spicy corn griddle cakes

Weekends are great as D, Baby and I sit together and have breakfast in a leisurely way, usually warm and fresh breakfast (as opposed to dry fruits and toasted oats cereal in cold milk).

These corn griddle cakes can be spiced up, or served mellow. They feel wholesome, savory and more filling than pancakes somehow.

And, spicy corn griddle cakes recipe is my post for June's Weekend Breakfast Blogging (WBB#12), started by lovely and famous Nadita of SaffronTrail, and hosted graciously this month by Trupti at one of my usual blog-stops: The Spice Who Loved Me. The theme is Spice It Up! and that's exactly what the spice-mix-1 does to this recipe.



Ingredients:
for the batter:
1 small can creamed corn
1 cup cake* flour (or all-purpose flour)
½ cup corn masa flour
¼ cup fine cornmeal
½ cup finely diced onions
½ tsp baking soda
1½ cup buttermilk
1-2 generous Tbsp of spice-mix-1
salt to taste
*cake flour is soft wheat flour that gives a fluffy texture; can substitute 1 cup of cake flour with 3/4cup all-purpose flour + 2 Tbsp cornstarch

for salsa fresca:
1 tomato, finely diced
½ onion finely diced
a few sprigs offresh cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp spice-mix-1
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
salt to taste

for spice-mix-1: (make ahead and save for later use)
1 Tbsp dry red chili powder
1 Tbsp celery seeds
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp dry minced onions

Preparation

combine the salsa fresca ingredients and stir well, keep aside to develop flavors

combine the dry batter ingredients, add a little buttermilk at a time, stirring gently to break down lumps; the batter consistency is just like pancake batter; make the batter right before ready to cook

in a griddle or pan spoon just enough batter to make about 3-inch-diameter "cakes" that are about ½-inch thick or maybe thinner; flip and cook both sides just like pancakes or dosai

Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot off the griddle with the salsa fresca, or your favorite chutney.

huevos motuleños

Eggs, Huevos, Wyau (oo-ya, in Welsh), however we call it at home, are a favorite breakfast/brunch meal on weekends.

Every once in a while, D likes what he calls Farmer's Breakfast: eggs (fried, poached, omelette, scrambled, just any way is fine), (soy) sausages, hash brown and griddle cakes.

I like eggs, but, not when they feel "eggy" in certain dishes - like, certain cakes have the eggy smell, soufflé feels eggy (quel dommage!), custard feels eggy... however, fried or scrambled eggs seems alright - just a quirk of mine :-)

Huevos Rancheros is pretty popular and easy to do, but, this time I decided to make Huevos Motuleños for Sunday brunch, which i don't make often.

Huevos Motuleños is eggs served Motul style (of the Yucatan): tortilla, black beans, fried eggs, peas & ham, some kind of queso fresco, with fried bananas on the side.

Quite a meal in itself!

Seems deceptively elaborate and labor-intensive... But, really, it is quite simple to assemble and enjoy.

Especially, since some parallel processing can be done, the brunch comes together quite easily: i usually start the black beans in the back burner first; while it is simmering, get the egg-batter ready and pan-fry the tortillas; simultaneously, in another pan, fry the bananas, while egg is getting poached in the microwave and Violà!


Always excited about experimenting, I did a few things differently from the traditional recipe: as we don't eat ham or beef and such, omitted the peas & ham; instead of queso fresco, used queso panela made with part-skim milk; prepared poached egg instead of fried egg; and, pan-fried the tortillas in egg-batter, not much unlike French toast.

For the French-toast-style egg-battered tortillas:
2 large flour tortillas
2 eggs
2 Tbsp finely minced onions and jalapeños
salt to taste
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp canola oil

beat the eggs with onions, jalapeños, salt and cayenne pepper; pour into a shallow bowl and keep handy for dipping the tortilla

cut the tortilla into a square, saving the 4 edge pieces

heat oil in a pan, dip the tortilla pieces in the egg mixture and pan cook both sides till golden brown and done



For the black beans:
1 cup cooked black beans (if using canned, drain and rinse well)
½ medium onion chopped finely
2 jalapeños chopped finely
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp hot sauce (Frank's®, Tabasco®)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp canola oil
cilantro
salt to taste

heat oil in a pan, sauté the onions and jalapeños, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low till flavors meld; taste & adjust flavors; off heat, stir in cilantro, reserve some for garnish

For the poached eggs and pan-fried bananas:
2 ripe bananas, slit lengthwise & 1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs, for poaching with 2 Tbsp finely minced onions and jalapeños
some oil

poach the eggs in a microwave egg-poacher, adding the onions and jalapeños on top

meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, add the slit bananas, sprinkle brown sugar on top; flip and cook the bananas all over till crisp on the outside and the brown sugar caramelizes

Assembly:

lay the egg-battered pan-fried French-toast-style tortilla on a plate, top with some black beans, a poached egg, a couple of slices of fried banana, and crumble some queso panela (or feta, or any crumbly cheese of your choice); serve warm

Sig at Live To Eat is hosting this month's Weekend Breakfast Blogging (WBB#9), and this is my Egg-stra Ordinary Breakfast entry:-)

stuffed omelette and hashbrown breakfast

It was a lazy Sunday morning. I woke up with a nagging headache, but, Baby and D needed breakfast...

Left to themselves, I am sure they would have been fine with some cereal and milk, but, since that's what they have on weekdays, I try to cook a sumptuous breakfast on weekends.

This breakfast is usually quick and easy to make, and is quite filling. The omelette is stuffed with spiced spinach and cheese; hash browns are plain and simple with a touch of salt & black pepper.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¼ medium onion, finely minced
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 medium potato, matchstick or julienne
½ tsp Madras curry powder
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
salt to taste
canola oil or butter or ghee as needed

Preparation

beat the eggs with 2 Tbsp milk or water, some salt and ground black pepper

heat oil in a pan, sauté the onions and the spinach with some salt and curry powder; keep this mixture as dry as possible

make two omelettes as thin as possible and set aside for stuffing

layer some spinach mixture and some grated cheddar, roll up the omelettes just like a burrito; cut on a bias into 3" long pieces

cook the potato matchsticks on medium low heat, with some oil or butter till it browns to desired crispness; sprinkle some salt and a few turns of the pepper mill before serving

instead of cheddar, either feta, or home made bag cheese (paneer) can be used for stuffing the omelette