Sunday Breakfast : Playing Around With Kerala Flavours Was Fun

Weekend comes with many excitements. One of them is Sunday Breakfast. It’s the time when you look forward to something interesting and different. At times, some thoughts cross my mind and I wear my kitchen apron to experiment with flavours. This Sunday was one of them where the flavours from Kerala formed the base for my experiments. And this can surely induce many ideas for you as well.

Early this week, Chef Sanjay Pawar went out dining in a local Malabar Restaurant. On his way out, he got a plate of Crab Masala Fry packed and brought it for me. A whiff of seafood coupled with an aroma of strong malabar masala was emanating out of the pack. A spoonful in the palate told me it was super spicy. The lavish use of Ginger, Garlic, Coconut, Green Chilly and spices was dominating. Then there was this subtle crab meat which provided the aroma and the balance to the texture. The whole dish was a bouquet of flavours. I had to enjoy it at leisure.  So, back home from office, I stored it in the fridge to enjoy it later with appams or parantha or rumali, but wasn’t sure. So it rested there.

This Sunday morning it was breakfast time and I thought of using it for making Sandwich, rather Sandwiches. What resulted was an experimentation with the flavours of Crab Masala Fry in a somewhat English way.  Sounds interesting.

In my experiments, there are two basic ingredients Toasted Brown Bread and the hero Crab Masala Fry.  It’s Sandwich, after all.

Version One

I toasted three slices of brown bread and used the Crab Masala Fry as the spread. While with two slices I made a closed sandwich, the third one was an open sandwich. The toasted bread provided the base to the curry. It looked great, had a good taste but yet ? The bread crunch did give a base to the spicy masala but was still over powering. Could be had as it is but not very satisfying. Something surely needs to be done to enhance the flavours.

 

Version Two

I added a dash of Sweet Chilly Thai Sauce (one could use Tomato Ketchup) to the Crab Masala. It not only added some moisture to the concoction but gave it a bit reddish tone. The bread slices, this time, were buttered with our very own Amul. The masala was spread between the slices and the sandwich was ready to be enjoyed. Yes, it was enjoyed thoroughly. The chillies in the Thai Sauce complimented the spices while the sweetness balanced the punch. On top of it, the buttery toast provided that texture of smoothness to the bite. The whole experience was lifted to the luxury level. The taste of spicy masala balanced with sweet sauce and supported by the butter is something to be experienced. Words may not do the complete justice.

Version Three
In this case, the toasted bread slice was covered with a layer of Mayonnaise and then the masala (same portion which had Thai Sauce in it) was spread over it to make an open sandwich. To finish it, I dropped a bit of mayo over it. It gave a nice look to the bed of masala. Once again, the sandwich looked good and had a bit of exotic hues. The addition of mayo provided a creamy texture to the whole thing. Balanced the spices to some extent and provided a good interface of masala with the toast. Again a flavourful combo. I am sure, if I would have covered it with another slice with a mayo layer, it would have tasted much better than this one. One could have added a sprinkle of herbs or Oregano over the mayo.  Needs to be experimented further.

So, one Crab Masala Fry and various versions. For me, the one with the use of butter worked the best.

Now, this leads you to consider various combinations with various ingredients of your choice. One could use our very own Paneer Bhurji, Keema, Baked Beans, Spinach, Creamy Mushrooms, Creamy Corns, etc etc for the spread. And may be Garlic Pickle or Chutney, Barbecue Sauce, Kasundi or Mustard Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce, Coconut Chutney, Gongura Pickle and what not. I remember, one of my uncles, a chef of sorts, using a combination of Roohafza and Tomato Ketchup to give distinct flavours to his Punjabi Mint Chutney. I had written about it earlier in my piece of Wierd Food Combos.

What are we waiting for? Go ahead and try. You may hit an exciting combo of yours own this weekend or the coming one.

Bon Appetite !!

Rajesh Tara 
#MagicofFlavours