“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments”~ Rose Kennedy.
Well, well…it took almost 25 years and an article in New paper for my mom to get convinced that I am doing well in life.
I left Udaipur in 1990 for higher studies and worked for a few years before getting married & settling in Chennai for good. But then, my mom was always concerned about me leaving my job, until I got myself involved in activities related to my blog Lite Bite.
Later, whenever I called her to tell about my food styling projects or send her a paper cutting of Indian daily or a magazine featuring my work, her reply would be “Hmm…I know you were born with wings. Good that you learned to fly, though a little late in life.Keep it up, but do take care of your health also.Did you go for morning walks..don’t sit andworkat one place for long…eat plenty offruits beta (daughter)” and she would disconnect the phone. Moms will be moms.
An early morning call from mom, woke me up the other day. “Arrey beta, you are inDainik Bhaskartoday. I wanted to take a glance at the News paper before leavingfor my regular morning walk when I saw your picture in it. I am so happy. I took the News paper with me during my walk and showed it to all my friends at Fateh Sagar(lake)” she continued in one breadth, barely hiding her excitement to congratulate me.
Her daughter is addressed as Lakecity ki beti (daughter of Lake city) and is featured in the News paper she has been reading for years. Her phone kept ringing the whole day, with friends and relatives asking about my work and whereabouts. And she is on cloud nine. 🙂
Though sitting miles away from her, I could feel the excitement in her voice and the happiness in her heart.
It is in these little moments that we live the longest, everything else is existence!
The article was published in a very popular regional News paper in udaipur, featuringtwo women achievers from Udaipur on International women’s day.
Oh yes, there was one another feature about me and my work on a popular online portal called Udaipur Times.
I am counting my blessings and thanking everyone for their unconditional love and support to me and Lite Bite.
1. Healthy Oats and banana breakfast cakes
Happy day indeed, and what better than to start the day filled with childhood memories and a plate of soft breakfast cakes drizzled with honey or chocolate syrup.
Gulgule for breakfast…yes, you read it right. I was prepping for these traditional Indian delight in a different avatar.
Gulgule – these soft and mildly sweetened dumpling was one of our favorite breakfasts at home. Mom would often treat us with these delicacies during weekends.
She used to leave for her office quite early, weekend was the only time when she could spend that extra time in kitchen and dish out some of our favorite recipes.
Over the years I have tried adding different flours, spices and various sweeteners to enhance the taste of these breakfast cakes trying to keep the nutrient quotient intact.
These breakfast cakes are not exactly similar to the traditional pancakes but they do taste good.
Years later, I found this interesting way to cook these breakfast cakes in a sandwich maker while browsing recipes on Pinterest and Pari’s blog.
Ingredients;
(about 5-6 small )
- 1/2 cup Oats
- 1 banana
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 1 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- Handful of Nuts
- A pinch of salt
Method: Add peeled banana, oats and milk in a blender and make a smooth batter. Use the larger variety of overripe banana.
Take out the batter in a large bowl and add yogurt, honey, oil, baking powder, cinnamon powder and salt into it.
Allow the batter to stand for 10-12 minutes until it thicken slightly. Check the consistency of the batter. The batter should flow freely when dropped from a ladle. Add a little milk if the batter becomes too thick.
Finely chop all the nuts. I have used a mix of cashew nuts, almonds and walnuts. You can cook these breakfast cakes two ways:
a.Sandwich maker: Brush the sandwich maker with little oil and pre-heat it for 5 minutes.
Fill all the triangular wells of sandwich maker with the batter leaving a little space to let it expand.
Sprinkle the chopped nuts and sesame over it and close the lid and let it cook till the green light is on or for 3-4 minutes.
b. Griddle or Tawa: You can use the same batter to make pancakes if you don’t have a sandwich maker at home.
Heat a griddle and pour a ladleful of batter on it and sprinkle chopped nuts and sesame seeds over it.
Drizzle a little oil if needed and flip to the other side. Cook till brown spots appear on moth the sides.
Dust these healthy Oats and banana breakfast cakes with powdered sugar or serve them with fresh fruit compote or honey.
2. Whole-wheat raisin breakfast cakes
Ingredients;
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup grated jaggery or sugar
- 2 tbsp yogurt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Method; Soak raisins (Kishmish) in orange juice and grind it into fine paste with the juice.
Grind fennel seeds (saunf) and cardamom pods (elaichi) into fine powder.
Combine both the flours, yogurt, baking powder, fennel-peppercorn powder, oil, grated jaggery (or sugar) and the raisin-orange juice puree in a large bowl.
a.Sandwich maker: Brush the sandwich maker with little oil and pre-heat it for 5 minutes.
Fill all the triangular wells of sandwich maker with the batter leaving a little space to let it expand.
Close the lid and let it cook till the green light is on or for 3-4 minutes.
2. Griddle or Tawa: You can use the same batter to make pancakes if you don’t have a sandwich maker at home.
Heat a griddle and pour a ladle-full of batter on it and sprinkle chopped nuts and sesame seeds over it.
Drizzle a little oil if needed and flip to the other side. Cook till brown spots appear on moth the sides.
Serve these healthy wholewheat raisin breakfast cakeswith fresh fruit compote, honey or chocolate sauce.
These breakfast cakesor pancakes tastebest when eaten immediately after cooking and make a healthy snack recipe.
Search for the English & Hindi names of various foods and ingredients used in Glossary.
Notes:
- Replace raisins with Dates in the 2nd recipe. You can chop the Dates or raisins finely and add to the batter.
- Use butter in place of oil for better taste and texture.
- Try the recipe with almond milk or coconut milk for a different flavor.
- Use traditional Appam mould to make small Appams from the same batter.
