Corn and Pepper Sandwiches

Credits for this recipe & picture go to one of my closest friends, Deepika -

It takes about 5 mins to get all the veggies cut and about another 5 minutes until you serve.

You need -

2 cups of sweet corn (you just scrape off 3 quarters of a corn)

1 capsicum/bell pepper

20 gms butter

Salt & pepper

Basil

Parsley

Broken wheat bread (or brown)

What you need to do -

- Melt butter in a pan

- Add a little salt

- Add the cut corn & capsicum/bell pepper

- Stir for a minute and turn the stove off

- Toast broken wheat bread (it’s the yummiest and crunchiest)

- Spread some corn and capsicum mix on the toast and garnish with herbs on top according to taste

You can even eat it with a single slice of bread (as opposed to a two slice sandwich). And eat the left over mix just like that!

On nice cozy morning, whether a weekend or not, this could make a yummy start to the day.

Chocolate Pancakes

Anu and Joy came over last weekend, and as promised I whipped up some pancakes. Easy to make and very fulfilling as a breakfast, this is ideal for a lazy Sunday morning.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of vanilla essence

Some choco chilps or Hershey's chocolate syrup

Honey/more chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a thick batter. It has to have the consistency of dosa batter.

- Add either chocolate syrup or the chips to the batter depending on how chocolatey you want it.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining a half centimeter thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add honey or/and chocolate syrup.

Serve hot with coffee and you're set for a good day ahead!

Rawa Dosa

I love Rawa Dosa, but the closest I've come to making it at home is to use MTR's Instant Rawa Dosa Mix. Credits for this recipe also go to Deepsy's mum.

Made by Deepsy's mum, held by Deepsy, and eaten by yours truly!

You need -

1 portion maida (flour) or wheat

2 portions rice powder (arsi powder)

3 portions rava

Some coriander

Some jeera/cumin seeds

Some curry leaves

2 chillies

Chopped Onions (optional)

What you have to do -

- Mix all the above ingredients with water to get a loose consistency

- Set aside for 5 minutes

- Heat the pan with a little oil, and pour the batter out (the batter shouldn't be spread in sweeping circular motions like a regular dosa - it should be poured out in a circle while maintaining minimal thickness)

- Sprinkle some oil all over and around the corners - the dosa will come out with a lot of little holes (it's very natural)

- Serve with curd/chutney/sambar

A variation -

Instead of mixing the batter in water, mix with would sour butter milk. This gives it a completely different taste. Once you mix the batter, leave it aside for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Serve with -

- Tomato or coconut chutney

- Pickle

- Curd

- And a cup of strong hot coffee!

Parisian Crepes

I tasted my first crepe while in Paris, in 2007, at a little cafe opposite the Louvre museum metro stop - and I loved it!

(at the Louvre, soon after the crepes)

Since then, I've experimented in my own kitchen and I must say - it has come out very well.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of flavored essence (optional)

Fruit of your choice (banana, apple, strawberry, pineapple recommended)

Honey/chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a loose flow-ey batter. It has to have the consistency of olive oil.

- Let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. You can put it away in the fridge and come back to it later if you're preparing it ahead of time.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining the least possible thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add cut fruit and honey/chocolate syrup.

- Roll it over or fold twice and serve!

Some interesting variations -

- Make chocolate pancakes with slices bananas and leave it in the fridge for a few hours. They're quite yummy on a hot summer afternoon or make for a good dessert.

- Chocolate + Banana + Coconut shavings = very yum!

- Strawberry + Honey = very very yum!

- Add white/brown chocolate chips to make them crunchy and super-chocolatey.

Bread Upma

This has got to be my favorite Saturday morning breakfast. When you wake up late on weekends, and live with girls who are too lazy to buy real vegetables to cook with, this comes as a savior. It's easy to make and the ingredients are usually available in the kitchen.

Naagu posted about this once, after we spend a lovely Christmas day together, way back when she still lived in Hyderabad. Click here for what happened that day and how you can make the upma.

Vanilla French Toast

I don't have any pictures yet - I'm still to get into the habit of taking pictures after I cook, so that I can post them. But, here's my recipe, anyway.

You need -

Brown Bread or Multi Grain Bread

2-3 Eggs

3 spoon fulls of Sugar (add more if you like it really sweet)

5 drops of Vanilla Essence

What you have to do -

- Beat the eggs, milk, sugar and essence together

- Heat a flat pan with some butter

- Dip the bread in the mix (be careful not to dip for long as that breaks the bread)

- Cook the bread on both sides until it turns golden brown

If you want to make it fancy: Stack three full slices of bread one on top of the other, and top it off with a fried egg.

Pour yourself a glass of orange juice, cut up some fruit, brew some mild black tea, and there you have it - the perfect heavy Sunday breakfast!