In the Home of Marmalade

I was recently gifted a bottle of marmalade....that quintessential British breakfast favourite that is found in almost every household across Britain. It is said that the earliest recipe for marmalade comes from a book written in 1677 where it was called 'marmalet of oranges'. Traditional marmalade recipes call for the juice and peel of the Spanish Seville oranges which is prized for its slightly bitter peel. The addition of the peel is what differentiates marmalade from jams.  The British have been long time lovers of this slightly bitter, sweet, chunky-textured amber spread. It is said that Winston Churchill would quaff down large quantities of marmalade to bolster him during the wars, DH Lawrence wrote novels about it and the lovable Paddington Bear eats only sandwiches with marmalade.

At home no one really enjoys the bitterness that marmalade is famous for...so I was left wondering what to do with this bottle. Came across this cake recipe that called for marmalade cake and fresh orange juice. Perfect to use up those luscious oranges flooding the market thanks to the warm British summer. So here's a really simple and easy cake to try out.



Method:

1.5 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup marmalade/pineapple jam

100 ml orange juice

- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Line and grease a 8” cake tin.

- Cream butter, oil and sugar till pale and fluffy.

- Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.

- Add the marmalade and mix well. 

- Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda and add to the batter.

- Add the orange juice and mix well.

- Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Mango Love

Mangoes are probably the most delicious fruit found in India during summer. The hot Indian sun turns the green mangoes hanging on fruit laden trees into these golden yellow parcels of delight! Mango trees can be found everywhere across the length and breadth of India. There are more than 25 different varieties of mangoes grown in India with each state producing a signature mango. Dasheri one of the oldest varieties found in India comes from Uttar Pradesh. Langra a fibrous mango comes from Varanasi. Banganapalli a sweet mango comes from Andhra Pradesh. Kesar with a distinctive aromas and is used for making Aamras (a sweet dish) comes from Gujrat. Alphonso a creamy-smooth mango is known as the most expensive of mangoes comes from Maharashtra. With so much choice, summers in India can only be mango heaven!

My earliest memories of eating a mango goes back to when I was maybe 3 or 4......every summer the fruits from the mango trees in the backyard would be harvested and sliced. Everyone in the family would spend the next half an hour in blissful silence gorging on the sweet yellow nectar......pure bliss! It's like a ritual in my family where during the 3-4 hot summer months, mango would feature in the menu almost everyday. However, in the past five years living away from India meant that I would miss out on tasting these delightful fruits. I would visit India every year on holidays only in July-August and by this time mango season is officially over :-(

Yes with globalization mangoes are imported and available in nooks and crannies of the world. But the flavour and taste to be had in a fruit that has ripened under the blistering Indian Sun and fed by the rivers that flow......just cannot be replaced. While living in East Africa, I tasted a variety of mango called Apple Mango that is grown all year around and is mostly available during December. A solid fruit pulp and quite sweet, it used to be my alternative mango fix!

So this year we're in London.....considered to be a mecca when it comes to all things imported! But when a cousin offered to get us Alphonso mangoes at the height of mango season straight from Mumbai......my happiness knew no bounds. I was expecting 5-6 mangoes but this wonderful person got us two dozen mangoes and now my head is spinning with ideas on how to use it. The traditional slice and eat is always first. But maybe I will make aamras (a blend of chilled mango pulp, sugar and cardamom powder) to dip puris into or a mango smoothie or a mango cheesecake......so much to do with the king of fruits. Before I rush off here's a before and after picture I want to share :-)

To Endure and Transform.....

They say it helps to talk it out. Talk to someone about your depression, share what you are thinking and get a perspective. But in this busy world who wants to really know someone else's problems. Honestly no one cares!! It's easier to maintain a facade of 'normal-ness' than really connect with someone else.

My parents don't want to know if I'm suffering from some nameless fears......they have too many of their own. So they would prefer to think that their daughter is not their responsibility anymore. She is fine...is their mantra for being normal.

My in-laws don't really care as long as I'm cooking, keeping the house functional and taking care of their son. Why would they even want to know about my emotional well being?

So at the end of the day....there is only person who can help me and that is myself. I read somewhere that it is human nature to 'endure' and that is exactly what I'm going to do. Life has decided to throw me some wicked curveballs and there is only one way to go.......SWIM or SINK. And I have decided that my option is going to be swim and swim like there is no tomorrow. I will not sink.....not today not ever.

Memories from the Past

The past five years of my life has been spent outside India and in unimaginable comfort. Maids to do everything around the house, a driver to take you everywhere and carry your bags, handymen at the press of a button to fix taps, nails, shower heads......you name it and someone would pop out to do it for you. So easy to get used to and life becomes such a pleasure to live. Or does it?

Today we're living in a first world country with no salary, no job, digging into our savings and bringing up two children. I could laugh at this delicious twist of life if it were not so painful. Maybe it's the thought of all the comforts I had just 7 months ago that make my today so unbearable. It is not as if I cannot lug heavy grocery bags to and from the supermarket. I hop on and off public transport even if its raining, freezing cold or hot. But the sceptre of the luxuries I had makes me resent what I don't have now.


All the pep talks I give myself about how this strengthens character, strips down my ego, makes me more self reliant..... does not change the despair at the way things are now. I do know that life will change.....like a wheel what goes around will come back. But how does that help me I think and re-think a dozen times before splurging for a £3 coffee.