Jamaican Coconut Toto

Hello there... We are already a week into the new year, but better late than never... so let me first wish all of you a very happy 2012!

Though I would like to blog more than I normally do, I have been very irregular at blogging. So naturally among many of my new year resolutions I have decided not to ignore my poor little blog, and I hope I live up to this resolution.

I read and watch a lot of food related stuff, and keep bookmarking the recipes I think I would definitely try. Now I honestly think that my bookmark is kinda of a mess. Let's see if that changes soon.

One such recipe is 'Jamaican Coconut Toto' which I have been wanting to try for over a year. My cousin had tried this recipe and had sent me a link. Finally I made it! Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand, so when DH was out with friends the entire evening yesterday, I spent the time cooking and baking.

Jamaican Coconut Toto

(from this Sanjeev Kapoor Recipe)

I made a few changes to the original recipe -

• Used sweetened coconut flakes instead of fresh coconut.
• Used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup, since I used sweetened coconut.
  
• Used coconut extract instead of vanilla extract.
• Used cardamom instead of cinnamon (since I absolutely detest cinnamon flavor in sweets).
  

To make coconut toto, I used -

• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  

1. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat until the mixture becomes light.

2. Add coconut extract.

3. Sift together - APF, baking powder, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder, and add it to the batter; mix well.

4. Fold in coconut flakes.

5. Lastly, add condensed milk and mix until well incorporated.

6. Transfer the mixture into a greased loaf tin and top off it with some coconut.

7. Bake at 325F for 50-60 minutes (I have had an experience with baking coconut in the past. The last time I tried baking a cake with coconut, it started browing too quickly at the suggested temperature and looked over browned by the time it was done. So this time I reduced the oven temperature, and let it cook longer).

8. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Cut into slices and serve.

The outcome is a delicious, nutty cake. However, I would like to mention a couple of things here. My cake was moist from inside, but I felt that the edges were a bit chewy. I don't know whether to attribute it to my modifications to the recipe (using coconut flakes instead of freshly grated coconut, which could have caused lack of moisture or baking at lower temperature for a longer time), or the use of condensed milk. I have never used condensed milk in baking, so I am really not sure if it makes your baked goodies slightly chewy. But, in spite of this the browned edges were the yummiest part of the toto!

Another B&W Wednesday

Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook' has started a culinary photo event called 'Black and White Wednesday'. The event is in its fifth week now, and people have been sending some beautiful clicks in B&W. Here is another random cellphone click from me. The photo was taken one early morning as the tea was brewing.

A Corner in My Kitchen

(Click on the image for larger view)

Peach Relish

Two day back, I happened to cut a peach that was under ripe. It was pretty tart and there was no way we could have eaten it by itself. I was thinking of ways to use it up and decided to make a peach relish similar to Methamba.

Methamba is a type of relish that was often made at my house during mango season. It is a relish made of raw mangoes and fenugreek seeds. The word Methamba is a combination of two words - methi (fenugreek seeds), and aamba (mango). It's a sweet and sour concoction mostly served as a condiment with rice, chapatis and the like. I followed mom's recipe of methamba and used peach instead of raw mango.

Peach Relish

To make Peach Relish you would need -

1 cup peaches (medium diced - make sure the peaches are unripe)
1.5 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafetida powder
A pinch of turmeric
3-4 dried red chillies (broken into pieces)
1 tbsp jaggery
Salt to taste
Water as needed

1. In a saucepan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. As soon as mustard seeds stop popping, add asafetida, fenugreek seeds, turmeric and red chillies (I accidentally added mustard seeds twice...oops! and that's why you see so much mustard seeds in the pic above).

2. Saute red chillies for a while, and then add diced peaches and water. Add just enough water in order for the peaches to remain submerged as they cook. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes or until peaches are tender.

3. Add salt and jaggery, and cook until the concoction cooks down to a medium consistency.

4. Turn the heat off and let relish cool down completely. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

The relish can last for about a week when stored in fridge.

Chutney for Idlis, and B&W Wednesday

I love South Indian food since childhood. I grew up eating a lot of idli-dosa-uttappams as Mom would often make them for Sunday breakfasts. I am still big on these dishes and you will often find them on our weekend brunch menu.

Back in the late 90s, when I was still in college, I worked at a firm of Chartered Accountants. I had an awesome time working there as almost everyone who worked there was still in college (most of them pursuing their CA certification), and it was just like any other college group. There were a few south Indian ladies working there who would bring me and my friend G some delicious southern dishes for our love for the cuisine. Once they got us dosas with chutney that I had never eaten before. I loved it so much that I asked them for the recipe. I still make it sometimes to go with idlis.

Coconut Chutney with Peanuts & Onion

To make this chutney you would need -
3/4 C shredded coconut
1. 5 tbsp raw peanuts
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp tamarind (soaked for 5-10 mins)
5-6 dried red chillies (soaked for 5-10 mins)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

For tempering-
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
1 tsp urad dal
3-4 curry leaves
2 dried red chillies

1. Grind together coconut, tamarind, peanuts, garlic, onion and red chillies. Add salt and sugar.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil and add mustard seeds, asafetida, urad dal, curry leaves, and red chillies to it.

3. Pour this tempering over chutney and mix well.

Serve with idlis, dosas or uttappams.

***
Idlis in the Making!

A few days back, I came across a blog event by Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook'. She's hosting 'Black and White Wednesday'. It's a culinary photo event where people can send any food related photos that are clicked in B&W. I went through the first two roundups and was amazed to see how good those B&W pics looked. I was actually tempted to click a few B&W shots.

(Click on the image for larger view)

I clicked the photo above on Saturday when I was making Idlis for brunch. I was waiting for first batch to come out and quickly took a shot with my cellphone camera. It turned out pretty good.