Anjali's Food Kaleidoscope

Jaggery cake

Jaggery cakes have a pleasant rustic flavour. Jaggery is high in iron content and a good alternative to sugar. The pleasant smell of jaggery reminds me of the summer and winter holidays we would spend with my grandparents at their farms where a big lump of jaggery was the daily dessert .

         I love tea made with jaggery too.....sounds too rural but it tastes heavenly with a fragrance of spices brewed with the tea. The caramelised colour of the tea is so delicious and a spicy snack is an absolutely irresistible combination . My sister often jokes that inspite of being born and brought up in cities I have an absolutely rural and rustic preference for food. I guess I haven't forgotten my roots.

       Village life in India has its charms and setbacks as well. But as a child one just sees the enjoyment part of it so thats how I want to keep the memories of the countryside visits. 

        Here goes the recipe of a jaggery cake which has always been my favourite in the winter months.

I had been wanting to put a jaggery cake since a long time and what best time than during the thick of the winter season .And  incidentally  this cake tastes best when it is eaten “hot hot”, either straight from the oven or warmed in a microwave for about 20 seconds.

Ingredients:

In American measuring cup of 250 ml

1.             ½ cup white sugar powder it after measuring it.

2.               125 grams butter

3.             1 egg

4.             1 cup grated jaggery or like I did , I just made a rough assessment by placing the big pieces in the cup and it seemed as if they would amount to about 1 cup ( just saved my effort of grating it)

5.             2 ½  cups  flour

6.             1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

7.             1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8.             1 teaspoon ginger powder

9.              1 cup water

Method:

1.            Place the jaggery and water in a pan and let it melt and combine well .

2.             Cream the butter and sugar and add the egg and mix well with an electric beater or a whisk.

3.             Sift the flour with the baking soda and the ground powders .

4.             Add the sifted flour and hot jaggery water alternatively to the  mixture and beat well.

5.            Pour in to greased tin ( I used a ring shaped tin here ) and bake in a preheated oven at 180° for fifty minutes.