More power to 'Powerless' Cooking - Rasayan
When EC's mixer went on the fritz for a few days what did she do about it? Start a blog event of course! 'Powerless cooking' is an one-off event that she is hosting to encourage us to cook without the aid of electrical appliances.
Since most of the recipes on this blog begin with the words "grind the coconut to a smooth paste", you'd think I'd be at a loss here. Not so. There a few dishes in our cuisine that not only do not require grinding, but in fact do not require any cooking at all (yes, that's what I said). They were meant for the sultry summer days when working behind a stove was difficult for the woman of the house. And they were usually yogurt or milk based to cool the body.
EC has allowed us the use of electric stoves, but I decided to challenge myself further and make a no-cook dish ie. no switching on the stove. Rasayan came to mind immediately - a kheer made with coconut milk and fruit. If that isn't different enough, it has jaggery instead of sugar for added exoticism.
(serves 2-3)
1 cup cantaloupe*/ banana/ mango/ jackfruit, cubed (yes the fruit has to be cubed - don't let the photo mislead you!!)
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 tbsp grated jaggery or to taste
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Dissovle jaggery in coconut milk. Combine with melon cubes and cardamom powder. Chill until ready to serve.
* Cantaloupe or musk melon is commonly used in rasayan. I made do with honeydew because that's what I found in the market
** Variation - add a handful of thin poha to rasayan
Other 'power-less' dishes on my blog -
Goad Phov (Sweet poha)
Kalayle Phov (Spicy mixed poha)
Tival or Sol kadhi (Kokum saar)
Since most of the recipes on this blog begin with the words "grind the coconut to a smooth paste", you'd think I'd be at a loss here. Not so. There a few dishes in our cuisine that not only do not require grinding, but in fact do not require any cooking at all (yes, that's what I said). They were meant for the sultry summer days when working behind a stove was difficult for the woman of the house. And they were usually yogurt or milk based to cool the body.
EC has allowed us the use of electric stoves, but I decided to challenge myself further and make a no-cook dish ie. no switching on the stove. Rasayan came to mind immediately - a kheer made with coconut milk and fruit. If that isn't different enough, it has jaggery instead of sugar for added exoticism.
(serves 2-3)
1 cup cantaloupe*/ banana/ mango/ jackfruit, cubed (yes the fruit has to be cubed - don't let the photo mislead you!!)
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 tbsp grated jaggery or to taste
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Dissovle jaggery in coconut milk. Combine with melon cubes and cardamom powder. Chill until ready to serve.
* Cantaloupe or musk melon is commonly used in rasayan. I made do with honeydew because that's what I found in the market
** Variation - add a handful of thin poha to rasayan
Other 'power-less' dishes on my blog -
Goad Phov (Sweet poha)
Kalayle Phov (Spicy mixed poha)
Tival or Sol kadhi (Kokum saar)
Posted By Ashwini | Permalink |
7 Comments:
cantaloupe rasayana thats a new recipe looks yummy
love those melon balls. I am looking for one, but I don't seem to find a baller with 2 sizes on 2 ends.
Nice recipe...in fact non cooked food can be an event by itself. BTW, I didnt get ur mail confirming ur participation in the event..
did u use canned coconut milk ashwini? i kind of find it bit smelly for rasayana(even the organic one) and ususally make fresh batch of coconut milk. using honey dew melon for rasayana sounds really good as i usually use banana/mango for rasayana:)
"Power"less cooking should be everything without "Power"! Electric stoves do need power.I thought like you too and made a dish without using any cooking or Power!:D
Rasayan looks yum, good entry!:)
Sagari - thanks
Suganya - I carved out the balls with my cookie dropper. But I think I have seen the kind of melon baller you want at Bed Bath
EC - I really wanted the dish to be powerless (I have an electric range). Nice theme for an event. I will send you the mail shortly
Sia - I hate the tinned stuff too. I find it oily and smelly. I used coconut milk from the local Chinese store. Its frozen exactly like the grated coconut we get in Indian stores and doesn't smell.
Asha - great minds and all that!!! I am very curious to see what you made without electric stove.
lovely - great entry, I have been thinking about making something for Powerless cooking, and like you I can't bring myself to use an electric or gas stove, so I am still thinking!
Post a Comment
<< Main Page