Pepperoni Tomato & Bread Bhurji
Planning to embrace the healthy lifestyle plan? The racing mind is the first thing, that needs to be set right. Wooes and Blues needs to be brushed aside. Speaking of which, how can I not talk about the elephant in the room!! Monday blues it is...
Given a chance I would much like to treat the blues (It is the colour that I refer to) as a platter to serve some easy happy food, anointed with the bright colours, borrowed from nature. I have been told, every human prefers, easy-peesy over toils, when it comes to homemade food & otherwise. I guess, I am, like many, a living example of that school of thought.
But before I start with ingredients and know hows, there is something I want to address ( Its not boring and I am not preaching God words for sure)! Are you there or have I already lost you?? This recipe that I will talk about is surely about using up leftovers. Do not do that just because it's fancy & a certain Mr. Bottura* has been doing it!! It is advisable to minimise wastage and use up leftovers, because the earth is your house as well. Gone are the days of micro thinking, it's macro time guys. Time to join hands and do our bit, in whatever little way possible. Let's make the earth proud of its tenants.
And now the food. An upmarket bhurji to surprise family and friends. Or maybe a little treat after a bad day!!Here's an image of all that's needed for this. And all from my fridge!!
1. I have had few slices of store bought regular sized white bread lying around in my refrigerator, around 5-6 pcs, in total. Remove their crust and cut them into cubes. Decide on what size you want, I kept mine a bit bigger. It's time to fry them in oil ( I used vegetable oil), deep fry till golden brown. Take them out with the help of a slotted spoon ( or jhajri haata) and drain by placing on kitchen paper.
2. Time to slices 5-6 Pepproni roundels ( Pork only, not the chicken varieties flooded in the market). Heat 2 tbsp olive oil ( regular please!!) in a non-stick pan & add the sliced pepperoni and fry them, till the specks of fat melt, making the oil flavour-full. In the process the pepperoni crisps up as well. With the help of a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil & take them out. Keep aside.
3. To the same oil, flavoured now, add in 3 no. chopped spring onion (only white part) + a generous pinch of salt and fry on medium flame till they soften. Once they start caramelising and browning a bit on the edges, add in 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped or grated. Mix or toss well. Chop the green part of the spring onions, finely if possible, and keep aside.
4. Slice & cube 3 tomatoes ( read how in notes), and tumble them to the pan, with the onions & 1 no. of that mild & fruity dry cured chilli, chopped of course. Mix vigorously over high flame for a couple of minutes, till the interior gives out its juices and the skin have softened.
5. Time to add in 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce ( I used cap as measurment, which was absolutely fine!!), a generous pinch of black pepper, and half of the spring onion greens, and give a quick stir.
6. Now the golden cubes of bread go back to where they belong, the pan!! Tossing is a better option at this stage, if not, then quick stir. Done!!
7. Take them out on the serving platter and top it with the rest of the spring onions and a another generous pinch of black pepper. Please eat it now, when hot.
Are you the kind, who like me, think this is no work at all?? Or are you the type who takes this as a fridge raid expedition ? Congratulations if you are both, then you are a part of me, I suppose!! This was breakfast once, for mom and me. This humble one doubled up as a much appreciated evening snack for the three of us: Papa bear, Mommy bear & moi. And now the notes, don't worry I remember them!!
NOTES:
a. If like me, you are not so versed with fine chopping, nothing to get vexed about, that's us. My mom has always chopped things chunky and feed us, and trust me, I am still alive and kicking ( a ghost of-course isn't typing and clicking). And the food tasted good as well. We chop finely for two reasons:
- for the gram,
- so as not to encounter chunks while chewing, which may affect the balance, flavour-wise!!
b. Thinking about dry cured chilli? Use a generous pinch of chill flakes or a chopped green chili. Simple!!
c. Please feel free to add in some boiled potato or eggs or replace the Pepperoni with shredded chicken ( in that case, I suggest, add in a tsp of herb garlic butter to the olive oil). Now, it's your recipe, for your kitchen, for your people, so make it whatever way you want!!
d. Chopping of Tomatoes: Cut them in quarters and then further quarter them. I prefer to keep them chunky, and then divide the slices in half. Done.
e. Please use any herb of your choice for the greens, but I wanted to take the sustainable way, so the spring onion greens. I celebrate colour and seasonality. Period!!
FOR VEGETARIANS: Ommit the Pepperoni, and do not even utter the chicken. The dish with two minor subtractions is all yours. And no Paneer please. Tomato is fine for you!!
Our own happiness is of course a matter of utmost importance, the root to a healthy us. But as humans, we learn to embrace the society, and are more-or less surrounded by people.Often, familiarity breeds contempt, right? Let go, even if not( like I can't), imbibe the qualities of co-existing. Trust me, there are no distances that food cannot bridge, hearts that are destined to will bond. The success of healthy and happy lifestyle, behinds with a small step. This is it!!
As of now, let's kill Monday blues with this plate full of happiness.
In case if this happens to be your dinner, curling up in sofa and watching Netflix, do not forget to reward yourself with a glass of good red wine. We are set to win over tomorrow. Right??
* The internet is flooded with info about Mr Bottura, Mr. Massimo Bottura. Read it up in your leisure time. That is going to be a different kinda learning for all of you, for sure.
Given a chance I would much like to treat the blues (It is the colour that I refer to) as a platter to serve some easy happy food, anointed with the bright colours, borrowed from nature. I have been told, every human prefers, easy-peesy over toils, when it comes to homemade food & otherwise. I guess, I am, like many, a living example of that school of thought.
But before I start with ingredients and know hows, there is something I want to address ( Its not boring and I am not preaching God words for sure)! Are you there or have I already lost you?? This recipe that I will talk about is surely about using up leftovers. Do not do that just because it's fancy & a certain Mr. Bottura* has been doing it!! It is advisable to minimise wastage and use up leftovers, because the earth is your house as well. Gone are the days of micro thinking, it's macro time guys. Time to join hands and do our bit, in whatever little way possible. Let's make the earth proud of its tenants.
And now the food. An upmarket bhurji to surprise family and friends. Or maybe a little treat after a bad day!!Here's an image of all that's needed for this. And all from my fridge!!
1. I have had few slices of store bought regular sized white bread lying around in my refrigerator, around 5-6 pcs, in total. Remove their crust and cut them into cubes. Decide on what size you want, I kept mine a bit bigger. It's time to fry them in oil ( I used vegetable oil), deep fry till golden brown. Take them out with the help of a slotted spoon ( or jhajri haata) and drain by placing on kitchen paper.
2. Time to slices 5-6 Pepproni roundels ( Pork only, not the chicken varieties flooded in the market). Heat 2 tbsp olive oil ( regular please!!) in a non-stick pan & add the sliced pepperoni and fry them, till the specks of fat melt, making the oil flavour-full. In the process the pepperoni crisps up as well. With the help of a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil & take them out. Keep aside.
3. To the same oil, flavoured now, add in 3 no. chopped spring onion (only white part) + a generous pinch of salt and fry on medium flame till they soften. Once they start caramelising and browning a bit on the edges, add in 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped or grated. Mix or toss well. Chop the green part of the spring onions, finely if possible, and keep aside.
4. Slice & cube 3 tomatoes ( read how in notes), and tumble them to the pan, with the onions & 1 no. of that mild & fruity dry cured chilli, chopped of course. Mix vigorously over high flame for a couple of minutes, till the interior gives out its juices and the skin have softened.
5. Time to add in 3 tsp Worcestershire sauce ( I used cap as measurment, which was absolutely fine!!), a generous pinch of black pepper, and half of the spring onion greens, and give a quick stir.
6. Now the golden cubes of bread go back to where they belong, the pan!! Tossing is a better option at this stage, if not, then quick stir. Done!!
7. Take them out on the serving platter and top it with the rest of the spring onions and a another generous pinch of black pepper. Please eat it now, when hot.
Are you the kind, who like me, think this is no work at all?? Or are you the type who takes this as a fridge raid expedition ? Congratulations if you are both, then you are a part of me, I suppose!! This was breakfast once, for mom and me. This humble one doubled up as a much appreciated evening snack for the three of us: Papa bear, Mommy bear & moi. And now the notes, don't worry I remember them!!
NOTES:
a. If like me, you are not so versed with fine chopping, nothing to get vexed about, that's us. My mom has always chopped things chunky and feed us, and trust me, I am still alive and kicking ( a ghost of-course isn't typing and clicking). And the food tasted good as well. We chop finely for two reasons:
- for the gram,
- so as not to encounter chunks while chewing, which may affect the balance, flavour-wise!!
b. Thinking about dry cured chilli? Use a generous pinch of chill flakes or a chopped green chili. Simple!!
c. Please feel free to add in some boiled potato or eggs or replace the Pepperoni with shredded chicken ( in that case, I suggest, add in a tsp of herb garlic butter to the olive oil). Now, it's your recipe, for your kitchen, for your people, so make it whatever way you want!!
d. Chopping of Tomatoes: Cut them in quarters and then further quarter them. I prefer to keep them chunky, and then divide the slices in half. Done.
e. Please use any herb of your choice for the greens, but I wanted to take the sustainable way, so the spring onion greens. I celebrate colour and seasonality. Period!!
FOR VEGETARIANS: Ommit the Pepperoni, and do not even utter the chicken. The dish with two minor subtractions is all yours. And no Paneer please. Tomato is fine for you!!
Our own happiness is of course a matter of utmost importance, the root to a healthy us. But as humans, we learn to embrace the society, and are more-or less surrounded by people.Often, familiarity breeds contempt, right? Let go, even if not( like I can't), imbibe the qualities of co-existing. Trust me, there are no distances that food cannot bridge, hearts that are destined to will bond. The success of healthy and happy lifestyle, behinds with a small step. This is it!!
As of now, let's kill Monday blues with this plate full of happiness.
In case if this happens to be your dinner, curling up in sofa and watching Netflix, do not forget to reward yourself with a glass of good red wine. We are set to win over tomorrow. Right??
* The internet is flooded with info about Mr Bottura, Mr. Massimo Bottura. Read it up in your leisure time. That is going to be a different kinda learning for all of you, for sure.
Superb! I so much appreciate your demonstrating both veg & non-veg recipes & processes ☺
ReplyDeleteIt is looking very tasty. You can try vezlay's Bhurji its also very tasty. It is pure veg but it give you same taste of egg bhurji.
ReplyDeleteI am Pooja Aggarwal and I love to eat food. I care about animal, so that's why I do not eat non-vegetarian food. We also care about animals and environment. If you are eating non-veg food for taste and vitamin, so you can eat plant based meat where you can get same taste and high proteins and nutrition.
ReplyDelete