1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup unbleached white flour - plus extra, for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp ground cardamom seeds
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup softened clarified butter - (ghee)
1 1/2 cup grated carrots - firmly packed
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
2 tbsp chopped blanched almonds
2 tbsp raisins
1 edible silver foil (opt.)
Directions
"A characteristic sweet of southern India is carrot halvah, a rich,
sweet reduction of carrots and spices that is almost fudgelike in
consistency. This cake falls somewhere between this traditional treat
and the popular American carrot cake. It has a dense texture and the
unexpected flavor of cardamom, yet doesn't require the tedious
cooking and stirring of a halvah.
"Special Indian dishes are often decorated with silver foil -- a
microscopic thin sheet of edible, flavorless real silver, available in
Indian groceries. We have cut edible foil into decorative shapes -- a
tedious business that must be done in a completely draftless room --
but more manageable solid toppings are customary.
"Serve this nontraditional ending to your Indian meal with coffee
that has been brewed with a few cardamom seeds."
Rub a round cake pan that is 9 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches in
height with the vegetable oil and then dust it very lightly with
flour. Preheat the oven to
350 F.
Sift 1 cup flour with the baking soda and salt.
Beat the eggs well in a large bowl. Add the cardamom, sugar, and
clarified butter. Keep beating until all the ingredients are
thoroughly mixed.
Add the sifted flour mixture to the ingredients in the large bowl and
fold it in gently with a spatula. Add the carrots, pistachios,
almonds, and raisins. Fold them in gently as well.
Turn the cake batter into the oiled and floured cake pan and bake for
35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean and the top is golden red. Decorate top with edible silver
foil.
* Source: World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking - by Madhur Jaffrey *
Published in: The Herb Companion - February/March 1993 * Typed for
you by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 6 servings
Carrot Cake With An Indian Flavor Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Cake; Dessert; Indian
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as a concept can be traced back into ancient history, in fact as far into history as the Egyptians, and maybe even further. However, in the main part, these early cookbooks were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are a few ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel exhilarated. Later on, in Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts describing recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, Apicius describes how the meals were divided into starters, main course and afters, something we still use today. Aspicius describes how the Roman chefs were skilled in the use of a wide range of aromatic flavours, including some that we all recognise such as thyme, fennel and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were a couple of interesting books which date from the 1300s ; a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, they are not about the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but instead descriptions of the types of food prepared by the cooks of the rich and powerful. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, such as parsley and basil. These new herbs and spices was responsible for an increase in manuscripts on cookery, most of which are kept safe in academic collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Europe competed with each other to offer the most exotic banquets, and because of this cooks and their recipe collections were at a premium. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to assembling, trying out, and writing down the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. By the arrival of the 1900s, cookery publications are in great demand, mostly due to higher levels of literacy, more free time and having more money to spend. Like it or not, the introduction of television brings us TV cookery programs and the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing us all to access massive numbers of recipes just like those on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Carrot Cake With An Indian Flavor recipe.
