4 Moms Share Their Favorite Dishes And The Stories Behind Them

We all have that one dish that takes us back to our childhood. Whenever we prepare that dish, it brings a smile to our face, as it holds special memories. Food and stories go hand in hand. Every recipe has a story, and the story differs from person to person. We asked four mothers from The Think Tank team of ParentCircle Community—Smitha Ravi Prashanth, Shreya Suraj, Anita Kulkarni and Preeti Agrawal—to share their favorite recipes and the stories behind them.

Enjoy their stories and their special recipes!

JACKFRUIT CAKE

By Smitha Ravi Prashanth

Jackfruit cake or “pelakai gatti” in Tulu holds a special place in my heart, as I have childhood memories attached to it. Fifteen years ago, when I was newly married, I attended a Tulu community function in Bengaluru. The main food that attracted me was pelakai gatti. The smell and taste of it took me back to my childhood days when my mother used to prepare pelakai gatti during the monsoon. To me, the smell, flavor and color of pelakai gatti are as natural as a mother’s love and affection.

Pelakai gatti is steamed in teak leaves to enhance its flavor. It’s one of the popular snacks in the Tulu Nadu region during jackfruit season. I learned this traditional Mangalorean recipe from my mother. Here’s how to prepare pelakai gatti.

Servings: 10

METHOD

1. Soak the raw rice in water for 4 hours.
2. Chop the jackfruit pods into small pieces.
3. To the mixer jar, add the chopped jackfruit, jaggery powder and cardamom powder. Grind these ingredients without water to make a smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the shredded coconut and soaked rice (without water) to the jackfruit mixture. Grind the mixture into a smooth batter.
4. Transfer the batter into a bowl and add salt and turmeric powder to enhance the color.
5. Take a teak leaf and spread a ladleful of batter on it. Spread it evenly to form a rectangular shape.
6. Fold the leaf from all the sides to completely cover the batter. Repeat for all the leaves.
7. Add water to an idli steamer and let it boil. Place the teak leaves filled with batter in the idli steamer and steam on high heat for 30 mins.
8. Once cooked, unfold the leaves to see the bright orange-red (color from the teak leaves) pelakai gatti. Serve hot and enjoy!

3-MINUTE MYSORE PAK

By Shreya Suraj

All of us would have had Mysore pak, which is a famous sweet in South India. This dessert always reminds me of my maternal grandmother, who used to make it effortlessly for her grandchildren. Her Mysore pak was just mind-blowing! It used to literally melt in my mouth, even though it had minimum amount of ghee.

Ever since I got married, I have been trying to make Mysore pak. But it came nowhere close to the soft ones made by my grandmother. My son used to call my Mysore pak, “kal pak” (“kal” means stone in Tamil)! I would keep asking my grandmother for the recipe, and she would be like, “There’s no recipe, you have to estimate the quantity of every ingredient by eye.” But for a math student like me, who believed in numbers, eyeballing the ingredients never worked. I just gave up. Finally, after years of trial and never-ending errors, I came across a recipe that I could make in a microwave oven, and it was at least close to my grandmother’s secret recipe. (That original taste can never be replicated.) My grandmother passed away a few years ago. So the recipe remains a mystery, but her smile and love remain with me forever.

Servings: 5

METHOD

1. In a wide bowl, sift the besan.
2. Melt ghee and measure it. Grease a plate with ghee.
3. In a microwave-safe glass bowl, take one tablespoon of melted ghee and add the sifted besan. Mix well and keep it in the microwave at the highest temperature for 1 minute. Transfer the roasted besan to a bowl and set aside.
4. In the same microwave bowl, take half a cup of melted ghee, add the powdered sugar and milk and mix well.
5. To this milk mixture, add the roasted besan without any lumps (this is important to get a soft, non-crumbly Mysore pak).
6. Mix well and microwave at a high temperature for 1 minute. When you see the ghee floating on top after having completely melted, remove the bowl and stir the mixture well.
7. Again microwave it for 1 minute at a high temperature. Remove the bowl. The mixture should have a foamy texture with bubbles. If it’s not foamy, mix well and heat it again for 30 seconds.
8. After 30 seconds, remove and pour the mixture onto the greased plate. Press it very well with the back of a spatula and smoothen it. The mixture will be slightly crumbly.
9. Leave it aside for 10 to 15 mins. Once it becomes warm, cut into desired shapes. When it has cooled down completely, serve.

*To get 1 cup of powdered sugar, grind ½ cup of crystal sugar.

VEGGIE MILLET BALLS

By Anita Kulkarni

In my family, there are many traditional recipes passed on by Attiya (my father’s sister). Whenever my mother prepares one of the recipes, she shares some interesting information on it. During my childhood, I used to spend my summer vacation at my attiya’s house. Every morning, my cousins and I would go to the lake for a bath, carrying little snacks with us. After bathing, we would eat the snacks and walk around the farm and then go home. One of the snacks I enjoyed growing up is called “jolad unde” in Kannada. I’m from North Karnataka, where jowar is the staple food. So, every day for breakfast, we had jowar roti. To make jowar roti seem interesting, my grandmother would get creative with her cooking. Here’s one of my favorite jowar recipes. Whenever I make it, I remember the golden years of my childhood.

Servings: 4

METHOD

1. In a large mixing bowl, add jowar flour and make a well in the center. Add the hot water and knead to make a smooth dough.
2. Take a small ball-sized dough, pat and flatten it on the rolling board. Use jowar flour to prevent the roti from sticking to the board while flattening it.
3. Dust off excess flour from the roti and place the roti on a hot pan and cook both sides.
4. Remove the roti from the pan and cut it into small pieces.
5. To a big bowl, add the small pieces of roti, spinach, carrot, onion, ghee, jeera, red chili powder, garam masala and salt.
6. Mix all the ingredients and make small balls.
7. Enjoy the veggie millet balls with sauce or chutney.

EGGLESS DATE & NUT CAKE

By Preeti Agrawal

Motherhood has changed me in many ways. For instance, I used to avoid eating or making sweets, but when I realized that my children loved sweets, I started making their favorite cakes, ice creams and laddoos at home. I still remember the beautiful start of my baking journey. To prevent my children from consuming store-bought maida (refined flour) cakes regularly, I was ready to learn something new. I was so excited to prepare homemade healthy cakes for them! I first baked cakes in a pressure cooker and then I bought a microwave oven, just because my children wanted to have cakes regularly. In no time baking became my favorite activity. Today, I love baking cakes for my children more than cooking. And I have every reason to eat cakes. Baking and eating cakes with my children have lifted my spirits!

I started baking wholesome cakes made of whole wheat flour. Instead of sugar, I used jaggery and instead of refined oil or butter, I made the cake batter with ghee. And of course, fruits, dates and nuts worked wonders. Yes, with just a few ingredients we bake a cake and cut it to beautifully celebrate any ordinary day as a special one. And the best part is that my children also love to bake and design their cakes. Now, I try to break the shackles of calorie counting and weight loss to enjoy cakes with my children—and I’m also helping them learn to cook.

Here’s a cake recipe that I enjoy making for my children.

Servings:  6

METHOD

1. In a mixing bowl sift the whole wheat flour. Add the baking soda and baking powder to it and mix well.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, add the yogurt, jaggery powder and ghee. Mix well using a beater.
3. Slightly dry roast the dry fruits/nuts. Add the dates, roasted dry fruits/nuts and vanilla essence to the yogurt mixture. Mix well.
4. Add the whole wheat flour mixture to it and mix well to get a smooth batter.
5. Grease a baking tin with some oil and dust it with some whole wheat flour.
6. Shake the tin a bit to remove the extra flour. Pour the entire batter into the cake tin.
7. Place the tin in the preheated microwave oven for 35–40 mins at 180°C.
8. When ready, take it out and let it cool down for at least 30 mins.
9. Cut the cake into slices and serve with love and joy.