Roma's Space

This is my entry to the Lunch Pack Disasters Event hosted by Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore. Thanks so much Lakshmi for coming up with this interesting topic.

Gulgule can be made for traveling as they last a good one week.

How difficult is it for a foodie like me to fast? Well, earlier it was tough but this year surprisingly I was able to do it well on the occasion of Karwa Chauth.

Karwa Chauth is a festival where married women fast for their husband’s long life. They break their fast after worshiping the moon at night. For the pooja they dress up like brides with mehendi on hands, wedding saree, jewellery and all that glamor.

My fast got over quite fast. I ate fruits and had milk although mostly girls in North do not even drink water. Incidentally, I had a friend show me some interesting recipe books, which I skillfully overlooked least I encourage my hunger pangs. All in all, the vrat (or fast) was no problem at all.

My hubby keeps the fast along with me every year. The first year after marriage I told him not to, well he wouldnt listen. I made wheat vermicelli for breakfast and he went away without eating it. Thats 3 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Then on, I allowed him to fast with me. Its really nice actually to have company while fasting.

Despite my baby doll’s tantrums I managed to apply Mehendi on my hands a day before Karwa Chauth. It went on till late at night as usual but it feels great once you are done. I used my right hand to apply on my left and I used a stencil to apply on my right hand. Just place the stencil, apply the mehendi and peel off. Easy enough, what to you expect with one left hand after all?

We went to my co-sisters place for pooja. The pooja got over on time but the moon hid behind the clouds, sort of making us realize its importance. After all, once a year we get so desperate to see it. Usually on Karwa Chauth its very cloudy so may be on Karwa Chauth we notice the clouds. This year was by far the toughest I must say. We waited for more than an hour and finally decided to worship the streak of light that we thought was the moon. As soon as we started the pooja the moon peeped out from a completely direction location. We immediately changed our direction and continued the pooja. Finally, it was time to have dinner. The prasad pooris were over even before we entered home.

A Karwa is used to hold water that is offered to the moon

There is something about eating dinner after fasting all day. For one, the food tastes very good and the satvic style in which it is made makes it tastier.

The prasad I make every year for Karwa Chauth is poori and Gulgule (sweet wheat flour dumplings). You can find the recipe here.

I would like to send this entry to Srivalli’s JFI Nov, ‘08 – Festival Treats. Thanks for accepting my entry to the event, although its a bit different from the main festivals.

I have come across countless recipes for making this cake, it was really confusing which one to use. Anyway, I had to start somewhere so I picked this one which I found in a book at home, making some small changes wherever necessary. The main intention was to find out how good a substitute ripe banana is for eggs. Turns out, very!

In my circle of friends there are some people who are strict vegetarians. When I want to bake them a cake on occasions it becomes a bit difficult. This recipe is a sure shot solution to such problems. Its one of the best eggless cakes that I have had. Simply because the texture was as good as the cakes that contain eggs.

A very cute thing happened when I was making it. My maid was wondering why I was baking a cake out of bananas. I tried to explain that I like cakes very much. She said so cutely “There is a very nice bakery right outside the apartment where you get such cakes, why are you taking the trouble?”

Ingredients :

• 1 ripe banana ( long variety )
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.5 tablespoon milk
• less than 1/2 cup brown sugar
• less than 1/2 cup butter
• 4 walnuts, finely sliced

Procedure :

1. Puree the banana with the sugar and milk in a mixie jar.
2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
3. Beat the butter until light.
4. Mix in the banana batter and the dry powder alternately into the butter and beat well.
5. Add more milk if required. The mixture should just drop off the spoon, also known as ‘dropping consistency’
6. Dust the walnut slices with flour and mix them into the batter.
7. Grease and dust a cake mould. Pour the cake mix into it and place in an oven preheated at 180 Deg C.
8. Bake at 180 Deg C for about 25 mins.
9. Take the cake out of the oven. Brush the surface with milk and place back in the oven for about 5 mins. This will give it a shine and brownness on the crust.
10. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cut out your slices and enjoy!

Please NOTE :
I always wondered how the homemade cakes that are sold in the market ( yes, you read it right! ) have such a glossy surface. I attempted the milk glaze which seemed really easy and safe to try. I was happy with the results as I got a good glaze on the surface without altering the taste.