Vegetable Upma

Vegetable Upma

Upma is a breakfast staple - quick to make and well loved.

Here's how I make Vegetable Upma:

Tempering - 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp udad dal, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, pinch hing (asafoetida), 1 green chilli - chopped, 1 red chilli - broken, 1tsp grated ginger, few curry leaves, handful of peanuts

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots mix

1/4 cup chopped tomatoes

1 cup roasted upma rava

3 cups water

1 tsp ghee

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

Lemon slices, shredded coconut and cilantro for garnish

Make the tempering by heating oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add the other ingredients and fry 2 mins. Then add the onions and fry till softened. Add the peas, carrots and tomatoes. Cook 5 mins. Add 3 cups water, increase heat to medium high. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. When the water starts boiling, reduce heat to medium and slowly add the rava, stirring with one hand. Mix the rava well, cover and cook on medium low heat for about 5 mins. Add 1 tsp ghee, mix well and cook another 5 mins.

Serve Upma garnished with shredded fresh coconut and cilantro, with a wedge of lemon on the side.

This Vegetable Upma goes to the Breakfast Event at Cooking 4 all Seasons.

Instant Dosa

Instant Dosa - Rice Flour, Rava and Oats

This Instant Dosa works well for me since I rarely like to/remember to soak the ingredients before hand, grind them, ferment them etc.

Here's how I make Instant Dosa:
1 cup rice flour
1 cup fine rava (semolina)
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup yogurt (slightly sour if available)
Salt to taste
few curry leaves
1 or 2 green chillies

Grind all the ingredients together with about 2 cups water. Check salt and adjust as needed. You can also add finely chopped onions to the batter.

Heat non-stick skillet on medium heat. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread into a circle. Spread thinly for crisp dosa, slightly thicker for softer dosa.

Drizzle little oil and cook till golden brown on both sides

Serve hot with your favorite chutney or sambar.

This Instant Dosa goes to the Breakfast event at Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Leftover Instant Dosa batter can be given a new avatar the next day by using it to make Masala Toast:

For this, add finely chopped veggies of your choice to the batter - I use onions, grated carrots, bell peppers. Add little more salt, red chilli pwd, ginger paste and cilantro. Dip bread slices in the batter or spoon some batter on one side of a bread slice. Cook that side on the non-stick skillet with little oil. Spread batter on the other side, flip over and cook till both sides are nicely browned.

Serve hot with ketchup.

Tofu Bhurji

Tofu Bhurji is a combination of crumbled tofu, onions and peppers with desi spices and a touch of soy sauce. It is a good alternative to paneer bhurji and works even for those who usually turn up their noses at the mention of tofu.

Here's how I make it:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a wide non-stick pan. Drain  a pack of firm tofu well, crumble with fork and add to the pan. Saute on medium high heat, stirring often for 5 to 10 minutes until the tofu dries and starts to brown a bit. Reduce heat to medium and add about 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1 clove garlic (minced). Continue to saute until onion starts softening. Then add another 1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped bell peppers (I like to use combination of colors - green, red, orange and yellow). Saute another 5 mins. Add 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes and 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast. Add seasoning - 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pav bhaji masala, 1 tsp cumin-coriander pwd, 1/4 tsp red chilli pwd, 1/4 tsp turmeric pwd. Adjust seasonings to taste. Lastly add 1 tbsp. soy sauce. Mix well, cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm with toast for a hearty breakfast/brunch. We also like it with roti for lunch or dinner.

Oats and Rava Upma

Upma is a breakfast favorite, usually made with rava (semolina/sooji). For the past year or so, I have started adding quick cooking rolled oats to my upma to increase its nutritive value.

Here's how I make Oats and Rava Upma:

2 tbsp oil
1 cup roasted rava
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
Tempering - 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of hing, few curry leaves, 2 green chillies - chopped, 2 dry red chillies - broken, 1 tsp udad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp ginger paste, handful of peanuts
Veggies and beans - In the above picture I have used about 1/2 a chopped onion and about 1 cup frozen shelled edamame beans. Other veggies I add at times are - tomatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, potatoes and green bell pepper.
2 tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp sugar or to taste
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste
Garnishings - shredded fresh coconut, chopped cilantro, lemon wedges

Heat the oil in a kadai/wok. Add the mustard seeds, when they stop spluttering, add the rest of the tempering ingredients one by one. Roast on medium heat for 2-3 mins. Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Fry till softened. Add the edamame beans and three cups of water. Add the salt, sugar and red chilli pwd. Give it all a good stir. Bring to a quick boil. Then reduce heat to medium or medium low and slowly add the roasted rava and oats, stirring constantly to prevent lumping. The rava will quick absorb the water. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 5 to 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Check and adjust seasonings if needed. Let stand for 2-3 mins before serving.

Serve hot, garnished with fresh shredded coconut, chopped cilantro and wedge of lime. Some people also top it with shev.

Dalia upma

I cleaned out my pantry the other day and realized I had a packet of dalia (cracked wheat) lying forgotten. So I promptly set about making this tasty Dalia upma for breakfast on Sunday. Procedure is similar to regular rava (semolina) upma, but I made this in my pressure pan.

Here's how I make Dalia upma:

1 cup dalia

2 tbsp oil

Tempering - 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of hing (asafoetida), 1 green chilli chopped, few curry leaves

Veggies - 1/2 cup chopped onions, 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots

Salt and sugar to taste

Masala paste - 2 tbsp fresh shredded coconut, 1 tbsp dry roasted peanuts, 1/2 inch ginger, 1 or 2 red chillies - broken, 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds, 3-4 springs of cilantro

3 cups water

In the pressure pan, heat oil, then add the tempering ingredients - first the mustard seeds, when they stop spluttering add all the other ingredients one by one. Roast 2-3 mins and add the veggies - first the onions, fry on medium heat till translucent, then add the other veggies and fry 5 more mins. Add the dalia and roast on medium-low heat for 10 to 15 mins, stirring occasionally. In the meanwhile, boil the 3 cups of water and prepare the masala paste by grinding all the ingredients to a fine paste. You can either dry grind if you have a dry grinder or use a little water to make a smooth paste. After the dalia is well roasted, add salt and sugar to taste, mix well and add the hot water and masala paste. Stir well, check and adjust seasonings as needed. Cover the pressure pan and cook on high heat for 2 whistles. Open the lid when the pressure reduces.

Dalia upma is ready. Serve hot garnished with cilantro.

Bread Dosa

Bread Dosa is a good way to finish up slices of bread that have been sitting around for a while. It is quick and easy to make and tastes delicious too.

Here's how I make it:

4 Bread slices - I use whole wheat or multigrain bread (usually the slices at the ends of the loaf)
1/2 cup fine rava (semolina)
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 green chilli
few curry leaves
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

Sprinkle 1 tbsp water or buttermilk on each slice of bread and keep for 5 mins. Then mix the soaked bread with all the other ingredients from rava to curry leaves above. Add 1/2 cup water and grind in a blender to get the bread dosa batter. Consistency should be like regular dosa batter, so add little more water if needed. Then add the salt, cumin seeds, finely chopped onions and cilantro.

To make the dosa/pancake, heat a non-stick tawa on medium heat and pour a ladleful in the center. Quickly spread it into a circular shape. Dot the edges with little ghee and let it cook for 2-3 mins. Flip over and cook the other side, till both sides are golden brown.

Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

This make about 4 dosas. These dosas are soft/fluffy inside and crispy outside.

Kande Pohe

Kande Pohe is a popular breakfast/snack dish. It is made with beaten/flattened rice (called pohe in Marathi). Though it is quick & easy to make, the tricky part for me is getting the right texture - the pohe should be neither too dry nor too mushy. After trying many techniques over the years, I have finally settled on this.

So here's how I make the Kande Pohe:

2 cups thick pohe (available in Indian stores)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric pwd
3 green chillies - chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup frozen peas
handful of peanuts
chopped cilantro for garnish
shredded fresh coconut for garnish
lemon juice, salt and sugar - to taste

Take the pohe in a fine meshed colander and wash well under cold running water. Drain off the water and cover the colander with the soaked pohe in it with a plate.
Heat the oil in a kadai/wok, drop the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric pwd, green chillies and chopped onions. Fry on medium heat until onions soften nicely (abt 10 mins.), stirring occasionally. Fluff the wet pohe gently to break up any lumps and add to the kadai/wok. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add the frozen peas. Given it all a gentle stir, cover and cook for another 5 to 10 mins stirring gently in between.
Take off heat, add the lemon juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro, coconut and peanuts. Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.
Goes very well with a cup of chai.

Bread Upma

Bread Upma is a breakfast dish, quick to make and good way to use up old bread/bagels etc.

Here's how I make it:

Roughly chop the bread pieces. Sprinkle with buttermilk that has been seasoned with salt, red chile pwd and turmeric. For about 5 bread slices, I use 1/2 cup buttermilk. Mix gently. The idea is to slightly moisten the bread pieces and spice them, so do not add too much that the bread is soaking in the buttermilk.

Heat oil in a wide pan and make the tempering by first dropping some mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add cumin seeds, asafotida, chopped curry leaves, chopped green chiles to taste, broken dry red chiles to taste. Saute a couple of mins. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn light golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and other veggies as desired. In the above picture, I have only added frozen peas, but potatoes, bell peppers, carrots are also good options. Cook till tomatoes and veggies soften. Add the bread pieces, salt and sugar per taste. Stir gently to coat the bread with the onion/tomato/veggies. Cook uncovered on medium high heat for 5 to 10 mins, gently stirring once in a while.

Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro. Goes well with a cup of chai.

Squash Thalipeeth

Thalipeeth is a popular Maharashtrian b'fast/snack item. I recently started adding frozen cooked squash to make it healthier. Here's how I make it:

2 cups ready-made Bhajani Flour (see note)
1 cup frozen cooked squash (thawed)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
chopped cilantro
1.5 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste

Mix all the above ingredients. Add water, a little at a time, to form a dough. Consistency of the dough should be a little looser than regular roti dough.

To prepare the thalipeeth, take a ball of dough the size of a large lemon. Flatten it on a plastic sheet with your fingers to get a round shape. Poke a few holes in the flattenned dough.

 

Roast on a pan/tava on medium heat with a few drops of oil until golden brown on both sides.

Serve warm with homemade butter/yogurt/pickle/chutney.

Note - I bought my Bhajani Flour in Mumbai. It is a mixture of jowar, bajra, wheat, udad, chana and mung flours with some coriander-cumin pwd. You can simply mix any/all of these flours in desired proportion if you do not have ready-made Bhajani flour.

Eggless Omelet

This is a very popular breakfast item, made of gram flour instead of eggs. Its called dhirde in Marathi, you could say its a kind of instant dosa or pancake also. It can be made plain or with addition of desired finely chopped veggies & herbs. It can be eaten with any kind of chutney/ketchup/butter etc.

Here's how I make these eggless omelets:

1 cup gram flour
2 tbsp rice flour
2 tbsp any other flour like soy flour etc. (optional)
2 cups water
1 tsp salt or to taste
pinch of sugar
1 tomato - finely chopped
1/4 cup onions - finely chopped
handful of finely chopped cilantro
1 green chilli pepper (finely chopped)/ red chilli pwd/black pepper pwd to taste

Mix the flours with water to form a runny batter. Add the seasonings and veggies, stir well.

To make the omelet, heat a non-stick or cast iron griddle on medium heat. Pour 2 ladleful of batter in the center and spread into a circle with the back of the ladle. Drizzle some oil around the edges and cook for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip the omelet over, drizzle some more oil and cook another few minutes.

Serve hot with chutney/ketchup/butter.

These Eggless Omelets go to the Breakfast Club - Pancakes event at Krithi's Kitchen. This event was started by Helen.

My daughter loves this as an omelet sandwich for breakfast and in her lunch box. For this, I make the omelets much smaller in size to fit the bread I am using. I usually toast the bread a bit, add 2 small omelets, slice of cheese, some lettuce and thats it. A real easy option for weekday breakfast and/or lunch. Actually this idea came from her, one day she said to me "Mom, I have a tip for you when you don't know what to pack for my lunch. You should pack an omelet sandwich"!

These Eggless Omelets and the Omelet Sandwich goes to the Breakfast Mela at Cooking 4 All Seasons.

Rocket Dosa

I first saw Rocket Dosa on the kids menu at our local Indian Restaurant Spice Route. My daughter always orders this when we dine there. She's just recovering from the flu, so I thought to make this at home in an attempt to get her to eat something. This is usually made from regular dosa batter, but I did not have this ready on hand. So I made an instant dosa batter this way:

Heat 1 tbsp oil, saute some cumin seeds and 1 dry red chilli in it for 2 mins. Discard the chilli and add this to 1 cup rice flour mixed with 2 cups water. Add 1 tbsp fresh grated coconut, handful of chopped cilantro and salt to taste. Stir till you get a smooth pourable batter.

I made the dosas in my non-stick pan. Spread 2 ladleful of the batter on medium hot tava in a circle. Drizzle some ghee around the edges. Cook till underside gets golden brown, then flip over and cook another 2 mins.

To make the conical rocket shape, cut dosa from outer edge to the center with a pair of kitchen scissors. Then roll into a cone.

Thats it. I served it to her with some mild coconut chutney and bell peppers chutney. Rocket dosa zoomed off the plate and down her tummy in a jiffy!

This Rocket Dosa goes to the Kids Delight event at Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen. This event is the brain child of Srivalli.

Wheat flour - Banana Pancakes (Eggless)

I had seen a friends's mom make these kind of wheat flour and banana pancakes a long time back. When I tried them at home, my daughter, who was only 2 at the time, did not quite take to them. Now that she is older and has an expanded food palette, I tried these again...and they went down quite well...infact she asked to have them again for dinner!

Here's how I made them -

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp APF

1 tbsp soy flour

1 very ripe banana - mashed

pinch of baking soda

pinch of baking pwd

pinch of salt

1 cup butter milk

abt 1 cup water

handful of blueberries

blueberries and strawberries for garnish

Mix the ingredients from wheat flour to water listed above. Make a smooth runny batter, consistency like dosa batter. Throw in some blueberries if desired. Heat a non-stick pan on medium, spray with some olive oil if desired and spread some of the batter in desired shape. Cook till light brown, then flip over and cook the other side similarly.

I served them smeared with a little agave nectar and garnished with berries. You could also use maple syrup or any other syrup.

These Whole Wheat Flour and Banana pancakes go to the Whole Wheat Breakfast event at Lite Bite.

Batatyacha Kees

This is an Indian version of shredded hash browns. It makes for a good breakfast item or snack and is very popular during "upaas" (fasts).

Here's how I make it:

1 large russet or baking potato - peeled and shredded
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asafotida
Green and/or red chillies per desired heat level
Roasted peanuts - coarsely ground
Salt and sugar to taste
Lemon juice
Chopped cilantro & fresh shredded coconut to garnish

I use the food processor to shred the potato.
Heat oil in a large wok. Saute cumin seeds until fragrant. Add the asafotida and chillies. Fry 2 mins. Add the shredded potatoes, stir well, cook uncovered on medium till done, about 7 - 10 mins., stirring in between. Do not let the potato shreds turn mushy. Then add the ground peanuts, salt, sugar. Mix well. Serve hot garnished with lemon juice or lemon wedges, chopped cilantro and coconut.

Quinoa Upma

This Quinoa upma makes for a healthy, delicious breakfast or llight meal dish. The basic recipe is from the Moosewood restaurant's cookbook. Here's how I make it:

1 c. Quinoa - rinsed in cool water using a fine mesh strainer & drained

1 tbsp oil

1/2 cup diced onions

1 tsp ginger paste

1 chopped green chilli (more or less depending on heat level desired)

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

1/4 tsp red chilli pwd or to taste

3/4 - 1 tsp salt per taste

2 c. water

1/4 c. frozen green peas

1/4 c. red beans or any other per preference

Heat the oil and saute the onions on medium high heat for 5 mins. Add the ginger paste, chopped green chillies & quinoa. Stir for a minute. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriader & red chilli pwds. Stir for another minute. Add the water & salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for anout 10 mins. Then add the peas and beans. Cover and cook another 10 mins. until water is absorbed.

Fluff with a fork before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

Updating this post to send it to the CWF - WG - Quinoa event at Priya's Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes.

Bean Toast

This makes for a quick and healthy breakfast. The idea is from a Lentil Toast recipe in one of my collection of cookbooks. That recipe used puy lentils. I did not have those on hand, also I wanted to make it a quicker version, hence replaced it with a can of cannelini beans.

Here's how I made these bean toasts:

1 can cannelini (white) beans or any other per your taste - drained & rinsed

1 tsp oil

1 clove garlic - minced

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 tomato - finely chopped

handful of frozen chopped spinach

salt & pepper to taste

Bread slices - I use multi-grain bread

Heat the oil. Saute the onions for 5 mins until lightly brown. Add the garlic, tomato, frozen spinach, beans, salt & pepper. Saute another 5 - 10 mins. Use this mix on toasted bread as I did above to make an open faced toast. Or fill between 2 slices of bread and toast in a sandwich toaster. The mix is also dry enough to use as a filling in parathas.

This Bean Toast is off to the MLLA-18 event at Cooking 4 All Seasons.

This event was started by Susan The Well-Seasoned Cook.

Sabudanyachi khichadi

This is a popular Maharashtrian "fasting" dish. We had it for breakast this morning. Here's how I make Sabudanyachi khichadi:

2 cups sabudana - wash it well in 2 - 3 changes of water, then put the washed sabudana in a broad vessel and add enough water to just cover it. Leave this for about 4 hrs or overnight. Just before proceeding to make the khichadi, first separate out the sabudana by running your fingers thru it.

1 potato - boiled, peeled and cubed

1 tbsp ghee (or oil if you are not "fasting")

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 green chilli chopped

2 tsp salt or to taste

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp lightly crushed roasted peanuts

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd (optional - some people avoid this while "fasting")

2 tsp Lemon juice

Heat the ghee in a non stick kadai. Drop the cumin seeds, then the chopped green chilli. Saute 2 mins, add the potatoes, saute another 4 - 5 mins. In the meanwhile, mix the salt, sugar, red chilli pwd and crushed peanuts with the sabudana. Add this to the kadai. Cover and cook on low or medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 mins. The sabudana should become a bit transparent by then. Add the lemon juice. Mix well and turn off the heat. Serve hot/warm.

Colorful omelette (eggless)

This is a simple healthy way to start your day. Here's how I make it.

The batter

For the batter, mix the following together to a smooth consistency:

1 cup Gram flour (Besan)

1/2 cup Rice Flour

1 cup water

1 tsp salt or to taste

I usually add the following veggies (about a handful of each) to this batter - Chopped onions, tomatoes, green onions, beets, shredded carrots. Sometimes I throw in one green chilli (deseeded & deribbed for less heat), at other times I add a pinch of red chilli pwd. But I usually keep the omelette mild and pair it with a spicy chutney.

Spread 2 ladleful of this batter on a hot non-stick skillet in a circular motion. Drizzle a few drops of oil around it. Cook on medium heat for 3 to 5 mins. Flip over and cook the other side for 2 -3 mins. Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Yesterday, we had this with green tomato chutney from Meera's Enjoy Indian Food. The only change I made to her recipe was to add some curry leaves to the tempering and some cilantro while grinding the chutney.

To round out our lazy Sunday breakfast, we had this wonderful pumpkin bread from tastycurryleaf.

Pumpkin bread (eggless)

The few changes I made to suit our taste/ingredients on hand were - I used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour, allspice mix instead of the spices, a handful of walnuts and omitted the chocolate chips. This was my first attempt at making pumpkin bread. It was only recently that I first even tasted this bread. My Jazzercise instructor got some homemade pumpkin bread to class and it was love at first bite for me. I was so glad I tried the eggless version at home. We all loved it so much, I will be making it again soon, especially since I still have about 2 cups of pumpkin puree from the pumpkin my daughter got from Remlinger Farms (Carnation, WA) on her school picnic. Oh, btw, I followed the Chef In You's technique to get pumpkin puree.

And ofcourse, our weekend breakfast is never complete without the special elaichi - ginger flavoured chai.

Sunday brunch - Colorful omelettes, green tomato chutney, pumpkin bread & elaichi-ginger chai

This meal is off to the Monthly Mingle event at Meeta's What's For Lunch Honey. She started this event in 2006 and its been going strong ever since.

Power Pohe

The idea for this dish is from one of Tarla Dalal's magazines. I make it as regular pohe, but replace the potatoes with garbanzo beans/chole. It makes for a quick and tasty breakfast dish.

Here's how I make it:

2 cups pohe (thick variety) - washed and drained

1 red onion - chopped

1 cup canned chole - rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen peas

For tempering - 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafotida, 1 green chilli - chopped, few curry leaves (optional)

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp lemon juice

Garnish - few chopped tomatoes &/or cilantro

Make the tempering my heating oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add the cumin seeds, asafotida, chillies and curry leaves. Then add the chopped onions and saute for 5 - 7 mins till softened. Add the washed & drained pohe, chole and peas along with the salt, sugar, lemon juice and turmeric. Mix well with a gentle hand. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 5 - 10 mins.

Power Pohe are done. Garnish with chopped tomatoes/cilantro.

Cucumber dosa with cucumber chutney

My aunt makes this cucumber chutney quite often. Since it uses just the inside pulp of tender cucumbers, I thought of using the rest of the cucumber to make this cucumber dosa that I had book-marked from Ramya's Mane Adige.

The two went very well together for a delicious, relaxed Sunday breakfast.

For the Cucumber (Sowthekai) Dosa, I pretty much followed her recipe to a tee.

Here's how I made the Cucumber chutney, my aunt's way:

1 English cucumber or any tender cucumber - use only the tender inside pulp portion

1/2 cup grated coconut - fresh or frozen

1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

1 serrano pepper or to taste

Few springs cilantro

Salt to taste

1 tsp Sugar or jaggery

1/4 tsp tamarind diluted in some water

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy with dosas, idlis, adais etc.

This Cucumber Dosa and Cucumber Chutney are off to the AFAM: Cucumber event at Neha's Tasty Recipes.

This event was started by Maheswari of Beyond the Usual.

Masala Toast

From the time I saw this recipe on Coffee's Spice Cafe, I fell in love with it. Its so simple and easy to whip up for breakfast, but feels like you made something special instead of the usual cereals or bagels etc. Her site has step-by-step instructions & pictures, so I'm not repeating them. The only change I made was to add a pinch of turmeric pwd. to give it a golden color and also I skip the chilli paste for my daughter's sake. Instead I serve it with a spicy ketchup or chutney for us and plain ketchup for her.

This Masala Toast goes to the MBP - Easy Breezy Breakfast event at Simple Indian Food.

This event was started by Coffee.

I am updating this post to include how I make it, since I've been informed that the Spice Cafe link above no longer works. So here's how I make it:

4 - 5 slices of bread
1/2 cup rava/sooji
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/4 cup yogurt + 1/4 cup water
pinch of turmeric pwd
salt to taste
chopped green chillies or red chilli pwd to taste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
handful of finely chopped onions
chopped cilantro

Mix all the ingredients from rava to cilantro. You can add upto 1/4 cup water to this mix depending on how much water your rava is absorbing.
Cut the bread slices into desired shapes and dip into the mix. Fry on a non-stick pan with few drops of oil until golden brown spots develop on both sides.

Serve hot with ketchup.