Food Talk: Swadeshi satvik Christmas treat

When Christmas comes, can cakes be far behind? As a matter of fact, the preparation for the rich Xmas plum puddings, chocolate-topped Christmas cakes, decorated with snow made from icing, complete with the log of wood and miniature Christmas tree, and maybe, a likeness of Santa clad in his red garb, are part of the Yuletide spirit. These days, there aren’t many who prepare the puddings and cakes at home, but in our childhood, much of the excitement was sharing the chores of soaking dried fruits in rum and mixing these with breadcrumbs and flour and candied peels weeks before the Bada Din.

Times have changed. Believe it or not, there are as many lovers of ‘eggless plum pudding that eschews the intoxicating rum’ as there are of the traditional stuff!

There has been a long tradition of baking in India. Bernier, the French physician who came to India during Shah Jahan’s reign, commented adversely on the squalour of the environs where bakeries in Delhi operated, but none can deny the skill of local bakers who created cake-like breads in Delhi and Lucknow. Indian bakers learnt the art of decorating cakes for festive occasions from not only the British, but also the French, Dutch and the Portuguese.

We have great pleasure in sharing the ‘swadeshi satvik’ version of the classic.

Every morsel and crumb is as tasty as the traditional recipe! We owe this recipe to Poonam Kirola, a home chef with a penchant for baking eggless stuff.

Merry Christmas!

Eggless Christmas cake

Ingredients

All-purpose flour 1/2 cup

Fresh breadcrumbs 1/2 cup

Assorted dried fruits 1 cup

Orange juice 3/4 cup

Curd 1 tbsp

Oil 1/2 tbsp

Butter (to grease the bowl) 1 tbsp

Baking powder 1/4 tsp

Baking soda 1/8 tsp

Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp

Sugar 1/2 cup

Sweet spice mix powder 1/2 tsp

Method

Soak the dried fruits in orange juice for a day or two. Prepare the caramel syrup. First heat a saucepan and melt sugar on it on medium flame. Do not stir. When it turns golden, stop cooking. Add water and let the mixture boil for about 5 seconds. Take off the flame and set aside. Mix the flour, breadcrumbs in a bowl, along with baking powder and baking soda. Whisk well. Add sweet spice mix and whisk again. Add the soaked dried fruits at this stage.

Put in the curd, oil and vanilla essence. Add this mixture to the flour and blend using a spatula. Take an oven safe/heatproof bowl. Grease the bowl with a generous measure of butter. Transfer the caramel syrup to the baking bowl. Pour the pudding mixture into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a butter paper greased with butter. Cover with aluminium foil. Secure it with a string.

For steaming, you may use an idli steamer, if at hand, or the good-old pressure cooker. First, place a plate inside the cooker, then pour about 6 cups of water. Now place the bowl with the pudding in it. Close with a lid, and steam cook without pressure for about 2 hours.

In between, check the water level and add water accordingly. Check after 1 hour, 30 minutes, then proceed.

To check if the pudding is done, insert a knife or a fork in the centre of the pudding. If it comes out clean, then the pudding is done. Otherwise, steam for a few minutes more.

Remove from the flame, and place on a rack to rest for at least 15 minutes. Loosen the pudding by sliding a sharp knife along the sides.

Place a plate on top, and carefully invert. Slice and serve when completely cool.