Savory Bombay French Toast

I like to have eggs for breakfast. It is healthy and nutritious to have a wholesome and filling breakfast. Eggs are filled with protein and vitamins and make a great start to the day!

I usually make anaheim scramble, desi omelette, veggie egg scramble, egg salsa dosai or egg cheese sandwich. When I saw these spicy bombay toast at Siri's place, I new I had to make it. I made this french toast when I had to make breakfast just for myself. Cooking for one can be monotonous and boring. I made this toast with one slice of bread and one egg and accompanied it with a mug of chamomile tea making it a great start to the day!!

Ingredients
Bread - 1 slice
Egg - 1
Milk - 1 tablespoon
Onion - 1 tablespoon finely chopped
Hot sauce - 1/2 teaspoon
Cilantro/Parsley - 1 teaspoon chopped
Salt to taste

Instructions
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, chopped onions, hot sauce, cilantro and salt.

Also, cut the bread into two halves.

Heat a saucepan and drizzle with some oil. Dip the cut bread into the egg mixture so that it coats well on both sides.

Allow the bread to cook on both sides until it browns evenly.

Serve warm with ketchup or hot sauce or just by itself!

Check out my new hobby and my first project!

Crispy Fried Moong Dal Snack - Haldiram Style!

I was always a big fan of the Haldiram's Moong Dal Namkeen. A bag of those crispy fried moong dal to munch on and a book to read was all I wanted to relax on weekends! I wanted to replicate the snack at home and I almost dished out crispy moong dal that almost tasted like those of Haldiram's but mine looked a little more golden brown in color.

Ingredients
Split Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Soak the moong dal overnight or atleast for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Drain the water and pat the dal dry with a paper towel or a dry kitchen towel.
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat oil until it is piping hot.
4. Once the oil reaches its smoking point, drop in a moong dal to see if it sizzles immediately. If it sizzles immediately, then the oil is ready for deep frying.
5. Take care the oil is ready. If the oil is not at the right temperature, the dal absorbs a lot of oil. So take care the oil is at the right temperature.
6. Deep fry the moong dal in batches and remove them once they turn crispy and golden brown. It took around 20 to 30 seconds to get them done. 
7. Drain the dal in paper towels. Sprinkle salt to taste and mix well.
8. Store in airtight containers.

Note: To make things easier, I used a strain to deep fry the moong dal. I took a batch of the dal and once the oil gets hot, just dip the strain into the oil. Once the dal gets fried just lift the strain from the oil and drain the moong dal in paper towels.

This is my entry for day 7 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

Whole green gram dal fry

This is another simple and wholesome dal recipe and another variation from the regular dal. The whole moong dal packs more nutrients. A wholesome protein source and this accompanies well with rice or rotis.

Ingredients
To pressure cook
Whole green gram/green moong dal - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Green chillies - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 spoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Coriander leaves/cilantro - for garnish
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Soak the whole green moong dal for about 1 to 2 hours.
2. Pressure cook the dal, green chillies, turmeric powder and tomatoes with enough water for about 4 to 5 whistles.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the oil and do the tempering with the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
4. Once everything starts spluttering, add the chopped onions. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
5. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes away.
6. Add the red chilli powder and garama masala and mix well.
7. Finally add the cooked moong dal and enough water (approximately 1 cup) and bring it to a boil.
8. Simmer until the required consistency is obtained.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note: The green moong dal thickens once the dal cools down. If planning to serve after a while, stir in some hot water or add some water and heat before serving.

This is my entry for day 6 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

Paruppu Thuvaiyal / Lentil Chutney or Dip

This is a spicy south indian chutney made with toor dal. It is so so easy to make in a matter of minutes and pairs very well with rice and a dollop of ghee or a drizzle of sesame oil. You can make it with minimal ingredients and as spicy as you like. Just enjoy!

Have you checked out the raffle for the fund drive I am supporting?

Ingredients
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 3
Garlic pods - 3
Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons
Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil and add the toor dal and red chillies.
2. Roast for about 2 to 3 minutes until the dal turns fragrant and golden brown.
3. Grind together the roasted dal, red chillies, garlic, coconut and salt into a coarse paste sprinkling a teaspoon of water while grinding.
4. Serve over rice and a dollop of ghee or a drizzle of sesame oil.

This is my entry for day 5 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

This is my entry to My Legume Love Affair #43 started by Susan and hosted this time at Chez Cayenne and Love for Lentils hosted by Sudha

Giveaway - Supporting the fund drive for Vaidehi Ashram of destitute girls

"Love heals people-- both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it." -Karl Menninger


I was so moved when I happened to read Siri's post about her visit to the Vaidehi Ashram of Destitute Girls in Hyderabad, India.Reading the post made me realize how I take things for granted and how I fortunate I am. Vaidehi Ashram is home for about 108 girls (from 3 to 22 years of age) who have no parents or a single parent who can no longer take care of them. 


To read more about the Ashram check out Siri's posts here.

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.

In an attempt to do a little help to these little girls, Siri has planned a fund raiser starting the 26th of January. I am helping her raise money by contributing to the list of wonderful prizes in the raffle. 

I will be giving away a Rachel Ray's Whistling Tea Kettle (available in colors - orange, blue and red) to a winner in the raffle. The item is labeled as RU11 in the list of prizes.

There are over 40 exciting prizes to win. You can check out the list of prizes here and more details on how to participate in the raffle here.

1 raffle ticket = $10 or 500 rupees

1. You can contribute your donations via PayPal or Credit Card. Each $10 donated will buy you one raffle ticket towards a raffle prize of your choice. You can donate any amount.You can click the ChipIn! button below to donate or you can do it on Siri's site. 

2. Once you have donated and receive your payment confirmation message, please forward the confirmation message to info(dot)siri(at)gmail.com, specifying which raffle prize(s) you are interested in.

3. Within 24 hours, your name and amount will be added to the 'Fund Drive Supporter List'. If you want to stay anonymous, please let Siri know.

4. A random drawing will be conducted by the children of the Ashram and the winners of each of the raffle prizes will be announced on February 27th, 2012.

If you would like to win the Rachel Ray's Whistling Tea Kettle choose RU11 in the list of raffle prizes.

I hope we could help Siri in this wonderful cause and help bring a smile in the little girls' faces.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

-William James

Moong dal khichdi and giveaway winner!

Here is yet another comfort food that can be made in a matter of minutes in a pressure cooker. Such one pot meals are always great when cooking for one. The husband has lunch at office and I need to find some inspiration to cook lunch for me. I tend to stay with one pot meals or easy fix lunches like sandwiches and soups. This is one such lunch I made for myself.

I have used the split green moong dal for this recipe. This can be substituted with the yellow split moong dal or the whole green moong dal as well. if using whole green moong dal, make sure to soak it for an hour in advance before cooking it with the rice.

Ingredients
Rice - 1 cup ( I used sona masoori rice)
Split green moong dal - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1/2 roughly chopped
Salt to taste

For the tempering
Oil/ghee - 1 spoon
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Garlic - 1 clove finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch - finely chopped
Green chilly - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Instructions

1. Wash the rice and dal with water and drain the water.
2. In a pressure cooker combine the rice, dal, tomato and salt and add about 3 to 3.5 cups of water. Pressure cook until you get 5 to 6 whistles.
3. Once the pressure gets released, mash the rice and dal well with a potato masher or a wooden ladle. It should be very mushy.
4. In a saucepan, do the tempering with the ghee, jeera, garlic, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and pour it over the cooked rice and dal.
5. Mix and serve it with pickle and papads.

Ultimate comfort food ready in minutes!

This is my entry for day 4 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

The winner of the blog anniversary giveaway is Mythreyi of Yum! Yum! Yum! Thanks to everyone of you who participated in the giveaway and left your lovely comments :)

Low fat Ulundha Vadai / Urad dal fritters

If you are looking for an authentic ulundha vadai / urad dal fritters, this is not the place! I was craving for some ulundha vadai and I did not want to give up my healthy eating by deep frying something. So I made these vadais using my kuzhi paniyaram making pan. They tasted equally delicious and this can be made in a matter of minutes if you have the batter ready. Makes a great accompaniment with your evening chai.

I followed the same ingredient list I use to make the regular ulundha vadais, except for the deep frying method and the hole in the center. I served the vadais with red bell pepper chutney instead of the coconut chutney.

Ingredients
Urad dal - 1 cup
Green chilly - 1 (grated or thinly sliced)
Coriander leaves - 1 sprig
Grated ginger - 1/2 teaspoon
Chopped onion - 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Instructions
Soak the urad dal in water for about 3 hours.
Drain the water and in a mixer/grinder, grind the urad dal into a very fine paste. Add very little water (1 to 2 tablespoons) if required while grinding.
When the batter is ready, mix in the other ingredients - green chillies, ginger, chopped onions and salt.
Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan, and drizzle 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of oil in each hole. Fill with a spoonful of batter in each hole.
After a minute, using a spoon flip the vadais over to cook on the other side.
When the vadais start turning brown, remove them from the pan and serve with chutney of your choice.

You can check out the regular ulunda vadai/ medhu vadai recipe here..

This is my entry for day 3 in the 7 day blogging marathon! Check out the Blogging marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#12.

This is my entry to My Legume Love Affair #43 started by Susan and hosted this time at Chez Cayenne and Love for Lentils hosted by Sudha