CINNAMON NUTMEG COCONUT SUGAR CAKE

 ALWAYS A FORGETFUL SELF, I TEND TO FORGET MORE AS I AGE!

That is by inheritance! What is alarming & I should mend is I cannot afford to be callous in the busy roads, not even in this supremely organised island! But I have some good habits, I usually use footpaths and follow the traffic lights whilst crossing the roads! I am more concerned about the son in a distant land, is he careful enough in the roads? My panicky self would never let me live well! I try my best, that's why I have headphones set whilst walking outdoor, but that is a hazard too, there are vehicles on the road! To shove off panic & disturbing thoughts, I do what I enjoy doing the most, something or the other related to cooking! This morning, soon after the man left, I made some extra efforts to make the son talk, but in vein! Okay, we understand he has a major shifting from one shared apartment to another in two three days but he is all through like this, all that Mumma-Babai thinks is that little did we get to be with our only child, we wish for long chats with him! Then, I had a small talk with the mother, I never call her in the morning, she remains busy but my call log says she called me at 2:50am, island time today, that is scary! But there is nothing to worry about! Thereafter, I mixed & matched two-three varieties of pickles, added bhaja moshola to it and perfected to my taste buds!

I also cooked a bharta to have for my lunch! I wish to blog about it later, not going into any details hence!

IT WAS AN WEEKEND NO DIFFERENT; BUT WE NEVER GET BORED OF IT!

That may be because we love to live & live well, that we enjoy watching movies & series after series! We have already watched both the Delhi Crime & HIT:The First Case! Besides, there were Hollywood action thrillers may be going on all day, I was either busy with cooking or taking a late afternoon nap! I may have missed more movies but not munching in between my meals! My yesterday's & today's lunch had excess amount of rice, I am scared now but quite unable to mend my ways & eat clean! 

Yesterday, for lunch, I wished to cook the small grained, fragrant rice the man refuses to have! He enjoys long grained, white Basmati! Starting Monday to Friday, I would eat Quinoa instead of rice, for at least one meal, preferably for dinner! Does it help? I read quinoa has more calories than white rice but it is a little lower in carb! Whatever, I cannot have the sides without having anything for my mains, we love our roti-prata, fried rices; they love plain rice with their choice of meat & fish! After over a month, I got home chicken on bone and thoroughly enjoyed the curry I cooked, just the way I do, the Kolkata variety of chicken! My refrigerator is full of cooked food, but Sunday night we had an egg, potato boil rice. Like the veteran females in my family, I like my mashes with mustard oil & burnt chillies often, also with butter or ghee we like! I can talk endlessly about food but how about wrapping up my blogpost sooner & watch a movie on Hotstar or Hoichoi? You see, it was raining all day & now we see some light; courtesy, the clear sky!

WHAT IS THIS CINNAMON NUTMEG COCONUT SUGAR CAKE?

This cake was baked back in April, 2020 and a photo feature done! I forgot what I wished to highlight in this cake, that it is oil-free or that it is baked with coconut sugar! Actually, if we use over ripened bananas in a cake batter, we can omit the oil! But not always I like the flavour of banana. I personally enjoy having flawless, just ripe banana but not everyday!Whatever, the cake tasted good, if you fancy no frill, plain cakes; you would enjoy it!

This vegetarian cake uses wholewheat flour but I do not remember why I used it instead of refined flour! These days, I use gluten-free flours too! How good at that time my bake mode was working fine! So, CINNAMON NUTMEG COCONUT SUGAR CAKE is a simple vegetarian bake, flavoured with cinnamon & nutmeg powders; it uses coconut sugar instead of white or brown sugar or jaggery! It is oil-free, the banana & fresh cream moistens the cake! While I write this blogpost, I listen to the jugalbandi of Rahul Sharma & Richard Clayderman, piano & santoor, both I enjoy listening to! A few genre of music is the fodder to my soul! Why Why Why do some say they want to die, destroy others? Life is precious! Text Books are not for everyone; selling tacos, chicken rice, tomato rice on a food truck is not a tough thing! I so wished to run a small, homely eatery!

INGREDIENTS :

WHOLEWHEAT FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

RIPENED BANANA : 2 STANDARD SIZED

FRESH CREAM : 350 ML

COCONUT SUGAR : 1 SMALL TEA CUP

BAKING POWDER : 1/3 TSP

BAKING SODA : 1/4 TSP

VINEGAR : 2 TBSP

CINNAMON POWDER : 1 TSP

NUTMEG POWDER : 1/2 TSP

PROCEDURE :

We would be using 2 can of the fresh cream & 1 small tea cup of the coconut sugar!

We would take the wholewheat flour, baking soda & powder together and mix well!  

We would blend together the fresh cream, vinegar, banana, coconut sugar & add to the flour mixture.

We would fold in well and add the cinnamon & nutmeg powders, then pour in a cake tin. I used an aluminium foil, did not require to grease or dust!

 

We need to tap it on the kitchen counter!

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven; I reheated the oven for 8-10 minutes! 

I had placed the low height wired stand and on top of it the batter filled cake tin!

I baked it at 180*C for 32-35 minutes!

To get the best taste of a homemade, plain cake; have it fresh & warm!

TWEAKED BENGALI FRENCH TOAST

 IT IS ALMOST 6PM, I WAS SO CAUGHT UP WITH OTHER THINGS; BUT A BLOGPOST HAS TO COME!

What was I busy with? Nothing constructive as such! I trimmed few indoor plants, checked on the few outdoors! I have few but from the pictures you can make out I have a wish to grow fruits & vegetables; I appreciate those who do it! But at this home, we do not agree on a point except for a few! In a small flat with a mere hedge, you hardly can grow anything! Look at the dumb me, I had thrown in the seeds of few litchis after eating the flesh & then this! What to do with the saplings now? Who to give?

Few years back, my Peace Lily died of overwatering! Not that today we have learnt a lot about gardening, just a little bit. I am keeping my fingers crossed about the health of my Peace Lily! My outside the main door ones reached almost our neighbour's! They are too gentle & composed people, this island's natives! We would at times meet them in the lift, have small, decent talks. The couple have two or three college & office going boys, that I fail to count. They are too shy boys, I felt! Why was I with my greens today? I seek peace in them, when my soul is in an unrest mode! They do not flower much as we do not know how to care for them or the right use of fertiliser! 

AND, WHAT SETS MY MIND & BODY IN AN UNREST STATE?

Whenever I see something beyond my set of rules & understandings, reasonings; I tag it unnatural, wrong and everything my state of negativity can call it! Overthinking, I get into a sad state of mind! And this rain throughout the year is really not my thing! Rain pushes me more into depression, always! There is depression in the sky, on my mind; all over! I do not get how come people quarrel when it smells death around, of their own! No sane being can want dishonour in death, it hurts to see silly insane beings! Wish I could be a messiah & make people understand to live life with honour is the ultimate goal we can have! But I have known, not every word flying around has truth in it! To know exactly about an incident, we need to be there talking to the locals, concerned beings! I have decided not to lynch people in public unless they intent to hurt me or my own! These days, I consider social media one big family, we only have to browse carefully! I wish I had wheels fixed under my feet & two wings on my shoulders, I would have flown to my boy & then with him to places of interest! No wonder, I wished to pursue journalism after graduation and my graduating scores did not allow me to! Baby wished to study Political Science & Journalism, was it for his love for mumma? But the daddy pushed him towards subjects his mumma has no interest in! She walks alone lost in deep thoughts she has no connection to but that is her nature since birth! She is caught with cough & cold, yet she dreads the rain because walking helps release her stress! She is cool enough to pick up some lemon grass from the muddy soil in the roadside and sows in a pot, she would make tea with them, may flavour a light chicken curry too! She is listening to KennyG since morning, actually the brother used to be more into Western Music, I do not know much about his spouse's preferences!

And there she had a big lunch today, one chicken fry was excess! Again, around 6:30 pm, she had Cristine's Nescafe and a cake slice, no, two of them! She decided she should not have dinner today! I had the plan to make aloor porota today, just not willing to; would send Cristine to get two Mac Chicken Meal for Sir & herself! T dislikes fish burgers!

WHAT IS THIS TWEAKED BENGALI FRENCH TOAST?

Why am I calling it tweaked? That is because I have spread a tongue tickling chutney / instant condiment on the bread slices before batter frying them! The batter is off course made of eggs, cornflour, a bit of baking soda & powder, salt, onion, green chillies! BENGALI FRENCH TOAST is how Bengalis have modified the original French Toast in their kitchen! TWEAKED BENGALI FRENCH TOAST is what extra I did spreading that mixed condiment of Kashundi+fresh mint paste+sriracha mayo on the bread slices! Our's was not an egg loving family but we enjoyed homemade French Toast often & it is true with every middle class family of our times, I believe! Our mother did not add the cornflour, baking soda & powder but I had learnt from my friend Indranil's mother that using those makes it crisp & you can see it!

We had it for our lunch yesterday, without T & today we packed his lunch box with bread omelette, his love is egg; I do not understand this! But these days, I prefer eggs over sea fish! French Toast are to be had fresh & hot, what a loving snacks for the Bengalis! My unfriendly towards eggs brother enjoys French toast I think, his spouse an egg lover too!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE INSTANT CHUTNEY / CONDIMENT : 

FRESH MINT : A HANDFUL

GREEN CHILLI : 1 OR 2

CHILLI MUSTARD PASTE : 2 TBSP [I USED HOMEMADE KASHUNDI]

SRIRACHA MAYO : 1 TBSP

SALT : A PINCH

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FINISHED SNACK :

THE INSTANT CHUTNEY : AS REQUIRED

BREAD SLICE : 7-8

EGG : 2-3 

CHOPPED ONION : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TBSP

CORN FLOUR : 2 TBSP

WATER : 1/4 SMALL TEA CUP

BAKING POWDER : 1/4 TSP

BAKING SODA : A PINCH

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/4 TSP

SALT : 1/4 TSP

OIL : AS MUCH REQUIRED TO DEEP FRY

PROCEDURE :

For the instant condiment, wash a handful of mint leaves & the green chilli, sprinkle some water & blend to it. Transfer to a bowl & add the chilli-mustard paste or Kashundi Sauce, Sriracha Mayo, a pinch of salt; mix well!

Get the washed, chopped onion & chillies on the kitchen top!

Beat well the eggs, add the corn flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, turmeric powder and beat well again!

To it, add the onions & green chillies!

Cut off the sides of the bread and cut again to get a triangular shape!

To one side of each slice, spread the chutney, close tight two slices on the chutney sides, dip into the batter! 

Heat enough oil but not to the smoking point, they should fry well & crisp, not burn!

Turn over & fry both sides well!

Hold each piece for a while before placing it onto a tissue paper! 

We must have them fresh & hot, to get the maximum of crispiness!

MIXED FRUITS OATS HALWA

 AFTER A SPECIAL PRAYER MEET, THE QUESTION THAT ARISES IS HOW TO USE UP THE EXCESS OF CUT FRUITS OFFERED TO MY GOD FAMILY?

That is the reason I prefer offering whole fruits to them which the Bengalis usually would not! On some occasions, I may offer cut fruits & witness, the next day the few guests that come or I send the "proshad" to, they would want to have less of fruits! Because there are either polao or khichuri, luchi, kheer, vegetables, sweet meats to indulge in! The Thai Pineapple & Chausa Mango varieties are of high order but mine got over-ripened! Something had to be done with the excess of cut fruits, I had offered a plateful of!

I think I should wrap up early today, just not feeling well! I suffered from cough & cold for three weeks! Again today, since morning there is pain in the throat area whenever I am to swallow anything! After a late shower, I feel shivery! I feel I have overeaten the lunch outside today!

THE REFRIGERATOR IS BEAMING WITH FOOD, THE DECISION TO EAT OUTSIDE WAS WRONG!

We had little of shopping in Daiso, Cristine came back, I had an island style lunch at Nex, sat for few minutes & took a longer route to home! I hear walks after eating, if not immediately after does not let fat accumulation! But it made me feel tired, why would a mere 5.6 km walk make my legs pain? I had this platter which initially I did not feel would be big for me! I enjoyed my food but I did not require all of them!

After having the fish & fried tofu soup, I felt full! The chicken mince noodles & the greens were too good but I was full! Only the white sauce on top of the sautéed greens I did not like! For the first time, I went to the mall's rooftop today; there is a gym, music school, enrichment center and a public library! I do not know why I never wished to be a member of it in these 12 years of stay! I think I have stopped reading enough! 

The kids' play area is closed at this time! Thereafter, I had the food at Basement-1 and walked back home 3.6 km, taking a longer route! Given a choice, I would not have done any exercise, not even a cardio! What makes me happy are small buys; today it was a plant tub stand for 4.07$ from Daiso, Japan! I placed it outside our main door!

WHAT IS THIS MIXED FRUITS OATS HALWA?

I think I already have a mango-oats halwa recipe in the blog! I loved it then, I loved more what I cooked with some cut fruits yesterday morning! 

I did not use any amount of sugar or jaggery or artificial sweeteners! In this island, fruits are of good quality & sweet if they need to be! I may tell you, I loved this vegan, gluten-free, diary free, quick made dessert with few ingredients; MIXED FRUITS OATS HALWA pudding! Our son stopped loving semolina at one point in life, he ate if only it had fresh fruit juices in it. Mumma totally discards the semolina part & uses oats to cook the halwa with a fresh fruit punch! I enjoyed it, I believe my son, T & the rest in the family too would! The father is no more, the brother & his get fruits for our mother, she cannot eat with her weakening teeth all the varieties; a soft, warm, healthy dessert would have suited! Also, my in-laws have stopped eating sweets & desserts for long now, it would suit them too! Anyway, diabetics like us should not eat too much of fruits either! Who listens? I am having my coffee with a Dollar Shop's 1$ cake, it's yet bigger! I used Olive Oil to make it vegan, using ghee would give you the best flavour! Yesterday for lunch we had two more friends willing to have "proshad", please comply, it would get you good fortune!

RIPE CUT MANGO : A COFFEE MUG

RIPE CUT PINEAPPLE : A COFFEE MUG

RIPE CUT BANANA : A MEDIUM TEA CUP

GRAPE : A SMALL TEA CUP

SEEDLESS SWEET ORANGE SEGMENT : 10-12

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1 TSP

BAYLEAF : 1 OR 2

SUGAR : 2 TBSP [I DID NOT USE, U NEED NOT IF THE FRUITS ARE SWEET]

OATMEAL : A SMALL TEA CUP

OLIVE OIL : 2 TBSP

I USED TOASTED & CRUSHED PISTACHIO & ALMOND TO GARNISH

PROCEDURE : 

We should wash the fruits before peeling & chopping them! We would blend them to a paste!

We would pour 2 tbsp of oil in the wok & temper with two bay leaves! 

We would powder the oats & add it to the hot oil, stir cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes & add the mixed fruits nectar!

Thereafter, we would fold in both well and stir constantly at minimal heat for 3-4 minutes!

We would add the green cardamom powder and constantly stir cook at minimal heat for 2-3 minutes!

We would switch off the gas stove, crush the almonds & pistachio; microwave at the lowest heat for 30-40 seconds !

We would transfer the pudding to a serving bowl & garnish with the toasted dry fruits & nuts!

I believe, any Halwa Pudding Dessert should be eaten fresh & warm for the best taste!