I Swear

Never!

Till date I have succeeded in resisting the temptation to swear in words of all forms. I mean both in spoken words and in writing. It’s not that I never get frustrated, agitated or hurt. Neither am I too weak to retort back to express my anger. Call it my conditioning or flatter me by saying I have strong self-control, but the fact behind it all is I strongly dislike swear words as much as I dislike people who fail to find better expression of their emotions in vocabulary (in any language) than using swear words at the drop of a hat.

I am not trying to create a hate post condemning people who swear nor am I the general of the army of people assigned with the task of trying to shoot people who use profanity in actions or words. I am just trying to build the aura of how much self-control I have had in the many decades I have walked the soil of this planet.

This sanity and saintly calm composure is starting to lose ground. The events of the past few months have started showing their toll on my personality. Though I still credit myself for being the girl with immense strength to have never cussed my soon-to-be-a-past husband despite him crossing many lines (about which I’ll talk in a separate post).

The events of the past week have shaken my determination as much it has shattered my self-esteem for loving someone who could stoop down to such limits for the sake of the pettiest asset man has ever known, money. For me writing and cooking are cathartic, but today they too are failing to make me feel any better. I tried getting involved in a complex recipe to get the hurt and rage out of my mind. The outcome was very delicious (recipe coming soon) but it didn’t make me feel good.

At this moment, I want to pick up my mobile and do what you can see in the video below:

*Disclaimer: The video contains profanities, please be careful about your surroundings before playing it.

Though I have not done anything similar yet and I know myself to be sure about not doing it any day soon. I believe in defeating people by actions not words. I am of the opinion that wars are won by brains than valor and I am determined to do just that.

I am actually feeling heaps better by writing about it. By the time I’ve reached this line, I can feel my opinion change (though very slightly) about the people who swear at times they want to convey their emotions, strongly!

Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake

This recipe is very close to my heart, for the simple reason, it holds strong memories of my childhood and is the first cake I ever baked.

A very simple recipe, that can be tried by anyone who hasn’t baked ever in their life and doesn’t even own an oven.

Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake:

Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake

Servings : 6 to 7

Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients:

  • All purpose flour (Maida) – 1.5 cups
  • Cocoa powder – 3 to 4 tbsp
  • Eggs – 2
  • Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp
  • Baking powder – 3/4 tsp
  • White sugar – 3/4 cup
  • Butter (salted) – 50 gram
  • Milk – 1 cup

Method:

  • Sift together flour, cocoa and baking powder.
  • In another bowl beat eggs, vanilla essence with sugar till sugar dissolves.
  • Add the flour mixture to the beaten eggs and sugar.
  • Add melted butter.
  • Fold in the flour mix with butter and eggs.
  • Add milk to make a thick batter while beating continuously. Add milk gradually to obtain a smooth batter.
  • Pour in a well-greased baking pan/baking tin.
  • In a pressure cooker heat some water and place a cake ring.
  • Once the water comes to a boil, place the cake tin with prepared batter and cook for 30 minutes with closed lid and no weight.
  • Remove lid and let the cake steam for 5 more minutes.
  • Check with a bamboo skewer whether cake is well cooked from all sides (the bamboo skewer should come out clean if cake is cooked through).
  • Let cake cool down and then remove from pan.

P.S.- Coarsely ground walnut kernels go very well with the chocolate cake. The cake doesn’t require icing and is a delightful dessert.

Kathal Dum Masala – Jackfruit in yogurt gravy

Jack-fruit is widely eaten as a fruit in southern parts of India. When eaten as a fruit, it’s the ripe sweet Jack fruit, which has pale to bright yellow pulp and a sweet taste with strong fragrance.

When cooked as a vegetable we need the raw fruit. The raw Jack fruit is tough and fibrous, the pulp should be off-white and it should not smell sweet.

Jack-fruit

To make this very simple yet very tasty recipe, we need to take a slice (a thick one) of the Jack fruit. Make sure it is from the center of the fruit for if taken from either end, it will be difficult to slice and a lot of it goes waste while carving out pieces.

* Dum - It is a method of cooking (simmering) in yogurt over medium heat.

Kathal Masala – Jackfruit in yogurt gravy

Kathal Dum Masala - Jack-fruit in yogurt gravy

Serves : 5

Difficulty Level: Medium

Ingredients:

  • Jack Fruit – 1 kg
  • Onions – 2 medium
  • Tomatoes – 4 medium-sized/tomato puree 3tbsp
  • Yogurt/ home set Curd – around 200 grams (1 cup)
  • Red chili powder – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
  • Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Vegetable oil to fry

Method:

  • Apply some vegetable oil on your hands to help easy chopping of Jack fruit for it exudes milk like sticky juices.
  • Avoid washing the chopped Jack fruit for it gets too messy to handle.
  • Using a sharp knife cut the Jackfruit into thick wedges about 1.5 inch wide.
  • Chop the skin off the wedges (it is much easier to do it this way)
  • Fry the wedges till they turn golden brown and set them aside.

Fried wedges of Jack-fruit

  •  In a pressure cooker, take some vegetable oil and fry chopped onion.
  • Once the onion gets golden color on its edges add paste of tomatoes (you can also use tomato puree), salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala.
  • Mix them well and let them cook for 5 to 10 minutes on medium heat till the masala starts leaving oil on sides.
  • Now add the fried jack-fruit pieces and mix well. Add two cups of water, close the pressure cooker lid and let it cook on medium flame for 2 whistles.
  • Since the jack-fruit is tender, it cooks quick (besides it cooks while frying too). Take the pressure cooker off the heat and let it cool down before proceeding.
  • Open the pressure cooker lid and add one cup curd and let the mixture simmer over low flame for around 15 minutes.

Serving suggestion:

Serve hot with buttered chapatis or naan.