Steamed Banana Semolina Cake & Post A quote Challenge!

Over-ripe Bananas sitting on the platter, what to do? Any ideas? I refer my Aji’s potli (Grandma’s bag of magic) full of simple recipes. And, make it time saving, economic, steamed, eggless and meatless too! Sounds a trip to heaven, doesn’t it? Believe me I cannot take the smell of meat and eggs on my dishes and gadgets! I just have to sanitize everything perfectly well until there is no trace of the foul smell. Monica Gellar I can beat you with my freakiness! Any other OCD’s for company??:P

So without much commotion, I m going to share a detailed recipe of this healthy cake J

Ingredients:

• 1-2 ripe bananas (read over ripe in my case!!)
• 1 cup. fine Semolina (Rava or Sooji)
• 1 cup. finely chopped Jaggery (You can substitute with less than or equal amount of sugar).
• 2 tsps. Cardamom powder
• 3-4 strands of Saffron.
• Chopped pistachios (You can add as many or as less. It’s an optional ingredient).
• 1-2 tsps. Clarified butter (Ghee. It’s optional too. One could use olive oil too).
• 1 big tbsp. Yoghurt/ Curd.

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients well until no lumps remain (not the nuts) and set aside for 5 minutes.The consistency of this batter is pretty thick (and sticky too) and not anything like the usual cake batter. So don’t get scared when you don’t see any folds of batter on tapping the spatula.

• Add the chopped nuts.
• Oil spray a steel container or the usual cake pan. I did not use any greasing and added a butter paper underneath into the pan.

• Spoon the batter into the cake pan.
• Add water into the pressure cooker or steamer and set the cake pan inside it.Just cover the whistle hole with a bowl or just Al foil.
• Allow it to steam cook for 8-15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

• Garnish with nuts and clarified butter!

I looked forward to summer vacations at my Aji’s place in Bombay. She would make this cake. What made it surreal was she made it with so much care. And truth be told, it was absolutely real. We did not have cameras and camera phones back then. I ponder if having them then could have helped me treasure the essence of my childhood for future. Reality is that memories may fade but the essence remains within the soul.But then I look at myself and see how she has passed on her looks to me 🙂

My Aji stays across the globe. Every trip to the motherland my heart sinks another inch to see her grow older and frailer.

Chanakya rightly said, “he who lives in our mind is near though he may actually be far away; but he who is not in our heart is far though he might really be near by”.

I feel it better than ever before. Having lost so many dear ones in less than two years in my immediate family, the feeling of seeing incomplete houses is setting in. But, life goes on, doesn’t it?

I have trained my brain to be thankful to the bag of goodies life has given me so far. And, having a family like mine in itself is a boon.

A toast of healthy emotional balance to all!

BTW,This is my First entry to the Post A quote Challenge By Sumana 🙂 Thanks again for the opportunity. I wanted to begin my quotes with my aji’s recipe who shares her name with you 🙂