A Birthday cake - Tavsalli

As a child I often celebrated my birthday in May at my grandparent's house along with a horde of mischievous cousins and whichever aunt or uncle happened to be chaperoning us that summer (the poor things!). The party would be a riotous affair in the big, old house and the cake would be the 'tavsalli' made fresh that morning.

My birthdays were actually a sore point for me then, for the one reason that I never got to wear a "color dress" to school like the other kids who had the good sense to be born during school term (does anyone identify with this?). So these spontaneous, whimsical and often chaotic parties were an apt consolation.

I particularly remember one birthday when my aunt decided to jazz things up by decorating the cake with Gems. She ran out of the candy mid-way (the house had 7 kids; what was she thinking?) and my cake read "Hap BDay"! Even this abbreviated wish lasted for about a second after I blew the candle as we picked them out immediately!

I had several birthday parties at home of course with elaborate cakes that are attractive to a girl of that age, but those simple parties continue to be a treasured memory.

TAVSALLI (Cucumber Cake)
(serves 3-4)
2 cups grated cucumber
1 cup cream of wheat (rawa/ sooji)
3/4 cup grated jaggery
5-6 cashews, chopped
4-5 cardamoms, peeled and powdered
5-6 tbsp grated coconut (slivers of coconut would be ideal)
a pinch of salt
ghee

Roast semolina in two teaspoons of ghee over moderate heat for 2-3 minutes. Do not allow it to brown, roast only till it changes texture. Mix cucumber, jaggery, cashews, cardamom powder and salt. Break lumps of jaggery if any. Add this mixture to the wheat and mix well. Keep aside for half an hour.

Grease a deep steel container. Pour the batter into the container and steam in a cooker for 10-12 minutes (without the weight). Let cool. Insert a toothpick in the cake to see if it's done. Cut into pieces, drizzle with ghee and serve.

Alternately you can cook the cucumber-semolina mixture and then bake it in the oven till it browns on top. The cake lasts for several days if stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It makes a great tea time snack.

* Tavsalli is named after the large cucumbers that are used to make it (taushe). Long English cucumbers that come individually wrapped in plastic work well as a substitute.
* Amount of jaggery/ sugar will vary; however tausalli is not an overly sweet cake. The flavor of the cucumber should be stronger.