Indian Egg Scramble W/ Breakfast Sausages and Toast

Continuing the series of Breakfast combos with a little twist.

This is again a weekend breakfast combo.

In an attempt to spice up and add flavour to the western breakfast styles this Egg scramble made in Indian style is tailored.

Most of the time I have the breakfast sausages readily in my freezer. So just bring them to the room temperature in the microwave and pan roast and remove excess oil through a tissue.

Toast some slices whole wheat bread and cut an orange and boil some hot water in a kettle for a hot cup of tea or coffee and we are ready to roll.

To prepare Scrambled egg in Indian style:
(for 3-4 servings)
1 tsp oil
4 Eggs
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
2 Medium sizes Onions cut length and breath wise
4 green chillies
6-8 Curry leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnish

Method:
In a Wok or Skillet add oil after hot.
Once the oil is hot allow mustard to splutter and then add onions, green chillies, curry leaves and saute' till onions just start to change color.
Now add salt and then break the eggs onto the hot pan and scramble them mixing with the other ingredients.
Keep stirring continuously till all the egg is cooked talking care not the burn it.
Add Black pepper powder
Garnish with finely chopped coriander and remove from heat.
Serve with the roasted sausages, toast and fruit.
This also goes well with chapatis.

Breakfast Special - Peameal Bacon with Yam fries Combo

I think I would have already mentioned in my blog that I'm not a restaurant freak. But I would like to imitate those foods served at the restaurants. For those of who go for a traditional weekend breakfast in a Restaurant " Toast+Eggs+Bacon+Home fries+Orange" is not new. Often times I too make the same breakfast combo at home either with "sunny side up" or scrambled eggs.

But there are times when I want a little twist from the regular menu combo. This is definitely healthier than the regular version. The fatty Bacon is replaced by Peameal Bacon which has very less fat, the bland Egg scramble replaced by Indian style spicy egg scramble with onions,green chillies and herbs(Recipe will be published in my upcoming posts) and at last replacing the carby potato home fries with Yam fries rich in fibre which I'm going to blog today. And don't forget to replace the oranges with Grape fruit, which is really good for people on diet.

This post is more of the concept than writing recipe.

Ingredients & Method of preparation:
For Yam Fries:
1 - Big size Yam(approx 1 lb)
2 Tbsp - Vegetable Oil/Olive oil/Pam for frying
1/2 tsp - Red chilly Powder or Kashmiri chilly powder.
Salt to taste

Optional:(if u want to spice it up more to a desi taste)
1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp Chat Masala
1/8 tsp Amchur powder
1 tsp Kasturi methi

Garnish:
Finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:
Peel skin and cut Yam into small cubes.
Heat up a wide heavy bottom frying pan, allow oil to become hot on medium high heat and then add the yam pieces and salt and fry till done, regularly stirring to see that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
When almost done add chilly powder and other optional masalas if desired.
Stir nicely to coat the yam pieces with all the seasonings.
Sprinkle with finely chopped coriander and remove from heat.

For Eggs:
I just made an sunny side up and broke the yoke so that the yellow can flow on the white (That's the way i like)and seasoned it with salt and black pepper or red chilly powder.

For Toast:
Apply butter or margarine or desi ghee on both sides of the whole wheat bread slices and pan toast them.

For Peameal Bacon:
I've never heard of this back home. But here in Canada from the time I've tasted this I really like it a lot. Most of the Grocery stores carry this. Look for the package with Yellow edges of cornmeal around the meat slices in the frozen cured/processed food section.

To know more about this Peameal bacon please click here here here and here

The method to cook this is very simple. Defrost a few slices and pan roast them till done. More receipes can be found here too

Now serve all the items in a plate and garnish with a thick slice of Grape Fruit.

This is more of a brunch than breakfast cause its so full and complete with a hot cup of French Vanilla coffee or a cup of Orange Tea. So we can skip lunch and straight head to early dinner. A typical saturday life style for me.

Flat beans with Tomato /Avarai kai Kuttu/Chikkudukaya Tamata/Tamatar Papdi

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will notice that I use Tomatoes bountifully in most of my dishes, Aloo Tamatar, Gobi Tamatar, Tomato Shrimp etc. and now Tomato and Flat beans. And still to come is Tomato cabbage . Well the inspiration is definitely from my Grand mother. I use to cherish all her tomato dishes so much that i carry forward them in my regular menu now.

You can check my other flat beans recipe here.

Now for the recipe of Flat beans and Tomato curry.

Ingredients:
1 lb Flat Beans ( Easily available in all the Asian/South Asian Stores usually packaged)
2 tbsp - Cooking Oil
1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
1 - Medium onion cut length wise
2-3 Green Chillies slit
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
Salt to taste
1 cup - Tomato Puree
A small bunch of coriander leaves chopped

Procedure:
1. Clean the Flat beans by cutting of the edges and removing the middle fibre and make 3 to 4 pieces of each bean. Wash Skin the beans together, drain keep aside.
2. Heat a wide bottom skillet, add oil.
3. After the oil is hot add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter
4. Add cut onions. chillies, curry leaves and saute till onions are translucent.
5. Now add flats beans, red chilly powder and salt, mix well to coat the beans with the seasonings.
6.Cover and cook till beans are soft and almost cooked, stirring regularly.
7. Once the beans are soft add the pureed tomatoes or tomato paste and mix well.
8. cook for another 7 to 10 minutes or till the raw smell of the tomatoes is gone and a pleasant aroma of the curry starts to come.
9. Add more chilly powder and salt if required
10. Add the coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Have it with plain rice and papad or serve it with rice and sambar or with any seasoned rice.

Tandoori Chicken Fried Rice

Often times after I bake tandoori chicken I feel bad to put away so much cooked masala marinade which fell from the chicken pieces onto the foil.

There was this one day when I baked some tandoori chicken and had lots of this cooked masala marinade left on my foil tray. So quickly I remember the left over biriyani rice in the fridge, and put on my cooking hat to come up with something differetn and tasty. Not leaving our nutritious veggies,a new dish called Tandoori Chicken Fried rice was born.

This is a typical Indian spicy fried rice which can be made from the fresh or left over cooked tandoori masala marinade and tandoori chicken and either we can use the plain rice or if you have krushka or pulav, or left over biriyani. You can used frozen or fresh veggies. I always prefer cutting fresh veggies. So there you got a complete meal in one dish - Proteins, Carbs, Vitamins and fibre.....and .....not to mention the good taste.

Ingredients:
2 Thigh pieces of Tandoori chicken(Baked or Barbecued)
3-4 Tbsp of Cooked Tandoori Chicken masala Marinade
4 - 6 Cups Cooked Rice/Fresh or Left over biriyani
1 Egg
2 tsp cooking oil
1 rem of fresh Curry leaves
2-3 Thai Green Chillies slit into halves
1 big Onion cut length wise
2 - 3 Cups choice of chopped veggies (Carrots, Cabbage, Beans, Peas, Broccoli, Cauliflower)
1/2 tsp each of Chilly, Coriander, Cumin powders( if desired)
Salt to taste
Finely chopped fresh Coriander to garnish.

Procedure:
In a wide pan, heat oil, sizzle curry leaves, green chillies.
Add Onions and cook till Onions are little cooked and crispy
Now add the Chopped veggies, some salt and stir the veggies till crispy and cooked, for 5 -7 mins or so,
Now make space in the pan to beat an and make it into scramble, adding enough salt for the egg.
Once the scramble egg is fried mix it with the rest of veggies.
Now add the cooked Tandoori masala marinade, chicken pieces and the plain or biryani rice along with the CCC powders if using.
Add enough salt again and mix well.
Garnish with Coriander leaves and remove from heat.

This is also sent to Srivalli from Cooking for All Seasons for the food blog event Rice Mela

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Its been more than a month since I published a post or done a photo session after cooking some special dish. Life has been hectic to the core. Dealing with upgrades in every sphere of life, my kindergartner stared school this year, and the list goes on. If I don't force myself to blog on a recipe now, very soon food blogging can become history for me.

For now let me post a recipe with the pictures that are saved in my drafts.

The main ingredient in this recipe is Maggi sweet & sour sauce. In those days when this sauce was newly introduced, I learned this recipe from a friend and tried it a few times only, coz hubby is not a huge fan of any deviations with the basic chicken curry.

It has a simple recipe, you don't need grind any sought of paste like the traditional ginger garlic or the garam masala paste.

We can substitute the Maggi brand with Knorr or even the regular Heinz tomato ketchup would do too.
Served with any seasoned rice this would go well.

Ingredients:
2 lb Chicken (Skinned, fat removed, cut into medium size pieces)
2 Tbsp oil
3 inch Fresh Ginger (cut into 1 inch height thick strips)
4 each of Cinnamon, Cloves, and Cardamom spices
1 Big Onion (cut length wise)
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tsp Chilly powder
1 cup Sweet & Sour ketchup (Maggi, Knorr or Heinz)
2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp sugar
A few coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Heat a kadai/pot, add oil. After the oil is hot add the whole spices.

Fry till the spices turn their color.

Add the fresh ginger pieces and fry till the aroma comes

Add the onions and fry till the slightly brown and soft.

Now add the Chicken pieces, salt, and fry for a minute

Add the tomato paste and fry for 2 mins till the raw smell leaves.

Add chilly powder and mix well.

Now add the ketchup and mix well and allow the contents to cook till the chicken is tender on a medium heat.

Now increase the heat and keep stirring the chicken till all the sauce sticks to the chicken pieces.

Add some oyster sauce and sugar if you desire more flavour and sweetish taste.

Add some more ketchup and give it a nice stir just before removing from heat.

Garnish with coriander leaves

Thick Chicken Gravy - for Curry Mela

The month of August has been so special in my life. More over this year with all the saga of 888 of the Olympic games, the whole world is waiting for the arrival of this month. Wow that was a splendid and spectacular opening ceremony put forth by China in Beijing 2008. Not to mention this year and this month is special to me and my hubby, as we are celebrating our 10 years of wedding on Aug 12th.

Though not as glorious as the Beijing Olympic games, but my husband wants a decent celebration, which I'm postponing as ever. Nevertheless promised to cook him Biriyani for dinner and some chicken curry to go with chapathi, roti or dosa.

After a tired day of work, where is the patience to click the food before eating it. Some how I had these chicken curry pictures in my drafts.

So decided to post this for the Curry Mela food event hosted by Srivalli from Cooking for all Seasons

Ingredients:

Chicken - 2 lb
Onions - 2 Big
Green Chillies - 3 to 4
Ginger garlic paste - 3 Tbsp
Tomato Paste - 1 Cup

Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander and Cumin powder - 1 tsp each - Optional
oil - 1 tbsp
Salt -to taste
Coriander leaves - a few finely chopped

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pot, add Green chillies and then onions and fry till onions are translucent.
Add the ginger garlic crushed or paste and saute for a minute taking care that it doesn't stick to the edges of the vessel.
Add the tomato paste and keep mixing for a minute or two till the raw smell of tomatoes is gone.
Add all the the powders except the garam masala powder and fry for a minute
Add the meat pieces and salt and mix well to give a nice coat of the masala for each piece.
Cover and cook for 3-5 min.
There will be some water coming out of the chicken.
According to that add more water depending upon the amount of gravy desired.
Cover and cook on simmer till the meat is fully cooked( say 15- 20min), mixing regularly so that the curry doesn't stick the edges of the pot.
Add the garam masala powder when the chicken is almost
cooked add the coriander leaves and leave for a minute.
Remove from heat and serve hot with Dosa or Chapathi.

As the Olympics fever continues with late night TVs to watch Micheal Phelps swimming to win those Golds on NBC and to cheer up Canada on CBC and to rejoice with the Indians for Anubhav's Victory in Beijing 2008 on NDTV, I'm sure our tummies may ask for a second serve.

Nihari curry

For those of you who have been sending emails about this post, here is the much awaited "Nihari curry". Sorry for the delay girls, this was due from long time. Any way better late than never. So instead of writing a story...lets go straight into the making of it.

Ingredients:
Meat:
Beef/Lamb- 2 lb

Whole Spices
a few of each Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Fennel seeds, Bay leaf, Star Anise etc...

Spice powders:
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Nihari Curry Powder - 2 - 3 tbsp (depending on mild or hot)

Others:
oil - 1 tbsp
Onions - 2 Big
Green chillies - 4 slit
Ginger garlic paste( or Chopped finely) - 1 tbsp
Tomato Paste - 1/4 cup or 2 large Tomatoes finely chopped
All purpose or rice flour - 2 tsp.
Water - 3 cups
Salt -to taste

Garnish:
Fresh Coriander leaves - a few finely chopped
Fresh Ginger cut into thin strips - 10
Fresh Lime wedges



Procedure:
Heat oil in a pot, fry the whole spices till color changes.
Add onions, green chillies and fry till onions are translucent.
Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute
Add the tomato paste and keep mixing for a minute.
Add all the spice powders and fry for a minute
Add the meat pieces and salt and mix well to give a nice coat of the masala for each piece.
Cover and cook for 3-5 min, to allow the spices to be absorbed by the meat.
Add 2 cups of water depending upon the amount of gravy desired.
Cover and cook on very slow heat for 3 - 4 hours till the meat is fully cooked and completely soft. (The traditional Nihari curry requires 6- 7 hours of slow cooking)
Keep mixing regularly and add more water if required so that the curry doesn't stick the edges of the pot.
When almost cooked add a few the coriander leaves.
After 3 hours check to see whether the meat is soft and check for taste too.
Add more Nihari curry powder if you think the curry is bland.
Now add flour to the enough water to make a smooth watery batter and add it to the cooked curry.
Mix well.
Allow it to cook for 5 -7 min till the raw flour smell goes away and the aroma of the curry sustains.
Remove from heat and garnish with remaining coriander leaves, ginger strips and lemon wedges.
Serve hot with Plain or Flavoured Rice, Roti, Paratha or Naan.