Showing posts with label WBB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBB. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 September 2008

Back with Poha Idlis for WBB- Grains in my breakfast

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  06:12   WBB No comments
If I told you that this tambram girl has never been able to make fluffy idlis from the scratch, would you believe me? Well it was the case until I tried out Sanjeev Kapoor's Poha Idlis that featured the Healthy Breakfast episode in the near past.

They turned out white, soft, fluffy - and these are perfect for people like me - from whom the perfect idlis have been largely elusive.

I followed the recipe to the T. And there's no reason why these should make perfect dosas or Uthapams. I can swear I downloaded the pics from the camera and its odd how I can't seem to find them in my quite empty formatted notebook.

The picture will be updated the next time I make them, which I promise will be soon.

The recipe is from Sanjeev Kapoor's website, where each week's episode recipes are displayed for two weeks and I copied them down before they vanished. The recipe yields about a dozen medium idlis, and you can easily double the recipe to make dosas the next day.

POHA IDLI
Recipe Source : Sanjeev Kapoor / Khana Khazana

Preparation Time : 10 hours

Cooking Time : 30 minutes


Ingredients

1/4 cup Pressed Rice (poha)
1 cup Rice rawa (idli rawa)
1/4 cup Split black gram skinless (dhuli urad dal)
Salt to taste
Oil for greasing

Method

Soak idli rawa and poha in water for two hours.
Wash urad dal and soak in water for two hours.

Grind idi rawa and poha with a little water to a smooth batter. Transfer into a bowl.

Then grind urad dal separately to a smooth paste using little water. Transfer into the same bowl. Mix the two batters and allow set aside to ferment for eight to ten hours.


Heat sufficient water in a steamer. Grease the idli moulds. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Adjust consistency. Pour spoonful of batter into the moulds and place them in the steamer. Steam for about ten minutes or till done. If a skewer inserted into an idli comes out clean, the idlis are done. Take the moulds out and set aside to cool slightly before demoulding the idlis. Serve hot with chutney and sambhar.

Friday, 23 May 2008

Mango Jam starring in Saturday Morning Breakfast for One

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  21:30   WBB No comments
THE MAGICAL MILLION
While I was waiting for the magic one millionth hit to happen, it came and went without my knowledge and now it is a million plus some 7000, but thank you my dear readers, friends, family for encouraging me and keeping me going at this blog.
Here's to a million more :)



(My posts don't seem to be appearing on the Taste of India feed list, so please subscribe to the feed on your favourite reader or by email)



I'm back home, after spending two weeks with my parents. They live in the same city as me, an hour's drive at most times. But I have rarely stayed this long. One week's stay got extended by another week thanks to a nasty cold which they didn't want me to nurse myself as DH was out traveling. Needless to say, I hardly cooked in the last two weeks, had hogged a lot of traditional lunches, and just lazed and lazed. Since I was getting back to an empty house last afternoon, I had planned for two of my friends to come over and spend the night. No cooking involved, just ordered in a couple of pizzas!

This morning, I was looking forward to having a relaxed breakfast with my favourite Saturday newspaper - Lounge (Mint). Having purchased some luscious Kesar mangoes yesterday, I thought of making some instant mango jam in the microwave, just while the bread slices were toasting on the tava and the Amul butter sitting near the stove to soften.



Initially I did think of searching some blogs for a recipe, but then the laziness of a Saturday morning prevented me from even starting my laptop. It is a mango after all, and nothing much can go wrong - so saying, I put together one chopped mango, pinch of salt, fat pinch of black pepper and a spoonful of organic jaggery powder in a glass bowl, and started nuking at high power starting with 2 minutes, kept giving 2 minute increments, and after the 6th minute it was nearly done. The jam had firmed up and yet some of the pieces held their shape, which is how I like it.

In a total of seven minutes, I had a delicious jam, bursting with flavours ready to spread itself over nicely crisped up toast spread with Amul butter.

If you still want a proper recipe, here it is.



Instant Mango Jam
Serves 2 - or enough for 5-6 pieces of toast
Time taken - Under 10 minutes

You need
1 sweet mango like Kesar - fine diced (almost a cup of cubes)
1 generous tsp jaggery powder or brown sugar ( I used Fabindia's Desi Sakkar - Organic Jaggery)
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all the above in a microwave safe glass bowl.
Nuke at high for a total of 6-7 minutes, giving it a stir 3-4 times in between.
The jam is ready when it comes together and most of the liquid has dried up.

Notes:
You can add cardamom powder or cinnamon powder instead of black pepper. I liked the salt and pepper combo going with the sweet mango taste.
If your mango doesn't have that tangy edge, you can also squeeze a few drops of lime.
You can try this with larger quantities, since this is my first try, I used just one mango. Since it is ready in a jiffy, it can be made as and when you need it.
A thinner version of this will taste yummy on some plain pancakes.

This is my entry to May Mango madness edition of Weekend Breakfast Blogging (#22) which Arundati is hosting at Escapades. Send in your entries to her by the 31st :)

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Handwo - a steamed savoury cake

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  20:33   WBB No comments

Grains soaking for handwo


Handwo is a Gujarati steamed delicacy. The batter is made from soaked rice and a mixture of lentils, fermented, mixed with vegetables and steamed / microwaved. A delicious tadka of sesame seeds, mustard seeds is poured on the top, the cake cut into wedges and served with a tangy green chutney.

You can do several things with this batter and each one is as tasty as the other
-Cook it in a deep non stick pan on the stove top
-Steam in pressure cooker
-Cook in microwave
-Make thick 'adais' or thin dosais on a skillet

I've blogged about the recipe in May 2006 here.

The two changes in this recipe are that I've used red unpolished rice instead of white rice and masoor dal instead of moong dal (see soaked grains picture above).


Here, I have slightly browned the microwaved wedges on a lightly oiled skillet till a little crispy on the outside. You can easily omit this step if you are short on time.

Don't have a microwave at home? No problem! Pour ladle full of batter into an oiled non stick skillet, do not spread and let it cook on sim, till golden brown on both sides. Serve with chutney or milagai podi.



Skillet cooked Handwo 'scones'

This is my entry for WBB 21 - Microwave breakfasts at 100% Microwave Cooking
This savoury cake is also my entry to Srivalli's MEC - Cakes event.



Saturday, 22 March 2008

Hasperat inspired Hummus, cucumber and sprouts roll up

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  19:20   WBB No comments


I can watch most movies, excepting science fiction. That I went for the premier of Star Wars III that started at 11.30 pm and ended in the wee hours of morning, when we were in the US, is another story altogether :D

Vegan Yum Yum is one of my favourite sites, where Lolo showcases delicious looking food and because they are vegan, I can actually manage to cook most of them (subject to availability of ingredients, of course). When I looked at the Hasperat (food from the Star Trek), it looked anything but science fictional...instead it looked hearty, fresh and colourful and perfectly bite-worthy. By the way, while you are on her blog, I insist you look at her unbelievably pretty Knit Night Cupcakes, for which she featured as a guest on the Martha Stewart show!

When I read her beautiful post one night, I actually dreamed of it and how I was going to make it the next morning for breakfast. There were no tortillas on hand, but our roti is after all an Indian version of tortilla. With homemade hummus in the fridge, cucumbers peeled into ribbons and sauteed sprouts, I was all set to make my own version of the hasperat, heavily heavily inspired from the Vegan Yum Yum blog.






Rolled sandwiches with hummus, cucumber and sprouts
These go well for a hearty breakfast or a light lunch / dinner.
Time taken - Under 15 minutes
Serves 2



Ingredients
2 tortillas or rotis rolled out large and very thin
4 tbsp hummus
1 large cucumber, sliced thin with a mandolin or peeled into ribbons
1 cup mung or any other bean sprouts, sauteed in a little oil with salt and chilli flakes

Directions

  1. If using tortilla, warm them in microwave for 10 seconds, or on a skillet or open flame.
  2. If using rotis, first cook the rolled out rotis partially on the hot skillet, both sides and keep aside. Do not puff out the way it is traditionally done to make Phulkas.
  3. Spread a thick layer of hummus. Cover it with a thin layer of sauteed sprouts, followed by a layer of cucumber ribbons / slices.
  4. Roll up tightly.
  5. Brush with some olive oil and grill them on a grill pan or a hot skilled on both sides, for a minute each on low flame.
  6. Cut each roll diagonally across the centre, to make two pieces from each tortilla roll.
  7. Eat them hot.


We loved this for breakfast. Along with a few slices of apple, this breakfast provides the necessary carbs to kickstart your day, ample proteins from hummus and sprouts, cucumber for a serving of vegetable and sliced apple for one serving of fruit. Fibre is also abundant from the whole wheat flour, the hummus, sprouts and apple. Since the weather turned so warm here, we make it a point to have a glass of chilled chhaas or Masala Mor along with breakfast, that accounts for the dairy component. The other plus point for this is that it hardly takes any time to assemble, once you have the hummus, tortilla or dough for roti ready.


This is what we'd call a perfectly balanced breakfast, and this is my submission for an event I'd started off almost 18 months ago to emphasise on breakfast as the most important meal of the day. I'm so glad that Mansi (Fun and Food)who is host for the month, has chosen a theme that is closest to my heart.




Saturday, 1 March 2008

Sprouts for breakfast - Healthy eats WBB

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  21:44   WBB No comments



As a vegetarian, I'm always looking for ways to include quality proteins in our diet. Since we are not too keen on dairy products or eggs - beans, lentils, sprouts and soy are our main options. I love oats porridge or wheat flakes as an easy breakfast as they are rich in fibre, but being low in proteins, I'm hungry again in a couple of hours. The gnawing feeling in the stomach can be a major distraction especially while trying to get some brain work done.

As regards sprouting - I forget about it for a stretch and then on a whim, I soak all the beans in my pantry in separate containers - atleast 4-5 of them, so that they are all sprouting over the next two days and I store away the sprouts in a refrigerator. These are used in soups, salads, pulaos, curries and even sandwiches over the next couple of days. And when I feel that they are getting over two days old, not to lose out on the vitamin C and other nutrients that starts depleting even in the fridge, I grind all remaining sprouts in the blender to a fine puree with some chillies and ginger. After seasoning with salt, this batter makes wonderful dosas. This is something like the pesarattu [savoury pancakes] that is a favourite Andhra breakfast made from soaked and ground green mung beans.

There are people who can eat raw sprouts with some salt, pepper and lime juice. Not me. I prefer them cooked, easier on the teeth and digestion too. The sprouts used here are the smaller variety of black eyed peas / cowpeas - called chowli (hindi) beans. I wonder if this is the same as what we call thattai payiru in tamil.

Here, there are soaked overnight, drained and sprouted by tying in a muslin cloth for 1-2 days, with a sprinkle of water now and then. These can be boiled in water, steamed in microwave or pressure cooked. I prefer the last option as it is the quickest. In a small 2 L pressure cooker, it takes less than 5 minutes to cook till soft.


Breakfast bowl of sprouts
Category - Protein rich, breakfast
Time to table - Under 20 minutes
Serves-2


Ingredients

1/2 cup dried chowli beans cooked as above in 2-3 cups water
1/4 cup chopped spring onions / scallions with the white parts
1 tomato finely chopped
1 tsp oil
1 dried red chilli
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp spice mix of choice [garam masala / dhania jeera / pav bhaji masala / rajma masala]

Directions

1. In a wok, heat the oil. Splutter the mustard seeds, fry the dried red chilli for a few seconds.

2. Saute the spring onions till bright green and wilted. Next, put in the tomatoes and saute for a minute.

3. Add the cooked chowli sprouts with the water in which it was cooked along with the rolled oats.

4. At this time, put in the spice powders, salt and let it come to a simmer. The oats will absorb all the excess water as they cook. Remove into two serving bowls and eat it hot.


This breakfast will keep you filled for a good 4-5 hours and will satisfy all those who like something savoury / spicy first thing in the morning. It also provides you a good percentage of the daily required 25-30 grams of dietary fibre, almost 4.5 g per bowl coming from the cowpeas itself.


Suganya at Tasty Palettes was the host of Weekend Breakfast Blogging for Feb, the theme being Healthy Eats.
This was prepared in mind keeping the event, but I'm late in posting! Hope to see lots of healthy breakfast eats in the round up.
Catch you there



Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Soya nuggets in a brunch plate

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  21:27   WBB No comments
Soya nuggets have long been a favourite of mine, even before I started thinking of nutrition and eating healthy. The very fact the the boiled nuggets turn spongy, all ready to absorb any flavours you dunk them in, make them a delight to cook with. Biting into one of the nuggets and letting the absorbed juices explode in your mouth is a foodie's delight. They are odourless and tasteless by themself, presenting to every cook a blank canvas to paint on. I love using them as substitutes to eggs in egg curries, in stir fries, in pulaos and the different shapes available (such as granules, smaller nuggets) allow one to adapt them into a variety of recipes. Poha made with a mixture of beaten rice and soya granules is a favourite in our house.

Ruchi was one of the first companies to bring out and popularise these soya products in India under the brand name Nutrela. They claim to use exceptionally high quality, non-genetically modified soya beans - the nuggets have a protein concentration of 50-55%, the highest for any vegetarian source and negligible fat content. You will find a whole lot of recipes listed on their site.

These nuggets are made like our Indian vadis, using soy flour - dried out in the sun and used as per need. Here's a nice little breakfast / brunch recipe which goes wonderfully with lightly buttered and warmed pav (Mumbai special bread). You can also have this as a salad by itself, being high in protein it is extremely filling.


Note the increase in size after boiling

The dried nuggets have to be either soaked in salted boiling water for a few minutes or boiled in salted water for 3-4 minutes, until they have balooned out and become soft, before use. Follow the instructions on your pack for this. Idea is to soften them and yet keep their texture intact, or else you can end with a mushy mess.





Soya Nugget Salad with Pav
Category: Vegetarian protein, accompaniment with bread, Salad
Time taken: Under 20 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
14-15 larger size soya nuggets - boiled as per instructions above

1 medium onion - sliced

1 small carrot - diced

1 medium capsicum - deseeded and diced

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup thick yogurt

2 tbsp low fat mayonnaise ( I used Karen Anand brand Eggless mayo)

7-8 black pepper corns - roughly pounded

Dried herbs of your choice (I used parsley)

pinch of chilli flakes

1/2 tsp salt

Pav (1 slab of 6) or any other bread

Directions

Heat a tsp of oil in a wok. Add the vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes, with a tiny pinch of salt. We want them to retain their crispness. Meanwhile, take the boiled nuggets in a colander and press down hard with a rounded bowl or so, to drain out all the water from them. Cut them into quarters or smaller pieces and add them to the wok.

Stir to mix it with the vegetables. Remove wok from flame and keep aside.

In a large bowl, take the mayo, yogurt, roughly pounded pepper, salt, herbs and beat with a fork to mix well. Once the contents of the wok are cooled, transfer them to the bowl. Mix to coat the dressing uniformly.

Garnish with chilli flakes.

To prepare the Pav, tear them into individual pieces. (They generally come in a slab of 6 or 8) Slice them into two horizontally, but not going all the way through. Apply a dot of butter on the inside and on both the outer sides, place on a hot skillet, until lightly golden and crispy on the outside.

If you do not get pav, where you live, try out this superb tried and tested recipe for home baked Mumbai-special Pav.



This is my entry to WBB - Soy hosted by Rajitha at Hunger Pangs.



Monday, 8 October 2007

WBB # 15 : Breakfast from Leftovers - Round Up

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  09:13   WBB No comments

[This round up is sadly without the beautiful pictures, all you bloggers sent me, because I've been working on a makeshift data card internet connection which is slower than the internet you must have experienced in the early 90s. So please forgive me! Also, in case SPAM swallowed some of your entries, please post your permalink in the comments, so that I can link that up.]

Few reasons why cooking with leftovers is good for you:

1. Using leftovers means recycling and recycling is good for the environment.

2. Throwing lesser leftovers into the bin saves more space in your bin which means fewer trips to take the garbage out. Or you can save bucks on the electricity which your 'insinkerator' uses.

3. Since many ingredients are already there, saves more time for blogging.

4. Some weird leftover ingredients can trigger off some extremely creative ideas.

5. Your fridge gets cleaned up relieving some expensive refrigerator real-estate.

6. You can dish out some extra dishes leading your better half to believe that you've been slogging for real long, and bargain a massage in return.

7. Saving food equals saving money. Saving money means more $$ to buy Google Adwords.

7a. You get to participate in WBB 15 and get featured in the round up. (Is that good for you?)


This time, I've also chosen a Blog of the Round-Up. Each time during an event round-up, many new blogs and bloggers are discovered. It's fun to give recognition and a pat of praise to someone well deserving it.

My vote goes to Sivani from Ruchi Chuchu. Sivani has a delightful style of writing, great attention to details in her words, which make reading fun. She has sent in delicious Sweetcorn-Rice Fritters. I bet even a novice cook will be able to make them to perfection thanks to the detailed explanations plus painstakingly done recipe cards, a very professional approach, I'd say.
Rohini of Vegetarian Recipes
Leftover South Indian style Chana served with toasted bread the next morning.

Sona – A kitchen scientists and a white rat hubby
5 X 3 Treat – the name is as creative as what she's done with 3 types of leftover pasta. A massive fridge cleaner of an effort.
Mighty Kappa had a great fall is another of her creations where she's chopped up some boiled kappas [much to the anguish of many 'Kottayamkars'], along with a host of other ingredients and served it as a curry with Chapati.
Another remake from Sona's kitchen, where she's remixed a remix – all the Bollywood Remix masters beware!!
Kaboos Chilli and then Kaboos Chilli stuffed into another bread.....go read her remix adventures


Keerthi from Esculent Food has dished out some Curried chapatis for breakfast – an interesting way to save those leftover chapatis.

Mansi of Fun and Food
Moong Dal parathas make a scrumptious breakfast with a healthy dose of protein, can be made without much effort when you have dal leftover from dinner.


Namratha from Finger Licking Food has used up leftover idlis by turning them into
Idli Upma, which is also good for those who get bored of eating idlis.


Timepass has cooked up a
whole storm using leftovers – Rice parathas, veggie pakodas and a sandwich spread. I like the idea of spinning all the leftover salad into a spread for breakfast the following morning.


Nags – For the Cook in Me- takes us back to childhood with her simple, sweet, buttery toasted bread bits in Toasted Sugar Bread with Honey. A perfect breakfast for one and the best way to start a Sunday I'd say!


Tee of Bhatukli has turned some leftover bhakris into an interesting eat and healthy too, with the addition of spices, yogurt, tempering and crushed peanuts ofcourse!
Dahi Bhakri for you.

Prema – Prema's Cookbook has used up leftover chapatis with onions, peppers and lots of other spices to make a spicy appetising breakfast -
Kothu Chapati

Hima – SnackORama has prepared some instant dosas with the clever addition of some leftover raita as a souring agent and to make it soft too!

Arati – Arati's cookery shares with us her version of yogurt rice called
Dahi Butti, which is leftover rice mixed with yogurt. Sweet and savoury all at once, it should be an interesting variation on regular yogurt rice.

Asha of Foodie's Hope has prepared a traditional Kannadiga recipe called
Chitranna using leftover rice and tomatoes. A South Indian like me is happy eating rice for any meal of the day!

Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons has prepared some
parathas with leftover rice. Rice inside parathas – isn't that truly innovative?

Raaga - The Singing Chef displays her creative bent in the kitchen by mixing up two different batters for making
Masale Appey. You must check out her Chocolate buns where she's used leftover Cocoa Butter Icing to decorate the buns.

Arundati of Escapades has made a traditional
Andhra Pesarattu but with the addition of leftover idli batter. Her Recycle Rani story and her mom's attempts at recycling in the days when it wasn't considered 'fashionable' makes an entertaining and touching read. Arundati, you'll be a good heir to your mom, girl!


Madhuli of My Foodcourt writes about her resurrected rotis. Phodnichi Poli is a traditional Maharashtrian recycled dish and true Queen of Leftovers.


Aarti of Aarti's Corner dishes out some Chaawal Parathas, which are mashed rice with spices used up as a stuffing for a popular Indian breakfast item viz. Parathas.


Our dear friend Pushpa from Pusiva is back with a bang. We've missed her lovely baking sessions from Switzerland. She's made a lovely Macaroni Frittata from leftover Mac and it looks beautiful.


Shubha from a blog which is cutely named Chutki Bhar Pyar which means 'A Pinch of Love' has prepared a magical mishmash from left over roti, rice and some oats. This upma of kinds seems to be a nutritious way to use up the leftovers.


My own entry to this event was supposed to be Chole Parathas, which I could not post due to serious internet problems. I ground the leftover chole ground in a blender to a puree, tipped the puree into a bowl, mixed in required quantity of whole-wheat flour to make a soft pliable chapati-dough – rolled out balls of dough into 5” thick parathas cooked on a hot griddle with dots of oil or ghee. Tastes delicious with some Punjabi Pickle.

I hand over the baton to Kanchana at Married to a Desi who has announced Omelettes as the theme for WBB # 16. Egg-lovers rejoice. And do not forget to shoot (click) those eggs, whole or otherwise for the CLICK event at Jugalbandi.






Wednesday, 3 October 2007

WBB Update

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  18:37   WBB No comments
Friends,
This is an update for all of you who are waiting for the round-up of WBB # 15: Leftovers. My internet service has gone for a toss since 3 days. [Have logged in from hubby's notebook just to make this post, before he leaves for work]

Also, I'm happy to announce that Kanchana of Married to a Desi is the hostess for WBB # 16, and please keep a watch on her lovely blog for further details.

...Hope to see back here soon for the round up and please say a prayer for my net connection.

Hope you are all doing superbly.

Best,
Nandita

Monday, 3 September 2007

WBB # 15 - Announcement & Gokulashtami

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  23:07   WBB No comments
Weekend Breakfast Blogging is back to home ground this month. Guest hosts are lined up for WBB # 16 and 17. If you would like to take up hosting for December 07 and onwards for 08, please put in a line to me at saffrontrail@gmail.com.




A wonderfully organized full fridge
[Under Flickr Creative Commons License]

If you have a fridge as full as that, then it's time to raid it for WBB # 15... because we're talking leftovers this month.

Breakfast is no hassle if you have leftovers from dinner. Some staples like bread, eggs, spreads, left over curry etc. on hand and you can whip up delicious stuff in the morning in no time at all. The inspiration for this month's theme came from the delicious 'Chole parathas' I made yesterday from Sunday's leftover Kabuli Chole. You'll have to wait it out a bit to hear the details of that one, my dear readers.

I have seen fantastic ideas from the blogosphere where stuff lying around in the fridge have been used creatively the following day to make a lip-smacking meal. One such recipe and presentation that stuck to my head is the Curried Noodle Patties from 101 Cookbooks. So raid your fridge for leftovers and do something creative with it for breakfast. You can also share with us your favourite tips for leftovers.



The rules of the game:
Prepare a breakfast from leftovers.
Blog about it including a link to this post in your write-up.
Send me a mail at saffrontrail@gmail.com - with 'BREAKFAST' mentioned in the title-
Please include the name of your entry, the permalink of your entry in the mail.
If you have a picture to be included, please resize it to 640X480 pixels and attach it with the mail.
Last date for submitting entries is 30th September - Midnight, Indian Standard Time [GMT + 5:30]
Round up will be posted sometime in the 1st week of October.

Look forward to seeing you all then!




Lord Krishna with Radha
[Photo Courtesy: Swami Gaurangapada: Flickr Creative Commons]

Hope all my Indian friends are munching on Gokulashtami bakshanam (goodies). My mom and aunts have gone the whole nine yards as usual and made varieties of seedai, murukku, thattai, athirasam, vella aval and some more sweets. I'll be making the simple vella aval (beaten rice with jaggery and coconut) and Panakam for naivedyam this evening. The rest of the goodies are mine to take when I visit my parents' house next. I have a picture taken last year, same time, with my mom and aunt slaving in the kitchen to prepare an array of goodies. You'll find it here.


Thursday, 23 August 2007

Farka - a Tunisian breakfast porridge

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  20:04   WBB No comments


(If you love trying out something new, then do prepare something ethnic for breakfast, something different from your own culture and send it across to Glenna for WBB #14 by 27th August, 10 pm Central Time, details here)
-------------------------

Picking a recipe from a place I've never visited and preparing it to the best possible level using locally available ingredients gives me a kick of experiencing at least part of the culture of the place. After all, food is a large part of one's culture.
Ever since Glenna announced an ethnic theme for WBB, but different from your own culture, I have been doing searches and looking up a couple of world cuisine books to see what vegetarian breakfast I can make.

All the research narrowed down to a North African breakfast dish from Tunisia called Farka. According to Wiki Cookbook -
Tunisian meals have shown to incorporate various traditional cuisines from the surrounding ares of the Mediterranean, North Africa, and many Arab countries. For this reason, it is no surprise that Tunisian recipes incorporate many of these traditions including couscous and generous amounts of seasonings and spices. It goes without saying that it is almost guaranteed that any single Tunisian entree will be prepared with peppers, since the Tunisians enjoy a rather spicy meal. Also, Tunisian meals are considered social events, so expect a typical collection of dinner recipes to contain several appetizers, a selection of main dishes, and a vast array of desserts.


Traditionally Farka is cooked with couscous, sugar, oil & water - enriched with nuts and dates, the mix is baked off in an oven and served with extra milk and sugar. While you would think, this seems like dessert, Tunisians actually have it for breakfast. And you could too....reduce the sweetness a bit and it is actually a healthy whole grain breakfast, high in fiber and protein.

I have modified the recipe to suit the availability of ingredients and the time on hand.


Tunisian Farka
Category - Breakfast porridge, Whole grains
Time taken - Under 30 minutes
Serves - 2
Recipe Source - Adapted from here


Ingredients
1 tsp ghee
1/2 cup broken wheat
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp jaggery
2 tbsp mixed nuts and dried fruit, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp dried ginger powder

Prepared ingredients for Farka

Directions

1. Take ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the broken wheat along with chopped nuts to the pan and saute on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, keep 1 1/2 cups water to boil adding in the sugar, jaggery and grated ginger.
2. Once the water has come to a boil and the broken wheat has turned golden brown, add the sweetened water to wok over the wheat. Close the wok with a lid and let this simmer (on a low flame) till wheat is cooked and the water is absorbed. This will take 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the broken wheat particles. (See pressure cooking shortcut in notes)
3. Once the wheat is dry and almost cooked, add in 1/2 cup milk, stir well and keep covered for 2 minutes until it is absorbed and the grains are fluffed up. Switch off the stove and keep this covered for another 10 minutes, till all the moisture is absorbed and the porridge is dry.
4. Serve warm with some extra milk by the side to add if necessary.

Notes
  • You can try this porridge with any whole grains you have on hand - eg. couscous, bulghur, semolina (not very fine).
  • Use of ginger is entirely optional, I prefer some spicy notes in any sweet dish to make it suitable for my kapha constituency (Ayurvedic body type). You could substitute it with cinnamon or cardamom too, or leave it plain. To find your dosha (Ayurvedic body type), take the quiz here.
  • Jaggery is my preferred sweetener, it also gives a rich golden colour to any dish. You could use plain sugar, demerara sugar or any sweetener that works for you.
  • Instead of cooking it off in the wok, you can also transfer the sauteed broken wheat with the water into a small pressure cooker and pressure cook for 5 minutes, taking care that there is enough water to prevent the mixture from burning.

This is my submission for Weekend Breakfast Blogging # 14 hosted by Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food.




Thursday, 2 August 2007

WBB # 14 - Ethnic dishes with a Twist

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  07:38   WBB No comments


After that super healthy round up at Madhuli's Foodcourt, Weekend Breakfast Blogging goes to A Fridge Full of Food where Glenna takes on as hostess for August. The theme is 'Ethnic breakfasts'. Idea is to try something different from your own regional cuisine, be it the breads, the coffee or any other breakfast dishes.


If there was a world breakfast menu, it would read somewhat like this:





Australia - Vegemite on toast with fruit, cereal and juice

China - Steamed stuffed buns, fried tofu, cellofane noodles, rice congee with soy milk or tea

Switzerland - Cold cuts, cheese, yoghurt, prepared fruit, butter, croissants & bread/rolls

Italy - Caffè e latte with rolls, butter, jam and biscotti

Spain - Chocolate con churros — a thick, sweet hot chocolate with Spanish-style fritters, which are extruded sticks of doughnut like dough with a star-shaped profile covered in sugar.

Turkey - Fresh white sourdough bread, white cheese (feta), yellow cheese (kasar), fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, black and/or green olives, butter, honey, soujouk, salami, pastirma and a boiled egg — all accompanied by hot black tea.

Egypt - Ful medames served with pita bread, a light salad and yoghurt

Full English breakfast - Bacon, sausages, black pudding, baked beans, hash browns and grilled tomato

Israel - Fresh vegetables salad, goats/cows cream cheese, fresh bread or toast, olives, butter, fried eggs of your choice, and some small cookies or slices of cake with coffee or orange juice
In India, each state would have a variety of popular breakfasts, depending on the staple foods of that region.

If you need more inspiration, head to the breakfast page on Wikipedia and follow one of the numerous links to come up with something that some people in some other corner of the world have for breakfast. You might just have fun doing it!!

Once done, mail your entries to Glenna at Marie9949 (at) sbcglobal (dot) com before 27th August, 10 PM Central Time. For complete details, check out the main announcement.

(Source for World breakfast menu: Wikipedia)

Helpful links:
Allrecipes.com breakfast recipes
Recipesource.com
Howstuffworks.com
Ethnicrecipe.info




Wednesday, 18 July 2007

Oats and Mango - Breakfast in a Glass : WBB # 13

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  02:12   WBB No comments
When Madhuli asked me how I felt about Oats as a theme for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, I thought, wow, she's a girl after my own heart. According to me, the simpler and blander an ingredient, the more you can dress it up, the more creative you can get. It's like working on a blank canvas. Oats for me is one such blank canvas, it is just there to absorb any flavours you might care too add. This Oats and Mango- Breakfast in a glass is a two minute breakfast. With something as fast and healthy as this one on hand, you have no excuses for skipping the most important meal of the day.





Oats and Mango - Breakfast in a glass
Category: Breakfast drink
Time taken: Under 10 minutes
Makes 2 glasses

Ingredients:
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups water
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1 cup skimmed milk
2 tbsp powdered jaggery (or brown sugar)
1 large pinch cardamom powder
3-4 ice cubes

Directions:
Soak the oats in 1 1/2 cups water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 - 2 minutes till soft. If you have more time on hand, you could simply soak the oats in warm water for 10-15 minutes.

Blend all the ingredients together along with the softened oats to make a thick smoothie and serve immediately.

Note: You could substitute the mango with papaya and use a spice of choice instead of cardamom, such as cinnamon or all spice powder. The oats supplies the fibre, mango is rich in beta carotene and fibre. Skimmed milk is rich in calcium without any additional calories from fat, jaggery is a natural, healthier sugar alternative - all of which make this a super-healthy breakfast option. Even if you are not an oats lover, the other flavours will more than compensate for it. This is a perfect option for those who have very hurried mornings.
Also check out Oats for Dinner from an earlier post.

This is my entry for WBB # 13 starring Oats at Madhuli's Foodcourt. If you are an oats believer too, go ahead, make something, post it and rush your entries to her before the 25th July. I shall be back from my holiday to check out the round of all healthy breakfasts.


Saturday, 10 March 2007

WBB# 8 - Rounded up finally

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  04:11   WBB No comments
WBB goes blog-hopping from March onwards. Our first guest host is Sigma of Live to Eat. She is eggstremely happy to be hosting this event and she looks forward to all your eggsotic recipes for WBB # 9...You get the drift? Check out the event details at her space.



This was meant to be a Christmas event, but then I'm sure you know how sometimes we end up procrastinating things and then we become to embarassed to do it 'this' late...Anyway I shall stick to the old adage Better Late Than Never and get cracking with the round up, before our hostess Sigma of WBB # 9 beats me to it.


The theme was Christmas and the category was pretty open. We have no rules on what to serve at Festival times. Each family has it's favourite and thats what the food bloggers here have shared with you. From an exotic cornmeal veggie dosa to a traditional Aapam with mutton kurma and some homely pancakes to the super creative chocolate samosa with cappuccino cream - we have it all covered. When you want to make something special for breakfast, you will sure find something here.


Pancakes
Manasi of A cook at heart - Pancakes


cornmeal veggie dosa

Suma Gundlur of Veggie Platter - Cornmeal Veggie Dosa

sausage and egg casserole

Kathy Maister of Start cooking - Sausage and egg casserole

Kalyn's greek frittata

Anh of Food lover's journey - Kalyn's Greek Frittata


Aapam-kurma
Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual - Aappam with Mutton kuruma and Thengai pal

Spicy carrot muffins
Anupama of Food-n-more -
Spicy Christmassy Carrot Muffins


Almond raspberry tea cakes

Shilpa of Aayi's Recipes -
Almond Raspberry tea cakes


Cinnamon rolls

Dhivya Ravi of That's Y Food - Cinnamon rolls



Chocolate samosa
Madhuli of Food Court -
Chocolate samosas with cappucino cream


strawberry scones

Vanessa of What geeks eat - Strawberry scones

cranberry muffins

Cheerful Tulips of Life, or something like it! - Sweet cranberry muffins

Technorati tags: , ,



Saturday, 16 December 2006

WBB # 8 - Christmas Special

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  21:19   WBB No comments


It's warm and cozy inside. The spirit of Christmas is vibrant outside. Your home is fragrant with the aromas coming out of your hearth. The mood is upbeat. You want to do your best. Put out the best food on the table, the best of gifts for your loved ones and pray your best for everyone's happiness.


Are you surprised when I ask you to send me your favourite Christmas breakfast for Weekend Breakfast Blogging # 8? It can be as decadent as you like it to be. Whatever is your favourite on the menu this Christmas, is going to be a part of the round up.

The announcement comes in a little late as I'll be away during the Christmas week. The round up will happen after Jan 7th which is the last date for you to send me your favourite breakfast entry.

The usual -

1. Please post your Christmas breakfast entry between the 17th Dec 06 to 7th Jan 07 - preferably in the Christmas week. Link it to this post. If you use Technorati tags - use the tag WBB8.
2. Email me the URL of your entry with your name and location at saffrontrail@gmail.com with the mail titled WBB8 latest by 7th Jan, 2007.
3. If you'd like to have a picture posted too, resize it to 160X120 pixel or 120 X 160 for a vertical pic and mail it along with the url.
4. Your recipe should be servable at breakfast.


Tags: , , ,,

Picture courtesy: Getty Images

See what's going on for Christmas at Daily Tiffin - our food and family blog.

Thursday, 30 November 2006

WBB # 7 - Baking for breakfast - Round-up

By Our Traveler Guide   Posted at  22:01   WBB No comments

I've silently been watching entries for WBB # 7 fill and overflow from my mailbox. In fact I didn't open it for the last few days, just to wait and see how many turn in. 34 plus one of mine ( plus two that I fished from technorati) is a deluge and sorry folks for not writing summaries or intros for these. I decided to spend the time posting pictures instead. As they say, a picture is equal to a 1000 words.

My own offering to WBB #7 is the one of the most emailed write-ups from NY times. The no-knead bread. Already, dozens of bloggers have made it, written about it and I made it too. As the article says, this bread just needs the time and nothing else. Make it and you'll fall in love with this sourdough bread that needs no kneading.

Since I followed the recipe as it is, I'm just giving you a link to this beautifully written piece from NY Times - The no-knead bread.
(If you are bored to do a sign-in, I shall email you the recipe or probably post it on the blog along with the announcement for WBB# 8)



Bars and cookies


Oatmeal bars - Priya, Sugar and Spice








Peanut butter cookies - Vaishali, Happy burp







Muffins and scones



Eggless chocolate and nut muffins - Mandira, Ahaar






Blueberry muffins - Padmaja, Spicy Andhra








Banana nut muffins - Rooma, My khazana of recipes







Date walnut muffins - Kathryn, Limes and Lycopene








Ricotta strawberry choco-chip muffins - Anna, Morsels and musings







Blueberry Muffins - RP, My workshop








Chunky mango muffins - Usha, My cooking memoirs






Pineapple coconut muffins - Vaishali, Happy burp









Mixed berries cream scones - Asha, Foodie's hope






Cakes



Persimmon Spice cake - Meeta, What's for lunch, honey?









Cranberry cake - Nabeela, Trial and error







Apple cake with cinnamon and nutmeg - Mantu, Spice and curry






Saffron Walnut eggless cake - Mythreyee, Try this recipe






Tropical Fruit slice - Anh, Food lover's journey







Breads and more


Cinnamon Swirls - Maheshwari, Beyond the usual







Bagels for breakfast - Anita, A mad tea party






Grainy Low-fat Cranberry Nut Bread - Alison, Full Tummy








Guiltfree banana bread - Alison, Full tummy







Honey wheat bread - Lakshmiammal, Cook food serve love








Savoury Onion quick bread - Smita, Smita serves you right







Banana bread - Lakshmi, Flavours of Indian rasoi








Jammy Buns - Madhuli, Food Court







Healthy wheat triangles - Pooja, Creative Ideas




Carrot potato rolls - Vinaya, A whirl of aroma








Orange Bread - Ashwini, Food for thought







No-Knead bread (Sourdough) - Saffron Trail










Eggs & others


Zuccchini Frittata - Monisha, Coconut chutney






Baked beans and egg toasties - Praveena, Clothed cook







Onion and goat cheese tartlets - Indosungod, Daily Musings








Meatless sausage bake - Pavani, Cook's Hideout






Baked vegetables - Menu today








Handvoh - Trupti, The spice who loved me







Wheat puttu - Maneka, Kerala Kitchen







Kalthappam (Rice cake with jaggery) - Shaheen, Malabar Spices









Spicy chocolate strawberry bread pudding -
Cooking in Westchester, Rinku

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