Potato Pakora, Chilli Pakora, Memory Pakora

Fritters are such delightful things to munch on. Lots of calories and wonderfully tasty!

It was raining today. Generally its been rainy this week due to a hurricane that's passing the West of Japan. We went for a drive to Asagiri Kogen area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asagiri_Plateau) which seemed to have the same cloudy weather as our area. But on the way back it started pouring. We just had our tea, which was not literally tea but coffee and cupcakes bought at a convenience store eaten at Lake Tanuki. But, when it rains, its time for Pakora!

“...let's see, we have lots of besan, potatoes, and oh, we have those red onions we bought recently, and green peppers. That should be plenty enough!”

“ You should put some baking soda in it to make it lighter.” my mother said.

Yes, I like my pakoras light. My father thought my fritters were having an identity crisis. This was years ago in Karachi, when again on a rainy day I deep fried some nice and crispy pakoras or so I thought they would be called. I was told the batter was too thin. Come to think of it, these pakoras were more like tempura. But I can't help it can I? I like my pakora's light. And they are indeed pakoras, for they are made of besan. They are not tempura made of besan!!!!

….admittance is always an issue with me. Yes, those pakoras that years ago my father consumed with a hearty appetite were perhaps too light to be called pakoras. They had the texture of tempura.
This is what happens, when you grow up eating both tempuras and pakoras and deciding that pakoras are too dry and dense. Especially the ones sold in stalls set up outside Mithai sweet shops during Ramzan. They are still good to eat, as after all anything deep fried does generally taste good.

Today, I think they were just the right texture, which my father would think as having a more or less the correct identity of a pakora with just enough lightness and crispyness for my liking. In fact, they turned out quite nice that even before I realised to take a photo of them, we had finished eating...

Again, anything deep fried is generally tasty, as well as not too complicated to make. And with something like this, often ingredients aren't measured...

So in a small bowl, a cup or so of besan, added salt, chilli powder, coriander seed powder, cumin powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda (important ingredient! Careful not to put too much....nasty stuff if put too much.) and enough water to make it nice and thin (not)...oops...better add more besan because it should be nice and THICK, but not dry thick...if you know what I mean.
Heat up good amount of ordinary cooking oil. Ask some one to wash the mud off the new potatoes for you (hehehe), slice them up. Put them all in the batter and make sure each slice is coated. Deep fry on medium heat till nice and golden. Have the first of the pakoras, you know, just to check that the potato is cooked through...hmm wait, let's have another just to be completely sure!
Now, slice some onions, green peppers and I wanted some green leafy fragrant things, basil was all I had. So roughly chopped the basil and put all of the vegetables with basil into the batter.
I had to add some more besan, because the salt from it made the vegetables loose water and made the batter watery...and you don't want tempura, now do you??
Same process. Deep fry. Seemed a bit soggy still in the middle...so lower down heat and cooked longer.
Sauce! Now ketchup is a must for something like this. Of course you can make fresh green chutney, I simply did not have the ingredients for it. So ketchup it was. Wanted to put fresh minced garlic, but we have been forever, forgetting to purchase garlic. The chilli powder had gone stale and wasn't hot any more.
So all-natural habanero sauce to the rescue, a few drops for me and mother, about triple the amount of it for those people using the sauna outside (a separate story) that my mother insists on feeding whenever they come. Ketchup seemed rather boring with just the habanero, so in went some sliced spring onions and there you go! Quite a decent sauce for the pakoras!

The musty smell of rain, oily fingers by eating pakoras, and Abba telling me about the pakora identity crisis. Food, in the end, is what you think it should be and as a result shows what you are. So what I made that day was a pakora-tempura! And I don't mind it at all!

Not a Forte yet!

Ah Sachertorte! A case of underestimation from my side.
In a unpleasant wave of exasperation I told a friend not to assume too much, for the cause of my state was her blatant assumption on matters that seemed obviously simple but she did not really fathom.
To admit is often a heavy task. But indeed a necessary duty to oneself.

So, it is not just a case of underestimation but assumption, a characteristic that I despise in other people, I must despise in myself.

However...

I still cannot come to a conclusion that the Sachertorte is a brilliant cake. It does and did take a lot of time (mine at least). Who ever wrote 2 hours in one of the recipes must have been mad. But I think my situation was unique as well, because I took 5 hours! The Chocolate Glaze consumed 1/2 of those hours. It would simply not set!
The amount of sugar syrup was too much. It was too liquid.
I have been told “always, practice makes perfect” ….heavy, heavy....

I say, the sponge was the best component of my failed look alike. The cake had 6 egg yolks slowly mixed in to the 130gm of margarine and 100gm icing sugar creamed together one by one which created such a rich mix it might not have needed anything else. But we are making the cake here so in went the unknown amount (but perhaps about ½ a cup) of granulated sugar in lieu of the so called Vanilla Sugar, mixed thoroughly. Then went the meringue, first a couple of table spoons mixed quite roughly in and then in small portions folding in the meringue gently, till in the end you have a lovely mousse. Sifted 130gm of all purpose flour and folded that in till no dry flour was visible. Poured in a greased floured cake tin with a piece of butter paper in the bottom. Baked in a preheated oven...and my dear oven has no gas mark or anything of the sort on it...so I can only say, baked in moderate temperature for exactly 60 minutes and it came out perfect!!!!!!

While it cooled the apricot glaze was made. 1 cup of apricot preserve, ¼ cup granulated sugar (so much sugar!) and some tablespoons of orange juice. Brought it to a boil and then passed it through a sieve. I must admit (again) approximate amounts should be avoided if they are avoidable...the apricot glaze could also have been less liquid by either sticking to the recipe and putting exactly 3 tablespoons of orange juice or boiled for longer...

Cut the cooled cake into half, applied apricot glaze, placed back the two halves into place, and smeared the whole cake with it.
Again, I say, till this point, everything seemed all well.

And then the chocolate glaze.....that dared to challenge me....

I shall make it again very soon! ….as soon as the memory of using and consuming so much sugar fades away....

The Sachertorte Forte II

I had no idea what Vanilla Sugar was tonight when putting together the ingredients of the torte. So I just put some sugar in, which of course is not good; to put “some” sugar in, that is. Cakes need exact amounts....or so I have always understood. But once in a while I bend that rule and its all OK, I say!
Anyway, I forgot to put any vanilla flavour what so ever.. but my mother right now tells me that the cake is smelling quite nice. I have lost my sense of smell, yet again. In thirty minutes, I shall see how the torte comes out.
The recipe or recipes I followed did not include any baking powder. 6 egg whites meringue are the only rising agents in this recipe. I wonder if the reason is because the recipe was created in 1832 and baking soda was not yet used as a rising agent?
Now, the cake is done quite beautifully. I am very happy with the result. Not too light and fluffy, not too dense. Perhaps it was good that no baking powder or any thing of the sorts was used. The 130 gm of cake margarine(yes! Margarine, not butter!!! go ahead, use butter, if you have the courage!!!) has hopefully made it moist. I cut into half and spread some of the apricot sauce I made by mixing apricot preserve, sugar and orange juice. Placed the other half, spread and smeared more of the sauce. I am going to let it cool now a bit and let the sauce dry up a bit, then spread a second layer of the apricot sauce.
In the meanwhile, should I make the glaze..? 1 cup of granulated sugar cooked in just enough water to cover the sugar till the “thread” stage and 1 cup of dark chocolate.
The glaze took time to cook! The chocolate would not melt!!! But it came out good. The glazing is not as easy as I thought. The coating remains thin. All the excess is collected in a plastic wrap underneath. I hope I can use it to coat the cake further....because there is hardly any left in the pan.


...to be continued...

The Sachertorte Forte

My feeling is that it is not the most brilliant cake in the world. Perhaps more of a suspicion, actually. I have had it a couple of times during my short sojourn in Vienna (July 2010), always served with a big dollop of whipped cream. But, the Viennese do like their whipped cream on anything. The other reason for the cream with Sachertorte I read (wikipedia) is that the Viennese find the cake a bit dry to eat on its own. That is quite understandable to me.

So why is it the national cake of Austria?

Another suspicion of mine. Lots of drama and intrigue and some brilliant marketing based on the wonderful tale. So the parents had an ugly battle. Every one cried foul. One parent came out victorious. The child in question was stuck in the middle of all this chaos and mayhem, till some one said, “It's not even a pretty child...” But there are gentle people amongst us, “Come, come! What matters? It's still a sweet child.”

Yes, I suspect that is the story of Sachertorte. One can find out about it from a lot of sources. I shall not get into it. I would rather enjoy my own sense of imagination over what might have actually occurred!

And now, I have been influenced by this drama (more so from my own head). Apparently, the recipe is a secret, kept safely amongst the chosen few working at the Sacher Hotel. But there are so many people who claim to have made it and have shared the recipes on the internet. Again, its a simple cake, that probably isn't that mysterious. I am going to attempt it too with all this hue and cry! Yes, the Sachertorte does that doesn't it?

...to be continued...