June 19, 2008

Onion-omelette-sandwich with mushrooms (havita i m batzal b' pita)


I took a Middle eastern cookbook from the library for AWED, but I was attracted to a lot of recipes from the book. So I decided to pick another recipe from the same book for WBB - Express breakfast theme. This is an omelette which is very easy to prepare with the beautiful flavours of cumin and thyme blended together to form something exceptional! Indians routinely use cumin in their cooking but thyme is not something that is common in Indian cuisine. But the Middle eastern cuisine combine this spice and herb artistically to produce a dramatic flavour combo. This is a must try for everyone because 1) its very easy, not at all time-consuming, 2) because I highly recommend it (because you do not need any hi-fi ingredients except for probably the thyme, which most of you culinary masters would already have!) :-)! The recipe I am giving here is the halved recipe. The cookbook actually mentions serving the omelette in a pita bread and adding the mushrooms into the pita pocket. I served the mushroom mixture in between the halves of the omelette and enjoyed with some toasted wheat bread. JM and I shared this, even then it was pretty filling. Go on make it now, (I am pretty sure) you would like it! I am sending this to Raaga of the Singing Chef who is hosting WBB - Express Breakfast.


Recipe (Makes 1-2 servings) :

Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Small mushrooms - 3-4 oz, thickly sliced
Ground cumin - 1/4 tsp
Dried thyme - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1/2 medium, minced
Eggs - 2
Italian parsley - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Ground pepper - as needed
Pita bread - 1 or 2, halved

Method:

Heat a bit of the oil in a heavy medium skillet.

Add mushrooms, salt, pepper, cumin and thyme.

Saute over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until just tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Remove to a plate and keep aside.

Heat a tbsp of oil in the skillet.

Add onion and cook over medium heat until tender and beginning to turn golden, stirring occasionally.

Leave the onions in the skillet.

Thoroughly beat eggs with salt, pepper and parsley.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat and swirl the pan slightly to coat the sides of the pan as well.

Pour the egg mixture on top of the onions.

Cook without stirring, occasionally lifting the edges of the omelette and tipping the skillet so that the uncooked part of the egg runs to the edge of the pan.

When the top of the omelette is nearly set, turn it over to cook the second side over medium-low heat for 30-60 seconds or until just set.

Cut the omelette into wedges and slip into a pita bread.

Add the mushroom mixture and enjoy!

Source: Feast from the Mideast by Faye Levy.


Tips:

  1. I made the eggs without parsley, but added some green onions (green part only) to the beaten egg mixture.
  2. The omlette is very light, so if be gentle while turning the omelette over (mine tore, but I have no problem with that!). The book suggest slipping the set omelette on to a plate, then inverting it over another plate and then slipping it back into the pan, to cook the second side.
  3. The picture shows a half of the omelette topped with sauteed mushrooms with the other half folded over.
  4. We had it with regular toasted honey wheat bread.

Yesterday I received the "Rocking Girl Blogger" award from Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet bowl. I appreciate it, Sukanya, thanks a lot! I would like to pass it on to


Meeso of My Humble Kitchen
Madhuram of Eggless cooking
Purnima of Fantasy Cooking
Swati of Chatkhor
Bhags of Crazy curry

I have also been tagged by Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet Bowl. I love doing these memes (atleast for now!), they are fun, arent they!? I would like to tag,

Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Happy cook of My Kitchen Treasures
Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar
Skribles of Food with a pinch of love
Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen

I hope you girls will take upon my tag. It would be great if you could. Now here goes mine!

WARNING: It might be a boring read for some! In that case, please do NOT read any further!! ;-)

What was I doing ten years ago?

I was doing my schooling (+1/ 11th) in Trivandrum, Kerala.

What are five things on my to-do list for today (non-work related)?

I wrote this on Wednesday, so I am talking about the to-do list for Wednesday!

1. Take lil LM to the park for a play-date.
2. Blogging and blog-hopping
3. Clean the house before JM comes! ;-)
4. Do a little bit of reading
5. Keep in touch with my friends (old and new) through mails and messages!

What are five snacks that I enjoy?

1. Nuts
2. Spicy mixture with peanuts and those sev kind of things
3. Banana chips
4. Murukku
5. Anything sweet that I can get my hands on ;-)
I guess I like everything! ;-)

What things would I do if I were a billionaire?

I would definitely travel more, do a lot of shopping and bring you all to my big mansion so that we can have a world bloggers meet! ;-)

Places I have lived at?

Trivandrum - India
Cochin - India
Kottayam - India
Gurgaon - India (3 months)
Bangalore - India
Minnesota - USA
Spent 3 yrs shuttling between Cochin, Kottayam and Bangalore!

Jobs I have had:

A full-time wife and mom (if you would call that a job! Being a daughter and a sis was not that hard ;-)), but seriously, I didnt get a chance because I moved to US immediately after my post graduation. If it were not for these visa restrictions......!! I wish I would get one soon!

18 comments:

J said...

Love that omelete..I'm so hungry that I'm going to make some for myself right away! nice reading your meme.

ranji said...

good choice for breakfast JZ...easiest and tastiest breakfast one can make and eat :)..was nice reading ur meme..this one i will do:)..thanks for tagging me..

Finla said...

Delicious omelette, will give it a try and i think i will take your tip inadding the greens of theonions.
Thankyou for tagging me, will do it soon, few tags are in a q with me.
Oh and count me in for that worl bleggers meeting in you Mansion :-)

Anonymous said...

Its nice to know more about u JZ ... and thanks for sending it to me as well.
just for ur info, u had left an anonymous comment on my blog and I managed to find tht it was sent by u :)

bha said...

ideal breakfast menu...nice to know more about u JZ....congrats for your awards and thanks for thinking about me

Sum Raj said...

nice reading ur meme....delicious and tasty omelette....

Vani said...

Omelette looks delish!

Vani said...

And nice reading your meme too, JZ! BTW, I have a little M in my home too :)

FH said...

Love that Omelet, I made one for an event too!:)
JZ, your snacks are mouthwatering, sounds like you have my pantry there! Hahaha!
Enjoy your awards, great MeMe to read.

ST said...

Love the omelette......Nice reading ur meme.......

Sherin said...

Hey I thought I had made an entry... now cant find it, nyways

This makes an omelette nice and filling rite.... Looks damm delicous girl!

@the_whisk_affair said...

Thanks Jyothsna, Ranji and happy cook! It was fun writing the meme..and happy cook, you r in for the meet ;-)

Cant wait to know more abt u Skribles and Bhags!!

Thanks Suma and Vani! Sweet kisses to ur lil M, Vani!

Hehe Asha! Great to know that u liked it! Looks like we are on the same wavelength!!

Thanks Sireesha and Sherin!! Thanks for visiting!!

Rachel said...

scrumptious breakfast!!

Interesting Meme! I'll do mine sometime soon...

Cham said...

I love ur meme :) Breakfast with mushroom that is quick way to fill the tummy! Love the picture

Dori said...

Thanks for passing the award to me :D And congratulations to you!!! The pita looks really tasty!

Dori said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
@the_whisk_affair said...

Thanks Rachel, Cham and Meeso!

Srikitchen said...

congrats on receiving the awards