I used to work for a French company in Nigeria and hunting was a favourite weekend pastime. Our breakfast of choice in the bush used to be French toast – French style of course as my colleague was French. He would soak slices of bread in milk before dipping these into whisked egg. According to him whisked egg sticks better to milk soaked bread. I found these toasts soggy while I liked them crisp. In USA and Canada, I found they sprinkled caster sugar on French toast, which too I didn’t like and came up with my own version of French toast, crispy fried, Indian style.
A colleague rears hens and ducks and is my sole source of organic eggs. Recently, she brought six ducks eggs for me. Taken aback by the green colour of the eggs initially, I was mustering the courage to eat these either blind folded or thought I would have to do so under duress. As luck would have it, on the following Saturday morning I looked into the cupboard and found no bread apart from a long French baguette and no eggs other than those of the infernal duck! It was case of now or never. I decided to make French toast Indian style.
Ingredients
- 2 Duck eggs
- ½ Teaspoon of Turmeric
- ½ Teaspoon of cumin powder
- ½ Teaspoon of coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon of chilli powder
- ¼ Teaspoon of cayenne powder
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
- ½ Teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 table spoons Olive oil
Method
- Mix all the ingredients except cumin seeds and whisk well.
- Soak French baguette pieces in the mixture to let the egg permeate the bread.
- Heat two table spoons of olive oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to season the oil.
- Fry the egg soaked pieces of baguette until they are golden brown and crisp.
- Garnish with chilli or tomato sauce. Occasionally, I will have French toast with olives.
Enjoy!
Ed: This recipe sounds like the toast will go well with a hari chutney too.
Related Posts:
Thats a great way of doing French Toast – the Indian way. Why not call it Indian Toast instead! I nurse an aversion to Olives but love Olive Oil! Shall definitely try this variation! I think I will add some green chillies as well .
Karam, an embarassing admission is that I didnt know about the real French Toast till very late in life, maybe I was twenty or so by then. The French Toast I knew was much closer to your version than to the French version (use of chopped onions and coriander, as we would do in an Indian omlette and mustard oil instead of olive oil being the difference). About a month back, I was staying in a guest house in Delhi where the cook made something similar for breakfast (Indian Toast as Vinny put it) and my son liked it a lot. I complemented the cook, and he responded “Isko French Toast kehte hain” (It is called the French Toast), and it took me back to my childhood days when it was the only French Toast I knew.
.-= Siddhartha Singh´s last blog ..Best Mutton Do-Pyaza in the World =-.
Will definitely try this version and call it like Vinny says:Indian Toast!!!
.-= Aliena Varghese´s last blog ..Honey Spice Cake =-.
Dear Karam Ji,
It sounds very delicious but I have no cooking talent except that once upon a time I used to cook chicken on kerosene stove in a big safuria when we used to go on safari in Kenya. But now it has got buried some where down the memory lane.
Regards.
Bikram
Yes! It reminds me of what I remember from my teen years in Kampala, simply as “Egg wali bread” and that is what it has always been. ‘French Toast’? Nah. My mum invented in it 1955! But that is a gross oversimplification though because when you try to make it you realise how difficult it can be, especially if you do not use the finer points recommended by Karam. I like it very eggy with a thick coat of egg but not so dry. So every person to their own taste! In the US they make a slightly different version but I did not like the castor sugar or the sugary syrups that they pile on top of thick sliced toasts…they are designed to fill you up and convince you that you have had value from your $5 breakfast! I am not so sure about duck eggs!
I would recommend that you visit Chachi’s Kitchen blog as well. It is a very interesting source of Ismaili food recipes combined with East African nostalgia. They are very popular indeed.
Kalwant Ajimal
You stole my recipe!!!! I made these just the other day and my niece Preetma lapped them up. Great minds think alike. Seriously, mine is almost the same. I don’t use turmeric, simply because cooking it in the egg does not give it enough time to be done properly. You have listed quarter spoon and then nothing, so what is that invisible ingredient??
I feel that the bread has also got to be right. Thin slices are better than thick.
Preetma wants more of these and so I am off into the kitchen making French Toast my ishtyle!!!!
I must try this French Toast. I have tried English toast in Punjabi style but never tried with a French bread.
French Bread !..never tried but it sound good ..will try.thanks do not forget to garnish with corrianda..may be slice of lemon…moo mey paani aa reha hey.
Dear Karamjit Singh Ji and Members:
I know nothing of the culinary arts. But crisp French toast has been one of my favorite breakfast items ever since my maternal uncle, a Punjabi farmer, came to visit us in a village in Rajasthan and introduced it to us. To this day, I wonder how he himself came to know of it, in Savvadi, Jagraon (Ludhiana).
Who would have known about your forays into ethnic and fusion cuisine? More important, now we know what you look like outside the cyberspace.
Sounds great, looks even better. Though I am not sure if you can still call it a toast with so many spices. I would definitely try it, but would rather rechristen the end product as ‘Karam-pakora garma-garam’, than as any other toast, Indian/French notwithstanding.
Can’t wait to get my hands dirty on this egg-cellent project!
What an excellent idea! I’m a big fan of French Toast… and a big fan of Indian food, so this sounds like something I might like. I may have to give this a try!
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Study Shows Beer Could Be Good For Bone Health =-.
Neither French Toast nor Indian Toast sound quite right. Karam, you say you like these crisp.
So why not call it Karam-chy Toast ???? It’s your recipe — immortalise yourself!
your new recipes is very simple to cook ,people love to cook ur creative recipe,i will give you one idea ,this could be very colourful if u use kasmiri chilly powder it is going to be a replacement of turmeric,hope you don”T mind my friend
Simply divine!
Great for offering guests. I added chopped green chillies and served with the tomato and onion kchumber(relish). Nice with masala chai.
This is amazing!! Can’t wait to try it out =D
Sharing some posts that were sent direct to me:
Amitabh Sc
13 April at 08:48
Its a very popular snack in Kolkatta and Shillong. Its known as Egg Roll. Mostly sold by street vendors like hotdog
Amrita Nakai 12 April at 09:53 Reply
Sounds delicious except for the duck eggs!! I will try this !! try doing the same thing with a paratha instead of bread–I used to make it all the time for my kid
Dear all,
Thank you all for your great feedback. It has been interesting to note some of the variations suggested. Tripat/ Chef Lakhar suggestions will be included to check the next evolution phase of this dish. I did dip a left over roti in the mix and fried it and it was delicious and crispy! Name suggestions need bit of pondering to get myself a patent for this version of French Toast.
Many thanks
lots of Luv
Karam
Very good recipes !! An interessant mix of differents cultures and trips around the world !! I like it!
Congratulations Karam…. Concerning French toast, the original recipe includes eggs, milk, like you told, we fry it with butter, add sugar, and we eat it for breakfast. It was invent to use the old bread, instead put it in the trash, and it’s delicious! This salt and spicy version from our French toast is very original and creative, perfect for aperitive! Congratulations again!
My friend – griselda erb – A french women sent me comments on my personal email which I would like to share. I met her during Sri Lanka Holidays – We went on tours together to various parts of Sri-Lanaka – particularly – Festival of Elephants in Kandy.
Here’s what she writes about French Toast
“Yes, of course, i know french toast, but we make it with sugar, no curry or cumin but i will try it, because it looks so tasty : i like spices very much…
I make my “french toast” with brioche for breakfast. At the origin (but i think you know the story), there was stale bread (i’m sure about the word : too hard to eat). Instead put it in the basket, they tried to add some milk, eggs and sugar, and cook it in the butter : delicious!!
In France, we call it Lost bread.
Interestingly French toast its not French in origin .Battered and fried bread are found in many parts of the world,including Europe and America,Far-east and India and its not known who really invented this recipe.Its generally thought to have originated during the Medieval Times in Europe.It is known by different names in different parts of the world and is generally sweet.
@Karam .Love your savory version sans the turmeric and preferably fried in butter ,corn or sunflower oil as I find Olive Oil overpowering.However that’s really a matter of personal taste.For those who do not eat egg try coating it it gram flour batter and filling them with savory potatoes.I think they are called Bread Pakoras- our own Desi-style French Toast?
@Sharmin – thanks for your feed back. Atul Lahkar’s suggestion for using kismiri chili powder is good. I just use little bit of turmeric to add colour. I do use sunflower oil too but will try butter.
Yes desi style is bread fried in spicy gram flower batter. Interestingly, Southall -London had street vaisakhi celebrations last saturday. There were several stalls dispensing these batter fried bread. Another version was potatoes, onions, tomatoes semi-cooked – bread sandwich fried in batter. Tastey but must have high calorie value!
One of these days I will try Mars bar fried in Batter which is popular up North UK. Mars bar in spicy gram flour batter will be another story!
I have not tried your recipe for the Indian version of French toast or should I say Masala Toast but will one of these days. if this recipe catches on in the UK it might become part of the Great English Breakfast but of course given the English preference for all things fired one would have to deep fry the stuff in lard rather than just pan fry it in 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
A great way to start the day…only one problem…one would like to have some more throughout the day…Thanx Karam for sharing this simple & crispy recipe.
Hi, I’m a vegetarian though my husband is a non-vegetarian…I’ve always wanted to try French Toast but I can’t stand the smell of cooking eggs and don’t like their taste either. Is there any way of making this without eggs that would taste like French Toast (or Indian Toast as the above long line of comments states), and not taste like Bread Pakoras??
I would love to get your inputs as I am a beginner cook who is newly married
and trying to learn.
Try just dipping in seasoned & spiced milk mixed with a little maida and cornflour.
Let us know how it turns out!
Thanks for the suggestion Sid…hope this does not sound too dumb a question…what exactly is seasoned and spiced milk?? What seasoning and spices are we talking about and in what quantities.
I love to eat (and so does my husband – we got married only about 3 weeks ago). I have never bothered much in the kitchen…instead I am in the habit of surrounding myself with people who are amazing cooks and don’t mind feeding me
I will surely let you know how The eggless French Toast turns out…till date my cooking adventures (in the past 2 weeks) have considered of rice and moong dal and aaloo sabji (which i do know how to make – well mostly anyway…the salt content is always a bit dicey and touch and go)…however yesterday I tried Jeera rice and Dal fry (courtesy Tarla Dalal’s online recipes) which turned out good and Gobhi manchurian (courtesy another food blog, I cant remember the name of just now)….whose taste turned out good, but the look was not! I think the batter became too thin and did not coat my gobhi florets well
Today I intend to try Chole Bhature (again courtesy Tarla Dalal) and Payasam (funnily enough courtesy a food blog by an American in America who cooks Indian food – the site is called “The Colors of Indian cooking”)…I hope the taste turns out as my Amma makes makes!
After your reply….I will try the French Toast and let you know how it turned out!
Honestly, it is an idea I have as the thought of making French Toast without eggs has never occurred to me. Try making a very thin batter with maida or besan as if for pakodas, but very lightly spiced with perhaps cumin powder, chili powder, garam masala and salt or without the spices if you’re trying to emulate classic French Toast. Use milk instead of water to thin it. In my mind it should be close; your experiment will confirm things one way or another.
BTW: I don’t get notifications when you comment here as this post is written by Karam. Please ping me on Facebook or email (editor@chefatlarge.in) when you comment next if that’s convenient.
The recipe in this post is extremely different from a French toast and would seriously confuse anyone who ordered this dish.
French toast is a sweet dish essentially (along the lines of shahi tukda).
While I can see that the dish is delicious, I think break pakora is a more apt name.
Sharmistha Das – It appears that have not read the title of this post, ” French Toast Indian Style” with emphais on Indian.
Yes French toast is sweet – In USA it is served with a syrup and sprinkled with castor sugar – Absolutely disgusting and revolting.
My version is with Indian spices. I do not know ” what Break pakora”. Indians do make bread Pakora with bessan Batter but not with egg as I have done it.
Read the comments – one French lady – who should know what French toast is – tells of her authentic version and is impressed by my version which she is going to try out. No confusion there mate!
Thanks. Per Wikipedia, perhaps indian version of french toast is the only one that has no sugar. Pretty much all other versions have a sweet component.
Sharmistha Das – I suggest you stick to the orignal French Toast – sweet version.
I absolutely detest and loathe ” Sugared” version. I am not going to argue – Enjoy your French toast plastered with sugar.
Sharmishtha, Karam: While I don’t give two hoots for what Wikipedia or Karam’s French friend have say due to the very personal and ever changing nature of food, both of you would do well to remember different opinions can and do exist.