MIXED FRUIT SQUARES

I NEVER FEARED TO TALK ABOUT MY FAILURES IN PUBLIC!

Then, why not share the recipe of an awesomely tasted snack today that actually was a baking failure, last Friday! Earlier in the day, I did declare in public that I would share the recipe of the fruit cake I baked this morning! Thereafter, I changed my mind & strongly felt I must take pride in my management capacity inside my kitchen, how I save kitchen disasters in most cases! If the outcome tasted good & even the people I took it for have praised about the texture & taste, why not I document the entire process & my feeling revolving around, in a single blogpost? I think I should, although I am a bit tired unable to make crisp dosa from a ragi+oats batter last night! 

What is the point if we are to add rice flour & wheat flour in a ragi+oats mix batter? I did add those, yet got only pancakes for us, not dosas! However, they were tasty because I added ginger & green chillies while blending! We had them with a Naga Chilli Pickle & Tomato-Chilli sauce! I think I would never be able to learn making crisp dosas! The man ate them all, the son might not have! He would have silently kept the plate on the kitchen counter & ordered food through Grab or Food Panda! Mumma misses those fun, who knows if he is getting to eat what he wants when!

OUR LUNCH WAS TOO SATISFYING YESTERDAY!

We had my style Chicken Rendang, "Notey Shaak" / Green's Stir fry, Fresh Bombay Duck Bharta for our lunch yesterday, enjoyed! 

We had all these good food at home that I cooked last Saturday! On a Sunday noon, we went to the mall to buy an oven, I could have bought our lunch! Instead, I bought a mini Swiss roll pack from the Scarlett, till date I get confused if it is a Korean or Japanese store!

However, last Saturday, before I left home to attend a concert of Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan Saab, his son, grandson & team; I asked Cristine to get for her sir pizza from the Saizeriya & what she wants she can buy within the budget I had set! She got herself cheese focaccia & mushroom soup! I asked her to click on my behalf!

Many of my readers know already that I had vada-pao before leaving the venue & it wasn't good! It was not made with love! They did not toast the bread in butter, the chutneys used were not enough! I do not know if they allow microwave in the venue! I can feel if the food is made with love or not!

WHAT IS THIS MIXED FRUIT SQUARES?

The thing is why did I buy that mini Swiss roll pack from the Scarlett if there had baked cake squares at home?  I actually went to the dollar shop which is closed for renovation, then entered this store & chose to buy this! I never can make those Swiss rolls! It's okay! Also, those baked squares I mostly took to another home, they got finished! Today again, I baked one cake! This dried mixed fruit cake was never my favourite! In the recent years I see, I buy them, the cheaper six pieces slices at 2:50$ at big intervals! Why not bake them myself? I picked up a container for 2:20$ at a stationary shop & went ahead to cook a fluffy, spongy, vegetarian cake! Something went wrong midway, I managed to get this vegetarian MIXED FRUIT SQUARES! What I learnt from my experience is that, we would need a cookie dough like consistency to get these squared delight! Obviously, I would not go through the entire process of failure with you! I would want to get you a baked snack recipe that you can enjoy with your tea / coffee, serve the kids with milk, also your guests! Always experiment with ingredients in your kitchen, else you would not learn to cook new recipes! In fact new recipes get invented this way too! I do have vegan, gluten-free cake recipes already in the blog @ STEAMED TAPIOCA CAKE, also @ DATES ALMOND TAPIOCA CAKE, may be there are more!

INGREDIENTS :

REFINED FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

BANANA : 1 BIG SIZED

PLAIN YOGURT : 2 TBSP

BAKING SODA : 1/4 TSP

BAKING POWDER : 1/3 TSP

VANILLA ESSENCE : 1 TSP

SUGAR : 1/2 SMALL TEA CUP

OIL : 4 TBSP

VINEGAR : 1TBSP

MIXED FRUIT : 2-3 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

We will use few ingredients to cook these moist, baked goodies!

Only the vanilla essence is missing in the picture! My initial intent was to bake a fluffy mixed fruit cake! What went wrong in the mixture I did not get! May be the ratio of refined flour-oil-yogurt-banana mash was not okay! Leave that, let us make a gooey cookie dough out of these ingredients!

In a bowl, mix together the refined flour, baking powder & baking soda!

Blend together the banana, yogurt, oil, sugar & pour it on the flour mix! Also add the vinegar & the vanilla essence! Mix well! 

Grease a bake tray, set the soft dough on it in a layer of the same thickness!

Preheat the oven at 180*C for 10 minutes, mine is a mini toaster oven!

Place the tray inside!

Bake at 180*C! In my mini toaster oven, it took 50 minutes of baking to get a crisp, a bit hard top & soft, moist body! The time taken in your machine may differ!

It tasted fabulous, hence I decided to blog about this accidental recipe!

SPICED COCONUT STUFFED FLATBREAD

IT WAS AN EXTREMELY SATISFYING SUNDAY YESTERDAY!

Every Saturday night, I promise myself not to switch on the gas stove on the Sunday except for cooking the rice! I have almost stopped going out to the mall fetching some food for the man, neither he is keen about it! Once Cristine leaves home & the son refuses to take several phone calls we make, I crave to experiment with food! This more happens on days when what's going on in the television is not of our common interest! The kitchen is a place where I am comfortable & happy! The hurt is that it is small & seriously needs renovation! Even I do not wish to leave this flat now & shift to a bigger flat! It is  conveniently located, well lit! Our owner is good but is not keen about spending on renovation! About a year ago we did some renovation work but no one in this world would spend that much to renovate the kitchen of a rented apartment! Thats why I do not argue with the man! I know his responsibilities & we cannot deny those! What angers me is his refusal to go out here & there over the weekends or for 4-5 days of short trips to the 3-4 neighbouring countries! I refuse an eight hours long drive to Penang or a 7-8 hours long air travel! My long flights should take me to the son; I wish to visit the son during his graduation ceremony! We wish he comes home this winter for few days! It's eleven months, we have not seen his face, I do not know if he has put on or have gone thinner! 

THE ENTIRE MORNING WAS SPENT ON TOUCHING UP THE PHOTOS!

Because it was a Sunday yesterday, I might have missed the reflection marks on the bowls. That made me sad this morning! Else, I was happy with the outcome of the dish! I kept looking for free photo editing apps, found none! Then the Filipino had shown me a trick! We can save the photo in WhatsApp, say we can send it to a closer someone, edit it there giving a touch up! I feel better now! Several of my earlier photographs need to be changed only because I dislike reflections here & there! I have not learnt good photography till date, my eyes have got a better understanding of the photography! I would not spend on props, neither learn professional photography! Now that the son went to the college in a different country, I wished to earn from whatever knowledge I have, instead of spending from the husband's hard earned money to gather more of the knowledge! There has to be application! I carried my educational documents on my last visit to Kolkata, wished to talk to the departmental professors at the RBU if enrolling myself for the Mphil course is possible! The moment I saw I have to face an interview, I did not visit there! I know I can study & recapitulate my subject after few decades, I cannot answer questions face to face! RBU did not conduct Mphil in Political Science back in 1995, else I would have gone for it instead of the B.Ed! It was not my university of choice but it's homely atmosphere I did get along with! The psychology behind it was clear, the creams of Kolkata would go to the Calcutta University or the Jadavpur University or at least to the Kalyani University in those days for a master's degree! Then came my category who for 2-3 marks missed a chance in those, yet I remain a mediocre student who wanted a sit in the Calcutta University! RBU actually was a University meant for the performance art! Today, I do not know about the scenario! I believe, many more students aspire to go for a master's degree with lesser sits; hence, RBU gets to have better quality students on this day! I do not see any way to add more degrees to my academic qualifications or get a job of choice, but I enjoy keeping up with such searches in the internet!

WHAT IS THIS SPICED COCONUT STUFFED FLATBREAD?

I think it is a mixture of Karnataka's Akki Roti, Sri Lanka's Pol Roti, Marathi Coconut Garlic Chutney,  Bengal's Chal er Ruti! I had all these recipes on my mind while cooking this vegan, gluten-free, stuffed vegetarian flatbread; SPICED COCONUT STUFFED FLATBREAD! I did not follow any hard & fast rule, even my dough wasn't perfect; yet the out come was good & tasty! Hence, I decided to blog about it! Bengali rice flour bread would require more of practice!

I had three flatbreads for lunch yesterday & for dinner we had Hilsa Curry, Elephant Yam boil with rice! I would eat first & then would have serious anxiety having two carb filled meals in a day!

That however, does not stop me from having the below for my late lunch today, vermicelli upma, puffed rice with half of an Amaretti & tea!

I just cannot have what I do not want to have! Tonight, we would either have mutton or prawn meal with some side dishes! I feel happy when there is enough food in the refrigerator! What else to do? Had I have planned my life in time I would have been a senior level teacher in a mid level school or college at this time! While working in a school in this island, I strongly felt I am not meant for playing, singing, dancing with the kids, I only enjoyed the teaching part! After ten years of absence from the teaching world, I saw schools are more about activities & less of academic studies these days! The same echoes our teacher friends Kakoli & Indirra! We are definitely old school! They are too good friends with the man but can have fight on this matter! Our son is enjoying the studies in the United States, I have no complaints! He is not giving us any scope to ask him to study, I should be happy, just that the fear factor does not let me sleep! Humans got too hyper, they fight & kill over trivial issues! The media highlights these & I am too much of a part of the social media!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING :

SHREDDED COCONUT : A SMALL BOWLFUL

GARLIC CLOVE : 2-3 [IF BIG]

DRY RED CHILLI : 4-5

SALT : A LITTLE

OIL : 1 TBSP

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DOUGH :

RICE FLOUR : 1 1/2 COFFEE MUG

WATER : 1 COFFEE MUG

SALT : 2-3 PINCH

THE FINAL DISH :

THE FILLING

THE DOUGH

A LITTLE OF OIL TO BRUSH EACH FLATBREAD

PROCEDURE :

For the flatbread filling, we would heat the oil in a pan & roast the peeled & washed garlic cloves, dry red chillies & the shredded coconut! 

Once cold,  we would blend them together & the salt! I have got what you see! I transferred it to a bowl!

For the rice flour dough, we would boil the water & then add the rice flour to it! We would roughly mix & switch off the gas stove!

We would cover it & keep for rest, yet not let it turn cold!

We would transfer it to a wide mouthed bowl and knead while it's still warm! 

I felt I added more of water than required! Do not worry, we will manage!

Once the dough is kneaded, we would cover it with a wet towel for 15-20 minutes!

After the resting period of the dough, we would remove the cover & knead again! 

We are to make standard sized paratha / porota / flatbread balls! 

You can see, my dough was not perfectly kneaded! Do not worry!

Dust the base with rice flour well! Make hole in each ball & fill with the chutney, close well!

Dip the ball in the rice flour and lightly press with the rolling pin to roll out a round shaped flatbread! 

Heat a pan / tawa / griddle, gently place the flatbread, roast both the sides well! 

Brush the top with some oil, turn over & cook for 2-3 minutes! Turn over again, brush with oil, turn over & cook for 2-3 minutes!

Have it hot & fresh with a variety of sauces or pickles or chutneys! I did serve it with  "chanar dalna" but it is not required! 

The flatbreads remain soft even when cold!

 

BENGALI PUMPKIN LEAVES MOONG DAL

SINCE LAST NIGHT THE HEART IS WANTING TO BLOG ABOUT A RUSTIC BENGALI RECIPE!

That may be because I did not have dal / lentil curry at any of the two meals yesterday! Having lentils at meals is that important to me! As I always say the son grew up on lentil curries! Mixing the rice with Bengali style light lentil curries was the easiest way to feed him! There was a time when he took 2-3 hours to finish each meal, I say this without any exaggeration! Before & after his birth, his father took long leave & we had whole timers as caregivers to look after the son! I did not know how to feed the son until he was 2 1/2 years old!  The father and the young caregivers would feed him with a spoon, this mumma would massage him with oil, give him a shower, cook & mix his rice with the necessary sides & ask them to feed him! Actually, I stopped giving him Cerelac once he was 1 1/2 years old! I used to cook rice-lentils-vegetables hotch-potch for him in the day time, at night he ate rice-milk-banana! We were novice parents living in a 550 sq.ft. flat! The father still knew a lot because young children at the neighbourhood would often visit their home! Before marriage, I was busy in my own world, the mother never asked for help or teach me the basics of homemaking! Once the man went back to work & I could not adjust with the young caregivers, I took up the baton, first learnt to do everything required for the son by the time he was 2 1/2 years old! Without the help of both sides of my family, my part-time help Saraswati & her younger son Pratik, cleaner Dilip, I could not have made it! Nights after nights, the son did not sleep when he caught cold, he would cry all night & would not let me administer nosal drops! At times, I wanted some time for myself, would ask Pratik to come & play with him; the son would not let me go anywhere! Today, he does not require Mumma's help in any matter, I do not require this much of leisure!

OVER TWO DECADES PASSED OFF QUICK!

Feeling old has something to do with looking back constantly! During the Kolkata visits, on my way & back to Dakhsineshwar, I feel like dropping down at the old neighbourhood, meet the few known people, walk the lanes where the son took the little steps, would ride his maternal uncle's bike in that area & I feared to hell! If the son did not learn any sports, it is because of me! I carry a mental sickness with me, I was extra protective with my child, I did not let him be adventurous, I do not want him to be that ever! He has other better things to do in life! Be it in Shimla or Turkey or Europe, I did not let him / them to  take part in risky sports! There are museums, nature, mementoes to savour on a tour, the local food to top! If he or his father allow me, I would take several rounds of interview of the girl before officially getting her home! If I am gifting my child to her, she has to take care of my mental illness, she cannot take him to adventurous trips! In this messy state of mind; food & music keep me happy! Today, I have decided to go out for walk in the afternoon, ate excess of food in the past two days! It is better to write the blogpost, take shower, do the afternoon prayer, go out & eat, walk, come back & finish off with the blogpost, share! I am planning to visit the newly opened Malaysian-Indian Muslim stall for a dosa or an utthapam! Yesterday, we watched a Bengali series, had a fish curry & rice meal for lunch, homely jhalmuri is what we would have with our weekend tea / coffee! At night, I made those gola ruti / savoury Bengali pancakes!

WHAT IS THIS BENGALI PUMPKIN LEAVES MOONG DAL?

Lentil Curry is a staple for South Asian Homes, I can safely say this! I had always been a dal / lentil curry lover! Since my childhood, I would have dal-rice in the last lap of a meal even if there had hilsa fish or mutton in the menu! Until date, I do the same, my rice meals seem incomplete without a dal! Although I like other states of India's dal varieties, I love most the rustic Bengali lentil curries! The few varieties of Lentils a Bengali Home would stock are Masoor, Moong, Chana, Matar, Urad! After coming to this island, I was spellbound having discovered way more variety of lentils & beans at the Mustafa Centre! I feel like buying all at one go but doing that they get spoiled because we eat a lot of fish-meat-eggs, paneer & vegetables as well! At this stage in life, with the unavailability of the fresh water fish, I want more of lentils & fritters in my life! This particular dish, BENGALI PUMPKIN LEAVES MOONG DAL is a vegan & gluten-free curry with roasted split & skinless yellow moong bean! I used to grow pumpkin plants in the hedge for the leaves, to make fish wraps, dal, batter fries with the flowers! The curry was done back in 2019-2020! The plant was growing good until I tore off some leaves to prepare another family recipe "kechki mach er bora"! Thereafter, the growth retarded, the tiny space is also not congenial for such plants! I uprooted the plant & used the good leaves for this vegetarian lentil curry!

Few other Lentil Curry Recipes from the Blog are SHEEM MULO DHONEPATA DIYE MOONG DAL, PANCHMESHALI DAL, PALONG ER DAL !

INGREDIENTS :

SKINLESS & SPLIT MOONG BEAN LENTIL : 1 SMALL TEA CUP SIZE

FRESH PUMPKIN LEAVES : 7-8

GREEN CHILLI : 2-3 [SLITTED]

CUMIN SEED : 1/4 TSP

BAY LEAF : 1

DRY RED CHILLI : 2-3 [HALVED]

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

SUGAR : 1 TSP

GINGER PASTE : 1 TSP

OIL : 2 TBSP

PROCEDURE : 

It is too important to dress & wash thoroughly the leaves before using them in our cooking! That I did!

We are to take the fresh, green leaves & discard the dry, yellow ones! We would thinly take out the fibres from the stems & cut them lengthwise, standard sized! 

We would roughly chop the selected leaves! They usually are big, in my tiny green space, they were not getting enough sunlight, hence were small!

We would wash them under running water quite a few times & keep aside!

I took the lentils in a cooker & roasted until golden brown, washed well!

I added 2-3 coffee mugs of water, a little of turmeric powder and salt! I gave a stir, closed tight the lid & cooked unto one whistle at the minimal heat! 

Better is to boil the lentils on the stovetop, you get a tastier curry!

Once the pressure cooker opened, I heated the oil in a wok & tempered it with the cumin seeds, dry red chillies, bay leaf!

I added the washed pumpkin leaves, gave a stir & added the boiled moong bean lentils!

I had set the heat at medium to high & let it come to boil! As it kept boiling, I added the slitted green chillies & the ginger paste, let boil for 3-4 minutes!

I added the sugar & let it boil for a minute or so! Bengali Dals / lentil curries are humble, easy to make! Though dal protein is heavy on your stomach, the way we make it, that is too light curries, it does no harm!

For us, dal comes alongside fish-meat-egg & paneer or vegetables, it is never the main item for a meal!

SUGAR PALM APPE

 FEELING ACCOMPLISHED AT THIS TIME!

That's how I feel when I deliver a recipe the way I wanted it to! You remember last week I prepared a sugar palm cake for you? I did not require the entire amount of the sugar palm / toddy palm extract! Cristine kept a bowlful in the freezer! Then I got busy attending our guest & forgot all about it! Our guest, Gargi enjoys Pithe-Puli, I regret now forgetting to make her some "taal er malpoa"! She however loved the SUGAR PALM FRUIT CAKE I made, she did not even have the cup cakes she got for us from the Twelve Cup Cakes! Now that she went off, I remember I have to do something with the sugar palm extract, Janmashtami is approaching & you may need such a recipe! Actually, in the present day, no one can eat much, I did serve her / them the BAKED ROSHOGOLLA WITH MANGO & AAM SANDESH! They enjoyed the roshogolla dish more because the sandesh had too less sugar! Also, they were mostly out, meeting friends & enjoying family time, ate outside mostly! In all these merrymaking, one bad thing happened, our electric kettle stopped working! Though I bought it for 20$, I thought it would serve us at least 1-2 years but it spoilt within a year! I would go to the mall today to buy one! The one's I bought for 60-70$, worked for 5-6 years!

YESTERDAY NIGHT, I MADE SOME MISSI ROTI!

The missi roti could go to the blog but it is Janmashtami approaching! I personally prefer our handmade breads to be thin & small! That helps us digest the food well! We prefer these kind of breads with yogurt & pickle alone but we had two eggs & three potato pieces in a curry left with us! I thought let us finish it off instead of letting it get more of stale! Whenever, I cook & eat a handmade bread, it reminds me of the son, he loves to eat those! Whenever mumma & babai were taking food for him last October, he would grab the parathas at first, have them while glued into his computer screen!

Mumma knows he has to learn to be independent but the mother in her cannot stop worrying! I wish he gets vocal enough & discuss with us every details of his life! I do not get what is the problem in that until he gets married or starts living with a partner! I do not know why he does not think it necessary to talk to us about his friends, I want all of their phone numbers! I think, in the past three years, everyday I repeat the same words over voice mails & messages, no one at this home listens to me! The Filipino does, she has to! It is not right to compare the kids, but the Neogy family's son listens! This again depends upon the genes! Kaushik Neogy had been an obedient son, Tamal Saharay & Karuna Saharay are extreme rebels, likewise the son & the grandson! At least, he pleases mumma getting fair grades, hence, I am not angry at him! I would want to believe he is respectful to the outsiders & elders as he had been three years back!

WHAT IS THIS SUGAR PALM APPE?

Sugar Palm / Toddy Palm / Taal Fruit is a must have among us in this season! We have it as a fruit when it is raw! When ripe, the pulp is extracted to make various snacks & desserts! This extraction of the puree is too tedious a process, the family veterans  used a specified colander, that was triangular with heavy wooden border! These days, I see people use any steel strainer or even plastic! Cristine dislikes doing it but does it when ma'am asks her too! She loves having the fritters like we do! Today morning, I felt I must use the Sugar Palm puree to make a vegan & gluten-free snack! That means I cannot use semolina or refined flour! That is a challenge if I want malpoa or luchi! There comes the Appe Pan at your rescue, that uses way less oil! The time taken from the thought, execution & clicks was hardly an hour, that too counting the standing time of 30-35 minutes! Whilst doing this easy make, vegan & gluten-free snacks; SUGAR PALM APPE; there plays the songs of GHARONDA, all of the songs are a favourite, the movie too; in those days who did not like the melodious voice of Bhupinder? Also, in our times Bengalis were mad about the magical voice of Runa Laila! About missi roti, when it comes to the blog, it should come in a better avatar!

INGREDIENTS :

SUGAR PALM EXTRACT : 2 COFFEE MUG

SHREDDED COCONUT : 100 GM

RICE FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

SUGAR : 5-6 TBSP

GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER : 1 TSP

SALT : 1/4 TSP

OIL : 1/4 TSP FOR EACH PIECE

PROCEDURE :

Above is how the Sugar Palm Puree has to be extracted! If I am not too wrong, the mother would bury those seeds in the soil & dig out after months, break & what was inside is edible! May be she did with the raw ones!

I mixed together the rice flour & the sugar palm extract! Cristine did the tedious job of extracting the puree! 

I added the sugar, shredded coconut & the green cardamom powder & beaten it well! 

If the batter feels a bit too tight, we will add 1/4th coffee mug of water! We would keep the batter at rest for some 30 minutes!

We will heat the appe pan on the gas top! In each cavity, we would add 1/4 tsp of oil, spread well with a brush!

We would pour a spoonful of batter in each cavity & let cook one side at low heat for 3-4 minutes, then turn over & cook for another 3-4 minutes!

Once done, we would take down & have immediately if we want them crisp! Later on they do not remain crisp, but tasty enough!

I wanted them vegan & gluten-free, else adding a bit of semolina & using ghee instead of oil gives better tasted ones!