Sweet cravings

Ever since I can remember,  being a writer was something that I wanted to make a career out of. But soon I realised that I had another passion called cooking. So I decided to make use of both my interests and start a blog called 'Motions and Emotions'.  

I  had a full-time job. I started freelancing after I had my daughter. That's also when I started taking my interest in blogging seriously. I wanted to have a record of my recipes, old and new, and making a digital version of that seemed a perfect idea.  

When I was in school, I just remember going to the kitchen to watch my mother whip up something delicious for me to have. I  never thought of making anything by myself. It was after I moved to the hostel that I realised the need to learn for my survival. So I started experimenting on a small scale and took it forward from there.  

My husband is a foodie and a good cook too. He often gives me feedback on how I can improve a dish. I've even learnt a few tricks from him.  I make a mix of everything in my kitchen. My hometown is in West Bengal and I usually make Bengali cuisine on a daily basis. I want to try to restore those traditional recipes that my mother and grandmother would make.  

There are days when I'm craving for Kolkata street food.  Though I don't get the exact taste, I  try to make them at home. But my favourite recipe to cook is 'biryani', Kolkata style. It's a recipe that many of my friends and family appreciate. It's different because of the usage of mild spice and potatoes in it. Even though we have a number of 'biryani' options in the country, no one makes it the way we do.  

The 'Coconut papaya ladoo' recipe is something I created when I was in the mood to experiment. I found some raw papaya in my pantry and thought it would taste great with a mix of coconut.

Little did I know that I'd get so many good compliments for it! It's an easy-to-make sweet that one can have any time of the year. This two-ingredient 'ladoo' is taken to a whole new level with the addition of papaya. It lasts for about four days if kept in the refrigerator.  

Recipe 

Ingredients

* Coconut, 2 cups scrapped

* Raw papaya, 1 cup grated

* Sugar, 2/3 cup

* Desiccated coconut, 2 to 3 tbs

Method

* Heat a wok over a flame and add grated papaya on that. Reduce the flame and stir it for three to four minutes.

* Next, add scrapped coconut into it and mix them well.

* Keep on stirring the mixture for few more minutes.

* Now add sugar and keep on stirring.

* After some time, the sugar will start to dissolve and it will start binding with the coconut-papaya mixture.

* Cook the mixture until all the moisture evaporates and then switch off the gas.

* Allow to cool the mixture for some time and later shape them into rounds like ladoos.

* Spread the desiccated coconut in a plate and roll the prepared ladoos on it.

* Ladoos are now ready to serve. 

Amrita Roy