D innovation series 1

With Chiku innovatively using the various stuff in the house for playing, learning and fooling around, D is also way up there.

This post is about the chocolate idli cake that she came up with. It has been a great hit not only in her house, but in our house and the bug has caught on to my maid and amma's nurse also. D is very happy about it hitting a soft spot in my maid's mind.

I think it started with D reading about the success in baking in one of the blogs she follows. Her creativity was screaming for an outlet, what with Chiku merrily gobbling up every available inch of her mind space. She looked up a recipe for an eggless cake and added her own ingredients to it. She tried to use the pressure cooker with a large pan at the bottom. She was not too happy with it, so then wanted to try the idli stand. Who said cakes should be shaped like cupcakes or other shapes and not like idlis. So she got down to it and made wonderful and fluffy chocolate idli cakes. She sent the picture over and I was amazed. I immediately asked for the recipe and got the ingredients. I was very surprised that it had curd, jaggery, refined oil as main ingredients. A very healthy and south Indian cake it is, I thought.

My first attempt was hugely successful and I shared an idli with my maid immediately.She loved it and said I should write out the recipe for her.She is not able to read, so what will she do with the written recipe I wondered..She said on a holiday, she will ask her son to get the ingredients and she has a idli vessel at home and she will ask him to read it and she will try it out.

This is the first time our maid who has been with us for over 10 years was excited to try out a recipe herself.Well, it does speak not so highly of my recipes, but I will push it aside and concentrate on the stuff in hand. So after a few days I showed her by actually doing it the second time. She was happy and today she insisted I write it down and give her. I did and put in a big envelope.She brought a huge polythene bag and safely put the envelope inside for complete protection.

Her goal is to make idli choco cake when her grandchildren come calling and clamour for exciting stuff to eat.

Truly democratising cake making!  D can feel good!