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Recipe: All Things Tropical: Refreshingly Marvellous – Eggless Rose-Coconut Mousse

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Every summer, at least once, I simply have to make coconut mousse. It is a light, airy, faintly sweet eggless dessert, which also makes it perfect for some of the entertaining that I do. I have many friends and relatives who are vegan or vegetarian, or who don’t like eggs. What’s also nice about it is that I can prepare it and put it in the fridge and theoretically it will last for a few days (of course, it disappears quite fast). To me, this eggless rose-coconut mousse is the perfect Indo-Western dessert.

In addition to the tropical taste of coconut, I also use a hint of rose, which makes it a kind of fusion dish. As a mousse or pudding of sorts, it is Continental in form but the flavours are more Indian to me. I have to admit that the first time I made it, I used less agar agar and it turned out almost like a kheer or a payasam. This is not to say that that didn’t work – it was delicious too. The consistency of the mixture determines what you can name the dish. I have used fresh, tender coconut meat, but you can also use grated coconut or coconut cream to thicken it.

I also very quickly realised that you can make a mousse with any kind of fruit puree, as long as you add agar agar and use flavours that complement each other, such as coconut and rose. If you aren’t a fan of these flavours, you can substitute them. Try saffron instead, or lavender perhaps. Maybe make it with a different ingredient each time, and play around with the garnishing too. I like to make this in individual cups as it feels more personalised, but you can also just put it all in one bowl and scoop out from it. Alternately, put it in a bowl with a lovely shape and upturn it once it has set.

The first time I tasted coconut mousse was at a very dear friend’s home, and she kindly shared the recipe. As you may know from several earlier recipes, summers mean an abundance of coconuts in my home thanks to the trees in the backyard, so I made this a part of my annual repertoire ever since. Looking at the trees always reminds me of how when we were growing up, our household staff would shave off the leaves, gather the stalks, and make a broom. How simply we used what was in our surroundings. Every part of the coconut tree was used. The image of her crafting the broom comes to me whenever I talk about homegrown coconuts. This also reminds me that it’s that time of year for me to make cold-pressed coconut oil too.

Eggless Rose-Coconut Mousse

(Yield: Serves 6)

1 can condensed milk

1 cup fresh cream

1½ cups fresh coconut milk

1 cup whole milk

10 grams agar agar

½ cup boiling water

1 cup tender coconut meat (finely cut or blended)

2 teaspoons rosewater

In a bowl, add the boiling water and then add the agar agar. Stir and allow to melt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the condensed milk, fresh cream, coconut milk and whole milk. Stir.

Strain and add the agar agar with the milk mixture. Add the coconut meat and rose water. Mix it all gently, using a hand blender.

Pour into the desired bowls and refrigerate overnight.

Serve cold.

This marvellous dessert is really so refreshing – perfect for summer and rich with tropical flavours. If you’d like to explore more of my dessert recipes, do check out a selection here!

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Recipe: ‘Tis The Season – All-Spice Cake

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The celebrations of Diwali are soon followed by the celebrations of Christmas, and when I was growing up this meant that we enjoyed a couple of months of ongoing festivities. My most cherished childhood association of Christmas has to do with a large Anglo-Indian family we knew. They were wonderfully warm and welcoming, and Christmas day for us was all about visiting them and sharing in the cheery mood in their home. Until they came into our lives, the festival was something I had only encountered in books, so to actually experience it was thrilling. I will never forget the first time I saw a Christmas tree, all decked out in their home. Under it, there were always such lovely gifts for us friends of the family, and I looked forward to these each year. Of course, there was also the spread of delectable festive goodies. These special memories are on my mind this month, which is why they have inspired my sharing of this all-spice cake recipe.

Fast forward to today, and Christmas now for me is all about absolutely delicious plum cakes, received from many friends. As you may know, plum cakes last for between six months to a year depending on how they are made. This means that I am at liberty to enjoy them for a nice long stretch. Just a slice at tea now and then makes the perfect accompaniment. After re:store cakes, of course!

I’ve never attempted at baking a plum cake myself as I know it’s a laborious process, both in technicalities and in love. Besides which, there is such sweetness in receiving them from dear friends. Nowadays, there are vegan and vegetarian and alcohol-free options out there, but there’s nothing like a good old rum plum cake. So while I’ve never gotten down to experimenting with it as a baker, I have really enjoyed making the next best thing.

This all-spice cake, made with a readymade all-spice mix that is full of the goodness of cardamom, cloves and more, has come out so moist and delicious. Maybe it will be one of my own seasonal traditions in future – and perhaps even yours.

This time of year is full of activity for me – visiting friends, special occasions, events, art shows and so on that I am really enjoying every single day. I am also kept busy with fulfilling re:store orders that bring delight into many people’s homes. So much so that it’s almost a struggle to keep up with regular posts on this blog, but I made a promise to myself that I’ll continue sharing my love of cooking with everyone I can reach.

So here I am with a recipe that you can learn to bake ahead of your Christmas feasting, or at any time of year. This will be followed by a cookie post, so do keep an eye out for that as well.

All-Spice Cake

(Yield: One loaf)

200 grams maida

175 grams sugar

60 grams milk

60 grams boiling water

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon all-spice

75 grams oil

2 eggs room temperature

25 grams Greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 170° C. Prepare an 8” loaf tin by lining it with butter paper and coating the edges with butter and flour.

Sift the flour, salt, all-spice, baking powder and baking soda separately. Set aside.

Mix the milk and hot water together. Set aside.

Now, beat the oil and the sugar together. Add the eggs and beat again. Add the vanilla extract.

Then, add the liquid and dry ingredients alternatively, folding each into the mixture with a spatula. Make sure the sides are scraped down properly.

Pour the batter gently into the loaf tin and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and set the tins aside. After 15 minutes, remove the loaf and cool it on a cooling rack.

Decorate as you wish, and serve. Season’s greetings!

When I say that wish you lots of peace, I mean it deeply. In today’s day and age, we could all do with it – not just for ourselves, but for the environment, in the world, and for every community. Wishing you a very merry, peaceful and delicious Christmas!

 

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Recipe: Sweet Conversations – Orange Caramel Custard

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My mother often made caramel custard at home while I was growing up. It was a dessert we all enjoyed, and it was her personal favourite too. I go back to memories of her and her teachings all the time, but especially more so nowadays when I am missing her a lot. At this time, I tend to have what I call “solo conversations” with her. I never did learn this recipe from her when she was around, and preparing it now is a kind of ongoing connection with her too. While she made hers plain, mine has a citrus twist – it is an orange caramel custard.

My understanding is that many of us take our parents, especially our mothers, for granted. I must have done the same. Even after she stopped handling eggs and therefore did not prepare this dish anymore, it did not occur to me to ask her for this recipe. Many of us with deceased parents are also laden with guilt and regret – feelings of I should have done this or that, and so on. But I believe that we need not be. As a parent myself, I understand everything my mother did, and I know that she understood everything I did too – just as I have a sense for whatever my own kids are experiencing.

Even though I still feel like there are so many incomplete thoughts and conversations, I don’t carry any negative feelings. Now, I just feel like I can connect to my mom at any time, and without it being emotionally heavy. That connection consists of my “solo conversations” with her, and these are always pleasant and light and lovely. Rather like this delicious dessert.

Since I did not learn this recipe from her, I did so over a period of time. I rummaged around with friends’ recipes, always wanting to learn how to prepare it well as my family enjoys it very much now too. While I have been making the plain version for a while now, this citrus twist came to me during a short recent break in Assam, where oranges are now in season. Between a feeling of deeper closeness to my mother, and the sight of those ripe orange trees, I found myself dreaming up a version that upon experimenting with, I am particularly happy with. As always, I am happy to share this with you too.

 

Orange Caramel Custard

(Serves: 4-5)

 

1 cup fine sugar

2 tablespoons water

150 ml fat milk

300 ml cream

4 eggs

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice

 

Preheat the oven to 140° C.

Keep a tray which will hold 4 medium-sized ramekins ready.

Pour ¾ of the cup of the sugar into a pan. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Allow to cook on a low flame, stirring occasionally.

Cook until this mixture turns into an amber colour and is caramelized. When this happens, remove immediately from the pan and pour it into the 4 ramekins equally. Set aside.

In another pan, add the milk and cream. Stir until the mixture is almost ready to boil. Then, turn off from the heat and add the orange zest. Stir and allow to sit for somewhere between 15 minutes and half an hour. Let the flavour seep in.

Meanwhile, pour boiling hot water in a tray and set the ramekins into it.

In another pan, beat the eggs and the remaining sugar together. Strain the cream mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly.

Add the orange juice to this mixture just before pouring it into the ramekins.

Place them into the baking tray. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the custard is firm yet jiggly.

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Before serving, dip each ramekin in warm water for half a minute. With the help of a knife, invert the custard. Garnish as you wish and serve. In this kind of weather, I would go for something warming like a cinnamon stick. In fact, you could even let the stick steep in the orange juice for a bit before you add it in, so it becomes more infused with that flavour.

As with many other things, I like my orange caramel custards to look dainty and petite, which is why I’ve portioned them into individual small servings. I also consider this a healthier sort of dessert, since it consists mostly of healthy eggs and dairy.

Do try it out and let me know what you think of this sweet delight. For more desserts, especially with the year-end festivities around the corner, you can explore the recipes here.

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Recipe: Festive Desserts And Daily Rituals – Rabdi

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Milk plays a very central role in most communities in India. This is evident when it comes to cuisine, where dairy ingredients like ghee, paneer (known as cottage cheese in the West) and milk itself are crucial components of many dishes. Milk also has religious significance, such as in Hinduism wherein idols of deities are bathed in milk and then offered specially-prepared sweets which often contain the same. In South India, where I live, other than Deepavali or Diwali the big festival is Pongal, when milk is boiled and allowed to spill over the pot as a sign of abundance, a good harvest and new beginnings. Milk therefore can be considered auspicious or even sacred. With Diwali just days away, a milk sweet is thus a must on this blog. This year, I have chosen to share with you the recipe for rabdi. Rabdi is essentially a form of thickened milk, not to be confused with condensed milk.

In the past, I have mentioned various kinds of kheers on this blog, including orange kheer, sitaphal kheer and rose-coconut kheer. Rabdi is a similar dish, and you may also hear it being called by the name rabri. It is also difficult to differentiate between rabdi and basundi. There is a vast array of milk-based desserts in the subcontinent, and sometimes they may resemble each other in look, preparation or taste.

As you may know, over the last few years I’ve increasingly taken a vegan approach to my diet, and many recipes I’ve shared here attest to the same. Being vegan in India is certainly a bit of a challenge because dairy is a big part of our cuisine, as mentioned before. We also have certain conditioned ideas about the importance of it, such as how children are forced to drink milk as it is believed to give them good health and strength, or even how drinking chai is a kind of milestone. I remember how when I first got married and started drinking chai, I started to feel like “Now, I am an adult”. All this aside, my personal struggle is not with milk, ghee, paneer or milk sweets at all but with yoghurt. I just can’t seem to give that up. Anyhow, more on that later, as I continue on my adventures on the vegan path.

For now, since I still consume dairy, I’m going to do so by reflecting on what it means on a day like Diwali, when it is such a big part of our food and our rituals.

Actually, it is important in my family on more than just a festive occasion such as Diwali, but every day. You see, I grew up with a precious statue of Balagopal, the baby version of Lord Krishna. This statue has been in my family for generations. He was gifted to my great-grandmother by a priest, then looked after by my grandfather, then my parents, and now my 91-year old father. My father has found it difficult to keep up with the seva, or rituals, and I imagine that I will welcome Balagopal in my own home in due time.

We have elaborate customs to worship him, which must be performed throughout the day. He must be treated like a child of the home: he must be bathed, fed, dressed, sung to, played with, and put to bed – until the following morning, when it must all be done all over again. There are seasonal rituals too. In summer, he is given water in a tiny pot and cooled with a tiny khus khus (vetiver) fan. In winters, he is dressed in warming velvet and fragranced with attar.

To me, these rituals are an exemplary way to follow traditions that inculcate discipline, respect, humility and generosity, as well as a daily practice of celebration and joy. I am sure that when he does come to my home, his welcome will be a very big affair. I am waiting to receive him. I have taken the advice of elders in the family who tell me that I should do the best seva I can, but that I cannot miss a day. He can never be abandoned or ignored, just like my child.

I am a big believer in “to each their own”. People look at or don’t look at God, do or don’t have spiritual leanings, and come from different religions with their own systems. They are all valid to me. For myself, I see Balagopal as an important legacy, one I want to continue for the sake of both of my elders and my children.

Now, the sweetest part of all this: Balagopal loves milk, according to the myths. So he is often offered a milk-based treat, such as rabdi. So it is sure to be among my offerings to him. It can also be among your own festive delights. Both these thoughts give me joy.

Rabdi

(Serves: 4)

 

2 litres milk

1 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon saffron strands

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

 

In a heavy-bottomed pot, boil the milk on a low flame. Keep stirring to make sure it does not stick at the bottom of the pot. Do this until the milk has reduced to almost half the quantity. This will take about an hour.

When the milk is noticeably thick, add the sugar and saffron. Continue to stir constantly. Finally, add the cardamom powder. Stir and take the pot off the flame.

Cover with a lid and allow to cool until it has reached room temperature. Then, refrigerate.

Rabdi can be eaten either cold or warm, and I hope it will bring some sweetness to your festivities this year. In many communities, these go on for about a week, with something special eaten every day. If you’re looking for more recipes to make your Diwali delicious, do explore my blog archives. Let me point you toward the recipes for laapsi, chevdo and sweet ghugras to begin with. Enjoy!

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Recipe: Melony & Lemony – Watermelon Sorbet

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I bought an ice cream maker recently, very enthusiastically. It has churned out all kinds of delicious flavours since then, like vanilla-lavender, vegan coconut-rose and even a Belgian chocolate. What I had not attempted yet was a sorbet, but it still being the peak of summer put that temptation for this light, refreshing, ice-cool dessert into my mind. Many of the recipes I researched looked pretty simple, so I decided to give it a shot. The star ingredient I decided on was the super-hydrating watermelon. There is plenty on the market at present, and a watermelon sorbet seemed just perfect for this sweltering season.

Luckily for me, in addition to the sweet and nutritious watermelon, my friend Garima gifted me a bag full of Meyer lemons too, and these found their place here too. You may remember that they featured in this lemon poppy cake. I don’t know if she was already aware that I adore Meyer lemons, but the fact that they were available here in Chennai was a happy surprise to me. I did not want to waste a single one. I prepared an utterly delicious lemon curd one day, and when the craving for a sorbet came, I realised that a dash of lemon would be ideal to enhance it too.

The recipe I am providing below has the necessary details both for those of you who have ice cream makers and for those of you who will just use moulds and freezers. The method is very straightforward and easy to follow. Feel free to play around with the flavours, replacing watermelon with another fruit, such as mango for instance. As you read earlier, I’ve been quite adventurous when it comes to ice creams and will surely experiment with different sorbet combinations too. For now, this watermelon sorbet with a little bit of Meyer lemon juice has my heart.

It reminds me so much of when I was growing up, when a parlour called Joy Ice Cream was one of the very popular spots in the city. It was also one of the few ice cream parlours that existed here for a long time. They had raspberry and mango popsicles, which sorbets call to mind. When I served this dish for the first time, it transported me right back to those days. To those years, I should say… When I was small, we would go there as a family for a treat after dinner sometimes. Later, once I entered adulthood, it continued to be a space of camaraderie too.

In fact, the first place that my husband and I went to after being introduced was to Joy Ice Cream. Not long after, as a newly-married woman, it was a place where I would go to meet my friends. We were all young, and had mostly just gotten married, and we would exchange experiences and stories about our lives and our learnings. It was a place where stories and sweetness were shared, and new friends were made. This watermelon sorbet carries all those memories for me.

Now of course, Joy Ice Cream doesn’t exist, and dozens of brands and flavours are available at the click of a button on many apps. A frozen treat is always a delight, but making one myself makes me feel connected to those simpler times. There’s just something special about this watermelon sorbet, as I hope you’ll see…

Watermelon Sorbet

(Yield: 6 popsicles)

 

1 litre watermelon juice

250 grams sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

A tiny pinch of salt

 

In a clean pan, add the sugar, salt and ¼ of the watermelon juice. Place on a medium flame and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Remove from the stove and add the remaining watermelon juice. Stir well, then pop the mixture in the freezer until chilled, but not frozen.

If you have a machine: take the mixture out of the freezer, put it in the ice cream maker and follow the machine’s instructions. If you do not have a machine: pour the chilled mixture directly into the popsicle moulds and leave the tray to set in the freezer.

To serve, rinse the popsicle moulds for a few seconds under tap water and they will release easily. It goes without saying that this sorbet needs to be served immediately after it has set.

I’ve shared many desserts on this blog over the last five and a half years, but this is the very first time that a sorbet has made an appearance, so it’s quite exciting for me. I hope you’ll enjoy this melony, lemony and most lovely dessert, and that it brings back to you happy memories and helps you make more of them too!

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Recipe: Still Nuts For Coconuts – Coconut Cupcakes

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There is an abundance – maybe even an overdose! – of coconuts in my garden, as I have shared many times before. There are so many recipes on this blog that attest to this. From coconut oil (which I’ve made this year too, making use of the intense summer sun) to coconut pudding to coconut stew to coconut podi to rose-coconut kheer… and the list goes on. As much as we love the ingredient at home, we sometimes have so much of it that we don’t know what to do with it. Coconut milk is especially crucial to utilise soon, as it can go bad quickly. The need to use up a big, fresh batch, especially given the effort of straining it, was what gave me the idea for today’s post: coconut cupcakes.

But really, far from just being a way to make sure that an ingredient doesn’t spoil, these cupcakes are quite a treat in and of themselves. A note for my vegan readers: while yummy coconut milk is used in lieu of dairy, this is not an eggless recipe. For you, I recommend that you check out my vegan lavender cake recipe. If you’ve had some practice with baking, you should be able to put the two recipes together and tweak as needed so that you can prepare this coconut cupcake the vegan way.

If you are a first-time baker, I would suggest that you familiarise yourself with this recipe for citrus bundt cake first, which has an introductory guide for beginners. Assuming that you have the basics in place, here are a few more simple tips as general reminders.

Firstly, a pretty simple one: prepare the trays and line them while the oven is preheating to save time later.

Now, for some serious techniques and tricks… I’ve heard many people complain that the cupcake liner opens up during the baking process. I bake pretty much daily, especially for re:store orders, so I have confidence that mine won’t. Perhaps that confidence aka positive thinking goes a long way, but I feel that way in the first place because I’ve mastered the secret: too much butter or fat is what causes the liner to open up. Be careful about following quantities in a recipe to a tee, and this won’t happen.

As for that dome that forms on top of cupcakes sometimes, this can be avoided if you fill only 2⁄3 of the liner with batter.

To go back to the subject of ingredients: ensure that they are all at room temperature when you start, so that they bake evenly.

Even though you only ice a cupcake after it has completely cooled, I’ve found that it makes sense to prepare the icing while the trays are in the oven. The secret to smooth, silky icing relies on two things: you must sift the icing sugar first (do this for cocoa powder too, for other baked goods that have it). and you must beat the butter until it’s fluffy. These two factors – sifting and beating properly – make all the difference in the final texture of the icing.

Before we move on to the recipe and method for these coconut cupcakes, I want to invite you to check out and follow my Instagram, if you haven’t already. I’ve recently started sharing reels, in order to keep up with the latest trends on the platform. I have even attended a class to learn how to do this. While I’m confident with photography and the camera, the process for videos is very different. I hope you like the reels I’ve been sharing, including one of this recipe. Please give me your suggestions on how to make them better, and as always, do drop me a comment if you enjoyed this recipe or any other. I love hearing from you!

Coconut Cupcakes

(Yield: One dozen)

 

Cupcake

175 grams flour

120 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

190 grams granulated sugar

120 ml coconut milk

½ cup shredded coconut

 

Butter Frosting

4-5 cups icing sugar (sifted)

1 cup unsalted butter

A pinch of salt

Fresh cream (as required)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160°. Line a cupcake pan with liners. Set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients (the salt, flour and baking powder) and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and beat it until it is light and fluffy. Then, add the sugar and beat again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure the mixture has been well beaten for about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.

Add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients one by one alternately, mixing only until combined.

Finally, add the shredded coconut to the batter, and use a spatula to bring all the ingredients together.

Using a scoop, divide the batter into the liners. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove gently onto a wire rack.

To prepare the butter icing, beat the butter and the salt well with an electric blender. Add half the icing sugar and beat again, then add the remainder. When using the electric blender, ensure the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl.

Add the cream, in your preferred quantity, and ensure that the butter cream is at a consistency that is thick enough to pipe.

Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes, and garnish as you’d like before serving. Then, all the work of baking and icing done, there is nought to do but to enjoy watching these delicious coconut cupcakes disappear – which they do quite quickly in my home, and most likely in yours too – and make sure that you grab one for yourself before they do!

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Recipe: Something Sweet In My Luggage – Banana Chocolate Loaf

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I shared a banana bread recipe with you a few years ago, which I hope you enjoyed. I encourage you to try it out too, if you have not already. I more recently began experimenting with a chocolate-banana combination, and this new version of deliciousness is what I’d like to share with you today. This banana chocolate loaf is not just an upgrade, but an entirely new recipe. As I’ve shared before, especially in this post, baking is a science, so please do go through the ingredients and method step by step when you prepare it, even if you are familiar with my earlier banana bread.

My first trial for this recipe didn’t include chocolate at all. The thought process behind it was that as I am not a fan of raw bananas, but appreciate the fruit’s amazing nutritional qualities, baking it into another cake was a fun way to incorporate it into my diet. After all, Indian meals often end with a banana, eaten for its digestive benefits, so why not end with a banana cake?

Keeping the health quotient in mind, as I have introduced chocolate into this cake, I have been mindful about its sugar quotient. I have chosen to use dark chocolate pellets, which are less sweet. I have also used brown sugar in a reduced quantity since the flavour of the banana already imparts the dish with natural sweetness. You may wish to substitute the same with jaggery powder, if you prefer. You will notice that this one also has a special ingredient, something that gives it a different zing from the earlier banana cake recipe.

I absolutely must have something to munch on along with my tea or coffee in the late afternoons, and this banana chocolate cake or my date cake (a favourite among re:store clients too) are what I find myself reaching out for often lately.

In fact, one of the best things about this banana chocolate loaf is that it packs and travels very well, which means I’ve gotten my fix of it even when I’ve not been at home. Recently, I made a trip with a dear childhood friend, and this treat was our companion for the first few days. Even though we were seeing each other after a long time, we picked up where we left off with ease. That’s how it usually is with childhood friends, isn’t it? You just catch up, and the happy memories from decades ago flood back afresh, and renew the bond quickly. The same thing happens with food, too. That’s why it is said that food is emotional: it helps one express and relive one’s memories, attachments and experiences.

I baked and carried this beautiful banana chocolate loaf with me on that holiday with my childhood friend. We travelled everywhere by train and by road, and enjoyed bites of this cake in the English countryside whenever we stopped to take in the scenery. Our afternoon tea in charming little villages had the requisite freshly-made traditional scones and clotted cream, of course, and I hope to master the recipe for that sometime. But my banana chocolate loaf was also present, loving parcelled and equally lovingly shared, and to me it was just as delicious as our authentic holiday treats.

Banana Chocolate Loaf

(Yield: 9 inch loaf)

 

175 grams maida

20 grams cocoa powder (unsweetened)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

120 grams butter

1¼ cups very ripe bananas (mashed)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1⁄3 cup yoghurt and cream (mixed)

½ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup broken walnuts (for garnishing)

Preheat the oven at 160°-170° and grease and dust a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients well. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar well, scraping down sides and making sure they’re all mixed well. Now, add the eggs one by one and continue beating. Next, add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and beat slightly.

Now, add the cream and yoghurt mixture and beat again. Next, add the dry ingredients as well as some of the walnuts and all the chocolate chips. Fold over lightly.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin and sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Rest the loaf in the tin for 10-15 minutes. Then, upturn and remove from the tin. Allow to cool.

Your banana chocolate loaf is now ready to be sliced and served. I do hope you’ll enjoy this recipe, and that you’ll make some special memories with it just like my friend and I did on our travels recently. Whenever I share cake recipes, it’s so that more people can enjoy the pleasure of baking, and I encourage you to try them out for yourself. But if you would rather have me whisk a cake up for you, I’m always happy to do so too. Just drop me a line!

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Recipe: Whipped Right Up – Whole Wheat Halwa

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Every time that I had whole wheat halwa while I was growing up, it was mostly made in a jiffy. This was because whenever unexpected guests landed up at home and my mother had to make something sweet to serve them, this was her go-to recipe. Most people of that generation who cooked were extremely versatile. They knew what would work quickly, based on the ingredients they had on hand. It was also a time when those of my generation literally grew up in each others’ homes. So unexpected guests were always aplenty, and the Indian courtesy of feeding them was never forgotten, no matter how much of a surprise they may have been!

The base of this recipe is wheat, jaggery and ghee – items which would invariably be in any Indian kitchen. The additions like saffron and cardamom may not always be available, but the essential ingredient list is one that was quite reliably in every home while I was growing up, and most likely still is today. These are inexpensive ingredients. Not many could afford refined sugar back then, so the accessible and healthier jaggery was used, along with affordable staples like wheat and ghee.

Wheat-ghee-jaggery is an age-old combo, as can be seen in the auspicious sukhudi, which uses the same base. Sweets that utilise this combo are offered to the gods in many Indian homes, and it’s easy to see how the accessibility of the ingredients make them a logical choice for many.

The simplicity of such offerings is part of their beauty. In fact, aside from them being offered in worship, they were also the key feature of birthdays. Back when I was a kid, a birthday cake was not always guaranteed. What we would offer to the gods on that day, and then consume for ourselves, was the big question. “Birthday? Big deal. Get up and go to school!” was a refrain many of us heard! Still, our mothers would usually prepare our favourite Indian sweets that day. My brother liked rava kesari, so that’s what he would receive. As for me, it was this whole wheat halwa that was usually my birthday treat.

I loved birthday parties, and had been to a few of my friends’. There was one year when I decided to throw myself a surprise party – meaning, it was a surprise for my mum! I went back home after school with my whole class, with absolutely no advance notice, and announced that they had all come to celebrate with me. I knew that if I had asked her earlier, she would just have said No. But with all my friends already there, she obliged so very sweetly. Looking back, it could not possibly have been easy to muster up a party immediately. But the feast contained this whole wheat halwa, some standards like toasted sandwiches – and even some McRennett’s cake which she somehow managed to organise last minute. You may recall that I’ve never quite been a fan of what I call that smelly vanilla cake, but it is cherished by my generation. It was a hit at my party too, of course. But that whole wheat halwa was what shone in my mind, and still does, all these years later.

Whole Wheat Halwa

(Yield: 5)

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup jowar flour

½ cup ghee

½ cup jaggery

A pinch of saffron

1 tablespoon milk

A pinch of cardamom powder

1½ cups hot water

½ cup jaggery

 

Soak the saffron in the milk and set aside.

Heat a kadai and add the ghee. Once it has melted, add the flours. You will notice that I use jowar, or sorghum. This is my addition to the recipe, and another way for me to bring healthy millets into my desserts.

Stir on a medium flame. Stir continuously, else the flour will stick to the bottom. This will take approximately 12-15 minutes.  Stir until the mixture turns a dark golden colour. You never want a dull-looking halwa! Even if you skip the saffron or cardamom, you absolutely cannot skip the continuous stirring when it comes to this dish. The secret to it rests entirely in doing that well.

Then, add the jaggery and keep stirring until the jaggery melts.

Lower the flame and add the hot water slowly, continuing to stir continuously. Be careful as the mixture will splutter. Stand away from the kadai at this point. Once the water mixes well with the flour, then bring it back back to a medium flame – while mixing non-stop.

The mixture will thicken and the ghee will separate. Add the cardamom powder and saffron. Mix well again. Serve.

When I think back about my mother stirring constantly over the stove while a gaggle of hungry schoolgirls waited, I am filled with love. That love continues to be passed on in this recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it too, and please do check out the various Indian sweets I’ve shared earlier on this blog as well.

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Recipe: The Next Best, Still Better Than The Rest – Saffron Crème Brûlée

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My absolute, all-time favourite dessert in the world is crema catalana. Barcelona is one of my favourite cities in the world as well, and to me the idea of a perfect Spanish meal simply must end with a delectable bowl of crema catalana. I can’t quite make it here in India, but fortunately for me, the next best thing to crema catalana is easy to make, and requires only easy-to-source ingredients. That would be crème brûlée, and I’ve added a dash of a regional element to pep it up, which gives us this week’s recipe: saffron crème brûlée.

Crème brûlée originates in France, and as with many dishes that one didn’t grow up with, I had the impression that it was very complicated to prepare. I can assure you that this was a misconception. The method is quite easy, the ingredients are basic, and you can make parts of it ahead of time, which also considerably speeds up the process. The original crema catalana is similar in all regards, except that it uses something we don’t get in India, an ingredient called farina (which looks like wheat rava).

I’m nostalgic for my travels at this time of year, and I love journeying through my tastebuds. So I thank you for joining me as I head back to Europe in my imagination! As I prepare this dessert, my mind lingers over happy memories of waking up in the mornings to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, finding a crowded café (a clue: if it’s popular with the locals, it must be good) where I would sit and people-watch over fresh, authentic coffee and pastries. This would be the same whether I was in Venice, in Santiago de Compostela or somewhere else.

If I was in Barcelona, this lovely day would later culminate with going out to dinner with friends. How I miss ordering a starter of deep-fried Padrón peppers sprinkled with rock salt, followed by delicious patatas bravas and saving the best for last with a tiny, well-presented portion of crema catalana! I love that culture and even tried to learn Spanish at one point. While studying the language didn’t go so far, I have had better luck with exploring and replicating European cuisines in my own kitchen. To be candid with you, I’ve never had a good crème brûlée in Chennai, which is one of the reasons why I tried my hand at it. So without further ado, here is my recipe, so that you can do so too!

Saffron Crème Brûlée

4 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup sugar + 4 tablespoons

¼ teaspoon salt

2 pinches of saffron

Topping

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon brown sugar

 

There are four parts to this method: preparing the custard, preparing the egg yolks, baking and then brûléeing. If you’re familiar with baking, you’ll find this method to be easy to follow. If you’re new to baking, keep in mind that the secret is in following the recipe to a tee.

Before we begin, here are a few more tips:

  • There are two key elements to a good crème brûlée: being mindful while adding the yolks to the custard and maintaining a continuous whisk, and baking only up to the correct moment so that the different textures of the dish are maintained.
  • Ovens vary and temperatures vary. I was literally sitting in front of mine with my eyes peeled, so that I would know exactly when to switch it off.
  • You can prepare the custard a couple of days ahead, then bake it and stick it back in the fridge, and then do the brûléeing just before you serve it. If you’re expecting guests, this paces the process well so that you can make the dish in a leisurely way.

Preparing the custard

In a pot, add cream, ¼ cup sugar and salt. Cook on a medium flame and stir often so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Midway through mixing, add the saffron. It adds a nice festive colour to the dessert, as does the flavour. Once the cream comes to a simmer, remove from stove and cover with a lid. Rest this for 20 minutes, during which you must open and stir again no more than twice.

Preparing the egg yolks

Meanwhile, take the egg yolks, add the remaining sugar and stir well.

After the custard has rested for 20 minutes, it’s time to add the yolks to it. Slowly and in a single steady pour, add the custard to the yolks. Beat continuously while pouring. At this point, you have to be careful that the eggs don’t become a scramble due to the heat. This is where you may wind up with breakfast rather than dessert! The key is to stir constantly. Once all the cream is added, mix the custard well and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. This can keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Baking

Preheat the oven at 150° C. In a wide enough tray with tall sides, arrange 6 ramekins. Now, it’s time for the bain-marie technique, used for delicate baked goods like this. You do this by simply pouring hot water into the tray. With the help of a ladle, gently fill the ramekins with the custard-yolk concoction to ¾.

Place the tray gently into the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the centre looks jiggly while the edges are not.

Remove the ramekins from the tray and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once they are at room temperature, refrigerate for at least 5-24 hours.

Brûléeing

Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and sprinkle 1 teaspoon each of brown sugar and white sugar on top. Brûléeing is the process of using a torch to heat the sugar until it melts and changes colour. Hold the torch longer to make it a nice crust on top and until all the sugar melts. You may add another spoonful of sugar if you like and repeat the same. Do this for each individually.

Serve immediately. The custard must be cold and the brûléed sugar on top must be warm. This play of temperatures, along with the play of textures, is what a good crème brûlée is all about!

It’s quite a simple recipe once you get a little practice at it. Remember to follow it very closely. The one place where you have room to innovate is in the flavouring. The authentic dessert is plain, but I have no doubt that others must also be playing with the taste additions like I am.  If you’re not a fan of saffron, you may want to try vanilla, rose or lavender. I also like to have the plain one with a little passion fruit on top of the brûléed sugar, which brings in a fun flavour interaction.

If you have any questions at all about the process, especially if you are still a little intimidated about trying out what is usually considered a somewhat fancy dessert, drop a comment below. I’m happy to help you figure it out. Trust me, you deserve to taste this loveliness!

On that note, more desserts are coming up here on this blog later this month, in time for Christmas, so do stay tuned! You may want to explore the dessert archive as you plan your menu as well. If you’re in Chennai and want to order from the re:store kitchen for the festivities, give me a buzz!

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Recipe: To Relish This Festive Season – Rose Water Peda

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A while ago, I noticed on Instagram that many people had been making pedas in lovely shapes. These Indian milk sweets are always a mood-lifter, and seeing them online inspired me to put them on my own festive menu this year. I’ve always been a believer that presentation goes a long way when it comes to any dish, and we usually eat with our eyes first. That said, taste is ultimately the most important factor. So, while dreaming up my own pedas, the two elements came together. Firstly, I sought out exquisite little moulds that would beautify my sweets, thinking of Kolkata’s famously attractive sandesh. Secondly, I gave the flavouring quite a lot of thought. Through some trials, I eventually settled on one of my favourite flavours, and indeed one of re:store’s signature ingredients: rose water. These rose water pedas are aromatic, delicious and very sweet, just like I hope your Diwali will be.

Whenever I see something beautiful – either culinary or creative – I must learn to make it immediately. You could call it a flaw of sorts, or maybe a happy curse, but that’s just how I’m wired. From the moment of inspiration onwards, it becomes an obsession for me until I arrive at a rendition that I am happy with. That’s how I learnt how to bake, to photograph and to cook so many beloved items in my repertoire. I experiment, make mistakes and keep going until I succeed. Only sometimes do I concede that it’s time to give up, but even then I don’t consider those experiences failures. Rather, there are lessons in them too. When I succeed, the journey doesn’t just end at having made something. The next step is sharing it, which is why this blog exists, but also why I am an inveterate giver of gifts. In my case, my gifts are mostly edible nowadays.

The reason for this is that people really do receive enough and plenty of other kinds of gifts, and unlike a memento which may not be to one’s taste, food almost invariably will be consumed. Before I visit a friend, I now bake or cook a little gift, or else select organic vegetables and arrange them in a basket. These are items which I know for certain will be used by the recipient, and will never gather dust. Personally as well, there’s nothing more exciting to me than fresh ingredients, and I love getting gifts of the same. You may have noticed that many of my recipes here have been spurred by a present of some kind: such as lavender, cinnamon, saffron or more wonderful pleasures that travelled to me with love. Recipes, too, are fabulous gifts – and it’s my pleasure to keep gifting you these.

I learnt how to make basic pedas from my sister, who is the peda queen in my eyes. Peda-making was truly in my destiny because of a nickname in my extended family. My mother had nine siblings, and each had many children of their own, among whom I was one of the very youngest. As a baby, I seemed to that huge group of cousins to look like a little peda. So that’s what they called me: “pendo”, the Gujarati word for this dish. I remain Pendo to many of them, even to this day!

 

Rose Water Peda

(Yield: 10 pieces)

125 grams paneer

50 grams full fat milk powder

50 grams powdered sugar

2 teaspoons ghee

1 teaspoon rose water

1 teaspoon milk

Grate the paneer and place it onto a plate. Knead it with the palm of your hand until it is soft and even, like dough. Form a ball and set aside.

Heat a non-stick pan and add the ghee. Once it is hot, add the paneer. Keep stirring and pressing the paneer down. The paneer will become soft and smooth. This process should take no more than two minutes.

Add the rose water and the milk powder. Mix well. Then add the sugar and turn off the flame. Mix it all well together once more. Spread onto a plate. Allow to cool.

Once cooled, use the palm of your hand to knead this mixture until it’s smooth. It will feel sticky, but do not worry.

Then, wrap the mixture with cling film. Keep it in the refrigerator for between ½ an hour to five hours.

You will notice that this recipe uses milk powder rather than milk, and this is a common modern innovation on the old method, which involved boiling and boiling milk for hours on end. Milk powder makes the process far simpler and faster, while retaining the classic taste of this deeply cherished Indian sweet.

When you are ready to prepare the peda, take out the cold mixture and knead it once again, making sure there are no lumps. Now, make small balls and reshape them as you desire, or use moulds. Garnish with rose petals and pistachio slivers.

Keep the peda at room temperature, but protected by a netted cover. Allow to sit for a few hours.

Serve, and relish the delicate taste of these lovely rose water pedas. You can store any remainder in the refrigerator, as long as you consume them within three days.

In my home, whenever I make peda, the first offering is always to Balakrishna or Baby Krishna, the god who is very fond of dairy according to all the stories about him. He is our family deity and we have a seva or service for him every day, an elaborate process of waking him, bathing him, treating him lovingly like a child and of course feeding him. So when I’m making pedas, I always make tiny ones to offer at the altar, alongside the regular-sized ones. As with all kinds of prasad, it is never tasted while being cooked, as it must be offered pure.

Do you have rituals like these too, in which food and faith come together? I’m always interested in learning more about world cultures, and would love to hear from you.

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