Bread Uppittu

Blogging on the last day of the year, is sort of exciting! New year, new hopes, new resolutions is all exciting to look forward! So thought of sharing my warm memories with you all and wishing you a very prosperous, filled with good health and good luck new year!

It's always hard when it comes to generation gap or it's always a struggle to convince or make our elders understand us, our thought process and the time changes, which brings lot of new things, we need to adopt, adjust and accustom! It's always hard and challenging with our elders to make them understand what we are up to and what our thought process is.

But I never felt that way with my Grand Father, my mom's Dad! He was so understanding, curious,  open minded and broad minded person, that what ever you do, he would appreciate and try to understand you! Though there was a huge age difference, but I  never felt it that way! He was always fun, cool, smiling, understanding and above all appreciative and recognized even it was a small thing I did! He is no more with us, but I am sure, if he was here now, he would have understood and adopted and liked the technology and the gadgets we have and would have made an effort to understand what we are going through!

When it comes to food, our older generation would never like our way of cooking or smell or taste and let alone try a new cuisine! But my grand father was not like that! It was that time of my life, when I had completed my post graduation and looking for a job and while hunting for the job...my mom suggested me to learn cooking!! And what ever my mom does, it's always methodical and with lot of dedication! So she got me a book to write down the recipes and taught me everything, even how to cut the veggies, which would make a difference in taste! And as I started to cook, I was so excited to learn new stuff!

In those days there were only few magazines which would have a small space for new recipe posts and I used to curiously go through it and once I came across this recipe called "Bread Uppittu"! The magazine was called as "Sudha", it still published, but unfortunately only few people buy, because of our technology, there are only few people who still buy magazine to read...! Seeing the ingredients and method, it sounded very easy and thought I could try and surprise my mom! And fortunately my Grand Father was with us, he was with us for couple of months and thought will make an impression on him also, as he was always supportive and very encouraging!

And I did the Bread Uppittu one evening and it came out so good and my Grand Father was so happy and proud that I did, looking at a recipe, that was a big deal and a proud thing for him! He told every body who came that, his grand daughter cooked on her own, looking at a recipe! And later when I got married and the second thing I tried to do and impress was Bread Uppittu in my inlaw's house! I was very nervous since, I was not sure if they would like it or not, but it was a hit there too!

And now after 15 years, my husband was asking to do it from past couple of days, since he wants to go on a diet, as a new year resolution and he was telling if you do before 31st I will eat! And it's 15 years since I did Bread Uppitu and thought this morning is the good time to make it for the breakfast and I had made it for the breakfast....my little girls helped me in cutting the bread and they also liked it too! Time has flown......years have passed by....my Grand Father is no more......my girls have grown up and now appreciates my cooking as my Grand Father did, years ago......and Bread Uppittu made me go memories down the lane....which gave me little tears remembering my dear Grand Father, but happy to have such cool, warm memories and happy,proud and lucky to have such a Grand Father!

And I would like to share today the recipe of Bread Uppittu, hoping that you will enjoy as much as my family did and wishing you once again a very Happy New Year!

Ingredients:

Bread - 2 loafs (4-6 people)
Onions - 2 medium size
Potatoes - 3-4 medium size
Green Chillies - according to taste
Red chilly powder- according to taste
Ginger
Curry leaves/Coriander leaves
Oil for seasoning
Mustard
Urad dal/Channa dal
Dry coconut grated
Salt to taste
Ghee to fry bread

Method:

Cut the bread into small squares and keep aside. Cut onions as you would cut for regular Uppittu. Boil potatoes and peel them and mash them and keep aside. Cut green chillies,ginger and coriander leaves and keep aside.

In a deep pan, warm up the ghee and fry the bread squares, you can do it in batches, do it on a medium heat until the bread becomes crispy and changes the color to dark brown, but make sure it will not get burnt and keep it aside.

In a deep,wide pan, add oil and once its warm, add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add urad dal,channa dal and once its done, add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and onions. Fry until the onions are cooked and then add potatoes, red chilly powder, salt and dry coconut and mix well.

Now add the bread and mix thoroughly and garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately! Since this has to be eaten hot, else bread will become soggy! Enjoy Bread Uppittu with a cup of hot coffee!