Savoury Semolina, Zuccini and Carrot Cake

Inspired by Anjum Anand's recipe posted on Arundati's blog, I decided it was time I used my oven for something other than heating cold stuff up. I've been way too hesitant to give baking a try - mainly because I hate the sensation of my hands in that wet, gooey dough. But this recipe doesn't call for any dough to be made. There is no flour or egg involved - Semolina (sooji) is used as the base.

The recipe does call for yoghurt, which I promptly omitted and added olive oil instead. Also, I added zuccini and carrots to my cake mix.

When I did try this yesterday, I couldnt find any baking soda/powder. I figured, how important could this one teaspoon of baking soda be, after all?! Ok, so my cake would take longer to bake, big deal! Turns out, its quite important. The bake time calls for 30-40 minutes of baking, but mine took about 1.15 hrs. Half way through the bake process, my brother came in and promptly showed me where the baking powder is kept at home. So, I added some baking powder on top of my still-baking cake. I still didnt get a nice brown "cakey" crust, and I added more turmeric than I would have liked, but it was still nice to eat when warm.

Savoury Semolina Vegetable Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup semolina1 cup tepid water2-3 tablespoons of olive/vegetable oil1/2 cup peas 1 cup grated zuccini1 carrot, grated1 tsp each chilli powder, turmeric powder1 teaspoon salt1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp oilive oil1 tsp black mustard seeds1 tsp cumin seeds