Indian French Toast

That which we called French toast is a very different animal from the creamy sweet variety of French toast that my children like. They do not like to call my version French Toast. They enjoy it anyway. So, the compromised name in my house is Indian French Toast. This is   commonplace on Indian tables,

A popular breakfast or snack item. This French Toast is a nicely spiced savory comforting creation. A perfect cohort to a  hot cup of tea or coffee.  These savory French toasts are an essential part of my childhood,

They take me back to a day when bakeries were not really found in every nook and cranny of Kolkata. We relied on Modern Bread or Brittania. This being said, the fresh bread was delivered at certain times in the market.

This French Toast used to surface when the bread is slightly old, and eggs are dwindling.

A brilliant way to stretch spartan supplies. And yet, this is one of my favorite breakfasts to date. I use wholewheat bread for this now.  It works so well. In fact, adds more texture and flavor.

 

 

I had made it a couple of times, surprisingly enough the little ones have taken a fancy to it. They are gradually broadening their horizons with food, particularly with exploring more foods, tolerating stronger flavors. Life has been a little too hectic for my liking the past week, we have been blessed (ha, ha ) with unexpected indefinite guests.

Somewhere in the middle of this rather insane start of what promises to be a rather crazy saga I was able to make it to the book release of a friend of mine.

Sheela Chari has written a new book, Vanished and this particular picture is a lovely moment where the author is autographing her book for her mother. I was happy for her and happy in the joy of the moment. This actually introduced me to a really nice bookstore called the voracious reader. It is always nice to see independent bookstores in this conglomerate of commercial mainstream offerings.

In general, like most days our lives have very little room for added chaos making it rather hectic. So today to make a somewhat break into the crazy routine, I made these toasts this morning just to break the routine. It gave me some added measure of happiness to see my little ones enjoy them as well.

The recipe is relatively simple but there are a few things to watch.

• Do not make this with fresh soft bread, these need character.
• There needs to be enough egg coating both sides of the bread.
• The cooking oil needs to be hot but not too hot.

It is important to drain these well to essentially ensure a light and crisp taste without an added unhealthy greasiness. While they are very popular for breakfast, they can be cut smaller and served as an anytime snack.