Thursday, January 15, 2009

Fusion French Toast




As a child living in India, I had only heard about but never tasted the French Toast. In my imagination, it seemed like a very fancy breakfast dish, somehow akin to the French souffles. It brought to mind romantic images of the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame.

For a very long time, I remember, I used to wonder how exactly the French toast was made and as soon as I had an opportunity during a visit to the US, I ordered it for breakfast at a restaurant. I was amazed at being served 4 huge, simply huge, thick slices of bread covered with egg and smothered with maple syrup, sweetened fruit and the whole mound decorated with a dollop of cream. I cannot honestly say I liked the dish. It was too sweet for my Indian trained palate which was used to eating Idly, Dosa and Vada for breakfast.

Besides, I am a big fan of food textures. I need to be able to chew and taste the sensations that accompany food textures. In my mind, wolfing food down before even tasting, because a dish is so refined or so smooth was OK for smooth desserts or ice cream but main menu dishes needed the satisfaction of textures so one doesn't feel the need to binge. I am a firm believer that eating is not just to fill a stomach but a sybaritic experience as well. When one does not receive that wholesome experience while eating a meal, one tends to binge in order to obtain that satisfaction.

So, suffice to say that I had to convert the french toast to a fusion dish. Here is my attempt - as usual, low calorie and low fat - made with just 1 tsp oil. I hope you like it.

Here is what you need:
4 thin slices 7 grain or 9 grain organic bread
2 eggs
dash of milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chili powder (optional)
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp olive oil

For Garnish:
Sprig of Cilantro
Tomato Ketchup

Here is how you make this in just 5 minutes:
Break the eggs in a bowl. Add the milk, salt and chili powder and beat for about 30 seconds with a fork.


Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Hold up a slice of bread and spread the egg mixture over one side just like you would spread jam. Place face down on the pan and drizzle a few drops of olive oil around the slice. While it is cooking, spread the egg mixture on the side facing up. Flip over and drizzle oil around the edges again. Remove from the pan and repeat for all four slices.

Now add the chopped red onion in the pan and sear on high heat for about 30 seconds (if you like them crunchy). Remove and ladle over the french toast. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Drizzle with tomato ketchup (optional).

Serve hot.



3 comments:

  1. thanks for providing this revised recipe that will make french toast exciting for people like me who do not enjoy the whole sweeter than sweet experience that one gets when they order the dish here in US. Given that I am not used to eating a sweet egg dish - imagine sweet mughlai parathas - I was very disappointed when I first tried french toast in US.
    This looks YUMMY...

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  2. Thank you for your comment. I hope you like the recipe. It will be great if you could let me know how it turned out when you try it.

    Jaya

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  3. I tried your fusion french toast recipe over the weekend as sunday breakfast. It came out great and was really YUMMY. I loved it. It reminded me of 'moghlai parathas' that i used to eat in India. I am not good at rolling out parathas (I try to get somewhat triangular shapes than the circular ones *SMILE*) so it is nice to have the fusion french toast. Nice, quick and tasty --- hey, that's almost like "sasta, sundar, majboot..."

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