Breakfast Hash + A Cookbook Giveaway

We love Diners @ anytime of the day !!! You can call it as an obsession to the always noisy cafe , bar and eatery ambiance , the locally influenced unique hash browns they serve, and you don't really have to "whisper" and "behave". N is so good in picking the best Diners where ever we go for a vacation and his instincts has never gone bad. We never mind the long waiting line , and the longest we ever had to wait was 50 minutes in a diner in DC and that too on a chilly morning. Today's recipe is inspired by a hash that i had from a diner in rural town in Tennessee 2-3 years back.

Breakfast Hash + Fried egg

Cook Book Giveaway - Monica Bhide's Modern Spice

Remember the Pistachio sambharam and Shrimp golgappa inspired by Monica Bhide's "Hotshots" from the book - Modern Spice? We loved that recipe so much and I send her a Thank you note. To my great delight the lovely Monica has agreed for a giveaway of the same book "Modern Spice - Inspired Indian flavors for the contemporary Kitchen " here @ Vazhayila.com .

A neat , pragmatic and easy to make collection of recipes ; that's what I liked the most about this book. Most of her recipes calls for relatively fewer ingredients, less time in the kitchen, and everything is so perfectly laid out for a contemporary Kitchen.

I am not passing a judgement about this book , just by turning pages , but i tried a couple of recipes and fell in love with some.........

...........like the "Hotshots"( you can find the recipe here).

She has done a very interesting and delicious take on the Western influences and the Indian inspiration , coming up with very creative recipes like crab tikkis , stuffed pappad, crabby vermicelli, tomato basil pilaf etc.etc...I loved loved the fennel chile rub , and made the Tilapia fry and it was awesome . I never thought fennel seeds could be this wonderful on fish fry.

Tilapia Fry with Fennel-Chile Rub

The Eggplant , Potato and tomato curry with cilantro was a quick fix and the trio worked perfectly with Chapati. 

Hotshots and Eggplant trio

In Nutshell, leave a comment for your chance to Win an autographed copy of " Modern Spice" here , or grab a copy from Amazon , to cook up satisfying meals without spending too much time in the kitchen ,at the end of a very busy day or spice up your weekend party with a Modern take on Indian Spices. As she says " As a new generation of modern Indians , we are changing everything . We love tradition , but embody change . Our style is refined , but tastes global."

You can see Monica's FB page here. Follow her to know more about her books.

To participate in this giveaway:-

• Leave a comment to this post or @ Vazhayila.com's FB page
• Open to readers from US, Canada and India ( Indian readers will be getting the Indian Edition)
• Last date for your chance to leave the comment will be May 31st midnight, Eastern Standard Time
• The winner will be picked randomly by N.

Now coming back to our regular affair........

Breakfast Hash, Toasted Whole Grain Bread , Fried egg, and Organic Juice.

As I mentioned earlier , this recipe is inspired by a roasted red pepper breakfast hash that i once had in a diner. It was a bit tangy and i couldn't find out what made the difference. I tried many times with a splash of soy sauce or red wine vinegar and was almost close but not to the perfection. On saturdays we eat our brunch from local diners , or else make this at home and we are good to go for the entire day ;)...

REcipe for Roasted Red pepper hash with Fried eggs

Ingredients:-

Potatoes diced - 5-6 nos 9 i used red potatoes with skin

Onion diced - 1 big

Red bell pepper diced - 2 medium

Garlic crushed - 2 cloves

Ground cinnamon - a pinch

Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tea spoon

Red chili powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Dried Thyme - a large pinch

A splash of red wine vinegar or soy sauce ( optional)

Salt to taste

Olive oil or any cooking oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl toss all the ingredients except Red bell pepper,( keep a pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil and crushed black pepper for coating red bell pepper too) , and transfer to a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Coat the bell pepper with salt , oil and black pepper and add to the baking sheet , toss well and bake again for another 12-15 minutes or until the bell pepper is charred slightly. Remove.

The next step is optional , I do this only to get that final crunch.

Transfer all this to a cast iron skillet and fry for 3-5 minutes and serve with fried eggs,sunny side up ;)

Breakfast Hash, Fried egg, and Organic Juice.

Good Day 


Sarah