BANANA COCONUT CRANBERRY CAKE

I THINK I MAKE DECENT BASIC CAKES!

I had been baking for long, yet could not grasp every aspect of it, could not master the art. What I do is take small steps, keep myself limited to simple bakes. It can be a basic cheese rice, a homely pizza, a baked roshogolla, basic cakes on a regular basis. Honestly, most in the family would want to have roshogolla as it is. Looking at the baked roshogolla in the Kolkata sweet shops, I feel averse towards the thick cream thinking of the amount of sugar involved it. Meals consisting of rich meat & fish curries, richer sweets, desserts, biryani, ghee pulao sounded alluring even few years back. These days they cause me fear, neither I crave for such meals. This is a caution I wish to preach which is not hatred towards any faith or religion. A bowl of choice fruits, low calorie tiffins, light fish and chicken curries, homemade breads, a small bowl of rice, rustic vegetables bowls of choice are good enough for me. I wish the son to accept and enjoy chirer polao, idli, dalia khichuri, semolina upma kind of meals. I understand he has a career to build, a crucial exam to cover with good scores, yet I am worried about his health, he sources every meal from outside. His father and I at least stay together and have an asset like Cristine to look after us.

I HAVE MADE LITTLE CHANGES IN MY EATING PATTERN!

At this time, I am not doing intermittent fasting. I suffered bloating. I am eating smaller meals every 2-3 hours of intervals. At this time, it is helping me a bit. Today since the morning until now I had one cream cracker biscuit with tea [not in picture], then had 2-3 tbsp of muri / puffed rice soaked in water [not in picture], thereafter I had a small piece of cake with tea, thereafter lightly made beaten rice upma. At night, I would have a normal Bengali meal with small amount of rice, Hilsa fish curry, Spinach, Red Lentils Curry! 

Our yesterday's lunch was Bengali meal with Chicken Curry, Yam with Prawns, Dal for me. At night, I cooked Whole-Wheat Flatbreads, had with Eggplant Bharta. 

Today's blooms made me feel happier, a green corner is therapeutic.

WHAT IS BANANA COCONUT CRANBERRY CAKE?

I bake with few ingredients I have in the kitchen. The other day, I had to use up some leftover shredded coconut and cranberries. I thought of baking a vegetarian cake with them. I had bananas too which are good   for making a cake moist. From this thought, this vegetarian easy bake BANANA COCONUT CRANBERRY CAKE was born. Baking it was hassle free. I do not experiment with ingredients much, specially in case of bake. You all may have noticed I keep the measurements of the primary ingredients for baking a cake same in each case, this helps me not to fail with the recipe, waste the ingredients used. I wished to share a vegan & gluten-free cake for the occasion of Thanksgiving but it did not happen. This time I did not think much before giving shape to my plan for an easy bake. I wanted a sheet pan like cake look, hence used this tray for the bake.

Few other baked goodies from my blog are VEGAN & GLUTEN-FREE BAKED TIKIA, CRISPY BAKED PASTRY SHEET ROLLS, BLUEBERRY CARDAMOM BAKED DOI, STOVETOP SUJI APPLE CAKE

INGREDIENTS :

SELF RISING FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG [Instead You may mix together 1 coffee mug refined flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/3 tsp baking powder]

PLAIN YOGURT : 4-5 TBSP

BANANA : 1 STANDARD SIZED

SUGAR : 5 TBSP [I USED BROWN SUGAR] [YOU MAY NEED MORE]

DRIED CRANBERRY : A FISTFUL

GRATED COCONUT : 4-5 TBSP

VANILLA ESSENCE : 1 TSP

OIL : 3-4 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

I blended together the plain yogurt, sugar, oil, banana. 

I took the self rising flour in a bowl, pour the wet mixture on it, mixed well.

I added the grated coconut and dried cranberries to it, mixed, beaten well.

I added the vanilla essence, beaten again for 2-3 minutes. Our cake batter is ready.

Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I inserted the low height wired stool, pre-heated the oven at 160*C.

I greased the oven tray with oil, poured the batter on it. I tapped it lightly on the kitchen counter, then placed it atop the wired stool.

I closed the oven door, baked the cake at 160*C for 30 minutes.

Having the cake fresh would get the best taste.

 

COOKER MADE CHICKEN CORIANDER STEW

 I LIKE THIN CURRIES USING MINIMAL SPICES!

For that we need fresh, good quality meat & fish varieties. We get freshest of the sea fish varieties in this island. Growing up having fresh water fish, I find sea fish smelly. I could still eat pomfret cooked by the mother, mother-in-law with lots of onion, garlic; since my pregnancy I cannot tolerate the smell of pomfret, instead started to love the small & tiny fish varieties I looked down at once. Mixed vegetables cooked with tiny prawns or deep fried Mola or Amudi Mach / fish can satiate my fish cravings, I do not need fleshy varieties. The man cannot have meals only with smaller varieties of fish. We respect each other's choices. We have not forced upon each other our respective family's preferences. We have built our home taking the good things from both sides. I never tried to feed the son my choice of bony fishes like Baby Carps, I feared to. His generation want boneless, fleshy meat, fish on their plates. At some point, even a decade back I liked to have cheesy stuffs in the restaurant. I remember, on our tour of Australia, I did like baked Salmon, that was only in 2015. Today, I cannot have such a meal, I may just order French fries or fruit filled crepes, butter corn cups, veg wraps, fried chicken, end variety of breads with Tahini & humus. As I say, every restaurant, hotels can provide me boiled potato, butter, a green chilli, salt and rice; no worries, we need to pack our bags just. That would happen once our son gets settled in life. Have roti-sabzi on tours, not Maggi soups please, that's too unhealthy!

I WOULDN'T DISCLOSE WHERE I WENT THIS MORNING!

Not everything is to be made public, not many would have interest in minute details of your life. I went out for some work, once it was done, I had a mushroom soup with garlic bread. 

Intermittent Fasting is not happening at this time, I am requiring to eat a little something in the morning. I did not understand the garlic bread slices would be this thick, one was good enough for me. The moment I saw the cream of mushroom soup was not freshly made but cut and served from a big packet, I got disappointed. The payment was made, I had to have. My lunch was washed puffed rice and beaten rice with an amriti / jangiri! I had few pieces of chiku / shabeda / sapota thereafter, a much loved fruit! If I over eat a little bit, I am having severe stomach issues these days. They say we should never fill our stomach full, they are right. Life is tough for food reviewers, not an easy job, health is at risk. We shouldn't criticise. Age does not allow me to be sarcastic these days. If you do not bother me, I wouldn't. I am pretty much occupied with the thought of the son's future, his health, safety and security.

Below are semolina nagori, a puffed bread variety from the Delhi side of India may be. I have learnt about it recently. I wish to blog about it after practicing few more times, there are a couple of existing recipes in the internet. We had the specialised puffed breads with air-fried potato!

My entire body and mind is demanding sleep, I decided to write a blogpost instead. Let us proceed towards the closure of this post today!

WHAT IS  COOKER MADE CHICKEN CORIANDER STEW?

I am extremely fond of fresh coriander, it's aroma is one of my mood enhancers. I love to add it in this recipe and that. Earlier, I have cooked  chicken with fresh coriander paste, I have a blogpost about it too! In the past few months, I came across light chicken stew done with  soft chicken meat, various spices, fresh coriander paste. One of those reels is of my favourite Bollywood choreographer, film director, producer Farah, I like this talented girl, her struggle to reach this fame definitely involves talent, such versatile she is, I like her bubbly self! I wanted to prepare, blog about this non-vegetarian, gluten-free, lean meat curry COOKER MADE CHICKEN CORIANDER STEW with potatoes. I am not fond of using a pressure cooker, I believe it spoils the taste of food. However, it is useful for the working men and woman. It is good for boiling tough vegetables, also for making stews and soups.

Few Light Stew recipes from the Blog are EGG STEW, STEWED RICE, BEET GAJOR ALOO DIYE PATHAR MANGSHO!

INGREDIENTS :

CHICKEN : 1 KG [I USED KAMPONG / COUNTRY CHICKEN]

POTATO : 2

FRESH CORIANDER : 250 GM

PLAIN YOGURT : 50 GM

GREEN CHILLI : 7-8

SLICED ONION : 2

GARLIC PASTE : 2 TBSP

GINGER PASTE : 2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

TURMERIC POWDER : 1/2 + 1/2 TSP

LEMON JUICE : 4-5 TBSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP

BAY LEAF : 1

CINNAMON STICK : 2 ONE INCH SIZE

GREEN CARDAMOM : 2-3

BLACK CARDAMOM : 1

CLOVE : 3-4

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 2-3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Get the chicken cut from the vendor, small or medium, skin on or off as per your choice.

Wash the chicken pieces well, marinate with enough salt for an hour, wash again.

Marinate the chicken pieces with little salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, lemon juice. Keep aside for 40-45 minutes.

Wash and discard the root end of the fresh corianders, prepare a paste together with the plain yogurt, 4-5 green chillies.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, temper with a big black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf.

Add the sliced and washed onions, fry until golden brown.

Add the ginger-garlic pastes, 1/2 tsp turmeric, salt, fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cumin and coriander powders, stir cook for a minute. Add the marinated chicken pieces.

Stir fry at minimal heat for 3-4 minutes, add 3-4 slitted, washed green chillies.

Loosely cover, cook until water starts releasing. 

Peel, cube, wash the potatoes, add to the chicken. 

Add the fresh coriander, green chillies, plain yogurt paste too. Mix well, add two coffee mugs of water, fold in well.

Close tight the pressure cooker lid, cook at minimal heat up to one whistle, switch off the gas stove. 

After 10-12 minutes, open the lid, enjoy it hot and fresh with steamed rice or roti!

TANGRA MACH ALOO EGGPLANT CURRY

 FOR LONG I DID NOT BLOG ABOUT A HOMELY BENGALI RECIPE!

I am craving to trust me, just not happening. These days, I do not have rice meals outside of home. I prefer having rice with family Bengali dishes. I have a couple of recipes to share from the family kitchen. What stops me may be the brother and his nephew's, our son's apathy towards rustic, homely food, be it Bengali or otherwise. The man would eat what appeals his tastebuds, he has no interest in food. My two sisters, the father-in-law, brother-in-law would eat normal Bengali Food. One of the two sisters, my brother's wife cooks well Dalia Khichuri, Chana Curry, I like. The mother-in-law is interested in big fleshy fish, hates vegetables, has no interest in the huge repertoire of rustic Bengali vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. If you want to have them, visit my mother's, the late maternal grandmother's, the father's side of the family living in various parts of Assam & Nadia district of West Bengal. My side of the family would get you unique recipes with "kharkol Pata, Shapla, Shaluk, Ol er Data, a variety of greens"!

I FEEL IRRITATED WHEN BENGALI FOOD IS IDENTIFIED WITH BIRYANI, MAHI POLAO, CHINGRIR MALAIKARI THESE DAYS!

It is such a dishonour to our granny's kitchen, the huge treasure trove of recipes they got from the other side of Bengal. I do not believe the original residents of West Bengal ate big prawns, bhetki fish, luchi, mohon bhog regular, that potato was the only vegetable they ate. My family doesn't consider potato a vegetable, its used as an enhancer in curries, in mixed vegetable dishes. What got pathetic with me is the unavailability of my kind of fresh sweet water fish in this island. I used to be a fish lover, I want supply of smaller varieties of sweet water fish, fresh, live. I have no interest in sea fish varieties. What to do? I would make fritters instead of fish curries with my rice plate.

I love fries & fritters / bhajabhuji / snacks with my tea / coffee or rice and dal.

WHAT IS TANGRA FISH ALOO EGGPLANT CURRY?

I rarely get this small fish variety fresh in this island's wet markets. When I see, I buy though it is difficult to cut the friskers with scissors, knives. The Bengali shops stock frozen fish packets, I do not buy except few varieties. On days I get my choice of sweet water / fresh water fish in the market, I would buy, clean, cut them, cook a choice of fish curry like this TANGRA MACH ALOO EGGPLANT CURRY. This non-vegetarian, gluten-free fish curry with rice would I enjoy having. 

Few other regular Bengali Recipes from the blog are FULKOPIR DATA PATA DIYE BHETKI, CABBAGE FRITTERS / BADHAKOPIR BORA, CHOLA NARKOL DIYE KOCHU SHAAKER GHONTO, MISHTI CHIREY BHAJA

INGREDIENTS : 

TANGRA MACH [SMALL FRESH WATER CAT FISH VARIETY] : 300-400 GM

POTATO : 1

EGGPLANT [SMALL] : 2

SLITTED GREEN CHILLI : 2

NIGELLA SEED / KALOJEEREY / KALONJI : 1/4 TSP

BAYLEAF : 1

TURMERIC POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1/2 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3 TBSP

PROCEDURE :

Ask your vendor to clean the stomach of each fish, cut the friskers, tail end. This fish does not have scales. Wash them few times. Marinate with salt, turmeric.

Cut the potato, eggplants, lengthwise, thin. We need not peel the skin of the potato. Wash them, marinate with salt and turmeric.

Prepare a spice paste mixing together the remaining turmeric powder + red chilli powder + cumin powder + coriander powder + required amount of salt + 1 tbsp water.

Heat oil in a wok. Fry the potatoes, eggplants, Tangra fish, each variety  in batches, take out.

Temper the remaining oil with the bayleaf and nigella seeds. Give a stir, add the spice paste. Stir cook at low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 coffee mug of water.

Bring the gravy to boil, add the fried potatoes and fried fish, also the washed & slitted green chillies. 

Simmer at low heat for 5-6 minutes, covered. 2-3 minutes before taking down, add the fried eggplants. Stir, take down!

Enjoy with steamed hot rice. We also had tomato-red lentils, mutton curry, cabbage-potato sabzi Bengali style on that day.