A ruby red jam and a hearty breakfast

Breakfasts are the first meals of the day and when it is weekend , they have to be hearty and delicious.
I am not a big egg fan... I cannot just cook 5 eggs in the morning and serve them... we both find them too heavy ..... they are better off for the later part of the day.....
So how to make the breakfasts special?.... No poached eggs, no scrambled eggs, C is not very fond of pancakes either...
And then I decided ....Why not give home made jam a try? That would be special..!
C always likes long lazy breakfasts especially on Sunday mornings when he can wake up late and sit at the table with his morning tea for hours and talk to me and twiddle with the his laptop at the same time. So I decided on a simple strawberry jam and warm baguette for breakfast....
The recipes I followed are here and here.
I combined the two for a yummy jam.....

What you need:
fresh strawberries-1 lb
sugar-17-20 tbsp
lemon zest-2 tsp
lemon juice-6 tbsp
orange juice-2 tbsp

Wash the strawberries and hull them .
I quartered all the big berries and halved the smaller ones.
Now in a deep heavy bottomed saucepan,add the lemon juice and the zest.
Put the flame on medium low.
When the juice starts boiling add the strawberries.
Cook for 4-5 minutes until the strawberries soften and start releasing their juices.
Add the sugar slowly stirring each time.
Add the orange juice.
Now let the mix cook for 25- 30 minutes at low medium heat.
Skim off any foam that forms on top.
Pour in a glass bowl and let it cool.
When it has cooled, cover and store in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
We enjoyed ours on warm oven roasted baguette..:)

Soul food!

Typical bong breakfasts on weekends are a little elaborate .It is essentially a 'luchi ' or 'parota' time with the simple 'cholar dal' or 'alur dom'.
Even C who is so much into healthy eating cannot say no to these 'not so healthy' treats.
At any time we prefer parota to luchi because it is not deep fried.

How to make parota:

flour-2 cups
water
oil-1tsp for kneading and 4-5 tbsp for frying
salt-a pinch

Mix the flour with salt and oil. Now knead it into a soft dough and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
Next pinch out small balls form the dough and roll it to a circular disc on a smooth surface .
Fold the disc twice and press roll it again for the triangular parota.
Heat oil in a shallow pan and on medium heat fry the parota.

Alu r dom:

potatoes-6-7 medium ones peeled and halved
peas-a handful
tomatoes-1 large diced
ginger paste-1 tbsp
whole cumin-1 tsp
slit green chilli-2-3
garam masala powder-1 pinch
yogurt-2 tbsp
turmeric-1/2 tsp
oil-4 tsp
salt
sugar
coriander leaves- a handful

Pressure cook the potatoes till they are soft but not mushy.
Drain the water and keep them aside.
Next heat oil in a pan and lightly fry the potatoes and keep them aside.
In the same oil sizzle the cumin seeds.
Add the ginger and tomatoes and lower the heat.
Pan fry until the tomatoes soften and release oil. Add the peas.
Add the yogurt, turmeric , chillies and let the gravy come to a boil.
If it is too thick add little water.(We do not like ours too watery.)
Add the potatoes and salt and stir .
Add sugar according to taste and the garam masala powder..
Add the coriander leaves.
Serve hot with parota.