Bread Upma

I tried this bread upma recipe from Menu Today's blog and absolutely loved it and now this has become a standard method of preparation at our place. My MIL makes this differently where she first makes coarse bread crumbs and even adds eggs sometimes - my husband likes that version a lot too. This one just uses chunks of bread and has a slight tang from the yogurt and is quite spicy too. I've made a few variations to include more veggies, depending on what I have on hand but otherwise follow her recipe pretty much.

BREAD UPMA


Ingredients:
Bread slices - 12 to 15
Yogurt/Curd (thick) - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp, or to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala / Curry Masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Onions - 1 large, sliced thinly and then into 1 inch pieces
Tomato - 1 small to medium, chopped
Green chillies - 4 to 5, slit in two
Ginger - half inch piece, chopped finely/grated
Carrot - 1 or 2, grated
Green bell peppers/Capsicum - 1 small, cut into 1 inch pieces
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Sombu (Fennel seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a twig
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:
1) Cut each slice of bread into about 16 cubes (depends on the size of the bread slices and how big you want the chunks to be).

2) In a large bowl, combine the yogurt with the chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and some salt... add the bread cubes to this, mix gently until the mixture coats the bread pieces and allow to marinate for about 15 to 20 mins.

3) In a big, wide pan, heat oil and season with mustard seeds and sombu. Next add the green chillies, onion, ginger and fry till they wilt. Then add the capsicum pieces & grated carrot and cook till they soften.

4) Now the tomatoes go in with a bit of salt so it helps them turn mushy . Now add the marinated bread pieces and stir gently so it's evenly coated. Cook this on a medium flame, tossing every once in a while until the bread pieces get roasted.

5) Finally switch off the stove and toss in the coriander leaves. Yummy bread upma is ready to serve as is or with some ketchup.

This makes for a delicious breakfast and I would like to send this to Divya's Show me your breakfast event.