Bread Upma & A Birthday Cake

I am always prepared when it comes to making breakfasts coz Ajay is a very typical 'amchi' and prefers the usual idli-dosa-idiyappam rather than oats or cornflakes[we do have it once in a while though].Weekends are almost predictable with Puttu or Poori so throughout the week,I have many options for a healthy and nutritious breakfast.




But sometimes I forget.There is no idli-dosa batter in the fridge or there is no atta or idiyappam flour or even eggs.Like today.


I did have some stale bread in the fridge and what better way than to pep up stale bread than this upma!With some shriveled Capsicum and added tomatoes,it almost resembles a 'nutritious' breakfast!

Bread Upma


Ingredients


Bread,cubed - 3 cups,loosely packed[preferably a day old]
Onion - 1 small,thinly sliced
Tomato - 1small,finely chopped
Capsicum - 1/2 of 1 medium,chopped
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee+Oil - 2 tbsp,divided
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Green chilly - 1,chopped
Ginger - 1/2' piece,finely chopped
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp,chopped


Method


In a thick bottom kadai add 1 tbsp oil+ghee and splutter mustard seeds and urad dal.When the urad dal starts to brown,mix in the minced green chilly and ginger.Add onion and curry leaves and saute for 5-7 minutes or till the onions start to brown.


Add the powders-red chilly powder,coriander powder and haldi powder and give a good mix.Add the tomatoes and capsicum now and sprinkle a few drops of water[if necessary] to avoid burning the powders.Add enough salt to taste.


Now mix in the chopped bread and give a good stir.Mix well so that the masala coats the bread pieces evenly.Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil+ghee and keep the kadai on simmer till the bread gets roasted evenly.Stir once in a while to avoid burning.When the bread becomes golden brown and crisp add coriander leaves and switch off the flame.


Notes

• It is preferable to use a day old bread for this upma since fresh bread will crumble with all the mixing and will stay soft[and not crisp]after the cooking.I used whole wheat bread,white bread will work fine too.
• Though the ingredient list looks big,it is the usual ingredients found in your kitchen.I believe adding or subtracting a few ingredients here and there will not affect the taste in anyway.Go ahead and add anything to this if you like!

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On a different note,I baked a birthday cake for a 3 year old boy[our friends' kid]this week and though I was not very happy with the final outcome[lookswise],the cake was much relished by the kid guests as well as adults[there were 30 people in all].Thank you Ramya for trusting me with your kids' cake and for being more confident in my baking skills than I am!

I baked a Classic American Layer cake,basically a Yellow Butter cake from A Passion for Baking and made a Classic Vanilla Buttercream from Savory Sweet Life.The cake by itself was a very tasty one,moist and with a tender crumb-perfect as a Birthday cake.Hope to better my decorating skills soon!