THOUGHT FOR FOOD
No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut.
Channing Pollock

Boiled Peanut Chatpata

FINALLY this morning my housemaid and right hand, Ratna, arrived after an extended Diwali break, beaming a somewhat apologetic smile. The scowl that was forming on my face had no option but to also transform itself into a smile. Moreover, she had brought me a bagful of fresh groundnuts from their fields near Tumkur, and with that all was forgiven.

These healthful groundnuts are a great time-pass snack, boiled in salted water. Pushcart vendors boil them on stoves on their carts, the steam wafting a warm earthy smell that reminds me of village kitchens, and peddle them, stuffed in slim paper cones.

But Ratna went about it her own way. She spread a sheet of newspaper on the kitchen floor, spread the groundnuts on it, covered them with another sheet of paper and then began stomping them in a manner reminiscent of, but gentler than the vigorous crushing of grapes for wine. They made such a soft, crackling sound that I had a go at it too. It felt like gentle acupressure treatment for my bare feet.

That’s how they do it in their village, she explained, after which they’re washed thoroughly and boiled in salted water. That way, the salted water gets into the slightly cracked shell and infuses the saltiness into the kernels, she said, sounding very knowledgeable. Native wisdom. Additionally, I thought it created space for the kernels to swell up while boiling and made it easier to shell them afterwards. The shells went straight into my Daily Dump composting pot, from where they will eventually return unto the dust from where they came.

Boiled and shelled, it was now my turn to give the humble peanut a makeover.

For two cups of shelled peanuts, I chopped fine:

1 medium sized onion
Half a red capsicum (bell pepper)
Half a green capsicum
1 green chilli, deseeded
2 sprigs of green coriander

Then I tossed it all together with the peanuts, squeezing the juice of half a lime, and sprinkling about 1/8 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 a teaspoon of chaat masala. I didn't feel the need for extra salt, but that depends on individual taste.

This tasty snack goes well with a drink but is equally great as a standalone.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.
Aesop

Pistachio and Milk Chocolate Squares

HAPPY Diwali to myself! Since no festival is complete without something to sweeten the mouth, I got down to trying this interesting recipe that I stumbled upon on the BBC GoodFood website.

The link to the recipe is pasted below: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1161643/pistachio-and-milk-chocolate-squares

Contrary to my imagination, the distinctive flavours of pistachios and chocolate made for a very happy marriage. These scrumptious squares (or diagonals and triangles as I have cut them), are indeed worth trying out.

Even if you don't have all the ingredients as specified, you can tweak the recipe a bit as I did:

For instance, if you don't have golden caster sugar, use plain white sugar, powdered. I thought of dribbling a tablespoon or two of black treacle to make up but then completely forgot about it. However, the lack of it didn't really make an appreciable difference I guess.

Next time, I must remember to first line up all the ingredients before beginning to mix.

Of the 200 gms chocolate in the recipe, 75 gms is for the cake batter, while 125 gms is for the topping. For the topping I used Amul dark chocolate, which is available in 500 gm slabs. For the cake batter, I used some chocolates that no one was eating because they didn't taste as delicious as their wrappers promised with all kinds of sweet somethings printed on them! And for good measure, they had come in a heart-shaped box. Good enough for cooking purposes though!

No self-raising flour? Just sift one teaspoon of baking powder with the plain flour. And instead of soured cream, I used plain fresh cream.

The overall result surpassed my own expectations.

Banana Cake

WHAT do you think I do when there are a couple of bananas getting overripe and no one wants to eat them? Reincarnate them into a banana cake! There are banana cake recipes galore, but over the years I’ve stuck to this one, shared by my friend Eslinda, which can be mixed in a jiffy. I’ve tried this with just-ripe bananas that are good for eating, but found that overripe ones work better because besides making the cake more flavourful, they also lend the cake a rich brown colour, which keeps people guessing whether I’d added golden syrup too.

What you need:

2 big bananas (Robusta variety)
2 eggs
200 gms granulated sugar
300 gms flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
100 ml cooking oil
A dash of vanilla essence
50 gms walnuts, lightly roasted and chopped

First preheat the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C, so that it’s ready for the cake to be popped in by the time you’re done with the mixing.

In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Break the eggs into the same bowl and continue beating with the fork. There’s absolutely no need for the ceremony of beating them separately etc…the cake will turn out just fine in a one-bowl method. Next add the sugar, cooking oil and vanilla essence and beat some more. Once again, no worries if the sugar has not fully dissolved…by the time the cake is done, there’ll be no trace of it left, except in the sweetness.

Now stir in the walnuts, and then the flour sifted with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix all together until all the flour is completely moistened. The batter should be of dropping consistency. If too stiff, incorporate a tablespoon or two of milk.

Pour the mix into a greased and dusted cake tin and bake at 180 degrees C for 35 minutes or until cake tester comes clean. If using a microwave, preheat 15 minutes on convection mode at 180 degrees C and set baking time for 35 minutes.

I normally use a non-stick tube pan (ring mould) for this cake - with the heat circulating through its centre, it gets nicely browned on all sides.

PS: It’s 300 gms of sugar in the original recipe, but since overripe bananas are naturally sweeter, I’ve reduced the sugar to 200 gms. Substituting melted butter for cooking oil works wonders on the palate and what’s more, your waistline will even show that you enjoyed every bite. For a hint of spice, sift a teaspoon of cinnamon powder with the flour.

THOUGHT FOR FOOD

C is for the Calories that I exonerate
H is for the Happiness I embrace
E is for Each slice that adorns my dessert plate
E is for Every indulgence of its taste
S is for magnificent Satisfaction
E (when I don't share) is for the Envious reaction
C is for Confiscating the very last piece
A is the grade I give this Amazing feast
K is for the Kismet of this phenomenon
E is for Empty (sigh!) when my slice is gone

Put them together and it spells ‘CHEESECAKE’, it's true…
but it's the last piece! Hey! Sorry, there's none left for you.

- Sourced from The Internet

Quick Lemon Cheesecake

THIS is another one of my favourites when I’ve slaved all day in the kitchen and am loathe to slave some more in making an elaborate dessert. Trust me, it’s an instant hit with everyone and even until the dish is invariably scraped clean, no one can ever tell that it was whipped up with negligible effort. I owe this recipe to my cousin Jenny, who’s a wonderful cook and loves to innovate. Our long phone chats have dwindled to zero ever since she moved from Mangalore to distant Canada. Sniff. Sniff. Must all good things have to come to an end? This dessert will bring sunshine to anyone feeling under the weather.

What you need:

One 85 gm packet of lemon jelly mix
One 400 ml tin condensed milk
1 teaspoon Davis gelatine
200 gm paneer

Dissolve the gelatine in 4-5 tablespoons of hot water. Prepare the jelly as per instructions on the packet. Do not refrigerate yet. Add the dissolved gelatine to it. Set aside.

Break up the paneer and dump it into a blender. Empty the condensed milk too into it and run the blender for just a minute. Pour the jelly mix too into the blender and whirr for a minute. All that remains to be done now is to refrigerate it till set.

For this, you and I know that the most beautiful and correct way is to set it on a biscuit crumb base, made by mixing 180 gm of powdered Marie Gold biscuits with 75 gms of melted butter and pressing it evenly in a flan tin before chilling it to harden.

However, if like me, you sometimes don't feel up to it, have no worries. Just be happy pouring the mixture into a glass dish (as in the pic). You can also set it in individual dessert bowls - and decorate with swirls of whipped cream if you like. But my whole point is to avoid all that extra work.

Refrigerate until firm and set. For quick setting, first place in freezer for about an hour and then transfer to refrigerator shelf.

For variation, use any other flavoured jelly – strawberry, raspberry, lime, apricot, orange or whatever is at hand. But I vote for lemon.

A refreshing dessert while the crumbled paneer adds a delightfully rich and grainy texture to the cheesecake. Besides, it’s so simple to make! And don't be surprised if people pounce on you for the recipe, because they most certainly will.

PS: Now I don't mean to show off, but as a supporter of the Indian dairy co-operatives, I make a conscious decision to buy Amul products as far as is possible/practical. The condensed milk used in this recipe was Amul Mithai Mate, while the paneer was Nandini, a product of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).