JOIN USI tried my hand at cooking for the first time when I was in the fifth standard. It wasn’t anything great — just toast. But I managed to burn both the toast and myself in the process. Slowly, I mastered the art of making the perfect toast as well as omlette — big achievements for me at that time. But it was only after graduation, when I went to UK for my Masters, that I really began taking an interest in the culinary arts. The hostels there don’t provide you with food, they just provide kitchen facilities. I craved for Indian food and started making ‘roti’, ‘dal’ and ‘chappatis’ at home. Slowly I progressed to sandwiches, cookies and cakes. It was a different experience for me to make the cakes using a proper oven, back home in India, we always used the cooker!
Speaking of home, I guess that is where everyone picks up their first lessons in cooking and my case was no different. Both my grandmother and my mother were good cooks and I used to have a lot of fun watching them go about their jobs in the kitchen. When I started making things on my own, my grandmother would come and stand next to me and give me suggestions on what to add and what not to add. My mother would come and stand next to me too, but that was more because she was scared about what I would do to myself there.
Being born and brought up in Jamshedpur, North Indian food tops my list of delicacies. I can gorge on ‘parathas’ and ‘chole bhature’ any time. I even know how to make some forgotten dishes like ‘litti chokha’ in the authentic way; courtesy my grandmother. In return for these exotic recipes, I make them try lasagne or pasta. Everyone, especially my grandfather, loves these dishes.
I am quite stubborn when it comes to getting a dish right. The first time I tried my hand at baking, I had to practice the recipe for almost a month (with many unappetising failures in between) before the cake came out right. Also, I am not afraid of experimenting. I mix and match ingredients, stray away from formula recipes and substitute spices for each other. My friends also like this fact about me and say that they get to try interesting stuff every time they come over.
After I was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, the doctor asked me to include a lot of fibre in my diet and have vegetables, oats and other healthy alternatives.
The foodie in me rebelled and I set about to find healthy alternatives to tasty food. This is one of the recipes that I whipped up during that time.
Madhushri Verma
(Madhushri Verma can be reached on madhushri.verma1612@gmail.com)
(As told to Rajitha Menon)
Chocolate Oats Ladoo
Recipe
Ingredients
*Roasted oats, 1 cup
*Powdered sugar, 1 cup
*1Coco powder, 1 ½ tsp
*Almond or cashew nuts, ¼ cup
*Cardamom powder, ½ tsp
*Ghee, as needed
Procedure
*Dry roast one cup of oats without browning them. I usually do this in medium flame.
*After it’s roasted well, transfer it in a bowl and let it cool until it’s warm.
*In a blender add cashew nuts, sugar and oats and blend for two pulses. It should not be too powdery. Blend according to the desired taste. Transfer the blended mixture to a plate or vessel.
*Sugar can be replaced by jaggery as a healthier option.
*Add cardamom powder and cocoa powder to the mixture.
*Add ghee to start making small round ladoo balls. ( this should be done really quickly because once it cools down it will be really difficult to make ladoo). Or for a healthy alternative, warm water can also be used to make the dough.
n Make the ladoo really quickly when the mixture is warm and place them in a tray and let them freeze for an hour for setting.
n Garnish with chopped cashew nuts before serving.