Sweet n sour bread upma,Avil Upma &Chilli Gobi

Sorryyyyyyyyyyy...all you friends out there who are really irritated by my recipe less snaps...Well,I do hope to slowly update them....Here is a quickie for probably a lazy morning breakfast or an evening snack...could be a bachelor break fast as well....a sweet n sour bread upma...which my dear mukta ma had introduced to me during my last vacation in India...Of course I did some alterations to her pure brahminic style...You could use this if you have any left over old bread(not too old!) or if you like it, the with the left over side pieces after making a Shahi Tukre or bread pudding.Well I dont like wasting food...so my bread upma came up as part of refugee operation to save the left over bread bits after making the dessert.


 















Ingredients:
Bread pieces-6 cups
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Ginger paste- 1 tsp
Lemon juice-1 tbsp
Coriander leaves-1small bunch-finely chopped
Asafoetida powder-a pinch
fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Mustard-1 tsp
Dry red chilli-2-broken
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Onion-2 large-chopped fine
Green chilli-2-chopped
Chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Salt-as required
Sugar-1 tbsp(as rqd)
Dil leaves-1 tbsp(finely chopped)-optional
Cashew nuts-25g(optional)
Raisins-25g(optional)
Ghee/Oil-as required

Method

Take a big bowl. Mix together the bread pieces, lemon juice, salt,turmericpowder,red chilli powder,dill leaves and coriander leaves-leave it aside. Now heat oil/ghee in a wok. Add the seasoning-mustard,fenugreek seeds,dry red chilli,curry leaves and the asafoetida powder. Now into the wok add Onion,Saute it till it is soft,then followed by green chilli and ginger paste.When you get the nice aroma of fried ginger, add the marinated bread pieces. Mix everything well.Add sugar as required.( It is the right mix of lemonjuice-sugar and salt which gives it that wonderful taste....so my measurements are quite arbitrary, add these ingredients until you get that desired punch.)Cook it for a couple of minutes and serve it with roasted cashews and raisins on top.



Avil Upma
 

Maddy's comment just reminded me of Avil Upma, which is my favourite as well...Avil upma is often a universal breakfast item in Kerala, like its elder brother Rava Upma, whenever there are a large no of mouths to be fed, like on a typical wedding day morning when people are busy concentrating on the grand afternoon sadya...these simpletons make their appearance on the tables often along with the small bananitos.It is indeed quite a healthy simple breakfast that can be made in a jiffy..Remember you need to use the hard aval/poha/avalakki/beaten rice and not the thin white flakier counterparts.So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients
Avil-1 cup
Onion-1 large
Green chilli-4
Ginger-1tsp(optional)
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp-optional
Fresh grated coconut-2tbsp
Mustard-1 tsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Dry Red chillies-2(broken)
Oil-1 tbsp
Salt-as reqd

Method
Wash the Avil/Poha and drain all water.Heat oil in a wok.Add mustard,dry redchillies, curryleaves,ginger,green chillies,onion and turmeric, one after the other and saute till Onion becomes slightly limp.Now add the washed Avil,salt and mix well and cook it for say 5mts.Finally add the grated coconut,mix well for a minute and serve it with roasted bananas.(or just plain small bananas).



Chilli Gobi
 

Cooking and posting the snaps has always been quite easy...but the write up part was always put off for another day...for the day when the writing bug will bite me badly...and of late the bug has been too kind... it doesnt bite me at all!Probably it has understood the hibernatory mode that I am in...so just sleeps along with me peacefully...and now that I have compelled myself putting them into words...I'm caught by amnesia!!I forget my recipes...the reason being that I am the most unprofessional cook who just goes by the instinct of the moment....I dont go by memorised recipes and exact measure...very much like a typical Indian housewife...so when it comes to writing down...sometimes I get scared...and pray that my readers get it right....!!!I believe in trial and error...until we get it right....

Chilli gobi is a must in any fast food menu...I have no idea about its origin...and like many other Indian dishes I think each one of us has his/her own recipe for it...Last week we had some guests... I wanted to make some Gobi manchurian...my husband suddenly called me and said that the guests are supposed to arrive in another hour...a very bad joke by him....he wanted me to finish off things in time!!!....panic, panic, panic... Oh! I just cant work when people are around..I prefer my kitchen to be all shining n clutter free before the guests come...I had no time for Gobi Manchurian and so went for the easier Chilli Gobi..So here is what i did for my Chilli Gobi.

Ingredients

Cauliflower-250 grams-cut into florets
corn flour-3 tbsp
All purpose flour/maida-5 tbsp
Egg-1(Vegetarians may just add water)
salt-as reqd
white pepper powder-1/4 tsp
medium size Onion-1-chopped fine
Garlic-4- minced
ginger-1 1/2 inch- minced
Green chilies-2- chopped
soya sauce-1 tbsp
Maggi Hot and sweet chilli sauce-4tbsp
Colour-1/4 tp-optional
Capsicum-1 chopped(optional)
Limejuice-1 tbsp(vinegar can also be used)
Coriander leaves-chopped fine-2tbsp
Sugar-as reqd
Oil-as reqd

Method:

In a bowl beat egg,add the flours, salt and pepper to form a smooth batter.Add the cauliflower to the batter and turn them until it coats well. Now heat oil in a pan.When the oil is very hot, deep fry the florets until golden brown.Remove it and spread it on to a kitchen towel. Now in a little oil saute onion, ginger, garlic, green chilli.Once they let out a good aroma and when the onion has become limp, add capsicum. Saute for a couple of minutes. Add all the sauces,lemon juice/vinegar. Mix well.Now add the fried florets into it . Give a thorough mix until the sauce sticks to the florets well.Add sugar as reqd till you get that right balance of taste.Finally Garnish with chopped coriander leaves...In some hotels they are served even with a garnishing of chopped nuts and raisins..