Bread Boo

by Deerga // June 28, 2015 // No Comments

Bread Boo is a tasty dish made from, as you might have guessed it already, bread. It is a savory item and is very easy to make. I have had this dish made by my mom and my MIL. Bread Boo involves minimum ingredients and I would categorize it as a quick-fix breakfast; something prepared in minutes with less effort.

It had been quite a while since I had eaten Bread Boo until when my MIL made it for me recently. And all my childhood memories came back when I had it. When I was a kid, I was not a big fan of sweetness in general. I always preferred spices and savory items (I still do!). So whenever it was bread and jam for breakfast at our home, my Mom used to prepare Bread Boo for me (my mom tries to make us eat by keeping these different kinds of names 😀 ).

For those who don’t prefer sweet dishes and for those who want variety in their breakfast, Bread Boo is an ideal choice. Also, you can substitute any type of bread in this recipe like raisin bread, wheat bread, oatmeal bread etc. Try this tasty and easy Bread Boo in your kitchen and let me know if it is a tasty breakfast indeed 🙂

Bread Boo

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2 to 3

Bread Boo is a tasty dish made from bread. It is a savory item and is very easy to make.

Ingredients

Oil – 1 tbsp
Onion, medium, chopped – 1 no
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Tomato, small – 1 no
Salt as required
Homemade sambar powder – ½ tbsp
Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
Garam masala – a generous pinch
Bread slices – 6 nos
Cilantro, chopped – 1 tbsp

Instructions

Toast the breads slightly, either in a toaster or on a flat pan. Cool them down to room temperature and break or cut to bite size pieces.
Heat a tawa with oil and add finely chopped onions. Sauté until they turn translucent.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
Add in tomato and sauté until they turn mushy.
When the tomatoes are well cooked add in all the masala powders ( sambar, red chilli and garam masala) .
Finally add all the toasted bread pieces. Mix well until the masalas are well coated.
Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

You could also add beaten eggs to this dish just after the tomatoes are well cooked and before the masala powders are added.

CHANNA MASALA / CHANNA / CHOLE

by Deerga // April 13, 2014 // No Comments

Channa or Channa Masala is a very popular north Indian dish made from chick peas. You can find Channa Masala in almost all Indian restaurants, north Indian or south Indian. Channa is a very good source of protein and when cooked as a gravy it tastes yummy. In fact, it is one of my HB’s favorite dishes. We never fail to make Channa Masala at least once every two weeks.
The main step in preparing Channa Masala is the amount of time that you soak the chick peas in water before cooking. The more it is soaked, the faster it gets cooked. As I said above, it is a good source of protein and I heard from my HB that back in India, he and his friends used leave Channa soaked in water overnight and have a handful before hitting the gym, sort of like an energy booster. There is also a black chickpea called as Kondaikadalai in my native tongue that can be cooked similar to Channa Masala. I have given the recipe for that here . There are days when we cook Channa without any masala, i.e., not in a gravy form and have it for dinner. This type is called a Sundal in Tamil. It is a popular Prashadam dish in temples back home.
Channa Masala is a very good side dish for Chappati, Bhature (Channa Bhature is another popular north Indian dish), Poori and rice as well. And here is the recipe for Channa Masala. Try it in your home and as always comment on your experience and thoughts 🙂

CHANNA / CHOLE

Recipe type: Lunch|Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Cooking or vegetable oil – 1 tbs
Cinnamon stick – 1 (2 inch)
Cardamom – 3
Cloves – 2
Bay leaf – 1
Cumin seeds – 1 tbs
Onion – 1
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tbs
Green chillies, finely chopped – 1 no
Channa masala – 1 ½ tbs
Channa or chickpeas – 1 cup
Lemon juice – 1 tbs
Salt as required
Coriander leaves – for garnishing

to make puree

Tomato - 1 no
green chilli - 1 no

Instructions

Soak the channa/chickpeas overnight or for 8 hours.
Pressure cook the channa with little water and a tsp of salt for 3 whistles - It should be cooked in such a way that you could smash the channa by your thumb and index fingers.
Make a puree of tomato and green chilli in a blender and set aside.
Heat a wide pan with a tbs of oil, add the whole spices mentioned above followed by cumin seeds.
When cumin seeds start to splutter, add chopped onion and fry till they are softened and become translucent.
Add turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste. Sauté until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic disappears.
Add the tomato puree and chopped green chilli. Saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring in between.
Add channa masala powder and little salt . Mix well and saute until oil seperates.
Add the cooked masala into boiled channa, mix well and pressure cook for another 2 whistles.
Sprinkle few drops of lemon juice on top and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot channa masala with pooris, chapattis or steamed rice accompanied with lemon & onion slices.

ADAI

by Deerga // April 13, 2014 // No Comments

Adai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. I started making Adai mainly as an alternative to dosa. For dosa, as you know, the main ingredient to make the batter is rice and rice is rich in carbohydrates which in turn is one of the contributing factors in weight gain (if the intake is often, of course).
My HB is very health conscious (and that has rubbed off on me as well, sometimes ;)) and so I started my search for a healthy and easy alternative for the usual fares that we have at our home. Then I came across this Adai from the web and found it to be the perfect alternative. Making the Adai batter does not involve fermentation. So the entire process of preparing the batter to cooking Adai is very quick. Also, you don’t need a grinder to prepare the batter. A blender will suffice.
In our home, we normally have Adai with coconut chutney but by making the batter a little bit spicy (described in the cooking instructions below), you can have Adai without a side dish (how awesome is that!). In restaurants, Adai is often served with butter and Avial (another south Indian dish for which I will post the recipe sometime soon).
So try this very healthy and easy to make Adai in your home and let me know your comments.

ADAI

Recipe type: Breakfast/Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 7 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Toor dal - ¼cup
Moong dal -1/4 cup
Urad dal - ½ cup
Idli Rice or Raw Rice - ½ cup
Whole Red chillies - 6
Salt-as per taste
Shallots(small onions) – 2 (chopped)
Hing - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
Chopped Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Water as required
Oil required to smear around adais

Instructions

Wash and soak urad dal, moong dal, toor dal and rice together in water for 4 hours.
Grind the soaked dals and rice, along with half a tsp cumin seeds, whole red chilli, salt and hing together until smooth. - like dosa batter.
To the ground adai batter add chopped shallots, coriander leaves and little water.
Mix well the batter, the consistency should be similar to dosa batter. Set aside the adai batter to rest for atleast 30 mins.
Heat a dosa tawa, add a ladle full of adai batter to the center of tawa and start spreading the batter from center in circular motion like making dosa or pancakes.
Smear 1 tsp oil around adai and cook on medium heat until both sides of adai are golden brown and crisp.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 to 3