Mushroom Couscous

Here’s a quick mushroom couscous recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous

1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth. You may also use water but that is less flavorful

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 green chilies chopped

2 cups mushrooms (any variety), sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh herbs like parsley/ thyme or favorite herb for garnish

Method:

Heat olive oil or butter in a pan, sauté onions (crushed garlic optional, don't like it for breakfast), and sliced mushrooms until tender.

Bring the broth to a boil, stir in couscous, cover, and remove from heat. strain

After 5 minutes, fluff couscous with a fork, mix in the mushroom mixture, season, and garnish.

Simple cucumber sandwich

 Hi all

After a hiatus, I plan to be more regular with my food blog. Here is a simple cucumber sandwich recipe for you that can be breakfast, eaten with afternoon high tea, or as a snack. 

Ingredients:

- Sliced bread (white, whole wheat, or your choice)

- Fresh cucumbers, thinly sliced

- Cream cheese or butter

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Optional: dill, mint, or other herbs for added flavor

Method:

1. Begin by spreading a thin layer of cream cheese or butter on one side of each bread slice.

2. Place a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers on one bread slice.

3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and any optional herbs over the cucumbers.

4. To create a sandwich, add another bread slice, cream cheese/butter side down.

5. Remove the crusts from the sandwich for a more traditional look.

6. Cut the sandwich into smaller triangles or fingers for serving.

Enjoy your homemade cucumber sandwich!

Feel free to get creative by adding other ingredients like smoked salmon, radishes, or sprouts for extra flavor and texture.

Breakfast in a ramekin

#1 Parmesan cheese, bell pepper, Thai chilis, eggs, pepper, and pink salt.
     Baked for 10-15 mins at 350 F

You may make sandwiches with tomatoes, baked eggs, and sriracha mayo.

Breakfast crepe with strawberries and crème fraîche

Sunday brunch: Poached egg on Portobello

Poached egg on Portobello (with grated parmesan, parsley, and chili flakes)

I pan-fried it though you can also bake.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil on a non-stick. Place the portobello. Sprinkle Himalayan pink salt and chili flakes. Break the egg on top of the mushroom. Cover and cook until the egg and mushrooms are cooked through. For bigger/deeper mushrooms, you may choose to saute the mushroom first and then poach the egg. Add grated parmesan, parsley, and chili flakes on top and serve hot.

I added raspberries to the plate for some color and Vitamin-C.

Tip: Make sure the portobello is not broken on the sides or the egg might flow down to the pan and overcook

Breakfast ideas : Cilantro-mozzarella omelette

Cilantro-mozzarella omelette (you may also use goat cheese, mushrooms and spinach)

Breakfast eggs #1

Make a bed of mushrooms, red onions, cilantro, and green chilies. Sprinkle salt. Break 4 eggs (for 2 people) carefully. Sprinkle some more salt. Mix half cup milk with 1 tsp cream cheese and spread evenly on the eggs. Cover and cook for a few more minutes till the milk boil to a creamy goodness.

Soya kabuli

This is a recipe inspired by my aunt who made soya nuggets with vatana.

I was hungry in the morning and had no pre-soaked vatana which I usually use for making Bengali ghugni. However, my pantry had a can of chick peas. I got to work

Ingredients:
1 medium sized diced potato
1 cup soya nugget
1 can of chickpeas 28 oz or about 800 gm (Alternately you may soak chickpeas or yellow vatana overnight)
Minced onion- half of 1 large OR one full medium
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt, turmeric, cooking oil, garam masala and ghee

Method:

1. Heat mustard oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves.
2. Add diced potato, minced onions, some soy nuggets (soaked in warm water until they are soft, then squeeze the excess water).
3. Add the chickpeas, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and ghee.
   (If you prefer to use onion paste to make the gravy thicker, stir fry the paste with potatoes. Make sure it is cooked thoroughly.)
4. Add 2-3 cups of warm water and boil on pressure or until soft.

You may serve it as a snack, or with poori.

Vermicelli pilaf/pulao

1. Bring a sauce pan of water to boil. Add vermicelli and boil on low till soft. Take out and drain in a colander in cold water. (to prevent sticking)
2. Cut potatoes and cauliflowers into bite sized pieces. Microwave with water for 3-4 mins or till al dente. 
3. In a non-stick frying, heat 1 tsp cooking oil,  add minced onions, mustard seeds (can skip), curry leaves, minced green chilis (I used 2 ), green peas, turmeric, salt. Stir. Add  drained potatoes and cauliflower that you steamed first. Next, add the vermicelli. Add spicy cashews (or dry roasted ones). Taste for salt.

I had it for breakfast today with tea. The instruction packet asked us to fry the vermicelli for pulao. I prefer to boil them.

Some variations use tomatoes and carrots. This preparation is similar to my breakfast poha or chirer pulao recipe. 

Buttermilk pancake with orange blossom honey and pecans

Recipe: 1 egg, 1 cup all-purpose flour, pinch of baking powder, salt, sugar, 1 cup buttermilk. Blend the ingredient (egg first)and shallow fry in 1 tsp melted butter. Top with honey and pecans

Blueberry crepes

You may use strawberries , raspberries or a mix of your favorite berries.

For the crepe:

1. Make a batter with 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and sugar to taste.(You can store the batter for 48 hrs in the fridge)
2. Add butter to thinly coat a non-stick pan. Pour the batter and swirl the pan to make it evenly thick. Flip. (You can store the crepes in the freezer for later use)

For the filling:

1. Stew the berries with lemon zest and cinnamon powder on low heat. Add sugar to taste. Let them sit in the syrup.
2. Spoon out the berry filling onto the crepe and roll the crepes. Place a spoonful on the top if you wish.

Poha / Chirer Polao

Chirer polao or aloo poha is a favorite for breakfast in winter. And surprisingly easy to make too.

1. Wash the poha (flattened rice) in cold water and drain in a colander.
2. Finely chop onions, green chilis. Julienne/matchstick ginger if you prefer to add them.
3.  Dice potatoes, cauliflower in small bits.  (You might want to add a little salt here)
4. In a wok, heat vegetable oil and add mustard seeds, onions, then potatoes, cauliflower, frozen green peas. Stir.
5. When the veggies are about done, add curry leaves, Whole mustard seeds, green chilis, ginger, dry roasted peanuts. (you can use your favorite snacking peanuts too.)
6. Add the moist poha (you can add salt and a tsp sugar uniformly before you add it to the wok), stir well and serve warm.

*
I always try to think what I can have for breakfast- I had almost forgotten how good a well toasted bread tastes in warm milk. Yum.