Pan de Higo/Spanish Fig Cake

In an attempt to eat well, I usually look for healthy alternatives at the supermarket when shopping for snacks. I almost always stop at the dry fruits section and buy dried figs, apricots and raisins. Some are consumed within a week whereas the others (like the figs) sit in my refrigerator for a while.

Last year I came across this fig cake at the supermarket. You could either buy the whole cake or individually wrapped slices. It was rich, mildly sweet, dark in color; it had a very intense flavor coming from the different spices and a very chewy texture from the figs. I don't recall that there was any flour in this cake.

So when I found this packet of figs in the fridge, I decided to give this fig cake a go. I found a number of recipes online but none appeared to be similar to the cake that I bought at the supermarket. Then I found the recipe for Pan de Higo - the Spanish Fig Cake. Ahhh! Just what I was looking for.

Pan de Higo has no flour, eggs or butter you don't even have to BAKE! Just pulse the figs in a food processor and add the spices and knead them together. The cake vanished in no time!

Pan de Higo - Spanish Fig Cake.

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried figs
• 1/2 cup almonds *
• 2 tablespoons whole seasme seeds
• 1/2 teaspoons whole anise seeds**
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 table spoon of honey
• A pinch of cinnamon
• Brandy as needed***

Notes:

* Almond meal is a good substitute for the whole almonds. Toast about 5 ounces of almond meal on a dry skillet briefly and use in place of the whole almonds.

** I didn't have anise seeds with me so I substituted fennel powder instead. See the difference between the two here.

***I don't drink any alcohol, so never have it at home. I used apple juice instead of brandy. This must surely altered the taste of the cake but I still enjoyed every bit of the cake. Brandy is used not only for the flavor but also as a preservative in many cakes. You could also substitute White Wine.

Method:

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet and grind in a food processor or spice grinder. Pulse gently until roughly chopped, keeping the almonds from turning into a paste.

Using a food processor, mince the stemmed figs until a rough paste is formed.

Mix the figs with the ground toasted almonds, seasme seeds, anise seeds, ground cloves and ground cinnamon.

Add the honey and a few tablespoons of brandy/wine/apple juice to the figs mixture. Knead until a smooth and pliant ball is formed. The fig mixture will be crumbly but keep kneading until the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Add more brandy/wine/apple juice as needed.

Form the fig mixture into a loaf shape or use a muffin pan as a mold to form single fig cakes.

Look at the source here to see how the single serving fig cakes were made.

You can serve this as it is or with Manchego cheese. This is a good cake to make during the Holiday season.

Malabar Roasted Coriander Powder/Vartha Malli podi

In the front bowl is the roasted coriander powder (vartha malli podi ) and the bowl at the back is the store bought coriander powder. I've showcased the podi with my grandma's errnanam (her belt) that I inherited from her. She wore it on her traditional kachi kupayum, a traditional outfit.

The above photo is the route that Vasco Da Gama took on his voyage - photo taken in Lisbon.

Vasco da Gama came from Lisbon to Calicut on May 21st 1498. And what did the men shout as they came ashore? "For Christ and spices!" But to their disappointment there were plenty of Christians living in the Malabar Coast. This was with the arrival of a Syrian contingent many centuries earlier. But Vasco Da Gama was right about the spice. Calicut is the world's greater pepper growing region (source - theepicentre.com).

For many generations our families have been living in Calicut. Spices are a vital part of our food and life. Without spice there are no dishes made. Since the time I got married, the one thing that I always bring along with me from Calicut is the vartha (roasted) malli (coriander) podi (powder). I remember my mother doing the same when she was living in Mumbai when we were little. The roasted coriander powder is a mix of many spices and not just coriander seeds roasted. Every time when I go to Calicut and tell my mom I need roasted coriander powder, the powder is given to me all neatly packed. Never for once have I asked her for the recipe until my last visit last summer. This was after I started blogging and started to note down dishes that were made at home that I would take along with me to savor it later. In my last visit when my mom handed me the powder, assuming that the roasted coriander powder is just what it says - coriander seeds roasted, I, out of curosity asked her - " ide verum malli varthu podichattu annu (This is just coriander seeds roasted and powdered - right? ) " My mom laughed. She then told me the whole recipe and I was amazed by the ingredients that go into the vartha (roasted) malli (coriander) podi (powder). Some of the ingredients that were used - I wouldn't in my wildest dream think of putting it in making the malli podi.

Vartha malli podi adds a lovely color to meat dishes. Just a few spoons of the podi gives the gravy the right amount of thickness, a lovely aroma and the spices are just right without making the dish too unbearably HOT. Without the varthu malli podi we find our meat to be very bland. Although, I don't have a whole lot of recipes in my blog that I have published using the roasted coriander powder, I do use it very often at home while making simple chicken or lamb or beef curries. And it is also because I thought that, what is the point in posting a recipe without posting the main ingredient? So finally, the time has arrived.

Also, the timing for posting this was right - or rather after reading the topic for this month's Monthly Mingle and Click, this was the only thing that came to my mind. Well, it was about time I posted this.

This has been passed on to me by mom and to my mom from her mom. This is one spice that I would carry with me if my house were on fire! This is to my Umma (mom) and my methamma (grand ma).

Vartha Malli Podi/Roasted Coriander Powder:

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Coriander seeds
• 250g Turmeric (whole)
• 250g Dry Red chilies
• 10 g Cinnamon
• 10 g Cloves
• 10 g Cardamom
• 5 g Nutmeg
• 5 g Shahjeera
• 5 g Javatiri
• 2 tbsps Fenugreek
• 3 tbsps Rice

Method:

Roast all the above ingredients one at a time till you get the aroma of the spice and starts to change its color. Grind to a powder.

You can store this in an air tight container for about 6 months or so.

Here are some of the recipes using the vartha malli podi - Chemeen Biryani, Erachi Pathiri, Kheema Masoor Dal Pulao, and here

To read more about the Spice trade go to this link here.