Plantain-Beef Stew

The plantain fest is on in my home. we've been excited about the bunch of farm-fresh plantains we got and have been honestly trying various interesting recipes. my mum goes beserk in the kitchen when her son-in-law (my husband thomas) turns up for one or two days. she has to make every meal special. i guess it's a mum-in-law-son-in-law connection. i don't care about the equation as long as it's good. i focus on WHAT'S ON THE PLATTER! she got hold of the recipe below from her cookery guru and icon Lakshmi Nair. i like her too for the accuracy of her measurements and variety and originality. i suggest her books strongly to Kerala cooks.

beef-1/2 kg
raw plantain (yethakai)-3 peeled and cut in big pieces
green chilli-2 slit lengthwise
ginger-1 tbsp chopped fine
onion-2 diced
tomato-1 soaked in hot water, peeled and cut
pepper powder-11/2 tsp
coconut milk-2 cups



Pressure cook the beef, cut plantain, salt and one tsp pepper with two cups water. retain the stock. heat 11/2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute onion, ginger and chilli. add the tomato and fry it well. add the pressure cooked beef. to this add two cups coconut milk and keep it covered on medium flame and let it boil for ten mins. take it off the flame. spice it up with more pepper powder if required and garnish with curry leaves.



You can add diced veggies for nutrition but not potato to retain the taste of the original recipe. this is an excellent accompaniment to steam-baked rice flour cakes (oh well, puttu (in regional language) is simpler!; see photograph).

Courtesy: Lakshmi Nair

Plantain Balls

Plantains are a huge culinary asset for Keralites. our sunday breakfast, especially in Christian homes, is mostly steam-baked ripe plantains and poached eggs. we have our austere church-going and we save time by this quick breakfast package which is so nutritious and energy-giving. yeah, plantains are rich in carb and moms regularly insist on the ripe-uncooked-plantain-and-a-glass-of-milk combo. those banana fritters with a dash of cinnamon is our fave tea time snack. plantain balls are a derivative of the steamed plantain. we had three of them left over from our morning breakfast and i decided on this for my little girl to snack on.

This is from my mum-in-law's stack of recipes. she has the entire range of traditional Kerala recipes!

plantain-3
grated coconut-1/2 cup
sugar-2 tbsp
crushed cashewnuts-1-2 tbsp
cardamom powder to flavour
ghee
rice flour-a little
oil to fry

Deseed the steamed fruit and mash it nicely and evenly without any lumps. fry the coconut and sugar lightly in a pan in the ghee to cook the coconut. you can use fresh coconut also but the balls then have shorter shelf life. add this to the mashed plantain along with crushed cashew. flavour with cardamom powder. mix it well and make a reasonable-looking dough. roll into small balls and coat the balls with the flour. fry in oil and eat it hot with a huge mug of chai!



The plantain should not be over-ripe. or else the balls become gooey within. in case it happens toughen the batter with rice flour or maida. the fruit need not be completely steam-baked if you exclusively set out to make the balls. this avoids the probable stickiness of the dough.

Presto Chocolate Cake

I remember scarfing the biggest possible pieces of this cake as an adolescent when my mum used to bake it. i loved the richness of it and the chocolate-sticky crust (i still do). now that i've started baking this was my first chocolate cake recipe. it's the quickest i've come across and i love to have it cold.

eggs-2
cocoa powder-1/2 cup
butter-1/2 cup cut up
maida-2 cups
sourless curd-1/2 cup
vanilla essence-1 tsp
soda bicarb-3/4 tsp
powdered sugar-2 cups
lukewarm water-1/2 cup

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork. add all the ingredients in their order; mix well with your hands and bake till done. yes, you read right. it's just this much and believe me the cake will surpass you expectations. you don't have to mess your beater (personally i love hand-mixed batter). i never even followed the order but still it came out so good!

Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce

I crave, right now, a huge chunk of this delectable cake. but most of the times i bake it, it goes out to someone else OR once i lavish the sauce on it and watch the dribble trickling down i become calorie-conscious! sigh, strange is the female species. i've taken this from a local Christian magazine and of the handful of chocolate cake recipes i've tried my vote goes for this.

flour-11/2 cups
cocoa powder-1/2 cup
sugar-11/4 cups
soda bicarb-11/2 tsp
eggs-2
butter-185 gm
vanilla essence-1 tsp
cold milk-1 cup
synthetic vinegar-1 tbsp

Strain the flour along with the cocoa powder and soda bicarb and keep aside. powder the sugar and mix it with the flour combo. add the vinegar to the milk and let it stand. beat the eggs lightly and keep. melt the butter; cool it and add it to the flour-sugar mix along with half the milk. beat for two mins. add the eggs, remaining milk and vanilla essence and beat for another two mins. pour the batter into a nicely greased cake tin and bake till done.

The cake is really soft. so don't try and heap the entire batter into one cake tin. distribute it in two. it yields 900 gms.

The chocolate sauce recipe is already given in my Christmas menu spread. ideally use the ring cake pan so that the final effect is of an over-sized doughnut. jab the cake at different points with a slender stick (i use toothpick!) and let the sauce seep in. dribble the sauce when it is hot. slice a chunk and steal its richness before you turn calorie-conscious like me:)

The Variation

OK, it's safest to avoid experiments with cakes but i've started this nasty habit! i know thomas will gum it down as long as it tastes good. i tried this with my standard carrot cake recipe and won accolades.

grated carrot-11/2 cups
finely chopped pineapple-11/2 cups
cocoa powder-1 tbsp
instant coffee powder-1/2 tsp
nutmeg powder-11/2 tsp
cinnamon powder-11/2 tsp
and all the other ingredients mentioned below in the carrot cake recipe

I did not finely chop the pineapple. i ran it quickly in the chopper once. it's not the ideal thing to do as it becomes a sticky mass but nothing suffers.

You can add tutty fruity and cherries and use drinking chocolate powder instead of cocoa. it's voila again but consider the sweetness of the chocolate powder while adding the sugar. if you use drinking chocolate powder add 2-3 tbsp of it and reduce the sugar quantity to 21/4 cups.

Carrot Cake and Variations

I've baked this cake God knows how many times and i can still bake it and enjoy it like i have never had it before. my friends have tried other carrot cake recipes and by popular poll this is rated the best.

grated carrot-3 cups
maida-2 cups
sugar-2-21/2 cups powdered
eggs-4
refined oil-1-11/4 cups
baking powder-1 tsp
sodabicarb-1 tsp
salt-a pinch
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves-1 tsp each ground
cocoa powder-2-3 tbsp (absolutely optional)

Sieve together the maida, baking powder, sodabicarb and salt two or three times. beat the eggs ligtly with a fork adding the sugar. using your hands mix all the ingredients well. pour into a cake tin and bake till done.

Yes, it's as simple as that. you don't have to take out your beater and believe me this cake can't be softer. it yields around 1 kg. slice it and refrigerate the third or fourth day on. it only tastes better when cold.

Use two cups sugar if you want it only mildly sweet. i found the two and a half cups sugar a nicer fit for the cake though i don't generally like anything too sweet. use only one cup oil if you like your cake dry (my mum in law likes it that way). i use 11/4 as i like it moist (daughter in law vs. mother in law!). if you find it difficult to cut put it in the fridge for a while and cut it cold. it's yuuummmmmmm...mmmoooooo.

Apple Cheese Cake

Can anyone resist a cheese cake...the original and the not-so-originals? i know sheba cannot ;). nor can i. nor can you after trying out this recipe. it's really quick, cost-effective and makes a great dessert when topped with ice cream. this is up especially for sheba whom i invite to try this out, eat and add some pounds! well, well, "how mean"...that's a cliche. for this you need

apples-4 big
milkmaid-1 tin
eggs-3
lemon peel-1 tsp
lemon juice-2 tsp
marie biscuits (desi graham crackers!)-50 nos (21/2 cup powdered biscuit)
butter-150 gm
cinnamon powder-to taste

Core and slice and puree the apples with 21/2 cup water and 2 tbsp sugar in a pan. the water should be almost eaten up by the apples and heat; the resulting apple sauce will be around 11/2 cup. flavour it with cinnamon powder. thomas gets put off by its taste; i don't know why. i guess baked apples can almost never be imagined without cinnamon. melt the butter in a pan. reduce the flame and add the powdered biscuit and turn off the flame. take off the biscuit-butter mix and measure 3/4 cup and keep aside. press the rest of the biscuit to the bottom of the cake dish and refrigerate for 10 min. separate white from the yolk of the eggs. beat the white till fluffy and keep aside. mix the apple sauce, milkmaid, yolk, lemon peel and juice and beat till well blended. fold the white gently into this bigger mix and pour the whole mix completely on the biscuit base of the cake dish. sprinkle the remaining powder atop. level the mix with a spatula and bake at 160 C for 50-55 min. cool, cut and relish.



The sweetness of this cheese cake recipe is just right (for Indians). i admire Lakshmi Nair for the accuracy of her measurements.

Courtesy: Lakshmi Nair