Bread Upma

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! My weekend routine in Istanbul was pretty tame. On Saturdays, I'd wake late, freshen up, and head to the gym for a painful workout with my big Iraqi friend, Khal Haivan (named because he's a Game of Thrones loving beast). We'd then make the short walk to the mall nearby where we'd eat a ton of junk food to essentially cancel out all our hard work, and then watch a movie at the cinema in the mall at student prices. Khal Haivan was studying to get his masters degree and therefore had a legit student card, and me with my boyish looks and angelic face never raised any red flags so I was never asked for proof. What's odd is, I always went to the same girl at the counter even when I was alone and bought full price tickets but she never questioned it (and with like 6 Indians in the vicinity, it really was most curious). We'd head home after the movie and then meet up again in the evening, joined by a few others, to hit the local bars by the Bosphorous or at the always buzzing Istiklal street where we'd eat, drink, and make merry, and eventually groggily stumble home late in the night.

Sundays were slightly less fun. They began (occasionally) with a steaming portion of regret and a big moan, on account of the shenanigans of the previous night. I would roll slowly out of bed, feel my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and then fix myself a glass of a haldi waala doodh (milk with turmeric) and down that with a Saridon for my headache. Once the pounding had stopped, I'd find my trusty cleaning gear and proceed to spruce up my house until it shone. Then very carefully, I'd tiptoe into the kitchen and fix myself something to eat. Most Sundays, lunch was rajma chawal, but on the odd occasion I wanted something less lunchy, I'd cook an extra large portion of breakfast and call it lunch. Paired with a large glass of milkshake, with my TV shows on the telly, it was the perfect way to spend Sunday until it was time to cook a lavish dinner, after which it was officially time to wallow in self pity because the weekend was over and Monday was just around the corner.

One such go to breakfast masquerading as lunch dish that I cooked was Bread Upma, which apart from being simpler to cook than it is to fall off a boat, is a great way to use up all of your bread even if it has been sitting around for a bit. 

For my Bread Upma you will need the following:

Bread	8-10 slices
Onion	1 small
Tomato	1 small
Green chillies	1
Garlic	1 clove (it is breakfast after all)
Ketchup	2 big squirts from a squeezie bottle
Turmeric (haldi) powder	1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder	1-2 tsp
Water	in a bowl for dunking
Salt	to taste
Lemon juice	big squeeze
Oil

Prep:

1. Chop the onion.
2. Chop the tomato.
3. Chop the chilli.
4. Mince the garlic.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Bounce in the mustard seeds.
6. Roll in the chilli.
7. Shake in the garlic.
8. Pop in the onion.
9. Cook until soft.
10. Plop in the tomato.
11. Sprinkle on the haldi, and red chilli powders.
12. Give the bread slices a quick dunk in a bowl of water, tear them into pieces, and throw them into the pan.
13. Squirt on the ketchup.
14. Add salt to taste.
15. Mix well.
16. Cook for a few minutes.
17. Turn the gas off.
18. Squeeze on some lemon juice.
19. Serve.
20. Stuff face.
21. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: White or brown bread is ideal for this. The one with seeds isn't so great. The one I've used in the picture is brown, although white looks prettier!

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!