . Could it be due to this mistakes
Probably. Because pureed fruit gives a heaviness to baked treats.
Also I had doubled the quantity of ingredients , cooking time had increased considerably to half an hour more and yet centre of the cake was raw . How should I adjust cooking time
Did you do the toothpick test?
Hi madhuram,
I hope u remember me. I was checking a recipe in my blog and found ur commemts.Thought of checking with you. Love you awesome collections.
I have started blogging again.
Oh is it!? Sorry my memory has failed me. Will check your blog. 🙂
Hi Madhuram,
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time and tried few of your recipes too – goes without saying they came out good :). I like the way you compose your recipes. In between my work at office I scribble away your recipes behind requirement docs 😉 to go home and try
This message was long overdue. Thank you for the wonderful blog. Keep up the good work.
Aww…that’s so nice of you Ashwini for leaving such a warm feedback. Thanks 🙂
Hi Madhuram.
I have tried your carrot cake recipe. It’s really superb! My family loves it a lot. Next I am gonna try your eggless choclate cake. Feeling so excited ya. Just a quick question. When I bake the carrot cake in 2, 8 inch tray, will the cake look taller? Do advice me. Take care.
Thanks Nanthiny. Yes it will be a little taller when you use 8 inch pans.
I’ve been baking eggless for several years. Thank you for your expertise.
You’re very welcome Carol.
It’s very insightful to read about some more vegan lifestyle choices. As a private chef I’m required to be open minded and sites like these definitely help me improve my cooking efforts for clients.
Thanks Adrienne.
Excellent recipes with detailed information about the ingredients and all technicalities . Loved the information of the egg replacer and substitutes.Baked the vanilla cupcakes taking half the measures ,they turned out superb! Thanks a lot! Would love if you could share some authentic tamil cuisine too!
You’re very welcome Lenna. I started another blog for cooking recipes but have not been able to update regularly. Hope will be able to do so more in the future. http://www.VegConer.com
I really like your recipes and also worth trying it i was not good with baking before but after trying your recipes i am confident now .thaks
You’re very welcome Surpreet. Happy baking!
Hi Madhuram!
I’m new in US. And I can totally relate to your earlier days. I did not know how to use the oven at first. But having watched Masterchef and many such cookery shows back in India, I always wanted to bake! So When I read a potato wedges recipe on Pinterest and tried to make it last week, the fire alarm started ringing because I kept the oven door open for long and the heat was on! That’s scared me a lot! So I thought of giving up. Then my husband encouraged me to be careful next time (because he gets to eats things if I learn well) 😉
After that I have carefully prepared eggless cheese muffins, eggless veggie pie and eggless blueberry muffins!
Just today I found your wonderful food site. I’m happy I did. I started reading about you and got inspired. I’ll be checking your site more often. Thanks for writing.
I have a baby girl who just turned 1. I’m sure she’ll enjoy my baking more onwards.
Good job! Thanks again! 🙂
Thank you very much for sharing your story Priyanka. 🙂 I remember having to fan the fire alarm quite often during the initial days of using the oven/range. 😉 All the best and happy baking.
good initiative on eggless cooking.
I too am in the usa and I have baked a bit in in india.. having 2 kids with younger one only 9 months old fives me less time to cook .. but still I am keen to restart baking.. I was wondering if a stand mixer will be of ant use..I am keen to bake cookies, pizza as well as eggless cakes and bread as well.. would you recommend a good stand mixer ans of no then any better alternatives ??
I have been able to manage without one so far. But I have cut down baking a lot. Don’t try too many yeast bread recipes etc…all I do is very simple, straight forward baking like cakes, cookies, muffins and cupcakes most of the time and electric hand beater serves the purpose.
I am so glad I came across this site Egglesscooking.com
Just a question: what kind of egg substitute should I use to make either cookies or cake or breakfast muffins with Barley
flour?
What to consider whenever I use different recipes with different egg substitute??
Thanks,
Buni
Barley flour has gluten in it, so you can substitute it in the recipes which uses all-purpose flour. But I think using barley flour entirely might affect the taste and texture of the baked item. So you may want to try incorporating half of each. Check out my egg substitutes page for further information about different egg substitutes. https://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-substitutes/
Love your website and all the lovely eggless bakes. I have tried a few recipes and they all came out well. I am a Punjabi married to Tamilian currently in NJ. Your post bought a smile on my face as we share a bit similar story. Especially baking oven being a storage corner, watching Food TV together with hubby dear and loving DD egg sandwich. I attempted baking with eggs initially however couldn’t bear the smell of eggs at home. I am so Thankful to you and some other websites for amazing eggfree baking recipes. Now I bake regularly for family and share it with friends too and get compliments.
Wow! great to know that we share a similar story, Sheetu. 🙂
Heyya madhuram, I’m from tamil nadu too.. though not a tamilian but hard core south indian 🙂 and its nice to know that now I can easily open a site for all eggless recipes. Thank you for makin it easy for we vegetarians.. keep bakin..
That’s great to to know Aarti. 🙂 You’re welcome.
Hi Madhu
It is really interesting and inspiring to me since I am also a very cook u know. But since 2006, I keep our Oven in kitchen as u said same like that only.
But I like to use the same to do some baking items but I don’t have time to do the experiment now but definately i will come back and do it.
Thanks for the efforts u have taken to build this platform for many people who will get good food with your ideas and innovation and new dimensional cakes and cookies etc…..
Keep doing and exploring to the new ideas and creativity….
God bless you
Deva
Oh, thank you so much Deva, for your kind words. Baking is not difficult at all. All it needs is passion and patience. Do message me if you have any doubts. I’ll be more than happy to help you.
Hi Madhuram,
I just stumbled upon your website because we had no eggs left in the house and I’ve found myself for the past half hour browsing through all your delicious-looking recipes. I love how easy you’ve made it to follow your recipes and the simple ingredients you use, I’ve been on other vegan websites and they use all these fancy ingredients that I can’t find in Hong Kong where I live. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
My only request is that you add a “save recipe” button so I can go back to them later because I’m so overwhelmed now with all the goods I want to make from your website :)!
Thank you very much for your kind words of appreciation Christina. I will see what can be done about the “save recipe” option. Thanks for the suggestion.