Pondicherry is a wonderful former French metropolis on India’s east coast, and that is my model of India’s tackle French toast – hence the name, Pondicherry toast. Chickpea flour is mixed with yogurt, coriander, chili, and cumin, then pan-fried to create a delicious massive bread pakora. Many Indians devour this as an after-school or painting snack; I like it for Sunday breakfast, with chai, ketchup, and Lata Mangeshkar’s syrupy song within the heritage.
Pondicherry toast
If you’re slicing your bread, reduce it as thinly as store-sold sliced bread because it makes for a better batter ratio to bread. Beware: some “undeniable” soya yogurts have sugar, so look at the label. I use Sojade’s ‘So Soya!’Prep 10 min
Cook 16 min
Makes four toasts to serve 2-4
100g chickpea flour (aka gram flour or besan)
120g soy yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
One large handful of coriander leaves, finely shredded
1 tsp cumin powder
One inexperienced finger chili, very finely chopped
½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
½ tsp salt
Four skinny slices of bread
Rapeseed oil for frying
Whisk the chickpea flour with the yogurt in a bowl until there are no lumps. Add the other elements besides the bread and oil, and mix thoroughly.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a nonstick frying pan until hot. Meanwhile, dunk one slice of bread inside the batter, making sure to coat each side (however, don’t give it a tub). Carefully lay the bread in the warm pan and cook for a minute and a half to two minutes, until golden brown on the bottom, then turn over with a fish slice and cook for the identical time on the alternative facet.
Slide or raise the toast directly to a serving plate and hold heat even as you repeat with the alternative three slices of bread, making sure you get sufficient herbs and spices in the bottom of the batter bowl on every facet. Serve warm with ketchup. Of course, your overall theme for a recipe scrapbook album will be recipes. In keeping with that theme, each page or section will have a specific theme in the recipes category.
Browsing through your recipes and photos, look for natural groupings. If there are several recipes from Grandmother, theme a section of your recipe scrapbook album for those. Suppose Uncle Lyle has more recipes than his singular prize-winning sushi; set aside a section for him in your recipe scrapbook album.
Perhaps you will find it easier to divide your recipe scrapbook album into themes such as appetizers, main courses, side dishes, desserts, and beverages. Each theme could be a page or section.
Recipe Scrapbook Album Page Layouts
Once you have your themes, you are ready to lay out the pages of your recipe scrapbook albums. There are many approaches to page layout, and you may have one you have used often. Here is one way of doing it.
1. Select the photo(s) to be used on a 2-page spread or single page. If they are colored photos, select scrapbooking paper to complement them. Be sure you use acid-free paper to protect your memories.
2. Layout your scrapbooking paper to fit the page. Be creative with your paper. Nostalgic kitchen wallpaper is a good choice for old recipes. Italian recipes might find a home on red and white checkered paper reminiscent of a tablecloth. If your recipe scrapbook album includes a recipe for Fish and Chips, you might want a scrapbooking paper on that page to look like an old newspaper.
3. arrange the recipes and accompanying photos after placing your scrapbooking paper. Typed recipe cards are fine, but hand-written recipes by the person who created them will give your recipe scrapbook albums a more personal touch.
4. Frame your photos and recipes after they are placed. You can find a wonderful array of frames in scrapbooking supplies stores. Or use your creativity. If Grandmother always wore an apron when preparing that delicious chocolate cake, create an apron “pocket” of cloth or cardstock. Tuck into one or more recipes. Another idea is to make fold-open frames for the recipes in your recipe scrapbook album. Cut an appropriate piece of cardstock of the proper size and fold it in thirds. Adhere the center third to your scrapbook, top it with the recipe, and shut the other two sides over it. You might even make the folded card look like cupboard doors.
5. Once your photos and recipes are framed on the page, add a few journaling lines that capture the family memories of the recipe. In my files, I have a recipe for cookies served by the host the evening my husband and I first knew we would become more than friends. Personal notes about such memories add immensely to recipe scrapbook albums. My mother’s fresh, home-baked bread is remembered as Dad’s favorite base for yellow mustard!
