EGG FREE PANDAN CAKE

Okay, this was long due. I felt let me do it before Bengal dives totally into the "pujo" fervour. I had four cakes in hand, felt let me stay strong with our loving island and it's neighbours today. You see, I try to keep a Bengal connection in all my posts. Nonetheless to say, Pandan leaves / Fragrant Screwpines are called "payesh pata" there in West Bengal, if I am not too wrong. They were used to be packed in rice grain sacks to enhance the flavour of a poor quality rice there. Yes, food adulteration is a big problem in my country of origin. I think Pandan Leaves is not considered this important an edible stuff there as it is considered here. When we shifted to Barrackpore, our garden had a couple of this plant until the lady of the house plucked them all from the roots and planted her series of flowering plants and "patabahars." 

Who will tell her that the Almighty's less fortunate children too need toilet areas to excrete. Even our pomerarian Jenny was strictly told to excrete in the terrace and finish off with her day's "hagoo+hishu" by 2pm.... on days of exception, mani had to take shower even at 9-10pm after the cleaning job. My job was to shampoo her, get her good showers two- three days a week. The cleanliness freak us got her cough and cold quite a number of times. It is our ignorance about pet life and care that took away her life early. Thereafter, we did not get one, its lot of an emotional drain.... mani performed all the rituals we do for a dead family member including eleven days of penance. The father took her body wrapped in a "dhoti" and "tulsi pata" to the holy Ganges with assistance from my husband. The half and full atheist complied to our mother's wish. The brother was not in his senses for quite sometime, I was because I had an eleven month old on my lap to look after. When I see pets around, Jenny's beautiful eyes come alive. 

Love has so many manifestations, who are you and I  to make it rule bound? Set it free, only then it is real.... else it is only in "khatai kolomey" and in "Facebook status".. Love is not a mathematical Calculus Theory that you limit it to a society set formulae. Come, set your minds free and have this vegetarian, sugar free  EGG FREE PANDAN CAKE using fragrant screwpine extract.

The senior is back home and went to office within half an hour. I anticipated this would happen, so asked Cristine to prepare a multigrain atta flour dough. You remember we had the Aloor Dum in hand? The reason why I cook and keep food stuffed in the refrigerator. The son is at home today and that breakfast of mine is the proof why the living room is so dark early morning. Cristine does my "pooris" while I do it for the men and Cristine too though not always. You know South Asian women lack the ability to consider themselves as an individual, to do something to please their own selves. It is a pleasure to fry "pooris" for my men.... but I have to have the freedom to think in my terms and live my own life. When the mother-in-law tried to impose her laws on me, I made it very clear that its my life.... your friends, your relatives, your set of rules cannot define my life..... I will live my life my way, I will have my own set of friends and acquaintances who may not necessarily be in your list. You lived your life in your own terms, let me be me. The thankful wife did fry them happily within a few minutes of notice after failed pleads that he needs some rest. He is flying since last evening coming via Delhi.

Anyway, I do not mind if he visits his parents often which is his sacred duty, provided I am given to live life my way without any set rules. Just that I had to be economically independent to be in a firmer position. 

The question is  are all working girls "independent?"..... Can they think beyond some set rules? When did they last think about their own selves? Do not tell me you never wished to be a humming butterfly flying beyond a set boundary. Leave that, my fresh batch of "shona monger dal" has arrived, courtesy the sister like brother's wife who got it from mani's prescribed shop and handed over to "T" dada. Then, if you have a brother travelling to Delhi in the same evening, he would definitely make it a point to meet his brother like "T" dada, send "didibhai" selfies of the duo, even the pictures of his bed and the rest room where he will stay put & pee for the next few days. When anyone travels, I cannot sleep well. I need a good swim after this post and sleep until 6:30pm.... or should I go for a long walk with my headphones on playing old Bollywood numbers?.... where they take me is none of your business.... but the thing is if mumma has fried Babai's multigrain "atta pooris," she would want to fry them for him too instead of Cristine didi before settling out for a very long walk in an unstipulated path than normally prescribed humming "Chandni Raat Mein Ekbar Tujhe Dekha Hai". Thats a promise we must make .... to give our best for our own before spreading our wings for some me time with the unknown. I think I should not care for my lunch time and set out for the Punggol seaside, must do some 10ks, its about 2 years now I did not go for a running event, must sign up for the big December event.... the daddy is getting angry. My baby may be weird but two days back when all of a sudden I decided to record live the procedure of cleaning a "pabda maach" .... he silently switched off the television and retired to his room without any request from us. Mumma should not go out for her own pleasure without settling his lunch spread. Yesterday, it was only a 5:6km walk to the old neighbourhood and thereafter a very sweet plum+lime juice spoilt the effort. Today, I need to be careful.

You can see I have used bottled pandan extract and very few other ingredients for my vegetarian, fragrant screwpine flavoured EGG FREE PANDAN CAKE, beyond that is not in my capacity which I always admit. It was done in the month of June when my visiting family was here, all of us liked it though it was dense and moist in texture unlike the very fluffy ones we get island wide. Because it was decent, I decided to share the recipe with all of you. Oh finally I could write my post. From that dark and noisy living room, I shifted to the guest room with my morning cuppa, we need to concentrate on whatever we are doing.

This happens when the monkey is at home! Its easy to handle a girl child I think.

INGREDIENTS :

REFINED FLOUR : 2COFFEE MUG

BAKING POWDER : 1TBSP

BAKING SODA : 11/2TSP

PANDAN EXTRACT : 2TSP

FULL CREAM MILK : 2MEDIUM SIZED TEA CUP

STEVIA POWDER : 1MEDIUM SIZED TEA CUP [YOU CAN USE SAME AMOUNT OF SUGAR]

VANILLA ESSENCE : 1TSP

OIL : 1SMALL SIZED TEA CUP [CANOLA or SUNFLOWER or SOYA any variety I do use]

PROCEDURE :

Besides the refined flour, I have used these few ingredients for the pandan cake.

Take the refined flour, baking powder and baking soda together and sieve well. Mix it well.

Take the milk, oil, stevia powder or sugar, pandan / screw pine extract in a clean blender. Blend it for 2 minutes at intervals.

Add the liquid mixture to the flour mix. Beat it with a whisk or spoon for sometime. I do it clockwise and cut through the middle. Is it ok to?

We will do this for 4-5 minutes before we add the vanilla essence. We will beat again for 2-3 minutes and pour into greased cake tins or aluminium foiled containers.

I do my bakes in a convection mode microwave. I placed the low stool inside the oven and preheated it at 180*C for 10 minutes.

Thereafter I placed one container filled with the pandan leaf / fragrant screw pine cake batter on top of the low stool.

Finally, I baked it for 30-35 minutes at 180*C. Each oven differs, so you must check the temperature and cook time of yours through a series of trial and error.