Category Archives: Breakfast

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Crumpets w Blueberry Jam (GF)

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Recently in a facebook group, someone mentioned crumpets. It was something I hadn’t ever heard of before, and upon googling it, I realised it was something I just had to make. Crumpets are a British thing, something in between pancakes and British muffins. Since I am allergic to gluten, I had to make a version that avoided plain flour. Was it worth the experiment? Absolutely.

I’ve thrown in psyllium husk and banana for added fluffiness but really it works just fine without them too. You can use guar gum or ground chia or flax seeds as well if you like.

Makes about 10 crumpets

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups gluten free flour (I used 50% buckwheat and 50% jowar flour)
  • 2 tbsp psyllium husk (optional)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp instant yeast (or 1.25tsp dried yeast and remember to proof it)
  • 1 large egg, separated
  • 1 ripe banana, can also be over ripe (optional, will need to add a little water and 2 tbsp of melted butter if skipping)
  • 1 tsp each salt and sugar

For the Jam

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method:

  • Heat the milk to just above body temperature, add the lemon juice, let stand for a minute.
  • Whisk the flours, psyllium husk, yeast, salt and sugar together and stir in the milk. Let sit for 30-60 min.
  • Add the egg yolk and mashed banana
  • Whip the egg white until stiff and gently fold it in. If the consistency looks too thick, add milk until it is a smooth batter.
  • Wait 10 min and spoon into crumpet rings over a hot iron skillet. You can either cook this over the stove or bake it in an oven at 180C for 5 minutes. Flip the crumpet over and cook again until done.
  • Serve with butter and jam, or like in this case whipped cream and blueberry-chia jam. I also like to serve it sometimes with mushroom and broccoli in Bechamel sauce.

The Blueberry Chia Jam

  • Cook the blueberries (or any other berries) in a saucepan on low heat for about 5-10 min and then mash until the desired consistency is reached.
  • Take it off the heat, add maple syrup, lemon juice and chia seeds.
  • Let cool completely and then transfer to a glass jar for storage.

All Posts, Breakfast

Jackfruit Dosa

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I love ripe jackfruits more than any other fruit. In the 80’s while living in Manipal, our neighbour made jackfruit dosas for us. I never knew of this dish before and she obliged me with its recipe. Now every time I get a ripe jackfruit , this is a must have preparation.

Jackfruit dosas served with honey, mango launji and fresh mango

Ingredients

1 cup rice soaked for 3 to 4 hours- to make 6-7 dosas

8- 10 deseeded bulbs of ripe jackfruit

Salt to taste

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp dried ginger powder (optional)

Water

Instruction

  • Grind all the ingredients with sufficient water to a thick batter and make dosas
  • Can be served with honey,  butter, chutney , or any sweet pickle
    All Posts, Breakfast, Mains

    Bajra Khichdi with Vegetables

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    There are some things that bring a deep, deep sense of fulfillment during winter. Bajra khichdi is one of them. It just needs to be planned ahead due to the soaking time.

    Serves 2
    Cooking Time: 30 min

    Ingredients:

    1/2 cup bajra
    1/2 cup mung dal
    2 cups water
    1 tbsp mustard oil
    1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
    1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
    a pinch of hing (asafetida)
    1 small potato, peeled and chopped
    1 small carrot, peeled and chopped, 
    1/2 cup peas

    Procedure

    • Soak bajra overnight, combine with mung dal, water and pressure cook for 4 whistles.  (Note: Some people like to pulse the bajra in a blender a few times before cooking, to crush it. I skipped this step and liked the crunch. Up to you what you like)
    • Heated some mustard oil, added jeera and when it splutters, add hing and haldi
    • Then add chopped potatoes, carrots and peas. 
    • Cook until done and mix it into the khichdi. 
    • Serve with a dollop of ghee and gud dahi or crispy pakodas 🙂 I added some raw sliced onions, and sliced ginger and chili with salt and lemon juice.

    Most internet recipes talk about only bajra and dal but I wanted some more nutrition in it. Hence the veggies.

    All Posts, Breakfast

    Mathri (Flaky biscuits)

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    This is a ubiquitous North Indian savory item that I was exposed to after my marriage and my mother in law packed some for us very lovingly. They are prepared during festivals and also carried during journeys as they stay fresh for many days. It can be a substitute for breakfast when taken with pickle. They are great accompaniments for tea/coffee too.

    Ingredients:

    2 cups refined flour (or 1 cup wheat flour and 1 cup refined flour) (for 40 small, 3 cm diameter mathris)
    ¾ cup ghee or oil
    1 ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
    ¾ cup water
    Oil for frying

    Instructions:

    • Add salt and ghee to the refined flour and mix them together till they resemble bread crumbs.
    • Add the water slowly and knead into soft dough. Cover and keep aside for ten minutes.

    • Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan.
    • Divide the dough into two portions. Spread the dough into round, with a thickness slightly less than ½ centimetre. Poke the whole surface with a fork. Cut into small rounds.

    • When oil starts smoking, reduce the flame to medium and slip the rounds into the oil. Turn them over when they brown, drain when the other side also browns.
    • Cool and store.
    All Posts, Breakfast

    Jackfruit Dosa

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    Jackfruit dosas for me are associated with childhood memories. Mom would serve it with a drizzle of honey and maybe a dollop of butter. So yum!

    I found merely dosa and honey to be a bit minimalistic, so this time I combined it with chutney and dal instead. It worked out fine for me, but if you like it sweet, add a dash of sugar or jaggery to the batter, and top it up with honey and butter for a delish breakfast.

    Makes 6-7 dosas
    Time taken: 20 min

    Ingredients

    2 cups raw rice
    ½ cup grated coconut
    6-7 pods of jackfruit, deseeded
    2 tbsp jaggery (optional)
    ½ tsp salt
    Water
    Ghee/ oil for cooking

    Instructions

    • Soak the rice for at least 3-4 hours. If you want to make this dosa instantly, you could use rice flour instead, to cut down on soaking time.
    • Grind the rice along with coconut, jackfruit and salt. If you want to make it sweet, you could add jaggery at this stage.
    • Mix enough water to make a smooth batter, and spread over a hot pan to make dosas. Flip over when brown underneath, cook for a couole of minutes and take off the heat.
    • Serve immediately with dal and chutney or with honey and butter.
    All Posts, Breakfast

    Vegetable Burger

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    Vegetable Burger

    Since we traveled quite a bit when we were young, we were fortunate enough to grow up eating a wide variety of things, for my mother would pick up a recipe or two every place we went.

    Burgers were special times, and I’ve been spoiled, because whenever I eat a burger outside, I’m always thinking “where’s the lettuce”, or “not enough mayo” or something like that. Best to make it at home no? Especially after hearing things like Mc D’s burgers last forever without spoiling. What could be better than a home made burger with fresh ingredients?

    Makes 4 burgers
    Time taken: 30-40 minutes

    Ingredients

    4 burger buns
    1 Greek cucumber, sliced
    2 tomatoes, sliced
    1 bunch lettuce leaves
    4 eggs (optional)
    4 slices of cheese
    4 tbsp butter

    For the Patties
    2 large potatoes
    1 small carrot
    ¼ cup peas & sweet corn
    1 egg (or 3 tbsp plain flour mixed with water to make a thin paste)
    1 slice bread
    ¼ cup breadcrumbs (toast bread & grind it to a powder)
    Salt
    Oil

    For the Cole Slaw
    1½ cups finely sliced cabbage
    1 cup grated carrot (I used purple cabbage instead, in the pic)
    ¼ cup mayonnaise
    ½ tsp mustard sauce (I used kasundi)

    To Serve
    Potato chips or fries
    Tomato Ketchup
    Toothpicks

    Instructions

    Patties:

    • Wash the potatoes thoroughly, cut in half or quarters, and pressure-cook along with the carrots and salt until done (usually 10 min).
    • Meanwhile, boil the peas and sweetcorn with some salt until cooked.
    • Soak the slice of bread in water for a few seconds, remove and squeeze all water out.
    • Mash the potatoes, carrot, peas, corn and bread together to form a smooth mixture. Shape into 4 patties.
    • Dip the patties in beaten egg, pat on breadcrumbs, and shallow-fry on medium heat until both sides are golden brown.

    Cole Slaw:

    • Mix all the ingredients together.

    Assembling:

    • Slice the buns in half, butter each side and toast on a pan until slightly crispy.
    • Place the lettuce on the lower portion of the bun, place the cucumber and tomato slices, a spoon of cole slaw, and then place the patty on top of it. Top with a slice of cheese and the top portion of the bun. Insert a toothpick to hold it all in place. Repeat for the remaining three burgers.
    • Serve with the remaining cole slaw and a side of fries.

    All Posts, Breakfast

    Coconut pancake

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    Wandering along the Bogmalo beach, we entered a shack to have something before returning to the guest house to sleep. ‘Coconut pancake’ caught my attention and I ordered one for me. To my pleasant surprise I found my favorite childhood dish ‘muttayappam’ (my mother used to make it quite often) placed in coconut milk in a shallow dish and I enjoyed it to the last bit!

    Makes 4 pancakes
    Time taken: 20 min

    Ingredients

    1  cup refined flour for
    A pinch of salt
    2 teaspoons sugar
    1 egg
    ¾ cup water to make a free flowing batter
    2 tbsps ghee or oil
    1 cup coconut milk

    For filling:
    1 cup grated coconut
    1/3 cup sugar
    ½ tsp cardamom powder

    Instructions

    Take the refined flower in a container, add salt and sugar and break the egg into the center. Beat the egg and gradually blend it into the flour.

    Add the water slowly and keep stirring, to make a batter of flowing consistency.

    Heat a shallow kadai on medium flame, smear ghee or oil on the surface.

    Pour a large ladle of the batter. Hold the kadai with both hands, take it away from fire, rotate it to spread the batter into a round. Keep it back over the flame.

    When it is cooked, spread the grated coconut, sugar, cardamom mixture in a straight line close to one side and roll the pancake over.

    Take it out and keep on a plate.

    At the time of serving, pour some coconut milk in a shallow dish, and place the pancake over it.

    All Posts, Breakfast

    Ragi Bread with a Twist

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    Ragi Bread

    I love rye bread, but rye is not something you get easily in India. And anyway, being a fan of eating locally grown foods, I figured that finding a decent substitute was in order.  Enter ragi.

    Now, ragi is wonderful. It contains lesser fat and higher fibre than brown rice and wheat. The amount of calcium contained in ragi is around ten times that contained in wheat or rice!

    But there was a problem. Good bread needs gluten, and ragi is gluten free, so breads turned out to be dense and heavy, not exactly how I like them. I was at a loss.

    The best dishes are usually created by accident. One day, I used ragi huri hittu (popped ragi flour) because I ran out of ragi flour. And what a difference it made!

    Ragi huri hittu is available in most supermarkets in Bangalore, usually next to the rice flours and the like. It is tremendously nutritious and easy to digest, and is used almost all over Karnataka as baby food – the first solid food introduced to an infant. It is not usually cooked again, so it is possible that there may be a slight nutrition loss as a result of the baking – a loss I’m ok with.

    Ok, so here goes.

    Time: ~ 3 hours
    Makes 1 loaf

    Ingredients

    1 cup ragi huri hittu
    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1 cup refined flour
    ½ cup mixed seeds ( flax, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, sesame, poppy)
    1 tbsp active dry yeast or 2 tbsp of fresh yeast
    2 cups warm water (just a tad above body temperature)
    2 tbsp olive oil
    2 tbsp sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1 egg (optional)

    Method

    Proof the yeast. That is, place the yeast, sugar and a little of the water in a bowl and let it sit for about 10 min until frothy.

    Now mix the yeast with the flours, salt, oil, seeds (save 2-3 tbsp of the seeds for later) and water, adding slowly to bring it to a dough consistency.

    Knead the dough patiently, for about 10-15min. Shape it into a ball, pat the surface with a little oil, cover with a damp towel and set aside for about 45 min to an hour or until more than double in size.

    Gently punch down and shape into a loaf. Moisten the top with a little water and pat down the remaining seeds on top of the loaf.

    Let it rest another 20 min. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Brush the top with beaten egg if you want a glossy finish (I haven’t used it on the loaf pictured above). You could make a few slits on the top surface as well if you like, but I find that it sometimes makes it harder to slice the bread cleanly.

    Bake for about 40-45 min until the bread makes a hollow sound when tapped with the back of a knife. Take it out of the oven and cover with a towel until cool.

    Let it cool completely before slicing, although a slice of oven-fresh bread with a dollop of butter has its own charm.

    Tip:

    Smear some butter on the knife before slicing the bread. I find that it helps slice it thinner.

    Variation:

    Add chopped basil, red bell pepper, olives, raisins and onion seeds to the flour along with the seeds for a nice Mediterranean flavor.

    All Posts, Breakfast

    Sabudana Vada

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    Makes 20 vadas
    Time taken: 20-30min

    This snack is very popular in Maharashtra, and one of the most-missed dishes among the ones who leave the state. Luckily, sago is available almost all over the world today, and this dish can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.

    Ingredients

    1 cup sago (sabudana)
    3 small potatoes
    4 Bread slices
    Salt
    1/3 tsp Chili powder
    ¼ tsp Garam masala
    ⅓ tsp Baking soda
    Oil for deep-frying
    7-8 Mint leaves finely cut

    Instructions

    • Soak the sago in water
    • Boil, peel and mash the potatoes
    • Dip the slices of bread in water, squeeze and mash them.
    • Mix all the ingredients into a smooth dough
    • Heat oil in a deep bottom non-stick pan
    • Shape a bit of dough with oiled hands and slide it into hot oil.
    • When putting the next one in, slide it gently so that the two don’t stick.
    • Fry until cooked on both sides
    • Drain and serve hot with tomato ketchup, sweetened yoghurt or with tamarind chutney.
    All Posts, Breakfast

    Batata Poha

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    Serves 4
    Time taken: 30-40 min

    Ingredients

    2 cups thick poha
    1 onion, chopped
    2 potatoes, chopped small
    ½ cup roasted peanuts
    2 green chilies
    2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
    4 tbsp freshly grated coconut (or dessicated coconut)
    ¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
    ¼ tsp mustard seeds
    ¼ tsp cumin seeds
    ¼ tsp asafetida (Hing)
    1 tsp oil
    Salt
    Water

    Instructions

    • In a bowl, soak poha in enough water to cover the surface and a few millimeters above.
    • I like my poha soft, so I let it sit for half an hour, or until all the water is soaked. If you like it tougher, then drain out the water and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
    • Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard and cumin seeds.
    • When they splutter, add the asafetida, onion, stir and add potatoes.
    • Cook until the potatoes are done.
    • Add groundnuts and stir until they brown.
    • Add the poha, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Mix well.
    • Serve garnished with coriander leaves and coconut. I also like to top it up with farsaan or namkeen.

    Variation: You can skip the potato and add extra onion to make it kanda poha. However, my personal favourite version of this is with lots of vegetables. I frequently add carrots and peas along with the potatoes and love the final result.

    I also love to garnish it with pomegranate, raw onion, coriander, grated coconut and namkeen or sev.