The Great Indian Bride Hunt – with a Side of Sponge Cake.

No don’t get me wrong. A sponge cake has almost nothing to do with a bride hunt of any kind whatsoever. Although I must add that it does have a HUGE role in keeping my senses intact and energy levels up and running while I’m participating in this bride hunting circus quite actively.

So the bride in question is my brother’s significant other – and I’m assigned a rather huge responsibility to sniff that right match out from a bevy of matrimonial portals. The groom to be is totally in sync, but completely perplexed by the complexity of the internet diaspora and rather confused of with the manner the online marriage psyche goes.

To begin the great Indian bride hunt, we (me and my brother) made his matrimonial profile, ceremoniously loaded it with all the indispensable details, added our parental blessings to it and put it up online for the prospective brides to view. All well so far, just that there were no real matches (like from girls who might be interested in us) to choose from! Disappointed with the results, I relied on the Web’s creativity to bail me out, and there I hit upon a facial feature search, in which if I like a girl (perhaps purely for her looks) I can ask the web to do a similar search and if will hunt all the similarly looking girls and line up for us to choose. I tried, and I had five 25 year old with a dimpled chin gazing at me from my computer screen. Whoa, it can’t get more hilarious that this!

 Now if you are thinking that by now the match is already fixed and my brother is gleefully exchanging numbers and meeting women, you can’t be far from wrong.


Why Not? You ask. SO, as far as the online matrimonial dynamics go (or what I understand of it), the bride and the groom come in the second round of screening.   My brother is mightily miffed, but has grudgingly accepted the fact that if he were to start calling the prospective brides, he will run the risk of being seen as a ’no values’ guy. As it’s not really a US speed dating in an Indian Avatar. It’s truly an ‘ancient traditions weds Web 2.0’ circus come alive. 

The current modus operandi for us is that the elders of my family (even I fall into this category now as I have been assigned the task-remember?) do the first round, where the ideal matches are sorted out, spoken with and moved to the second round only after getting the affirmative nods.

Interestingly, most of these searches are done on a weekend, which is why I’m here talking about it. So today our entire family gathered online, communally wracked their brains on the perfect matches and participated in the exercise of mailing the doe eyed brides. Now, we practically have nothing to do expect for to wait and watch.

And what I do during these in between times on a semi –idle weekend is bake a cake, And nothing' better than  a light and airy Sponge Cake to lift the spirits up.  I certainly can’t do it better than Smitten Kitchen.  My only adaptation was to to leave out the cognac and lemon combination for the lack of both in my pantry.

Airy Sponge Cake

Ingredients: 

1 3/4th cups (226 gms) butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder
Salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar

Method : 
Do the usual cake dance, like the dry together and wet together. The only trick is to fluff the eggs like feather and sifts the flour fine. Once done, Mix it and bake it.

The sweeter side of the bride hunting madness.

Got Guilt Mommy? Pause.Have some Chocolate Truffles.

Yesterday I got a frantic call from a friend; her toddler is my daughter’s classmate at the playgroup.  We all met up at the time of admission and bonded well while our kids were adjusting to the new school environs.

Now If I have to sum up the purpose of the call in a word then I’d call it GUILT. C’mon let’s admit which one of us has not faced it, especially the working moms. Gosh we are smothered with it.

Going back to her call –This friend of mine quit work when she had a baby and now (after a good two and a half years later) thinking of joining the workforce back. That’s HUGEE, so I congratulated her and then I hear her whimpered voice, asking if she is making the right decision. She wanted to know if the daycare my daughter goes, is good enough for her child too. Will they love her and feed her milk the way she is used to having at home. I wish I could answer  a loud Yes, but I guess no establishment in the world can replace the mommy care. Right? I wish I could sum up my experiences in one single phone call and somehow explain that inspite of all odds it’s still all right to go back to work.

I have experienced it first-hand that being a working mom of a young kid is the hardest thing ever. I wish I could convince this harried and hesitant mom who is being so hard on herself that it’s all going to be okay, and that someday we would laugh about it all, even the tough days. There are no yardsticks  and no measuring tape …just like there is NO perfect mother . We are one of those moms who come home late. We work really hard, and like everyone else come home to put away the scattered toys and cook the family favorite and inspite of all odds we will read that bedtime story  and kiss the bruises goodbye. We will sometimes wear an unmatched earrings or an un-ironed shirt to work, just to trade off that time for baking every little ones favorite chocolate balls.  

Now scoot mom. Enjoy the mommy time. Bake this with your little one and bite. Since our world is so covered with guilt , at least these chocolate truffles make you forget abstinence and denial for once. And I promise that these Chocolate Truffles have half the calories and 75 percent less fat compared to regular truffles. Hallejullah!

Guilt Free Chocolate Truffles 

Ingredients

½ can black beans- rinsed and drained

1 mashed banana

1/2 cup cocoa powder 

1/2 cup mixed nuts

3 tbsp honey

½ cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white flour 

2 tbs chia seeds (optional)

To Coat

2 tbsp cocoa and 1tbs powdered sugar.

Method

Combine all ingredients in preferably a processor and give it a whirr till it forms a smooth dough. The dough will be moist and sticky so chill it for a few hours before forming the balls. 

Once its chilled, roll it into small balls and generously dust  the balls in cocoa powder and refined sugar mixture.  Freeze for a firmer truffle. Enjoy!

Weight Watching with Sabu'r Paayesh/Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes

I have a confession to make.

I have a serious problem. Seasonal ? yes, you can say that.

The season is SPRING. It’s upon me, and of course, I have to look the part. So I started this week by ceremoniously showing some sun to all my pretty, girlie, flowery and short wearable’s, which had been put away for the winter and stacked them back into my regular wardrobe. With only a step short of stepping into them and hop scotching my way into the market, with a bright tote dangling from my shoulder…I realized that the’ only step’  is the pigheaded winter weight.

It’s not that I did not try (err shedding it) before pouring it all out here. I religiously clicked on ALL the health newsletters that popped into my mailbox , with their eye catching headers ranging anything from ‘be bikini ready in 10 days’ to ‘get ready for the summer shorts’, but somehow all this reading up did nothing for my winter waistline. 

I was about to try the detox juice diet for the navratras , started and gave it up by the evening. I convinced myself that I’m a mother and need more calories than Miranda Kerr to sustain herself. Low carb makes me feel dizzy and high protein plays with my entire digestive system (how else could I delicately frame pukish).

If by now you are thinking about shaking the booty, you are right. Gym’s a great option for people my shape.  So finally ,today I  rubbed clean my dusty membership card along with chiding my willpower and  decided to run a few kilometers on the treadmill. After huffing and puffing for a few minutes I felt that my legs have started resembling toothpicks, and I needed some food. I started thinking of all the healthy post workout meals and rushed to the attached food court. There the salad looked stale and way too less for the growling stomach .

I return home (in a listless state!) to a cup full of soaked tapioca seeds and some mangoes in my refrigerator. Fully aware that my spring wardrobe is still waiting.I turn on my thinking cap.What do I do with my oh-so healthy tapioca and fruits , in a precarious self-induced fasting mode? Of course turn it to a feast.

The delicious part is that Sabu'r Paayesh or Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes is the best post workout meal one can have, high on carbs with added nutrients in the form of mango; it almost makes it feel like a plate of warm yellow gold. It’s great for kids and is a go-to meal during the fasting days. I'm so In love with this new mango infusion.

Sabu'r Paayesh/Tapioca Pudding with Mangoes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup tapioca/Sabu/sabudana
1 cup hot water
1 large fresh mangoes ( cut to bite size pieces)
1 large mango puree
3 cups milk (you can substitute with coconut, soy  or almond milk)
Sugar to taste (I substituted with 2 tbsp splenda)

Method:
Soak the tapioca/sabudana in hot water for an hour. One they are swollen and springy in texture, wash then with running cold water and set aside.

Heat the milk till its reduced to 11/2 cups, now add the tapioca, and mix well. Add sugar and cook till its of a desired consistency. Add the mango puree and let it cool. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve chilled, topped with a few slices of mangoes.

You can also serve in a glass by  adding one scoop of cooked tapioca in milk , then add a scoop of mango puree in glass and serve..

A tale of warm Friday Fries

Daily life is boring. In so many years of togetherness, I have learnt that it’s me who is the undisputed kitchen and grocery minister of the house. A post which I have to accept with abandon, and to keep up I have to earn the 'good votes' on a daily basis. Not easy to keep up - I warn you.To survive the position, I get off from work early and set the kitchen fire, of course I have to make it up by working late into the nights (ah well somedays I blog at this hour with a side of red), so I can’t really be complaining, and to top it – I like cooking, so this mumbo jumbo just comes from a lack of direction and plan.

You know, its fun when I have an inspiration and ingredients, and absolute agony when I have the office laptop on the kitchen counter, where an undone presentation is open, and I have a demanding toddler sitting beside it while I’m wiping off the onion tears!  Even though I cover the basics by asking the ' what do ya for dinner' question routinely ,but  its almost always answered by blank stares like I've asked a life philosophy and on days when I get an answer, it’s the ‘fries/pakoras on the side’ please. So much for inspiration, but that’s how it is.

You now where it’s all going. Don’t you?

When you cook keeping the moods and days of the week in mind, it not only increases the happiness quotient of the house, it benefits the wallet, shaves off the restaurant trans-fat & in general creates a festive mood . Fresh and simple ingredients force your skin to say thank you too. This simple selection of summer fries or the more popularly known term pakoras, is usually a stable for long and elaborate bong  lunches, add a side of salad and dip and you have introduced it to the evening bar gang. Tastes best when the vegetables are picked fresh from the market  and the oil is fresh, pungent and mustardy.  Very sophisticated , yet so rustic.

The Friday Fries/Pakoras (Assorted Vegetables Fried in Chickpea Batter)

Ingredients :
1 cup Chickpea flour (besan/garbanzo bean flour)

1 medium Cauliflower (cut into florets) 3/4 cup water

1 Potato (thickly cut lengthwise)

1 Bell Pepper (de-seeded and cut lengthwise)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp choice of seasoning (Garlic, Onion, roasted cumin, Parsley, garam masala) or other spices of choice)

Chat masala to taste

Mustard oil to deep fry (or any other vegetable oil of choice)

Method:
In a bowl mix all ingredients (except vegetables and mix well till its turns into a smooth and thick batter).
Dip the vegetable florets in the batter and deep fry.

You can also choose to grill/bake. All you need to do is brush a little oil on batter dipped vegetables and the baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes at 175 C.

If frying , deep fry till the vegetables are cooked well.

Serve hot  and sprinkle some chat masala before serving.

Shubho Nobo Borsho with Gurer Sondesh.

Traditions are nostalgic, and nostalgia makes us want to relive those moments’ real bad, making us do things which turns the plain vanilla days --Festive.


That feeling is infectious indeed.  It comes in all forms, sometimes it’s a religious rite, a certain aroma you wake up to on a given day every year, It even comes in the form of some awkward family ritual that you are forced to perform every year, no matter how much you cringe and groan silently, all these bits and pieces of traditions bind us and makes us feel like a family.

We miss it, when it’s gone.

And then perhaps comes the cycle of recreating it for our next generation, so that once they are as grow up as us , they feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. Just the way I’m musing over it all today.

My fuzzy feeling nuzzles peacefully in the form of this freshly made Gurer Sondesh. Using up all the last bits of patali gur (palm jaggery ) preserved carefully for the nobo borsho celebration, before we bid adieu to the patali till the onset of winters. During my childhood days, all we had to do was to touch the feet of all the elders around we were rewarded with this family favorite (did I mention home cooked?) sweet.

For me , It’s time again  to relive those memories.No feets nearby, but blessing are much awaited.Ma are you reading?

Gurer Sondesh 

Ingredients 
2 litres full cream milk
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup Patali gur (palm jaggery ) or ¾ cup Sugar
Moulds

How to’s 

Bring the milk to boil and while it’s boiling add the lime juice. Lower the heat. The milk will curdle and separate from the whey (a greenish coloured liquid ). Let it sit  for a bit and then strain the whey . Rinse the channa /cottage cheese under running water to get rid of the lemony taste. Now tie the channa /cottage cheese in a fine cloth and weigh it down with a heavy substance (like the mortar and pestle) for a few hours. This will drain out any excess liquid.

After a few hours , you should knead the  chhana with the gur , till it mixes well. You can heat the jaggery in a microwave for a few seconds so that it’s soft enough to knead. The heel of your hand is your best kneading bet here! Once you are done, the channa with start to resemble like a smooth ball of dough in pale brown or white, depending on your choice of sweetener.

Take the dough and cook on a very low heat. Say 5-6 minutes is enough. Once done, switch off the heat and straightaway contour the chana with molds or just toss into balls. They are ready for the celebration.

Going nuts on Holi - Boiled Peanut Salad

 

 Holi is a synonym for spring to me.  A time for family and friends, flowers , colors, gujias, gulab-jamuns and endorphin rushing songs that only get played ‘on a loudspeaker mode’ just this time of the year. 

I love the spirit of the festival- and I don’t even play with colours. I run the risk of sounding like a snooty auntie who sniggers at the colors and hauls the holiday hullabaloo.  That’s sincerely not me. I’m plain shy. Just  one of those people who will stand in one corner of the apartment bacony , careful enough not to be seen, yet seizing the colourful moments from the tiny curtain opening. Once its all done, I’ll go and reward myself with a Gujiya .

Do you think that there is anything that echoes with Holi, more than the abundant servings of Gujiya, Sewain kheer or a desi celebratory salad? Yes of course , it’s the hip gyrating holi numbers in Amitabh Bacchans throaty baritone blaring from the society loudspeakers. Maybe for me the Holi magic comes from these catchy once-a-year wonders that stick in your head and feel good, perhaps only while taking a big mouthful of the freshly made spiced peanut salad with a spoon that’s a bit stained with gulal.

Bura na mano Holi hai.

No, I’m not about to present a festival sweet recipe. Today is a shortcut day. Spring cleaning for guests has taken most of my time. So it’s a short cut colourful savory and oh so healthy peanut salad day. Are you game?

Boiled Peanut Salad 

Ingredients:

1.5 cups boiled peanuts

1 cucumber diced

1 fresh tomato diced

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2-3 green chillies 

2-3 sprigs coriander leaves

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

t tbsb lemon juice(to serve)

Method:

Pressure cook the peanuts in salted water till soft but firm , not mushy. Cool to room temperature. Next toss all the other  ingredients(except lemon juice) together. I sometimes add dried prunes or raisins, but that's optional. just before serving add freshly squeezed lemon juice. As simple as it can get.

First Few Steps - with Steamed Yogurt /Bhapa Doi

"You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement."

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I just put my daughter to a new playschool. It does make me happy to select a nice playschool, with a loving daycare, however it’s not one the most pleasing times for my little one. Changes like these, which calls for a goodbye to her mommy and daddy are painful. She is doing her bit to make the world around her know it by howling and crying with her full might. It does not please me a lot to see her crying either, but as they say, it must be done.

To make up for the advent of the unhappy hours in her day, I have tried to do atleast one happy hour for her, and NO it’s not the Mc Donald variety. My happy hour begins with picking her up and hers begin shortly after that, when I slowly inch our way towards home explaining the surprise I have planned for her.

I don’t think it’s a new concept though. It’s perhaps same as what my mother did for me in school, only difference being that back then she was oblivious to the concept of happy hours, and more of a happy day believer. Welcome to the life and times of a working mom, Ahem! And I don’t mind my taking a shortcut to happiness. After all, it’s all about celebration of the fact that we ‘mother daughter duo’ could laze around playing under the dull spring sun, for about for an hour (or two) after work, enjoying some ridiculously creamy and decadent steamed yogurt (bhapa doi) or crisp parathas  and sometimes a far simpler version of yogurt in  a little glass of summery lassi, all the while decoding the Doremon puzzles!

Of course, being as busy as I perhaps sound here, I will not go beyond basic pantry ingredients. So, I am proud to report that I have whistled away any cooking inertia and successfully turned around bowls after bowls of spring favorite toddler friendly food this week. So my happy week continues. Would you like to a spoonful?

Bhapa Doi or Steamed Yogurt

Ingredients

250 g plain yogurt

250gm condensed milk (sweet)

2-3 green cardamom (crushed fine ) 

A few strands of saffron (soaked in a tbsp. milk)

1 tbsp milk

How I did it : 

Whisk the yogurt and condensed milk together till its of a smooth and creamy consistency, now flavor with the powdered cardamoms.

Heat an oven at 180 degree C.  Put the above mixture in a pie dish or baking cups. Place those cups is a large baking dish filled with sufficient hot water to come halfway up the sides  of the baking  cups. Bake in the oven for around 10-12 minutes.

Lastly add a dollop of the saffron infused milk over each cup and bake for 5-6 minutes  , until it appears to be set.  Cool and then refrigerate till chilled. Serve it chilled.