Whoa! I am on a roll or what? I’ve been posting recipes almost everyday this month, I am definitely on a blogging spree. Well, since it’s Ramadan I try different recipes everyday and as soon as something turns out great I get the intense urge to post the recipe on my website. Now, that explains my active presence in here.

I’ve already mentioned that I am a die hard fan of Malabar cuisine. Malabar is the northern most district of kerala. Their dishes are totally unique and rich, most of the recipes call for chicken/mutton/beef and eggs. I have tried a few of their popular dishes like Adukkupathiri or Chicken Pie and Kaipola or steamed plantain cake (a dish made with fried plantain and eggs). It’s such an irresistible dish enjoyed by both kids and adults. Quite similar to kaipola there is another dish called Erachi-pola. In Erachi-pola, chicken is used instead of plantain and it has three layers. It resembles a cake but no baking is involved. It’s made by slow cooking in a pan.

I adopted this recipe from a cooking show called Taste of Kerala. I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe and made it quite healthy. While cooking it, the whole house was filled with the enchanting aroma of this dish. After the final cooking, I couldn’t wait any longer and just indulged in this dish.

Since this recipe called for bread, my hubby couldn’t have this. I did’t want to disappoint him, hence I made one more of this with gluten free instead of bread and it turned out just as good.

Erachipola or Chicken-Egg Cake

Ingredients:

For making first layer:

• White bread, cut off the sides- 4 slices
• Egg- 3 no’s
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Turmeric powder (optional)- 1/4 tsp

Second layer: Chicken Filling:

For cooking chicken

• Chicken breast, boneless- 2 breast, diced small
• Chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
• Fennel powder- 1 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1 tsp
• Garam Masala- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste

For making masala:

• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Onion, chopped small- 2 no’s
• Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Green chilly, chopped- 1 or 2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Cooked Chicken
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Cilantro, chopped- 2 handful

For making third layer:

• Egg- 2 or 3
• Ground pepper- 1/8 tsp
• Salt- little

Preparation:

For making first layer:

• In a blender, puree the bread, eggs, ground pepper , salt and turmeric powder together to a smooth batter.
• If it’s too thick you could add little water but don’t add too much water, it should have a thick constituency.

For making second layer: How to cook chicken and make chicken masala:

1. In a saucepan, cook the chicken along with the above mentioned ingredients ‘for cooking chicken’.
2. Cover the pan and let the chicken cook well and stir fry it it starts to turn light brown.
3. Using a wooden spoon or fork, shred the cooked chicken.
4. Place a pan over medium heat, add oil, chopped onion and little salt to it.
5. Saute and let onions turn translucent.
6. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, garam masala and curry leaves and cook till the onions starts to turn golden brown.
7. Add the cooked shredded chicken to it and chopped cilantro, combine well and let cook for 2 minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and keep aside.

  For making third layer:

• In a blender, beat the eggs along with ground pepper and salt, keep aside.

How to cook Erachipola:

1. Use a small or medium sized non-stick saucepan for cooking this.
2. Place the saucepan over low heat.
3. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with 1 tbsp ghee or butter.
4. Pour the pureed bread-egg batter on the pan as the first layer and cover the pan with its lid.
5. In low heat, let the batter cook till the center has cooked well, it shouldn’t be watery on the top.
6. This would take around 15- 20 minutes.
7. After the first layer has cooked, evenly spread half of the prepared chicken masala over it.
8. Cover the pan with its lid and let it cook in low heat for 5 minutes.
9. Since the chicken is already cooked you don’t have to cook for very long.
10. Pour the beaten egg mixture evenly as the third layer.
11. Garnish cashews and raisins over the egg mixture.
12. Cover the pan with its lid and cook at low heat till the top egg layer has cooked well.
13. It will take about 15 minutes, make sure the top egg layer is not watery, it should resemble to an omelette.
14. Remove the pan from the heat.
15. Have a large plate ready.
16. Using a knife, gently run through the sides of the pan, as the pan has been greased the cake wouldn’t stick to the pan.
17. Cover the pan with a plate and turn the pan upside down and gently tap on the bottom of the pan.
18. The chicken cake or erachipola would fall nicely on the plate.
19. Grease the pan again with 1 tbsp ghee.
20. Gently slide the chicken cake into the pan, the top layer should go into the pan.
21. In low heat, cook the chicken cake for 3 minutes so that the egg layer will turn golden in color.
22. Remove from the heat and cover the pan with the plate and let the chicken cake fall on it.
23. It will be well cooked and set like a cake with three layers.
24. Using a sharp knife cut into desired shapes and garnish with more cashews or other nuts.
25. You could make one more using the rest of the chicken masala.

Gluten free Version:

My mom used to make this often when I was young, not for breakfast but as an evening snack. This delicious french toast has always put a smile on my face and the aroma while making this has made me go Mmmmm. Now, once in a while I tend to make this for breakfast, when I get tired of my regular breakfast dishes.

I’ve been under the impression that this breakfast dish must have been created in France, well after reading about this in Wiki I came to learn that French toast was first mentioned in the “Apicius”, a collection of Roman recipes dating back to the 4th or 5th century. That was a pretty new and interesting information for me.

I usually have just the french toast, so this time for a change I topped it with caramelized Plums which made the french toast even more delicious. You could make the topping with almost any kind of fruits, for instance: strawberry, pears, mango, apples, orange etc. If you haven’t tasted french toast yet, then you are missing something really delicious which can be made in no time.

French Toast with Caramelized Plums:

For making French Toast

Ingredients:

Makes – 3

• Bread, white or whole grain- 3 no’s
• Eggs- 2
• Ground Cinnamon – 1/4 tsp
• Brown Sugar or white cane sugar- 3 tbsp
• Ghee – 1 tbsp/bread

For making caramelized Plums

• Plums, sliced long – 2
• Honey – 1 tbsp
• Brown sugar or white cane sugar- 2 tbsp
• Water – 4 tbsp

Preparation:

• In a bowl, whisk together eggs, ground cinnamon, brown sugar and keep aside.
• Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, spread 1 tbsp ghee on the pan.
• Coat the bread on both sides with the egg mixture by dipping into it.
• Place the bread on the pan and let the bottom side turn golden brown, flip to the other side and let the other side also turn golden brown.
• Repeat the same with other breads and keep aside.
• Remove the skin from the plums and slice them long.
• Heat the same pan used for making french toast, put the plums on the pan.
• Add honey and brown sugar, saute till the sugar dissolves.
• Add water, let it come to a boil and start to thicken.
• As soon as the water gets thick, remove the pan from the heat.
• Top the french toast with the caramelized plums and sprinkle some powdered sugar over it.
• Serve with hot chocolate or hot coffee.

Tips:

• You could top the french toast with any kinds of caramelized fruits.
• Increase the amount of ingredients to make more.

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”…

Love is in the air and most of the people are seen busy getting gifts for their loved ones. I’ve decided that this Valentine’s day I am going to express my love to my valentine through delicious food. When everything seems to fail, delicious food helps me to win over my husband’s heart. I am not going to wait till dusk to make a special dinner for him, but this time love showering is going to start from dawn itself, the moment he wakes up.

Who wouldn’t love to see breakfast ready on the dining table as soon as they jump out of the bed? My husband loves this and I terribly fail to do so almost everyday. So this valentine’s day I am going to surprise him by this special Valentine’s day breakfast. If you are someone just like me wanting to surprise your husband or wife right from the dawn of Feb:14 th, then do join me and here I share with you an easy, yet delicious and nutritious breakfast.

Valentine’s Day Breakfast

Heart shaped French Toast

Ingredients:

• Whole Grain bread- 4 or according to your needs
• Eggs- 3
• Sugar- 2 tbsp or according to your needs
• Cinnamon powder- 1/4 tsp
• Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
• Butter or Ghee- 1 tsp per slice

Preparation:

• Whisk eggs, sugar, cinnamon powder, vanilla extract in a bowl and keep aside.

• For making heart shaped french toast, you need to get a heart shaped cookie cutter, available in almost all stores.
• Place a single slice of  bread on a cutting board and center the cookie cutter over the bread slice.

• Gently press the cutter into the bread.

• Remove the bread around the outside of the cookie cutter and save these for making bread crumbs or bread pudding.
• You will have heart shaped bread on the board.

• Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, add the ghee or butter.
• Dip the heart shaped bread into the beaten egg one at a time and place on to the ghee or butter.

• When it turns golden brown, flip to the other side using a spatula and let it turn golden brown on that side as well.

• Transfer to a platter and serve warm with fruits and hot chocolate.

Tips:

• If you want you could pour maple syrup on the french toast while serving.
• Just increase the eggs, sugar, cinnamon powder and vanilla extract accordingly to make more french toasts.
• Don’t throw away the bread from the outside of cookie cutter, you could make french toast with them too or use for making bread pudding or bread crumbs.