VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE FOOD IS A GOOD IDEA!
I am finding it interesting these days! It's another food venture; experimenting with food! I have ideas about using a number of vegetables & fruits waiting for me to combine them and make either a kebab, cutlet, ice sticks / potong, etc. When I discovered the potong ice-cream in this island, I was taken back to the olden days; how I loved the flavoured ice-sticks that came in a box. I could taste them only at the grandparent's place! The parents did not buy us anything the vendors would get! "Not anything" may be wrong to say; we were bought ankh / sugarcane sticks every weekend; the Joynagar er Moya packets our Muriwala / the popped rice supplier got us from Joynagar, every winter, cloaks & shawls too were bought from the Kashmiri Shawlwalas! All of a sudden they stopped coming; the humble businessmen were forced into something they might not have wanted to get engaged in! Oh God! Life is so precious; hatred is such a moron! Anyway, I liked the rest, never liked the overly sweet Joynagar er moya! The parents treated us with kulfi-falooda, ice-cream, fruits, sweets outdoors; I was the kind who waited for a "nemontanna bari" to have 2-3 fish or meat fries / cutlet at one go! Once in college, I got to have them but not frequently; our pocket money was meagre! What I earned from the tuitions went for savings; that was a bank employee's home! It is this woman who introduced the family to outside food; convincing the other members it is not that bad to have them at times; neither it would make big holes in our pocket! But I could merely get them to snacks; dining-in could not be accommodated with the meagre amount I drew. Today, as I stand as a dusk in the evening sky; I see myself under the shadow of my family; no showing off; no going out with friends for dine-ins often; wanting to cook at home with love!
HOME COOKED FOOD GOT DEARER AS I AGE!
An hour back, I had a fulfilling lunch with shutki mach / dried fish bharta, stuffed pointed gourd, lentil curry. The entire morning was a fruitful engagement, I had an esteemed client to deliver!
My lunch got late, I was getting the pictures for the post ready and updated an older blogpost ROSE FLAVOURED "MOCK" BAKARKHANI ON STOVETOP! We had it for our dinner yesterday!
I call it mock because originally, the texture is biscuit like as it is done in the oven, also I used way less sugar in the dough! Mine were not crisp but they were freshly made with quality ingredients! I need to stop buying the overly salty halloumi & feta cheese! Yesterday lunch time too, we had a good home-cooked meal!
I did not forget to have my share of swiss roll with the afternoon tea. I am too fond of swiss-rolls, more of those I get six for three dollars! I was feeling less hungry back in Kolkata; may be because the mother was cooking a variety of vegetarian dishes, making me eat them all at lunch! Had our son, T be there, the cooked dishes would have been different. The brother & his wife eat homely Bengali; on top of that they order food from outside! The mother is not in the age to cook varied! I took cooked food for the in-laws too, they do like the food cooked by our mother. On this trip, I could not feed home cooked food to T's sister & her spouse! I think here I exercise a little bit, consequently feel hungry! In Kolkata, the water was not suiting me this time; in fact I would want to blame the uncanny heat there; else I was walking a lot!
WHAT IS THIS OVEN COOKED COCONUT KEBAB?
Meat is dear to us; in my case I enjoy the Kolkata variety of mutton, chicken; the problem is I wish to stay abroad with ditto the Kolkata Food Scenario on my plate! We cannot get the best of both worlds. Neither the frozen fresh water fish, nor the meat varieties entice me here. It is not about the quality, they do not match my tastebud! You cannot have such problems with the vegetables in offer, if we can excuse the overgrown ridge gourds & few other vegetables. With paneer & veggies I think I can prepare pretty good number of appetisers / finger food! There is also age involved; our stomachs got weaker! We cannot be full vegetarian, our non-veg intake can be reduced! To incorporate more of vegetables in our life; "I" cannot cook for them rustic Bengali altogether but a little this and that like this vegan, gluten-free coconut titbits OVEN COOKED COCONUT KEBAB can be had, prepared in the microwave! The ingredients used are less; I wished to make it potato free; used green peas instead! But a bit of cornflour was required to bind the dough! I have plans to get you more of such healthier finger food! As of now, let us savour the long weekend!
SHREDDED COCONUT : A COFFEE MUG
CRUSHED GREEN PEA : 1 SMALL TEA CUP
CHOPPED ONION : 1/2 SMALL TEACUP
MINCED GARLIC : 1 TSP
CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 OR 2
CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP
CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP
DRY MANGO POWDER : 1 TSP
CHAAT MASALA : 1/2 TSP
CUMIN SEED : 2-3 PINCH
ASAFOETIDA : A PINCH OR TWO
CORNFLOUR : 1TBSP
CASHEWNUT : 1/2 OF ONE FOR EACH KEBAB
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 2 TBSP
PROCEDURE :
We have taken the shredded coconut in a bowl. We would then wash and crush the green peas. We would also chop and mince the green chillies, onions, garlic, wash well!
We would add the chopped onions and green chillies!
We need to stir fry the shredded coconut at low heat for 8-10 minutes. Thereafter, we would add the crushed green peas and all the spices, salt!
We would keep stir cooking the mixture for 6-7 minutes at minimal heat. Then, we would add the corn flour, sprinkle some water!
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