All posts filed under: Breakfast

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Masala Poori

Published by Sanjana

  The world of Indian breads is vast and varied. From rotli to naan, paratha and poori, they can be toasted, baked or fried. Adding herbs and spices is common and I love experiment with different flavours. My favourite kind of poori has got to be infused with turmeric and red chilli and is also known as Masala Poori   Serve with Sukha Aloo (Dry Potato Curry) and creamy yogurt for am amazing breakfast or brunch. Poori is also popularly served with spicy chickpea curry and is eaten with the hands, filling the fried bread with curry and broken from the outside in. Fiddly but delicious.   Traditionally a South Indian bread, they can be made into large discs or little puffy balls. I prefer to make them smaller firstly because they’re cute and secondly, because they rise much more easily which is great if you’re a beginner. Sooji or semolina is added to give the bread a crisp finish and it is popularly eaten with Shrikhand at auspicious times. Let me tell you, that …

Potato and Cashew Nut Curry (Sukha Bateta Nu Shaak)

Published by Sanjana

Let me introduce you to the first part of one of the most amazing brunches known to man (and woman) – Potato and Cashew Nut Curry with Little Deep Fried Breads, also known as Sukha Bateta Nu Shaak and Masala Poori. My heart just did a little somersault. My fondest memories of eating this dish lie with the time I lived with my parents. Waking up on sleepy Sunday mornings (or to be more accurate, Sunday midday in my case) to the smell of aromatic curry leaves, fresh ginger and freshly fried spicy dough permeated my nostrils, coaxing me out of bed and into the kitchen to witness exactly what everyone needs to experience at least once in life – Bateta Nu Shaak and Masala Poori for brunch. The whole shebang was like a starved bear waking up from hibernation to the smell of honey-drenched baklava. Well, something like that anyway. This dry curry epitomises Gujarati cooking with its fluffy potatoes, crunchy cashews and light spicing, complimented by a squeeze of zingy lemon juice. Garnish …

Mini Masala Dosa

Published by Sanjana

I’m yet to meet a person who doesn’t love masala dosas. A light, healthy meal full of nutrients and flavour, dosas are widely popular on restaurant menus and in roadside cafés. Ever since I was a little girl I have always associated these crispy rolls of spicy potato with family outings to a nearby vegetarian restaurant which serves ‘monster dosas’. If you hadn’t already guessed, these are gigantic versions of the South Indian speciality. When I say gigantic I’m talking over a ft long. We didn’t always go out to eat moster dosas, sometimes we were treated to the special type of masala dosas – homemade ones. Fresh curry leaves On strained tiptoes, I used to peek over the stove top to watch my mother swirl the thinnest sheet of batter you’ve ever laid eyes on, as glorious mix of anxiety and hunger slowly took over my pot belly. As soon as I saw the faintest tinge of golden brown through the pancake, I’d run to pick up one of our very Indian Pyrex plates …

Eggless Polenta and Sweetcorn Pancakes

Published by Sanjana

It’s Pancake Day this Tuesday 8th March which funnily enough, automatically makes it acceptable for us to stuff our faces with stacks of syrup-drenched pancakes. I’m never one to argue when it comes to traditions like these. These sweet/savoury pancakes are made with fine cornmeal and juicy kernels of sweetcorn and no eggs whatsoever. Instead, I used baking soda as a raising agent, which makes the pancakes light, fluffy and perfect for brunch. Don’t you just love waking up to the smell of warm pancakes on a duvet day? I really love sweet and savoury flavours together, although I don’t often play around with dishes to create them. I also added mature cheddar cheese to these because I like to live on the wild side, but you could add chopped spring onions, or both for that matter. Eggless Polenta and Sweetcorn Pancakes (makes 8-10) Ingredients 120g fine cornmeal 30g plain flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp oil 3 tbsp sour cream 140g sweetcorn 140g mature cheddar cheese, grated ½ tsp salt Pinch ground white …

Scrambled Tofu with Edamame and Black Salt

Published by Sanjana

This month KO Rasoi is ecstatic to be taking part in the International Incident Salt Party hosted by Penny from the delicious blog Jeroxie: Addictive and Consuming. Every month the party has a different theme and each participant creates a dish based on that. They post on the same day and at the same time- just like a regular party. This month’s theme is salt and dull it certainly isn’t. There are hundreds of different salts used for various purposes and they all have their own individual flavours. Some are mellow, some sharp and some completely bizarre. For your feasting pleasure, I picked the salt with the oddest flavour I could possibly think of. Black salt. The crystals of this salt are black, but when they’re ground into a fine powder they take on a dusty pink hue. Gorgeous. And peculiar. Probably every Indian will have tasted black salt (or kala namak/sanchar) and if you ask them what it tastes like they will grin from ear to ear. You see, black salt may appear to …

Gimme, Gimme Bateta Poha

Published by Sanjana

Let me introduce you to the most wonderful breakfast/brunch/lunch in the whole entire world. Well, almost. Not counting ice cream. Ice cream IS a breakfast item, right? Poha (pronounced: puhwa) are cooked, flattened and dehydrated grains of basmati rice. You can find them in most Indian grocery stores packed in regular plastic bags. The bateta part is cubed, deep fried potatoes, but you probably worked that one out already; bateta-potato-bateta-potato-bateta-potato. They do sound similar. The ingredients in this dish vary from region to region and family to family. I’m making a classic Gujarati version, which of course must be like all Gujarati dishes are: hot, sweet and sour. This dish is very forgiving, so if you want to omit certain ingredients like onions or not add too much chilli then that’s totally up to you. At home we add plenty of peanuts and cashews to bulk the dish up for a more filling meal. If you’re ever stuck for making something for a large amount of people then this is the perfect recipe. You can make …

The Turmeric Showcase: Gujarati Khichdi

Published by Sanjana

As promised, it is my pleasure to share with you a recipe in which turmeric is a key ingredient. Gujarati khichdi (pronounced: khiCHdRiy) literally translates to ‘mish-mash’- sounds appetising, right? Well maybe not, but it is one of the most comforting rice and lentil dishes in the whole world (at least in my eyes!) I have been eating it since I can remember; which is probably since I began to grow teeth! Every time I eat a big spoonful of this soft, nutritious, buttery Comfort I am teleported back to my childhood. It can be eaten on its own, mixed with milk for breakfast (although I think it’s good any time of the day!). Or with that other Gujarati favourite, kadhi. If you are not familiar with this dish then you may be familiar with the British version Kedgeree, which is a similar rice dish made with eggs. Kedgeree was adapted from Indian khichdi to suit the appetites of British colonisers during the British colonial rule in India. I think it’s really fascinating how food blueprints tend …