Egg in a Hole

Sunday breakfast at home after a long time. A recipe post on Follow my Recipe after a long time as well. Well mostly because I have been traveling like a maniac.
I was introduced to eggs in a hole in grad school in Chicago after a drunken night of partying, my friend Chris made us eggs in a hole. I loved the idea. So after almost 8 years I replicated the recipe in my kitchen today.
Its so easy and so fun that you cant help but smile. Maybe even giggle. My mom wants to make egg in a hole with everything- parathas, dosas, pancakes. (Trust mother Purwar to get uber creative with the idea).

Ok so you need:
Slices of bread
Equal no. of eggs.
Butter or cream cheese
A round object for cutting (preferably much smaller than the bread)
Salt and pepper and any other garnish you like with your bread and eggs
A dash of oil
A non stick pan.

1. Cut a circle in your bread.
2. Spread some butter on both the holed bread and the circle piece.
3. Heat some Oil on the non stick pan.
4. Place the bread on the pan.
5. Crack an egg in the center of the hole in the bread.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.
7. Cover with a bowl and let it cook.
8. Served with your favourite sides- potatoes,  grilled tomatoes, bikaneri sev (my sis will truly appreciate this), slices of bacon, Yaaa.

Also the left over circles can be used to make tres cool cucumber sandwiches.

Such simple, happy breakfasts make it all the time away from home worth it. Nothing like sharing your breakfast with your doggy.

Also this song is so perfect for today. Of course Id rather say I love Mumbai in the rain.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie made with love, honey

This post is a little about the frame of my mind. I want to celebrate the idea of love and friendship. 

These past two months my lovely younger sister has been at home. We haven't done much of anything apart from hanging out together. Cooking meals, watching The Walking Dead (very very addictive), shopping and just talking. We also did this lovely trip to Jaipur together. She leaves tonight back for the US. I can't believe her time home has come to an end. Can't be too greedy can we. Sigh!

I also have a bit of a crush on someone- a particular Fantastic Mr. Fox. My heart flutters a bit every time I talk to him. Romance is definitely in the air. 

A few weeks back my friend Mark gave me a jar of honey labelled Curry Patta Honey by this company called Under the Mango Tree (UTMT). It is very delicious with hints of the curry patta. Whats so special about Under the Mango Tree - well they help farmers around India to grow bees on their farmland to produce honey. Its organized and builds a community of farmers helping create sustainable practices in beekeeping. Through Mark I also met Emily Paarmann who works with Under the Mango Tree and we talked about her work in India and about cooking food together which is always an exciting idea.

So here it is- a lovely simple fresh fruit smoothie. The honey just adds the perfect sweetness to the drink. I have to say- it was very delicious honey. Also added was love and a little bit of heart in the form of dark chocolate chips. Oh yes.

So before this drink becomes too mushy-

Ingredients:

A box full of strawberries (12-15)

A banana

A guava (optional)

2 tbsp on plain yogurt

2 spoons of honey

A handful of dark chocolate chips

6 cubes of ice.

1 cup of milk (optional)

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth consistency. Add some milk if it is too thick.

Refreshing. Delicious. Filling. 

In case I get busy again- Happy Valentine's Day.

Also today was National Bee Day (Cerana Day) and UTMT held a set of lovely events such as cooking with honey & discussion on bees and pollination. I could not make it- but if you did - do tell me about it.

Delish Fish: Part of the hi- protein, avoid carbs diet.

This was a long break from blogging. Well mostly because there is so much else going on. For starters, my sis Ms. Cultured Purl is in town.  I've joined this Kickboxing class in Bandra that is kicking my butt into shape and then I'm on a diet. So suddenly I find myself with a lack of appetite and wanting to survive making through the holidays without a bite of dessert. Was I successful- of course I was. It took every nerve in my body to do so. But part of it I could not stand to write about food especially look at food photos and food descriptions. That's the end of my career as an indulgent food blogger. Oooh! And  I've also had other fun distractions. (big grin on my face). 

Anyways part of this diet is not to touch carbohydrates after 4pm. So dinner has to be some form of a salad and protein. My sis has been encouraging me to eat more fish which means cooking fish in my mom's all vegetarian kitchen. Grill, bake, curry it.

Today I decided to make a little more indulgent version of my normally baked fish. I made my own version of a Doi Ilish which I had in Calcutta over Diwali. I really enjoyed the mustard, chilies and yogurt sauce with the lovely Hilsa fish- a staple in a Bengali household. I cheated though- I bought a dark Surmai from my fish wali who cut it in cubes instead of the typical cross sections. Oh well. I also did my own take on the marinade and some of the masala. Oh well! I never really follow recipes or traditions. 

So here it is- my own Delish fish.

Ingredients:

500 gms surmai skinned, deboned and cubed

Marinade:

Soya sauce

Papa's magic masala

green chilies

The Sauce:

Mustard seeds

Green chilies 3-5 long sliced

2 tbsp of minced ginger

2tbsp of minced garlic

6-8 Curry leaves

Handful of fresh coriander leaves

2 onions sliced

1 full spoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon mango powder

salt to taste

Yogurt mixed with equal part of milk thoroughly stirred. 

So this is really easy:

1. Marinade the fish for 30 min with soya sauce, papa's masala and some green chilies. 

2. In a flat pan, pour a little oil and spread evenly on the base and place the fish pieces evenly on the pan. Cook till it turns opaque and white and flip over. Dont over cook the fish or it will become chewy. Place all the pieces of fish on a plate. 

3. In the same pan start the sauce. Throw in the mustard seeds, green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, garlic and ginger. Stir till you can smell the curry leaves releasing their amazing flavour. 

4. Add the onions and saute. 

5. Add all the dry masala and let the onions cook. 

6. Last slowly stir in the yogurt milk mixture on to the onions. Mix the sauce thoroughly, let it simmer on low for a bit. 

7. Next carefully place the pieces of fish in the sauce. The fish is delicate and can fall apart easily so it is necessary to work on this slowly. Just smell the sauce, take in the headiness of the flavours. 

8. Gently toss the fish in the sauce so that it is evenly coated.

Turn off the heat.

9. The fish is ready to eat with some rice. 

Ofcourse I did not eat any rice. I just had the fish and what a delish fish it turned out to be. It was spicy with a bite of mustard. The fish was very soft and melted in your mouth. And as always Papa's magic masala always adds that little kick that takes any dish over the top.

How is this hi protein low carbs going for me. Well initially I felt really weak and tired but now with the working out I feel super energetic. It is yet to be seen if I will revert back to blogging with a gusto. Till then do enjoy these photos.

Janu and I have been taking some goofy pics of ourselves. We definitely look similar. What do you think? (we are not twins- I am 6 years older than her) Im going to miss her immensely when she leaves for Salt Lake City. By the way she said the fish was really authentic. 

Also a Happy New Year. For more exciting adventures this year. For new friends who become like the dearest of old friends and for old friends who have been such a great support system. 
Love always.