BREAD UPMA

Bread is used in many ways in different countries. We can toast it, make a sandwich or even have it fresh with butter & jam. Here i have used bread in a typical Indian style dish.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Bread - 1 small loaf ( app. 350 gms )

Big onions - 2 nos

Tomato - 1 no

Green chilies - 3 nos

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Broken urud dal - 3/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Cut the bread in to small cubes. Sprinkle some water, mix it & keep it covered for sometime. Chop the onions, tomato & green chilies in to small pieces. Heat oil in a pan & fry the mustard seeds. Add the urud dal & fry for sometime. Add the chopped green chilies & onions. Fry till the onions become pale in colour. Then add the tomato pieces & fry for some time. Add the turmeric powder & enough salt. Then add the soaked bread pieces & mix it all well & fry for sometime. Bread upma is ready.

Variations:

We can skip the tomato in the upma. Instead we can add finely chopped vegetables like beans , carrots, peas & potatoes to the upma.

Tips:

1. Always use non-sweetened bread for the upma. For those who like it a little sweet, you can use sweet bread & make it.
2. While sprinkling the bread with water, make sure that all pieces of bread are completely soaked but don't over soak it.
3. Add the salt to the vegetables & mix it well before adding the bread so that the salt spreads evenly.

Taste it & enjoy.

CAPSICUM CORN MASALA ON TOAST

Indians have adopted a lot of English vegetables into their daily menu. Capsicum has taken up many forms in the Indian palette. This is one of them.

Preparation Time:10 mts Cooking Time:10 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Capsicum - 1/4 kg (250gms)

Sweet corn (frozen) - 100 gms

Big onion - 1 no.

Tomato - 1 no

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/4 tsp

Salt - to taste

Refined oil - 1 tbsp

For the toast:

Bread - 4 slices

Butter - enough to spread on the toast

Method:

Cut the capsicum in to small square pieces. Cut the onions & tomatoes in to small pieces. In a pan, pour the oil & fry the jeera. Then add the onions & fry till they are translucent. Add the capsicum & fry for sometime. When it starts cooking, add the tomatoes &the sweet corn. When it is almost cooked, add the turmeric powder, chili powder & salt. Cook for a few more minutes. The capsicum corn masala is ready. Toast the bread. Take a toast & spread some butter on top. Then put a tablespoon of masala on top & serve it hot. This makes an ideal tea time snack. We can also have it for breakfast.

Variations:

We can make the masala with any vegetable we have. We can substitute corn with green peas. We can add carrot & beans also to the masala.

Tips:

1. For those who love garam masala, we can add a little of it to enhance the taste.
2. We can also add some chaat masala or channa masala for a different taste.

Try it & enjoy.