Masala Toast - Iyengar Bakery Style

An open-faced sandwich topped with a Spicy Carrot mixture

If you grew up in Bangalore or any other part of Karnataka, you are probably familiar with the famous Iyengar Bakery "Toast". It's an open-faced sandwich that is topped with a spicy carrot mixture that is insanely delicious.

During my college years, my friends and I would visit the local Iyengar Bakery every now and then and enjoy this Toast with piping hot chai. Good ol' times! Sigh!

Now, since we live so far away from home, I usually make this every now and then to satisfy our craving for "Masala Toast". And like with all my other recipes, I healthi-fy it to suit our lifestyle.

If you are following me on Instagram, you probably already know that my husband has taken up a new hobby - bread making. He bakes once a month or so and he uses a bread machine to bake bread. He has been experimenting with different kinds of breads, some turned out yum and others were epic fails. Making Iyengar Bakery Style White bread was one of the things he had been experimenting on for a while. Contrary to store bought white bread we get here in the US, Iyengar bakery bread is super soft and fluffy and literally melts in your mouth. He finally nailed the recipe and we made "Masala Toast" with this bread based on all your recommendations on Instagram. It turned out so so good.

Ya'll know I don't advocate eating White bread. It's just plain carbs with very little nutritional benefits. But I also believe in eating your favorite foods in moderate amounts once in a while. We typically don't eat bread on a day to day basis. It's only when the hubs bakes, we indulge. You can totally make this Masala Toast with whole wheat/ gluten-free bread and use any vegan butter instead of regular butter.

Typically the Iyengar Bakery Toast is made with Margarine, have very few vegetables and added sweeteners. My version is a lot healthier and can be consumed for breakfast/ quick snack. You can add as many masalas as you want but I wanted to keep it simple and basic.

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

• Carrot - 2, grated

• Onions - 1/4 cup, chopped finely

• Green Chilies - 1, chopped finely or slit length-wise

• Ginger - 1 tsp, grated

• Green Bell Pepper - 1/4 cup, chopped

• Tomato - 1/4 cup, chopped or use 1 tsp tomato paste

• Cumin seeds - 1tsp

• Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp

• Hing - Pinch

• Olive oil/ Coconut oil - 2 tsp

• Jaggery - Powdered, 1 tsp

• Salt & Pepper - to taste

• Cilantro - few springs, chopped

• Juice of half a lime

• Slice of Bread of your choice

Instructions:

To make the masala

• Heat oil in a skillet on medium- low heat

• Add in the cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

• Once the seeds pop, add in hing, green chillies, onions & sauté

• Now add ginger and mix.

• Add bell peppers, salt & cook until bell peppers are half done.

• Add in the tomatoes and mix. Cook until tomatoes are half done.

• Add in the grated carrot and mix well. Adjust seasonings.

• Add Jaggery. Do not skip this step. The Jaggery adds a hint of sweetness which helps bring all the flavors together.

• Once the carrots are cooked, turn off the stove,

• Squeeze in lime juice & garnish with cilantro.

To make the toast:

• Melt some butter on a hot cast iron pan and place the slice of bread on it.

• Spread a tiny amount of butter on the top of the slice.

• Once the bottom side of the bread is golden brown, flip it over

• Now spread a generous amount of the Carrot mixture on the toast and allow it cook for a few seconds.

• Remove from pan and serve with hot Chai

VARIATIONS:

• Top the Carrot mixture with grated paneer for some added protein

• Add sprouted moong to the mixture while it cooks to make this heartier

• You can add different colored bell peppers to add more nutrients and colors to this recipe.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I would love to know. Take a pic and tag me on Instagram or Facebook and spread the love, it's good karma :)

#breakfastrecipes #quicklunches #vegan #glutenfreeoptions #15minutebreakfast