BROCCOLI BEGUN SHEEM DIYE SHUTKI MAACH

I will not say my family has a recipe with broccoli & Dried Bombay Duck for ages now. It is so that on that day few florets of broccoli lay dry in the refrigerator. We are not broccoli lovers at this home. I get at times for some purpose, use may be half or quarter and then forget all about the rest. Not in the habit of wasting any amount of food, I try to use them up if they have not rotten. Cooking broccoli florets with dried fish is the best idea for this family, that is the best broccoli dish for us I think. I mean, we just do not want broccoli in our lives. A non-vegetarian side dish with broad bean, egg plant, broccoli & dried Bombay Duck  BROCCOLI BEGUN SHEEM DIYE SHUTKI MAACH just works wonder for us. The broccoli went into our stomachs without a frown. 

I will not go on blabbering much today, I am again having headache or you can say I am experiencing a head block since morning. The homecoming guy's too much involvement with electronic gadgets on reaching home is causing me more of irritation. Until now, he did not get time to sit with me and talk about the son. I must get myself free by the evening and ask about his three weeks time spent with the son. He however managed to have a glance of me, asking me to colour my hairs. I explained why I do not want to go for it all over again and he complied. The reason why I call him more of a friend than a husband is this. It will be way more difficult to convince our mother & brother to accept me with my original hair colour. However, we will all sit together and have this vegetables & dried fish dish BROCCOLI BEGUN SHEEM DIYE SHUTKI MAACH with love.

These days, I see Broccoli became a common vegetable in the suburbs of Kolkata too. Not only in the market but few years back I saw street vendors getting it at the doorstep of my parental home in Barrackpore. I still remember, the guy told he had grown them in his small patch of land. They looked so fresh, yet did not create a stir on my mind as would do a fresh, home grown cauliflower. I remember how every winter season cauliflower was grown in the grandparent's garden or how the mother had grown it in pots. Why she does not do it every season I know, if I have lost the energy or will to colour my hair at 50, how can I expect her to work more. I pity my senior, he has to handle a wife who has a problem with every little thing; she hates crowd, she gets irritated if people around make too much noise and now he has to handle more of my tantrums because every few minutes she cannot stand in front of a closed door, knock and shout "mummar cheleta koi, ki korchey?" Though the answer was always "tokey merey debo", I consider those "love exchange" between us. I will make the man's life miserable because I cannot be jealous of my mother whose son sits with a laptop & television in a room next to her. I am confused enough to make out what I want from life!

INGREDIENTS :

DRIED BOMBAY DUCK : 4-5

BROAD BEAN : 7-8 [CUT INTO SMALLER PIECES]

EGG PLANT : 3-4 SMALL [CUBED]

BROCCOLI : 1 COFFEE MUG [SMALL FLORET]

SLICED ONION : 1 COFFEE MUG

CHOPPED OR CRUSHED GARLIC : 3 TBSP

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 7-8

RED CHILLI POWDER : 11/2 TBSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 6-7 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Whichever combination of vegetables our family uses in dried fish; the spices remain the same and less. For dried fish, we depend more on oil, chilli, garlic and onion.

Discard the heads and tail ends of the dried Bombay Duck. Cut each into smaller pieces. Wash them several times and soak in hot water for 2 hours.

All the cut vegetables are to be taken in separate bowls and be washed well.

After 2 hours, discard the water from the dried fish and marinate them with little salt and turmeric.

The three vegetables are to be taken together and marinated with salt & turmeric.

Heat oil in a wok; add the onion slices and fry till golden brown.

Add the crushed garlic and green chillies; cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the dried fish and break with the ladle. Cover cook at minimal heat for 10-12 minutes checking in between. Sprinkle water if required.

Add the rest of the turmeric & the red chilli powder, stir for 2-3 minutes and cover cook for 5 minutes at low heat. Sprinkle water if required.

Add the vegetables and give a stir. Cover cook at minimal heat for 12-14 minutes. The vegetables will release a lot of water which we have to dry slow cooking the entire thing. Yet, check every 3-4 minutes to avoid burning. Adjust the salt if required.

Plain rice and nothing else goes with it.

 

 

KASURI METHI TANDOORI MOSHOLAI MURGI

I am truly very busy today. I have two friends coming over for lunch tomorrow, I did some preparation work; the sandesh & cake, those which would be offered as sweet something to end the meal. They have to be done simultaneously while I write today's blog post. That I will blog about a chicken dish today was decided earlier. It cannot be any rice & chicken combination dish however; I must put in my heart & soul into cooking, when guests are at the door. Sandesh making also takes time and concentration; an easy to go chicken curry is what suits the blog today. What else to eat here except for some selective fish varieties & chicken? I say this from the perspective of a primitive Bengali like me who failed to get out of her life long food habits even after a decade of stay here. 

Cooking the family vegetarian dishes in a foreign land is not a problem. The mutton variety available here comes nowhere near the taste of what we get in Kolkata. Same is the case with chicken. I definitely do eat, in fact love to eat chicken on my visits to Kolkata; here I cannot eat. The quality may be supremely good here but the taste is very different to my taste buds, prawns too I do not find as tasty as in Kolkata! It is not about the quality of food, which is definitely top class here, it is something else that a KASURI METHI TANDOORI MOSHOLAI MURGI done with Kolkata's chicken  variety is more acceptable to me than that made with any chicken variety available here. Kasuri methi is dried fenugreek leaves and I like it any day more than fresh fenugreek leaves or seeds. Are the Bengalis in Bengal too much in the habit of having fenugreek greens in particular? I doubt. We eat a lot variety of greens however; even "beto shaak", "bathua" which is bitter too but not really fenugreek.

Because I cannot get my choice of meat & fish much here; few of my old time favourites  made a come back; see I am eating "muri-narkol-chini"; puffed rice with shredded coconut & sugar. 

Some days, I do not keep any tab on what I eat; I ate a plateful of rice for lunch and within two hours, this! The entire morning was a tense situation. Every Thursday morning it will be so. Wednesday night has our son's fencing class in that distant land; until he is back in his dorm, I feel terrible. He is not the kind who would send messages every half an hour as told, I have to keep knocking him, try to make him understand how important his message is for us. Yes, this non-vegetarian chicken curry with Tandoori Masala and Dried Fenugreek Leaves KASURI METHI TANDOORI MOSHOLAI MURGI was done when the son was here, both him and his father love these kind of curries with their share of breads or fried rices; even the rest in the family too! I am the only one who ferociously is getting back to old family recipes of the bygone days; I may not have liked them then but I totally love them now.

 INGREDIENTS :

CHICKEN : 1KG [MEDIUM CUT]

CHOPPED TOMATO : 2 SMALL TEA CUP

SLICED ONION : 1MEDIUM TEA CUP

TANDOORI MASALA : 2 TBSP [YOU GET IN ANY ASIAN STORE OUTSIDE INDIA]

TURMERIC POWDER : 1TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TBSP

GINGER PASTE : 2 TSP

GARLIC PASTE : 2 TBSP

LEMON JUICE : 5-6 TBSP

DRIED FENUGREEK LEAF / KASURI METHI : A HANDFUL

CINNAMON STICK : 2-3 ONE INCH LENGTH

GREEN CARDAMOM : 2-3

CLOVE : 3-4

STAR ANISE : 1

BAY LEAF : 1

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 5-6 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly and drain any amount of excess water.

Wash  the dried fenugreek leaves taking in a strainer. Soak them in water.

Marinate the pieces very well with the washed & chopped tomatoes, ginger & garlic paste, tandoori masala, lemon juice, salt, turmeric.

 Keep it covered for 2 hours. Thereafter, heat the oil in a wok and temper it with green cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks & star-anise.

Add the washed, sliced onion and fry at low heat until golden brown.

Then, add the marinated chicken and the red chilli powder. Fold in well.

Cook it covered at minimal heat for 20-25 minutes, uncover & give a stir every 5 minutes.

This is the time to add about 3 coffee mugs of water; preferably warm water. Give a stir.

Now, cover cook at low heat for 10-12 minutes; discard the water and add the dried fenugreek leaves to the curry. Adjust the salt if required. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with any bread, plain or flavoured rice!

TOMATO PEYAZ ALPO MOSHOLA DIYE POMFRET ER PATLA JHOL

With severe pain on my left shoulder & arm and on my right gum, I can only think of an easy share. My readers may think why I sit with the pain and do not go for a treatment. What I tell my man, I tell everyone; if it is not a severe ailment that requires immediate attention, we can always wait for our Kolkata visit. The man's office do have an insurance coverage for me and the son but we must reserve it for serious something, which we never wish to see in our life. Life should be merry and the exit should be plain and simple. I mean invest on mutton biryani, sandesh, fruits & nuts, hilsa, salmon & prawns too;  a beautiful home, crockeries if one wishes to; why on medicines and hospital bills? 

It is in my plan to go for Traditional Chinese Massage for the shoulder pain, I am not just going for the fear of the pandemic. I have to lie down on a bed where I do not know who  had lay down before me. Few months back the same massage by an elderly gentleman got me rid of my pain; I guess, we have to do it regularly. He and even the younger Dr.Chang told me its just a case of stiff muscle may be. And Old Dr.Chang? He always asks me to do the expensive tests on my India visits. Unfortunately, we do not get to meet, he got older & weaker and sits in a chamber near their home. Would the doctors' family of four; father, mother, brother, sister like this light fish curry with pomfret, TOMATO PEYAZ ALPO MOSHOLA DIYE POMFRET ER PATLA JHOL? I think they will like the fish & rice meal. I have met them all in these ten years of stay, they do not know what fleecing is. In fact, the medical world in this island does not know what fleecing is; you just pay for the five star service you get. That is a huge amount for the expats like us.

The start of today was good. Our son was nice to mumma, at least texted back in no time. Some days, it is a long wait. He is always busy. Mumma wants every details of his day and night and he refuses to. I thought we will chat over video calls, he refuses to send even a selfie. Let the father come home, if he agrees to do some video chats over the weekend. I / We know life would never be the same for us once the bird has flown from the nest. I do respect his new life, I know he is busy, just the thought of him been alone in an unknown land is so fearful. I thought, now that there is nothing like "the son will come back from school" thing, I can walk few more miles. But nope; I am more eager to be at home and wait for the evening and then for the next morning, when I get some text messages. The man must be having the same feeling, he hardly expresses. However, both of us wish for the same thing; that our son stays safe and free of any stress. He is very unwilling to say what he is eating in his meals; so I do not know if at all he is having fish meals, fish curry and rice, his favourite salmon or pomfret or prawns at all or not. Mumma cooked this non-vegetarian light fish curry with pomfret TOMATO PEYAZ ALPO MOSHOLA DIYE POMFRET ER PATLA JHOL few months back; the son & his father so loves this less boney, fleshy fish, Cristine too!

INGREDIENTS :

POMFRET : 6-8 MEDIUM SIZED

TOMATO : 1 STANDARD SIZED

ONION : 1 BIG

GREEN CHILLI : 3-4 [SLITTED]

CORIANDER LEAF : 2-3 SPRIG [CHOPPED]

RED CHILLI POWDER : 2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 2TSP 

TURMERIC POWDER : 1TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

RICE FLOUR : 2 TSP

RADHUNI / AJMOD [WIKI SAYS] : 2-3 PINCH [WIKI says radhuni is dried fruit of Trachyspermum Roxburghianum, a flowering plant; smells like parsley, tastes like celery. Honestly, until I had a blog, I did not require to know what radhuni is called outside my family; some called it wild celery seed, I took it, now WIKI says this, I have to correct the earlier blogposts. Others may not admit they have learnt from WIKI, they will say they made a lot of research and proved people like us wrong, I have no such airs; I only cook with care. But a wrong is a wrong, it must be corrected.]

DRY RED CHILLI : 2 [HALVED]

BAY LEAF : 1

OIL : 5-6 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Clean and wash the pomfrets well. Marinate with salt and half the amount of turmeric mentioned. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Discard the two ends of the onion, peel, wash and slice. Wash and slit the green chillies. Discard the root end of the fresh coriander, chop and wash well. Wash and chop the tomatoes.

Heat the oil in a wok. Coat each of the pomfrets in rice flour and fry both sides medium at low heat.

Temper the same oil with the bay leaf, radhuni, halved dry red chillies. 

Add the sliced onion and fry until translucent. Add the turmeric + cumin + coriander + red chilli powders, little salt and fold in well.

Add the tomatoes; stir & cover cook at low heat until half melt.

Open the cover and add water, bring to boil keeping the heat at low.

Add the dry mango powder and give a stir.

Add the fried fish pieces and let boil at low heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the chopped coriander & slitted green chillies now and boil for 2-3 minutes.

It is to be had with steamed rice only. We also had "mulo chechki, methi aloo begun, shojne data aloo beguner jhol" on the sides that day.

 

CHALER GURO O SUJIR HALKA MISHTI

This year, the Hindu Bengalis are having two major occasions on the same day, that is today. They both are yearly occasions; each year they are held on different dates but during the Autumn season for sure. This year, there is no excitement around. For us who live abroad, it does not make much of a difference; unless we are at the venue where the event or the occasion is held, we just do not get the feel. However, this family never did crave to go to the hometown during specific times of the year for a feel. I think, the bouts of nostalgia is less in this family; my fear is if at all our future would make itself present in such celebrations. If so, it will be very painful for us. So long it was attached to our skin, we tried to involve it in all the occasions; now that it has got wings, I fear how things would turn.

Should I even expect, after me anyone would clean oneself, change to washed clothes, prepare a vegetarian sweet with a little of dry fruits varieties, semolina & rice-flour roasted in ghee or butter, shape them roughly, offer to the God family? Yet, I harness a faint wish at the back of my mind; perhaps one day someone may just click the link for CHALER GURO O SUJIR HALKA MISHTI and prepare it, drape a saree or salwar suit beautifully unlike my weary self, wear eye kohl and lipstick, bangles and nail polish and do some offering, seeking blessings from the Almighty; for the family and the world. I may not be there for ever but CURRY AND SPICE would continue to.

I am feeling so sleepy at this time; then, I take this blogging thing very seriously. Today is the birthday of a friend too who is a non-Hindu; while doing the photography, I had taken into account various factors, the prime been not hurt sentiments, beliefs, etc. I removed the tulsi leaves before clicking, had them in my tea. What is the harm? I still remain a believer, wise men told me once, carry your faith within your heart and do not disturb the world peace doing so. It is not possible for me to cook and pack meat curry for the celebrating friends. Why should I exhibit myself as what I am not? Instead, I clean myself; think of a quickly made sweet with whatever is there at home. What is there at home that does not touch the non-vegetarian stuffs at all? Okay, rice flour, semolina, brown sugar, clarified butter, crushed black pepper; few nut varieties got me those lightly sweetened stuffs; CHALER GURO O SUJIR HALKA MISHTI; a vegetarian delight all of you can enjoy.

INGREDIENTS :

RICE FLOUR : 1 SMALL TEA CUP
SEMOLINA : 1 MEDIUM TEA CUP
GREEN CARDAMOM : 3-4
BROWN SUGAR : 2 TBSP [ADD MORE, I EAT VERY LESS SWEET]
CLARIFIED BUTTER / GHEE : 21/2 TBSP + 11/2 TBSP [ALTERNATIVELY USE BUTTER]
PISTACHIO : 5-6
ALMOND : 4-5
WALNUT : 4-5

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/4 TSP

PROCEDURE :

Though I wished to take  stepwise pictures, I could not because the sweet was offered to my God Family. The following are the ingredients I used to prepare it.

Warm 21/2 tbsp of ghee in a non-stick wok or pan. Tear the green cardamoms and add to the ghee / clarified butter.

Add the semolina & rice flour together. Fold in well and keep stirring at minimal heat for 8-10 minutes.

Break and add the almonds, pistachios and walnuts & the crushed black pepper. Stir further at minimal heat for 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 medium tea cup of water and immediately start stirring and mixing well the entire thing.

Add 11/2 tbsp of ghee and fold in well. Switch off the gas oven.

Transfer the entire content on a plate and let cool a bit. We have to knead & prepare the sweets while it's still warm.

If you add more of ghee or butter while kneading, you can get smoother, good shaped sweets. I just wished to relax while at work today.

If you refrigerate them, they need to be brought to the room temperature and warmed a bit before eating.

PEPE CHECHKI

I think I have been trying to blog about this particular dish with raw papaya & coconut since the initial days of blogging. Each time something or the other was stopping me. My first picture of it was horrible, I deleted. Again one day, at a later date, I clicked it and do not know where I had lost the pictures or they might be sitting somewhere else. It is not that I do it rarely; I do not know about other recipe bloggers but I do not always make it a point to click what I cook, I mean I just forget to. This way, so many of my pictures in the blog posts are still awaiting to be substituted with proper pictures. Some of them I regularly cook but I forget to click and make my blog look better. Same is the case with this vegan, gluten-free Bengali vegetarian side dish with raw papaya & shredded coconut; PEPE CHECHKI. It is  a very healthy and simple dish which requires no spices, the flavour comes from the tempering of a bay leaf & cumin seeds; the taste from the raw papaya's own juice and from the shredded coconut!

I am not always willing to state how Bengalis differentiate between "chechki, ghonto, chocchori and ghyat, etc." I grew up loving to eat and do not do research on food. I did not know how to hold a ladle even after marriage. I was only interested in the dish served on the table. I either liked it or did not. Even after taking to food / recipe blogging, I did not take initiative to do research on food of any region, state or country; not even of my own region or community. I am never a hard worker who would strive to excel in her own field. The regret is, in this food industry; I see even the unworthy gets to have thousands of followers with worthless pictures and posts in a forum that is meant for immensely qualitative pictures. In this lifetime, I continue to be blunt and straightforward. To become something, only quality alone is not enough these days; one needs to be tricky, ruthless, have a very sharp, political bent of mind and yes, one has to be the mingling type. To get fame based on your work alone is not the modern trend.

I did not know I would be able to finish this post today. Since morning, I have started writing, then parallelly I was doing some preparation work for tomorrow's menu for my visiting friends. The man also arrived around 2pm, Cristine had to go to the hotel with some essentials where he would stay quarantined for a fortnight; so the flow got disturbed. I am losing out on energy, hence I sit and write a post all day at intervals and share it only in the evenings. I just cannot concentrate well on any single thing; this is however a perennial problem. The more I see fake people around, more irritated I get; genuine, truthful selves are a rarity too. Anyway, let us have a taste of this Bengali side dish with raw papaya & shredded coconut; PEPE CHECHKI, which is vegan & gluten-free.

INGREDIENTS :

RAW PAPAYA : 1 MEDIUM SIZED [SHOULD BE GREEN]
SHREDDED COCONUT : 1 MEDIUM TEA CUP
SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 2-3
BAY LEAF : 1
CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP
DRY RED CHILLI : 2 [HALVED]
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/4 TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
SUGAR : 1 1/2 TSP
OIL : 2-3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Discard the stem end of the raw papaya.

Peel off the skin with a knife.

Cut half and discard the seeds.

Cut further and peel off the inner wall where the seeds were attached a little thick.

Wash each piece well and shred well with the help of a manual shredder.

Take the shredded raw papaya in a bowl and wash well.

Rub with little salt & turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok and temper with the bay leaf, cumin seeds, dry red chillies.

Add a little more than half of the shredded coconut and fold in well. Keep stirring at low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add the marinated shredded raw papaya, reduce the heat to the minimal.

Cover cook  for 8-10 minutes, uncover and add the slitted green chillies.

Again cover cook for 10 minutes; uncovering and stirring every 2-3 minutes. There is no need to add water.

Uncover and add the sugar and cook further for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the rest of the shredded coconut.

We always have it with plain rice.

DAL KANCHAKOLAR TIKKI

This was again one evening I wished to feed my family a vegetarian meal. That was an evening three months back. The plan to prepare something different with raw bananas was there for quite sometime. I usually use raw bananas for some Bengali vegetarian curries or in curries with fish and in kofta. I definitely have seen raw banana tikki / kebab around; the truth is there is not much difference in the making of this vegetarian kebab & kofta. In this Indian vegetarian snack dish with raw banana and Bengal Gram Lentil / Dal DAL KANCHAKOLAR TIKKI; I did not use onion and garlic. You do not require. I really did not expect it to taste so good doing it with minimal ingredients.

I have an invitation today over tea and I am always excited about what comes with the tea. I do not much take part in the chitchat; I mean I just cannot take part in it. I keep eating as long as I can; in fact overeat and then ask for leave. The hosts ask me to sit more but I get unable to. With an extremely unfit body; I crave to come back to my temple called home; undress, take a good shower, change over to my usual torn, cotton night wears and dive into the sofa. Oh! God! I so love my home, my cosy corner of peace.

Had I been a smart, diligent, enterprising woman; I could have done so much from home. Everything was okay but this useless nature of mine is truly uncalled for. The husband has no interest in my hobby called cooking; else I had all the ability to home deliver this vegetarian snack delight with raw banana, Bengal Gram Dal / Lentil DAL KANCHAKOLAR TIKKI islandwide. Although, it is a snack item, we had it for dinner; so I needed a main dish to serve it with. I saw somewhere in a Bengali Blogger's space in Instagram that Black Gram Lentil / Kali Urad Dal & Rice Khichdi / Khichuri / Hotchpotch, did it. Although the taste was very different from our usual khichuri, overall we had a good meal. Let us proceed to finishing off with the post, I am just not keeping well this week!

INGREDIENTS :

RAW BANANA : 2 STANDARD SIZED
BENGAL GRAM DAL : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP
CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TBSP
CHOPPED CORIANDER : A HANDFUL
ROASTED & GROUND CUMIN SEED : 1 TSP
ROASTED & CROUND CORIANDER SEED : 1 TSP
ROASTED & GROUND RED CHILLI : 3
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP
DRY MANGO POWDER : 1/2 TSP
CUMIN SEED : 1/2 TSP
CORN FLOUR : 2 TBSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
SUGAR : 1/2 TSP
OIL : 2 TBSP + 50-100 ML TO DEEP FRY

PROCEDURE :

I peeled, washed, cut and boiled the raw banana pieces to tender adding a little of the turmeric powder and salt to the water.

I dry roasted the amount of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies required for the ground spices to be added and ground them together to a coarse powder.

I had heated 2tbsp oil in a wok and tempered it with cumin seeds & chopped green chillies.

I had added the washed Bengal Gram Lentil and stir cooked at low heat for 2-3 minutes.

I had added the boiled & mashed raw bananas and folded in well. Then I added the chopped coriander, roasted & ground spice mix, the dry mango powder, little of salt, the sugar and kept stir cooking for 7-8 minutes.

I had transferred the mixture to a plate and had let it cool a bit. I then added the cornflour to it and mixed very well.

I prepared small round tikki / kebabs from it and stored it in a covered bowl.

I had refrigerated the container with the kebabs for few hours, then took it out.

I had fried them in batches. I fried a few, the help did the maximum.

We had them with a black gram dal & rice hotchpotch / khichuri. This khichuri variety is very unusual in my family; saw it in a blogger's space in Instagram.

CINNAMON & NUTMEG FLAVOURED OATS APPLE CAKE

I really wished to blog about this oats & apple cake today which I prepared last Friday. I am usually very prompt and eager to share the recipe of the cooked dishes that become an instant hit in the family. The men are travelling at this time; I am pretty sure they would have enjoyed this bake of mine. They actually have also eaten the worst bakes of mine all these years. I only share in public those of my bakes which are decent and taste good. This is an apple loving family, if they are sweet. Apple is almost always in stock. We need to acquire the taste of green apple which I think is not possible in this lifetime. However, I feel green apple is truly meant for great baking or in fruit salads topped with cream.

This vegetarian bake, a simple oats cake CINNAMON & NUTMEG FLAVOURED OATS APPLE CAKE is done using deliciously sweet and lusciously red apples. I just forgot which variety it is, they are so many in offer here. I am having a serious headache since morning, may be I had spent more amount of time on social media yesterday or did not have good amount of sleep at night. Menopause is approaching fast I guess, I am menstruating at seven days of interval. That is causing physical stress in addition to mental stress in me. Headache can be a byproduct of that.

Okay, the above portion was written in the morning, thereafter I was lying. The severe headache and bloating did not let me go out for a walk. Cristine thinks I am taking too much of mental stress with regards to the son's moving away from home. I have inherited this condition from the mother. This headache thing is related to our stomach. I think yesterday's vada and ikanbilis rice from the food court could not be friendly with me. I overate perhaps. I do not know why I eat outside when I cook so much at home. Coming to the share today, everything about the simple, vegetarian oats & apple cake CINNAMON & NUTMEG FLAVOURED OATS APPLE CAKE was good but the oats crumble turned soft by the next morning. Yet, it tasted good and  the recipe is worth sharing.

INGREDIENTS :

POWDERED OATS :  2 COFFEE MUG + 1 SMALL TEA CUP
APPLE : 3
BAKING POWDER : 2 TSP
BAKING SODA : 1 TSP
PLAIN YOGURT : 2 SMALL TEA CUP
VINEGAR : 2 TSP
BROWN SUGAR : 6 TBSP
CINNAMON POWDER : 2 TSP
NUTMEG POWDER : 11/2 TSP
BUTTER : 2-3 TBSP AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
OIL : 1/3 SMALL TEA CUP

PROCEDURE :

The following are the ingredients we are using. 

We have powdered one small cup of oats and mixed it with the butter and some brown sugar.

We have washed, cut, chopped the apples and mixed it with cinnamon powder and brown sugar.

We have powdered 2 coffee mugs of oats, added the baking soda & baking powder, mixed well.

We have blended together the plain yogurt, vinegar, oil, sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg powders.

We have prepared a batter adding it to the oat meal mix.

We have poured it to an aluminium foiled tin; actually two of them.

We have topped it with the chopped apples.

On top of that, we have added the crumble and pressed it little.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I had placed the low wired stool inside and preheated the oven for 10 minutes at 180*C.

I had baked the cake at 180*C for 40 minutes.

I think you will enjoy this simple bake.