18 July
People who are regular to my blog might be surprised to see the sudden change in the appearance. There is an explanation to this. It was around this time I had started the blog some 10 years ago. At that time I was staying in Atlanta, US.
Before I moved there I wasn't much of a cook. I did like to eat back then too, but really didn't cook much at the shared apartment I was living in Mumbai. Even worse, when I had left home after my engineering to join my job in Mumbai, I frankly had no knowledge about cooking, didn't even know how to make Maggi. Unbelievable but true. My dad always thought his girl would never be required to step into the kitchen, hence whenever I tried to spend time in the kitchen he was like you study. Cooking is not for you. On the other hand, for my mom the kitchen was her sanctum sanatorium. The moment I stepped in there to help she would be like, no please don't touch anything you will mess up for sure. Thus it was very natural, unlike many girls of my age and as well as boys, I really didn't know any cooking.
So when it was time to stay alone in Mumbai, dabbas at dinnertime came to rescue initially. Then I learnt to cook khichadi. And seddho bhat. For people who don't know what seddho bhat is, its just that we boil rice and whole vegetables together then mash them up and have it with a dollop of ghee and salt. Sounds weird? Well you have to taste it to know how wonderful a dish it is. And a big relief for people who doesn't know to cook like me back then.
So finally when I landed in the US food was going to be a big challenge. Because you had to make all the three times meals. No house help. And the food at restaurants were pricey. Eventually when I had not other options left, I rolled up my sleeve and got into the kitchen. Soon I found that the super marts of US were stocked with so many types of wonderful ingredients - spices, vegetables, fruits, pulses, meats etc. that even a non-cooking person would find it very hard to resist doing some experiments in the kitchen. Especially when I saw the guy colleagues cooking up a storm in the kitchen, it came on my pride to make some real food. So that's when I started cooking on a regular basis. I made chickens, cakes, complicated subzis and everything which I hadn't thought of that I would cook. And you know what - I discovered that I loved preparing food as much as I loved to eat. And I don't want to brag,but even as a greenhorn chef, I managed to collect quite a few praises from my colleagues when they tasted the food I made.
So towards the fag end of my US stay I decided to start a blog. Blogging was popular that time because we didn't have micro blogging sites like Instagram back then. So Curries & Stories came into being along with a few other blogs which were meant for my other interest areas - travel and writing stories. After a while I only could manage one blog - the food blog. But then getting time amidst travelling to work, managing home became a task and it kind of kept being pushed to the back burner.
Lockdown really changed certain things for me. Just like thousands of others I got time at home and so could again cherish the experience of experimenting with new food recipes. I tried so many things in the past couple of months which I never ever thought I could make all by myself. I felt a lot elated in doing so.
This particular post was long due actually. Like over a month overdue. I baked this on my birthday, last month. With the lock down situation there was really no way we can spend our special days like we always used to do previously. To tell the truth I am not a very partying person, so most of my birthdays would either be a visit to some remote mountain or spend some nice moments in any favorite restaurant eating a favorite meal. This time since I was confined to home I decided to bake something for me and thus I made the banana bread. Its a pretty easy peasy cake. No frills. Just mix everything up and bake.
Coincidentally one of my neighbors got to know about my birthday and they surprised me with a birthday cake. Which was truly amazing. When you don't expect something and it happens it is much more joyful. We spent the afternoon chatting, eating cakes and having tea.
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| The surprise birthday cake |
Another new thing that happened was that I opened an Instagram account. Again this was due to the suggestion of one of my friends from a food group in Facebook. I was pretty reluctant at start, as I am kind of an asocial person. But finally I gave in. So you can catch me at @curriesnstories07.
Now coming to the banana bread. Banana bread became widely popular with the invention of rising agents like baking powder and baking soda in the 1930’s. By definition, banana bread is a quick bread because it contains no yeast but does contain baking powder. Cooking experts claim that it is actually more a cake (or, to be more precise ‘tea cake’) than a bread. This is due to the fact that it contains quite a lot of sugar. They believe that it is called bread because it’s cut into slices and served with butter, unlike traditional cakes that are cut in wedges and usually richly frosted. Its a healthy cake because of the presence of bananas which are rich in potassium and has a very low glycemic index, giving the body an energy boost. This makes banana bread a perfect breakfast treat that can kick start your day!
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| Banana Bread |
The recipe works well when we have overripe bananas. or when the skin of the bananas is totally a dark shade of brown and unsuitable for normal consumption as a fruit. Those bananas are perfect for this recipe. However many a time we do not have overripe bananas and there is a simple process to achieve the ripen state.
To ripen bananas instantly for any recipe like this, you can take the bananas on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 170 degree centigrade for about 10 minutes or until the outer skin turns black. The banana inside would become soft and gooey. Allow them to cool for a while then peel off the skin and mash the bananas.
Or else you can also keep them in a bag in the fridge for about a week, it will slowly start turning black.
I usually use a week old bananas for this recipe. I have used medium ripe bananas too. But then overripe ones give a better texture and richer flavor to the bread.
Storing the banana bread
You can cut the bread into pieces and store the cake in an airtight container for about 2 weeks. And whenever you want to eat, just take out the required number of pieces, pop it into the microwave for about 1 minute with a cover on. And you are ready to go!
Favorite topping
I love a generous drizzle of fresh cream on top of my bread. The cream heightens the indulgence into this moist cake.
Preparation Time : 40 minutes
Baking Time : 60 minutes
Baking Temperature : 170- 180 degree C
Serving : 3-4 person
Ingredients :
Dry:
Dry:
- All Purpose Flour - 1 and 3/4th cup (210 gm)
- Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp (3 gm)
- Baking Powder - 1 tsp (4 gm)
- Castor sugar/ powdered sugar - 3/4th cup (150 gm)
- Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp (2 gm)
- Salt - 1/2 tsp (3 gm)
Wet:
- Banana - 3 medium/ large (overripe) - 1 and 1/2 cup mashed
- Egg - 2 large
- Butter - 100 gm (1 full Amul 100 gm butter slab)
- Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml)
- Yogurt - 2 tbsp (30 gm)
- Banana (for garnish) - 1 normal ripe (optional)
Flavor Combo 1:
- Choco chip - 1 cup
Flavor Combo 2:
- Coffee Powder - 1/4 tsp (1 gm)
Flavor Combo 3:
- Ginger Powder - 1/2 tsp (2 gm)
Flavor Combo 4:
- Crushed Toasted Walnuts/Pecans - 1/2 cup (63 gm)
Flavor Combo 5:
- Raisins - 1/2 cup (63 gm)
Flavor Combo 6:
- Flaked Coconut - 1/2 cup
Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 180 degree Centigrade
2. Line a 9" x 4' bread loaf pan with a parchment paper or if you have a silicon mould then grease the sides and dust a little flour on the sides and bottom.
3. Beat the two eggs in a bowl and keep aside
4. Sift in the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Sifting helps incorporate air into the flour and thereby helps make your cake fluffy.
5. Cream the butter and granulated sugar with the help of a hand beater or an electric mixer . Mix until nice and fluffy.
Tip: If the butter is not soft when I start, I pop it into the microwave for about 20-30 seconds before creaming it.
6. Now add the vanilla and incorporate it.
7. Add half the beaten eggs, fold in, then add the rest and mix well
8. Now add the yogurt and mix.
Note: It might happen at this stage you might get a slightly curdled look after adding the yogurt. Don't worry, after you mix everything in your cake will still turn out nice.
9. Take out the bananas and mash them all up in a different bowl. You can use a fork for mashing them up. Just break up the large pieces. Do not bother to make a very fine mash. As some of those unmashed bananas will create a nice warm pockets in your bread.
10. Now add the banana mash to the wet ingredients and blend them all in till its uniform.
11. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and using a spatula, slowly fold everything in in circular motion. Don't over mix it. The batter will become nice and thick.
Note: At this stage you can try any of the Flavour combo 1- 6 with this basic recipe as per your choice. Stir in any of those combos into the batter created above. The one I have baked above is the basic version.
Tip: If you are a first timer, I would recommend bake the basic one once, then after you know the outcome, you can keep experimenting with rest of the combinations. or even try your own mix and match combinations
12. Pour the mixture into the mould and tap it a few times to remove the air bubbles
13. Now cut a normal banana into half longitudinally and place it on the corners carefully. Lay them towards the edge, as if you lay them in center it will sink in the batter.
14. Bake this in the pre heated over for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Note 1: For first timers who are baking , the rule is to occasionally keep checking for the doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle and checking when it comes out clean. Usually you can start doing this after 45 minutes.
Note 2: Now if you are baking in an microwave like me, you might need to vary the temperature if you have a powerful microwave. So usually I start with 180 degrees. then at about 40 minutes I start to reduce the temperature to 170 and then to 160 to not burn the top of my bake. So recommendation is keep a tab on the top, if you feel its getting burnt, then reduce teh temperature and accordingly increase the baking time.
15. Once done, let the cake sit in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then take it out and place it on a cooling rack to cool down before demoulding it.
Cut and serve with your favorite topping. Tip: I always like to warm up the banana bread piece a bit in the microwave before serving. Brings out the flavors instantly.
Do try this out and tag me (@curriesnstories07) on Instagram on your photos whenever you try the recipe and I will give a shout out to you.
2. Line a 9" x 4' bread loaf pan with a parchment paper or if you have a silicon mould then grease the sides and dust a little flour on the sides and bottom.
3. Beat the two eggs in a bowl and keep aside
4. Sift in the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Sifting helps incorporate air into the flour and thereby helps make your cake fluffy.
5. Cream the butter and granulated sugar with the help of a hand beater or an electric mixer . Mix until nice and fluffy.
Tip: If the butter is not soft when I start, I pop it into the microwave for about 20-30 seconds before creaming it.
6. Now add the vanilla and incorporate it.
7. Add half the beaten eggs, fold in, then add the rest and mix well
8. Now add the yogurt and mix.
Note: It might happen at this stage you might get a slightly curdled look after adding the yogurt. Don't worry, after you mix everything in your cake will still turn out nice.
9. Take out the bananas and mash them all up in a different bowl. You can use a fork for mashing them up. Just break up the large pieces. Do not bother to make a very fine mash. As some of those unmashed bananas will create a nice warm pockets in your bread.
10. Now add the banana mash to the wet ingredients and blend them all in till its uniform.
11. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and using a spatula, slowly fold everything in in circular motion. Don't over mix it. The batter will become nice and thick.
Note: At this stage you can try any of the Flavour combo 1- 6 with this basic recipe as per your choice. Stir in any of those combos into the batter created above. The one I have baked above is the basic version.
Tip: If you are a first timer, I would recommend bake the basic one once, then after you know the outcome, you can keep experimenting with rest of the combinations. or even try your own mix and match combinations
12. Pour the mixture into the mould and tap it a few times to remove the air bubbles
13. Now cut a normal banana into half longitudinally and place it on the corners carefully. Lay them towards the edge, as if you lay them in center it will sink in the batter.
14. Bake this in the pre heated over for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Note 1: For first timers who are baking , the rule is to occasionally keep checking for the doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle and checking when it comes out clean. Usually you can start doing this after 45 minutes.
Note 2: Now if you are baking in an microwave like me, you might need to vary the temperature if you have a powerful microwave. So usually I start with 180 degrees. then at about 40 minutes I start to reduce the temperature to 170 and then to 160 to not burn the top of my bake. So recommendation is keep a tab on the top, if you feel its getting burnt, then reduce teh temperature and accordingly increase the baking time.
15. Once done, let the cake sit in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then take it out and place it on a cooling rack to cool down before demoulding it.
Cut and serve with your favorite topping. Tip: I always like to warm up the banana bread piece a bit in the microwave before serving. Brings out the flavors instantly.
Do try this out and tag me (@curriesnstories07) on Instagram on your photos whenever you try the recipe and I will give a shout out to you.
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