Christmas Special -The adored fruitcake from India

Season’s Greetings !!!

Holidays are a time to spend with friends and family , have a good time,

reminisce and to make new memories. Coming to the reminisce part - my

childhood was spent on the beautiful verdant coast of Kerala. . “Unity in diversity” is

the mantra that we grew up. I remember taking a trek as part of the scouts

program and coming across 3 temples, 3 churches and 1 mosque all in a 5 Km

distance. Each one of these existed within earshot of each other and coexisted

peacefully. This is an image that stays with me even today.

If you visit Kerala during December, almost every porch will be decked with a

star. During Onam every front yard will be adorned with flower rangolis. A part of

the celebration that everyone loved was the Christmas Cakes. These are a

spiced up version of the Victorian Plum Cakes introduced to the country by the

British. Over the years it has undergone various revisions and has become

very much part of the local culture and cuisine. Rich, sweet and filled with fruits

nuts and spices these were a treat worth waiting for .

Christmas Fruit Cake

Chopped dry fruits - 500 gm (roughly 3 C )

Rum/brandy - 1/2 C

Chopped nuts - 100 gm (3/4 C)

Butter - 225 gm (1 C)

Sugar - 250 gm ( 1 to 1 1/4 C)

Eggs - 4

All Purpose Flour / Whole wheat Pastry Flour - 250 gm (1 1/2 C)

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Salt - A Pinch

Cloves - 1 Tsp

Cinnamon - 1 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp (freshly grated)

Caraway Seeds - 1/2 Tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 Tsp

Orange Zest - 1 Tbsp

Milk - 1/2 C

Hot Water - 1/2 C

Lemon -1

Pour the brandy/rum over the chopped fruits , toss well and set aside covered

for several hours.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature . Prepare the caramel by heating 4

Tbsp sugar over medium heat . Once the sugar turns brown add 1/2 C hot water

, stir and bring to a vigorous boil . Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 °F (Refer to notes ).

Sift the dry ingredients - the flour , baking powder, salt , and the spice powders

together and set aside .Cream the butter and sugar , reserving 2 tbsp sugar

.Separate the eggs whites and yolks .Add the yolks one by one to the butter

mixture and mix well .Mix in the orange and lemon zests and vanilla essence .

Toss the dry fruits in 2 tbsp flour add to the butter mix.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks along with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp lemon

juice . Add 1/2 C milk to cooled caramel to make 1 C liquid. Add 2 tbsp flour mix to

the chopped nuts and toss to coat well.

Add the remaining flour and caramel mixes in parts to the butter mixture to form a

thick lump free batter . Fold in the nuts . Stir in part of the beaten egg whites to

loosen the thick batter . Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites .Transfer to the

prepared pans .

Bake 40 to 60 minutes (refer to notes ) or until the tops are browned and a tester

inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely

.Store in an airtight container.

Originally Published at  http://oventales.com/index.php/2016/07/18/xmas-fruit-cake/

Women's rights in the twenty first century!!

Where are we on women's issues today??

We are still fighting over equality/ still trying to fight violence towards women and still trying to retain

our reproductive rights. The current USA election 2016 also saw how so many women wanted to

break the glass ceiling and elect a female President in the biggest democracy . It was more about

the symbolism of women achieving the highest office in a powerful nation. Technology is progressing

at a rapid rate and is changing. Why can't we change the mentality of people ?? Why is it taking us

centuries to fight for the same basic rights??

I think the answer lies in the upbringing of the generations. Each and every one of us is responsible

to bring about this change. In all societies the issues are pretty much the same. In Indian society we

are still quite backward than others towards women's rights. A few nations in the east join the sad

bandwagon. Who made man more superior? In Indian society a progressive mother tells her son and

daughter today that you are both equal. When her son grows up and gets married, the same mother

who now is the mother in law becomes conservative and demands her son to be treated superior. If

we change this aspect in our life may be then we can think of progress. Every one of us has the

power to change one or two people. We need women to be united and try to change the perceptions

and expectations. Violence both physical and mental plagues the society. Women fought their way to

right to work. They just made it even harder because men adapted to the women working but not

to the idea of sharing her duties. In the West if a woman decided to stay home. It still did not mean

she only needed to cook and clean. In the East a woman can decide to share the bread winner

responsibilities but still has to make sure everything works. Many life partners have changed this

attitude and are sharing a married household equally. Some men also decided to stay home when

needed to support their wife's career and balance. Is that working well?? It depends from family to

family! What works is a mutual respect, love and understanding, when children learn at an early

stage that mother and father provide equilibrium to the family dynamics. Having an opinion is

important and also understanding the other person view point. Love and affection in a family is key to

children being well balanced individuals in the future. So we start at the very beginning right from

selection of a life partner. Having a healthy argument is better than bottled feelings creating unhealthy

mind and body suffering the consequences. You must wonder wasn't it about legislation and bills and

why did I start talking about family issues. Well like the human body when a part hurts the whole body

is unwell but we treat just that one organ or injury and not the whole body .Women's rights start at

home which is the smallest unit of society then slowly change the world one small step one small

legislation at a time. If someone tries to curb our basic rights wake up and acknowledge the

problem-which is the first step. This is a topic worth volumes of books. It definitely is a topic for

discussion. So right in your thoughts on what will help bring progress to women’s rights or what are

your thoughts on this topic?

Welcome to SD Nari 

Mission

SD Nari is a 501-C-3 non-profit organization for educational, cultural and charitable purposes, and is the leading resource for women in the greater San Diego area. SDNari’s mission is to encourage and support women and seniors in their personal, professional and social lives. Friendship and community services are our core values.
All committee members work in a voluntary capacity.

Goals

● To provide resources through our web
● Blogs by our members
● To provide counselling services
● Educational talks to create awareness
● Enrich women’s personal health and well-being
● SD Nari is organized for educational, cultural and charitable purposes.
● Offer support, and assistance to women in personal, professional and social lives.
● Be the listening ear for Seniors and single moms
● Future project is to provide seniors with a young buddy

To Join SD Nari, meet us at SD Nari table outside or email us info@sdnari.org 


Website - www.sdnari.org
Email: sdnariyan@gmail.com | Office Phone: (619)-880-6545 
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