American Omelette

We as a family, love American breakfast. And so we dine quite often at Denny's or IHOP. I particularly like the fact that, when you make it at home, even though you don't prep much the previous night, for your breakfast next morning, you could get it ready on time. And the best part ; I don't have to plead, to have it finished. Since they like it, the breakfast vanishes quickly.

Now American Omelette, unlike the Indian styled ones; are not cooked thoroughly. It took quite some time to get it right. I would end up overcooking it everytime. So its would be just like the Indian Omelette with some cheese and vegetables in it. Clearly, they cannot be tagged under American Omelette. The fact was, even though the base would get cooked, the surface of the Omelette would remain liquidy and uncooked and it would make me flip it and cook. So one trick helped me to balance even cooking of the Omelette without flipping, which make perfect American Omelette. What is that one trick? Well you will have to check out the recipe for that :).  

Poha

With temperatures dropping, all I want to do is just snooze and snooze the alarm every 5 mins. I understand that it is not actually letting me rest as I would want to, because it will keep on interrupting me by ringing every other 5 mins. But still I keep doing it every single day. It is just so hard to pull your eyelids apart when you are resting under the cozy blanket. Anyways, winter mornings get better with a warm breakfast. I still recollect Poha to be a delicacy during winters. Because my mom would pluck some fresh coriander leaves to garnish the hot poha. But with the coriander leaves available year round now, I have the luxury to make it whenever I want to. Poha and some steaming chai- isn’t that just the best thing to start your day with . 

I grew up eating poha as a tea time snack on cold and wintery evenings. I was not a great fan then. When I landed in pune for my job, every other day I would choose to get poha for breakfast from the canteen. They were not as good as my mom used to make and hence brought in the realization of the value of home made food.

Ragi Idli

Ragi Idli could have never made it to our menu for breakfast, couple of years back. Only after my lil guy was born, we started feeding him Ragi and I started to try understand how wholesome and healthy it is. Hence I started trying different things out of it. The usual idli, puttu, dosa etc. started getting healthier by adding ragi in it. And its good to bring in some variety to the monotonous menu too. No doubt our family has loved it. Because every time I have served it, the plates have been left wiped clean :).

They were so pillowy soft. And that grainy feeling of ragi and its taste was mellowed down by a portion of rice that, it was loved by us, who otherwise would put on a sad face with the mere mention of the word ragi. If you are looking for including ragi in your diet, this ragi idli could be one yummiest ways to do it. So here is the recipe to it.

Ragi Poori

Before being a mother, I never had to hesitate or give a second thought of trying new recipes which were complicated and would make me spend the major part of my day in the kitchen. But with a toddler, I have become choosy. Something that is quick to make but new in taste and nutritious yet delicious, makes it to the table. Believe me, its more difficult to think what to make rather than actually making it.

My toddler is not that fussy eater (touchwood), but he would like varieties. I won't blame him because I too would get bored of rice/ chapathi everyday. So we tend to create new things for him whenever possible to bring in variety, to avoid any scenes of tantrum that he might create and leave me crazy.

Waffles

I know of so many people, who love waffles, but don't make it at home as it required waffle maker. Since these waffle makers are just meant to make waffles, they don't seem to be worth buying. Well, I had those waffle trays that came along with the grill that my brother had gifted me way back. But I somehow didn't make it.

The fear of doing something wrong or just predicting it to be too tough to succeed or may be shear laziness, made me not to try them untill last year. And I seriously think I should have tried it earlier, to have extended our breakfast options. So easy, so filling and so yummy.

Mangalore Buns

I was introduced to Mangalore buns by one of my colleagues. It seemed like she just had one breakfast option and that being Mangalore buns. She would always and always order Mangalore buns for breakfast. Back then I had no idea what made it so special because I had never tasted them. The day when I had these, I understood why my colleague had been so hooked to these fried bread. They are yumm. Best part, you don't necessarily need a side to go with them.

To use up the over ripe bananas, this is one great option. My husband loves Mangalore and has lived there for couple of years. But for some reason he never got to hear about them or have it. So the first time while making them, he showed least interest in it. But when he got to taste it, he says he has yet another reason to love Mangalore :). Ohh and my lil one, who is otherwise a picky eater, loves it.

Pumpkin Pancake

The joy of waking up on a weekend a little late than usual and having no particular schedule for the day is such a pleasure. Those days call for a beautiful family breakfast. On other days, it is like, husband grabbing some bites of the breakfast; me having it after he has left and mid way my breakfast, a toddler who gets up crying and clinging on to you, that I leave the breakfast and go after him. And then while the kido is having his breakfast hot, I would be finishing off my leftover cold breakfast. And oh in between all this drama, there is a cup of tea that gets reheated multiple times or if I am just fed up of the reheating business, I just have it cold. So, yes the weekend family breakfast is much look forward to, when everyone gets up together and eat together :). 

Last Saturday, I wanted to have these pumpkin pancakes. But Jacob was craving for Omlet. So I thought why not give the little one an option to choose his breakfast as well. After lots of thinking with ehh's and ahh's he finalized on banana bread from previous day. I was expecting some pizza or pasta or pie as the outcome but he made my work easy..he he.. Even though all of us chose something for themselves, every body got a share of everything, to have for breakfast.

Aloo Parantha

Stuffed paranthas were always my favorites. While in school, mom used to pack these for lunch occasionally. I was a picky eater then, but the aloo paranthas would vanish from my tiffin soon, compared to anything else.

Luckily I married the guy who shared the same taste as mine. So I would make the mix the previous day that could help me make these paranthas real quick, for breakfast on working days. I would then have it with tomato sauce/pickle and he would have it with raita. My lil one is also a big fan of these stuffed parathas. Infact, he loves the thin version of these parathas. Hence, you see a thinner aloo paratha here. I have been asked many times by my friends and relatives how I get to make it thin without the mix bursting out of the paratha and the trick lies in the consistency of the mix.

Ragi Puttu

I must admit that I had not tried ragi before Jordan. My mom says, she has tried her best to feed me ragi, when I was a kid but I used to refuse. When I started giving solid food to Jordan, I had to give him ragi because every other person whom I asked of options, would start with ragi. Now when you give a food to the baby, it's like the presidents assistant tasting it before it is being tasted by the president himself. So I got to taste it too before Jordan. And I must say that I liked it. And then I started hunting for ragi recipes and to my surprise there were so many interesting recipes. One among them is this puttu. 

Jacob doesn't like it. I usually say that is because of his mental block of considering it to be baby food. But his dislike for ragi puttu has never stopped me from making it. When he has the normal rice puttu, mama and Jordan enjoy this ragi puttu . It's awesome. You should try it. 

Homemade Doughnuts or Donuts

There was a time when every other week of grocery shopping would include a donut purchase too. I used to love it. My favorite was the sugar glazed donut. It never made sense to me to make it at home because, Jacob was not a big doughnut fan.

It had been a while that we had bought any doughnuts and lil one was watching something on the tv and came up to me requesting to make doughnuts. Well, I thought why not make it for teatime snack. And soon we were kneading the dough for donuts. Lil one loves to help me while I am making something that includes kneading. So we did it together in the first half of the day. I waited for him to nap before I fry them, because I would need some piece of mind while I am doing some frying and to avoid any accidents I wanted him to be away from the kitchen. After he woke up, he came running, still a little dizzy from the sleep and said, "Mama, I am done napping, Can I get doughnuts? " It was so funny. But seriously, this guy never forgot about the doughnuts, though he was included only in the first stage of kneading.

Kerala Kadala Curry

Kadala curry - one awesome side dish to go with Appam/ Idiyappam/ Puttu/ Parotta/ Chapathi or even rice. There are very rare chances of a mallu to have not had it or hate it. 

I have always loved to pair it with puttu. Every time I make it, I remember my mother making it on weekends, esp. sunday's. She would be hurriedly making it to serve it for breakfast before we head to the church. Appam, Idiappam, Puttu etc. where the speciality of the weekends unlike the weekdays when there would be school and we would hardly sit down and eat breakfast with the fear of missing the school bus. Oh and we would have the breakfast twice on sunday's. One before we head to the church and one after we are done with the mass and the catechism :). 

Oats and Banana Mini Pancakes with raisins

Pancakes are our goto snack or breakfast, when nothing really clicks, as to what to make and feed the herd. Now when bananas have been ignored by people for couple of days and they start getting spotted and get even more ignored, those end up in the pancakes too. 

These pancake are healthier because they have oats in them and they taste great when had like these yummy pancakes. And it's a great way to include oats in the diet if someone doesn't eat it otherwise. So here is how I make it.

Idiyappam / Noolputtu

Idiyappam or string hoppers have been my favorite since I was a kid. I may not even need anything particular to go by its side... Just some sugar or shaved jaggery could do the job. 

The finest strands of idiyappam are the ones that taste just awesome. Alas, my idiappam maker does not make the finest ones. My hunt to get the finest holes in the idiyappam maker continues till date. 

Ribbon Sandwich or Tricolour Sandwich

Ribbon Sandwiches are a great snack option for picnics, parties or even your kid's tiffin box. If you have the tomato and coriander spread in your fridge, (which if made before hand, can be stored in the fridge for about a week) the tiffin could be packed up by the kid :). Its so easy a sandwich, yet so appealing to the eyes and also your tastebuds.

Sabudana Khichdi

If you have a kid who is a picky eater, you tend to experiment anything to make him/her eat. My picky toddler takes hours to finish the food on certain days esp. when you are running short of time to rush to get somewhere. Mornings are harder when you have to send him to school. Pack for his tiffin, Jacob's lunch etc... which all are easy a task when compared to making Jordan finish his breakfast. So I went on to extending my menu for breakfast. The variety of options means, you don't repeat one dish in like minimum 3 weeks, so it gets easier for him to relish on something that he would have almost forgotten the taste of and would happily eat.

I had never tried sabudana khichdi before. But my idea of extending the breakfast menu options made me try it and we were so glad that we did. Such an easy option that makes your task so easy in the morning to prepare when you have so many other stuff to do. Try this sago khichdi, and let me know if it was a hit at your home.

Chana masala

Chana masala is usually liked by me with bature. But having it with rice, chapathi etc. also tastes yumm. I can eat this side as is. With some chopped red onion to top it, they taste amazing.

This yummy curry has different versions and here I am listing down the easiest way to make it. Hope you like it.

Bature ~ An Indian Fried Bread

I remember walking into a restaurant in Delhi, as a kid, and having chole bature from there. It was one of the amazing thing I had during our Delhi trip, other than the Agra pethas. The taste still lingers round my tastebuds.

My mom used to make it too, esp. on holidays. We would just sit down and hardly bother about the count of batures that we would gulp down. They have always been my favorite.

Gobi Paratha - Indian Flat Bread Stuffed with Cauliflower Masala

Breakfast options is what I break my head upon everyday. I want them to be simple, yet filling because the other simple options like cereals, just don't fill me up and I end up hogging on other snacks before lunch. Stuffed parathas have always been a life saver - Aloo parathas, Gobi parathas, Carrot parathas etc. go so well with a pickle or a simple raita that I don't even have to bother making a side for it.

I think, the only difficulty in making it is the stuffing, esp. when it comes to grating the cauliflower. So you could make the stuffing and stock it up to use it for your breakfast and not necessarily work on it from scratch on a busy weekday morning.

Wholewheat Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins

Muffins have always been welcomed at our home. May it be for a tea time snack or as breakfast, we are happy to have it. The Blueberrry Muffins has always been loved by us. When I see bananas going overripe I try to convert it to something that would be appealing to my crowd. So I try make Adai, Banana bread, Pancakes, Banana Muffins etc. So the over ripe bananas vanish in no time :).

Well, not always do I add chocolate chips in them. But there are those days when you just can't stop craving to have something chocolatey and putting these chocolate chips in the muffins restricts the amount of chocolate intake :).

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Most people don't like having bananas once they start spotting. At my home, it is no different. My lil one hates any fruits. And among fruits, banana is his worst enemy. So I have to literally hide it in some form to make him have it. Pancakes have been one of the best ways for hiding fruits. 

I usually go for whole wheat to make it more healthy. These make a good option for breakfast, snack or tiffin. If you always tend to waste the overripe bananas then I believe it is one recipe that you should keep handy to avoid any wastage but convert it into some yummy pancakes . So here is the recipe. Hope you like it.