The joys of home cooking

Pushpesh Pant

The old cautionary saying, ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, was tossed into the dustbin in the lockdown kitchen. It replaced the living room for family members of different generations who had time on their hands and palates yearning for treats that were suddenly out of reach. There was also growing awareness about the plight of less fortunate compatriots — migrant daily wage earners in large cities — who faced starvation and worse.

Children and youngsters found their voice and began arguing in favour of no waste and slow cooking with whatever was at hand. While the grown-ups were busy with pitched partisan battles over social media, the youngsters were improvising recipes to blend nutrition with pleasure. My teenaged granddaughters, Sehar and Sara, volunteered to take charge of the desserts to tickle the sweet tooth that runs in the family. When reminded that even cupcakes are an avoidable indulgence, they committed themselves to use leftover ingredients or those heading towards expiry. Their father, no mean cook himself, shared with them anecdotes of receiving cooking tips from his grandmother, a great believer in making use of scrapes. This was four-generation collaboration in kitchen that saw us through the difficult period. From shahi tukda to homemade mango cheesecake, lauki ke lachche and shufta, the menu planning and mise en place kept everyone out of mischief and broke the monotony. Exchanging notes with friends we have come to realise that cooking together may well transform our eating habits in the days to come.

Once we rediscover the joys of home cooking and reclaim long lost flavours of no-fuss traditional recipes, it is going to be difficult to be seduced by ‘delicacies’ unveiled by celebrity chefs or colourfully advertised by clever marketers. Doesn’t another old saying tell us: “The proof of the pudding (and all else) is in the eating!”

Here’s a quick fix no-waste dahi-malai cupcake recipe that the kids perfected after a couple of hits and misses. What they kept insisting, however, was that this dairy-based, no-bake sweet was essentially ‘nutrition’ and not an extravagant indulgence.

Dahi-malai cupcake

Method

Prepare a baking dish lining it with butter paper or spread a thin film of oil and dust the bottom with a little maida. Heat about two glasses of water in a wide mouth karahi and bring to boil. This will preheat the cooking vessel like an oven. Place a stand or a metal bowl, reduce flame to medium and cover. In another pan, boil milk sprinkled with cardamom seeds, stirring it constantly till it is reduced to half its volume.

Prepare the batter by sifting the maida, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Slowly stir in the curd and milk and whisk it moving in one direction. Ensure that no lumps remain. The batter should be of thick pouring consistency. Add a few spoonfuls of milk to obtain the desired consistency. Allow the batter to stand for a while and then pour into baking dish or bowls, taking care not to fill till the top. Tap to level. Place in the steaming vessel to cook for 30 minutes. Uncover and check with a toothpick to check if done. Steam for another 7-8 minutes, if required. Allow to cool, prick carefully all over with a fork and pour thickened milk over the cakes. Garnish with chopped nuts and keep in the fridge for the flavours to soak in. Serve chilled, enjoy!

Ingredients

• Maida 1 cup
• Sugar (powdered) 1/2 cup
• Butter (melted) or refined oil 1/2 cup
• Full fat milk (at room temperature) 1 cup
• Dahi (not too thick) 1/3 cup
• Baking powder 1 tsp
• Soda bicarbonate 1/2 tsp
• Salt, a pinch
• Chopped nuts almonds and pistachios 1/4 cup
• Green cardamom seeds (coarsely pounded) 4-5
• Milk (full fat) 1/2 litre