APPLE BANANA STOVETOP CAKE

 

OATS & FRUITS MAKE A GOOD COMBINATION!

When the cake batter was ready, it felt why cannot I have it as a 'pholar'? Did not we grow up having a mix of fruits like banana, mango, jackfruit, milk or yogurt, grains as part of breakfast meals; specially during summers? Okay, we did not know much about the grain oats until recently. Families like mine are still happy with "chirey-muri-khoi", can go without oats for the rest of their lives! They keep oats at home, eat too. I too keep in stock oats believing those who say oats has lower calories than beaten rice! I do not eat oats religiously to shed off the extra kilos! Life is short, I have so much to eat, explore in the food world! I cannot think of living on oats day & night! I use it wisely but, in this way like in a cake or in a cookie!

FRUITS ARE EXCESS AFTER A SPECIAL PRAYER!

This happens each time there is a special prayer at home. Specially, the bananas are required to be put into good use. It is a fruit I never packed in their lunch boxes, they would not eat! They however would eat a cake, bread, fry or a pie made of banana; with love! Our father used to eat 3-4 bananas a day does not mean it can get to be a regular habit with others! I remember a clip from the childhood; the maternal grandfather used to take us for Durga Pooja shopping; a big chunk of the family, buy us sweets, ice-cream and banana whenever hungry! With him, shopping was from Sealdah Chaya Stores & Priyo Goyal Bishoyi of Burrabazaar! The father too fed us sweets, ice-cream, kulfi but the shopping experience qualified to the Guys N Dolls, Rehmania & others in New Market, Treasure Island, Bidhan Market. I saw the making of Treasure Island and now how our section of the society do not visit those. Yes, we witnessed globalisation in Kolkata, our way and oh! I have materials to write a big, fat book; if only I knew where to start from, how to end, how to arrange my emotions in order & put them into words! What I can do is cook a good cake with oats, banana, apple, pistachio, dates and add to the madness surrounding the two words; vegan & gluten-free! But yes, the son did have gluten-allergy and I know how difficult it is to handle it, to curate a menu for them. I knew little about it then, now I can feed a good gluten-free platter to anyone; even my meat-o-phobic brother would enjoy! I told him several times he needs to look beyond pizza, biryani, porota-mangsho!

WHAT IS APPLE BANANA STOVETOP CAKE?

These days, I am doing a lot of cakes on the stovetop, got comfortable & confident with the medium. My bake mode got spoilt is a reason, I am cool about it because we do not need perfecto store kinds to beautify our plate! What we need are freshly made cakes & breads to keep up with our needs. My parents, brother liked the fresh, basic bakes I did; the men too like. From me, they expect basic cakes because we all fear I would mess with the creams & fondants. Those pastry stuffs I get for them from stores! I enjoy experimenting with different fruits, seeds, grains combination for my homemade cakes. This APPLE BANANA STOVETOP CAKE uses few ingredients; is vegan, gluten-free, diary free! To make it vegan, I skipped using thickened milk or yogurt! I do not use eggs in sweets, desserts or cakes, generally! It was difficult but apples & bananas are great moisteners; the apple cider vinegar+water mixture helped a lot and here you are with a supremely moist, indulgent easy made cake, thats not fluffy! I am having with tea one slice; loved, more may be because I love dates?

Today, while arranging the pictures, I discovered I forgot to add oil to the batter! It was not in the plan, but this oil-free version did not affect the taste of the cake at all!

INGREDIENTS :

OATS : 1/3 COFFEE MUG

RICE FLOUR : 1/4 COFFEE MUG

CORN FLOUR : 2 TBSP

SUGAR : 2 TBSP [I USED BROWN SUGAR]

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR : 1/4 SMALL TEA CUP

WATER : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

BAKING SODA : 1/2 TSP

BAKING POWDER : 11/4 TSP

CHOPPED APPLE : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

MASHED BANANA : 11/2 MEDIUM TEA CUP

CHOPPED DATES : 2 TBSP

CHOPPED PISTACHIO : 1 TSP

PROCEDURE :

These are the few ingredients we are using for this cake! I forgot to take in the sugar pot!

We will take together the oats, rice flour, corn flour, blend together to a powder!

We will mash the bananas and add the flour mix to it.

We will add the baking soda & powder, mix well the ingredients!

We will take together the vinegar & water, mix, add to the batter; we will further beat softly the batter for 3-4 minutes!

We will add the chopped apple, brown sugar to the batter, fold in well!

Our batter is ready! We will pour it to a cake tin; I used a foiled tin! I added the chopped dates & pistachios on top, tapped it on the kitchen top!

We will place a wok on the gas top, a wired stand on it. We will allow the stand to get hot for 3-4 minutes and put the heat from low to minimal!

We will place the cake tin in the middle of the heated, wired stand and cover with a lid!

After 1/2 an hour of cooking at the low to minimal heat, the cake would look as below.

After 55minute-1hr of cooking at the low to minimal heat, it would be done, at least in my home it was!

We will switch off the gas stove and take down the cake tin, let it cool!

I believe, we will enjoy it more when chilled!

BENGALI STYLE VEGETABLE TEMPURA

 ILL HEALTH WON'T DEFEAT ME; WRONG FOOD HABITS WOULD!

I was going through excruciating pain in different parts of the body for the past two weeks including the chronic frozen shoulder condition! That cannot mar my spirit; I do not wish to live the life of a vegetable, I had to remain moving!What I required was certain kind of a medical intervention; hence went to a traditional Chinese Alternative Medicine practitioner! I already have four different kinds of tablets each day for different ailments, did not wish for add ons! The massage, cupping he did, the medicine he gave, the exercises he prescribed; are working. The frozen shoulder  thing would take time because it is not a new guest in my life! I take the responsibilities of all the troubles thats trying to mar my spirit! All these years, I did walking without any amount of stretching exercises! Now with all the wrong habits are taking a toll on my health; but I am not the kind to visit every home, call every person to express my pain, seek sympathy! I have told very few, playing victim card is not my thing! I know what or who makes me happy! Feeling little better today, I went for a walk, thats when it started raining! I decided to walk in the shade as much as possible. I discover a 7/11 near our back gate. There was an Indian Mart there in the pre-pandemic era, I felt sad when it closed down may be because of the outbreak of the virus? Anyway, I had to visit it after my walk. I dislike walking amidst the crowd, in enclosed areas! The moment the rain was on hold a bit, I took the lonelier path!On my journey, I click the kids, buy & enjoy the cream croissant like a kid!

Walking in the rain got me even slower, wish I could become a slow, minimal, decent eater!

I mean three chapatis with kheer / payesh, dhonepatar chutney after a cream filled croissant was a bit too much; but loved it!

I AM EATING SIMPLE, HOME COOKED FOOD, THE AMOUNT MAY NOT BE RIGHT!

I am unable to eat anything else other than simple; my ill health may be the reason or may be I cook too much and then lose interest!I think that is the reason why I planned something different for last night's dinner!I usually do not work myself up on a Sunday, Cristine goes for an off day!Then, I wished to blog about it today!If the son sits in a country that celebrate ghosts, if the son has been using a skeletal face in all public spaces since long back; I cannot blog about an "amra diye tok dal" today!The son loving it is not the purpose! I did not have to go out shopping for a client,I went to get the vegetables required for cooking the recipe!On my way back, I got quesadilla for T's lunch, I did not buy anything for myself. I had to finish off the remaining food blocking up the refrigerator! Its my home, my kitchen; I cannot let food go waste!

Until I finished the mixed vegetable offered to Maa Lokkhi, the chicken bowl was kept at far. The family veterans would not eat both together! Rules need to modify, change!Then, after a nap and power tea with some snack; I went up to cutting the vegetables for the batter fries; do a quick, yummy, dip to go with them!

WHAT IS THIS BENGALI STYLE VEGETABLE TEMPURA?

Once in a while, I did eat tempura fries in the food courts, if not in a proper Japanese spot! As I say, we rarely go out for fine dining, the man prefers going for fine dining which cannot be made regular at this stage in life!What I want him to do is going to decent eateries often with me; he refuses!I lead my own life as per my wish, staying within my limits!I liked Tempura Fries, I see tempura batter mix in the different store, did not feel the urge to buy!I strongly felt, I need to try the vegetarian batter fries at home with some Indian / Bengali seasonings!I even had the plan to dust the fries with some chaat masala, but did not have the mind to; India was losing in the game of cricket!How can I? So, this BENGALI STYLE VEGETABLE TEMPURA are fries with a vegan, gluten-free coating, having a good amount of chilli & black pepper powder in the marination! I made the tempura batter myself going through some similar recipes.Sorry, if I did not note down their names to mention here!The dip I made with cashews, raisins, mayonnaise,green chilli! It was a good combo deal!Tomorrow, I will be cooking a platter for dinner, the occasion calls for!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE HOMEMADE TEMPURA MIX :

RICE FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

CORN FLOUR : 2-3 TBSP

BAKING POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

CHILLED WATER : AS REQUIRED FOR THE PASTE

INGREDIENTS :  THE VEGETABLES & THEIR MARINATION :

EGG PLANT / BRINJAL : 2-3 SMALL

CARROT : 1 OR A 1/2

LOTUS ROOT : 1 SMALL

POTATO : 1

SWEET POTATO : 1 SMALL

FRENCH BEAN : 10-12

RED CHILLI POWDER : 11/2 TSP

BLACK PEPPER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SUGAR : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

INGREDIENTS FOR THE VEG TEMPURA FRIES :

THE TEMPURA BATTER

THE DRESSED, WASHED, MARINATED VEGETABLES

OIL TO DEEP FRY

PROCEDURE :

In this recipe, we are using 6 variety of vegetables.They are potato, carrot, sweet potato, brinjal, lotus root!

We will peel off their skin, except for the brinjal & lotus root! 

We would cut some lengthwise; some round shaped!

 

We will wash them very well under the running water! Lotus roots have a lot of mud in them!

We drained the water and marinated the vegetables with the salt, black pepper powder, sugar & salt!

We will keep them marinated for 15 minutes or so and drain the marinade.

We will mix together the corn flour, rice flour, salt & baking powder!We will add the chilled water to it little by little to prepare a paste like consistency!

The oil has to be hot enough to start frying!

We will dip, coat each variety of the vegetables well, then fry them in batches!

Once done, the water need to be strained well and kept onto a tissue paper before having when still hot!

For dip, I blended together cashew nuts, raisins, 2tbsp mayonnaise, a green chilli, it was done!

We truly enjoyed the vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian fritters with dip combo meal!

LESS SUGAR LOBONGO LOTIKA

 

FOOD MUST LOOK GOOD IN MY HOME, IF NOT PERFECT!

Not only a sweet snack post, I wish to share with you the story revolving around it's making!It all started a day or two prior to the Durga Pooja!I was yet to do up my nails and other stuffs necessary, just before the Durga Pooja!They may not be as important in life! Somehow, I managed to cook this low in sugar, modified version of a Bengali sweet "Lobongo Lotika" in between all of those busy schedule! I clicked the steps and the final pictures too!

That I will skip the last step of soaking them in a warm sugar syrup for a while was pre-decided! Then, I did not like the finish of it! Those bubbles are unwelcome, may be the oil was more hot that required! I got busy with the festivity thereafter!

I AM EATING UNBELIEVABLY SIMPLE THESE DAYS!

Most importantly, I ate the simplest food during the Durga Pooja and did not feel irritated or suffered from a lack of fulfilment! A dinner at the Arab Street was good enough for me, the taste of the lamb kebabs would linger for long, even the chicken kebabs were too good. I love middle eastern breads! I was getting home the simplest of food from the pooja venue for our lunch! That simplicity continues! I did not cook in bulk last Saturday because my refrigerator racks must remain empty until Wednesday, it is Lakshmi Pooja! I got food from Jollibee yesterday for the man's lunch, I did not wish to because I had to do away with a couple of leftovers!

May be towards the end of the week, I will go to Jollibee for a fried chicken meal! I prefer sitting in the venue amidst strangers, study them or just get lost! Why I never get bored wandering alone I wonder! Thereafter, I had a dry cake biscuit & tea in the evening, our dinner was simple.

Today too, you will know gradually how involved I got with something! Thereafter, I went down for a swim, came back, had another rustic meal! In between all these, I did two sets of prayers! 

I loved the "panta bhaat" with oven cooked potatoes! I am feeling tired and feverish. Swimming in the rain, thereafter a plate of "panta bhaat" are deadly combination! Each bone is wanting an hour of nap to feel fresh but writing in the blog is a pleasure! Besides, I have discovered hidden cough, cold within; is hypothyroidism a reason?

WHAT IS LESS SUGAR LOBONGO LOTIKA?

The incomplete story is the following! This morning, I felt I would not use the pictures clicked last week. Why not? I know the trick of frying them that can avoid that finish! I cooked another batch of LESS SUGAR LOBONGO LATIKA. It is a Bengali vegetarian sweet, I rather would call it a sweet snack! It is not a pedigreed sweet in Kolkata, the local snack shops make it in the morning, the famous sweet shops won't make it, still the neighbourhood shops would! I added some cashew nuts & raisins to the instantly made khoya / mawa filling, totally skipped the sugar syrup part! Hope, that helps you too! I feel great been able to get that near perfect texture & look today! I feel better sipping some hot tea and a bowl of "jhal muri"! Life is always good if we know how to face it!

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE FILLING]

FULL CREAM MILK : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

GHEE / CLARIFIED BUTTER : 2-3 TBSP

POWDERED MILK : 1/2 MEDIUM TEA CUP

GRAM FLOUR : 1/2 MEDIUM TEA CUP [CAN SKIP & USE MILK POWDER ALONE]

CHOPPED & ROASTED CASHEW NUT : 1 TBSP

RAISIN : 10-12

SUGAR : 2 TSP [I USED BROWN SUGAR]

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1/4 TSP

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE DOUGH]

REFINED FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

SALT : A PINCH OR TWO

GHEE / CLARIFIED BUTTER : 1 TBSP

OIL : 1 TBSP

WATER : AS REQUIRED

THE FINAL REQUIREMENT :

THE MAWA / KHOYA / REDUCED MILK FILLING

THE DOUGH

CLOVE : 1 FOR EACH SWEET

OIL FOR DEEP FRYING

PROCEDURE :

Let us prepare the mawa filling at first! I always do it instantly, following a youtube video!

I mixed together the gram flour, milk powder, full fat milk, sugar, ghee, green cardamom powder, cooked at the highest power for one & half minute!

Thereafter, I added the roasted, chopped cashew nuts, raisins to it!

For the dough, I had taken together the refined flour, salt, ghee, oil, rubbed well for a minute or two!

I added water little by little and prepared a dough! I kept it covered for ten minutes or so!

Thereafter, I kneaded it again for 2-3 minutes! 

I made small dough balls from it!

We rolled out small roundels, added the mawa at the centre and folded sideways; then joined the other ends!

Then, I locked each with a clove!

I heated the empty wok for 4-5 minutes!

 

Then I poured the oil, also a few of the filled dough balls in the cold oil!

This part is crucial! We have to fry them for a longer period at low heat. We will switch on & off the gas stove constantly!

Once both sides turn crisp, we will take them out, place onto a tissue paper!

I skipped the last step of soaking them in a warm sticky sugar syrup, a good decision I took!

You must eat it within half an hour for a crisper feel!