I was not one who enjoyed cooking much as a child or teen, cause I had a sister who was an ace, so ---I can call myself a late bloomer. The reason is simple. I am NOT allowed by my sons to go back to work in a classroom as I am a chronic diabetic and can't afford to catch COVID. “ Nope! Sorry Mum you can hold classes on Zoom and Webex, but NO classes face to face just yet!” commands the doc son and I accept. For me staying well is all important as I want to travel to see the babies. And live too. But! Never the unforgiving minute for me and keeping busy is my style of living through the day.
So, checking on one of my Mumbai colleagues new Cooking videos, I decided to try making Coconut Baath. Why you may ask, why Baath?? Well I love the stuff and thats all I want to buy when we go to Goa. There’s this tiny bakery off the Candolim Tinto which sells the most divine Baath and even though a small slab cost Rs 400, we would buy it and enjoy every crumb.
The electric coconut scraper off Amazon!
Then! I saw Veena’s video which made it look so simple, PLUS and a big plus, my sisters Danish tenant gave me his grandmother's baking tray before he left, to remember him by. Now Johnny gets pictures of the Baath in faraway Aalborg, Denmark which is close to Aarhus where I studied for 6 months. Makes him happy and as he says, it keeps his connection with Pilerne, the place he enjoyed living in for two years.
So, one of the first videos made by Veena, who is Goan was Coconut Baath. Looking at it it seemed pretty simple and so I decided to give it a try and was hooked. I mean to date I have probably made over a dozen Baath cakes and besides sharing with my bestie who has come back here from Dubai, we polish off the stuff in house. I cut it into rectangle bits and put it in a Tupperware box on the dining table and its polished off through the week.
Slice and keep in tupperware and in a day or so its polished off.
As always I cut down the sugar content to negligible so that I can have a tiny slice everyday with my coffee @ 11 am. Making this cake also made me invest in an electric coconut scraper. I got it given to me for my birthday and have never been able to scrape a coconut quite so fast. This coconut scraped by the machine is easy to use directly in the cake.
Leave to cool and then cut into rectangles and put into box on dining table for family to enjoy. Here's the easy recipe:
Coconut Baath
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup ( 200gms) semolina rava
1 cup ( 200 gms) sugar
1 ¾ cup scraped coconut.
100gms butter
3 eggs
A few smashed elaichi seeds
Cap of vanilla essence
⅓ tspn baking powder
Method:
Roast rava for 5 mins on tava
Blend with hand held mixer butter, eggs and sugar till fluffy.
Add elaichi, vanilla, baking pwdr and mix.
Put in coconut and mix well.
Then pour in rava in two parts and mix with spatula thoroughly.
Pour into baking tin, preferably a loaf tin for easy cutting.
Leave overnight in fridge to swell or outside for an hour.
Bake in 160 degrees for 20 minutes till tester comes out clean.
My reductions and additions: 1) Reduce sugar to half and put 2 heaped cups coconut. 2) I use a 100 gm pat of Amul butter and use the balance butter paper to grease the tin.
Enjoy!
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