Kitchen Experiments: Chutney French Toast

Way back in time, when I was studying in school (REALLY way back!), French Toast was always savoury -sliced bread dipped in a mixture of eggs whisked with salt, chillies and a bit of crushed garlic and pan fried. The first time I heard of a SWEET French Toast being served with syrup et al - I was horrified. But over the years, I have realized that the basic recipe had as many interpretations as there are cooks in the world.

Here is my own contribution to the recipe trove.

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 6 slices of bread (day old stale bread is better)
  • 3 teaspoons (or as much as you like) Coconut 'sandwich' chutney - fresh grated coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves, salt, sugar, cumin seeds whizzed in a blender till a smooth paste is formed
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 3 slices of cheese - optional
  • Sriracha chilli sauce/any chilli sauce or finely chopped green chilly - optional
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon oil

Method:

  • Spread the chutney on 3 slices of bread. If you want a squidgier, richer result, add a slice of cheese atop the chutney. Cover each slice with another slice of bread - basically, make sandwiches.
  • Cut each sandwich on the diagonal, making 2 triangular sandwiches
  • Whisk the eggs with milk, salt, chilly sauce/ chopped green chilly in a wide shallow bowl
  • Stand the chutney sandwich triangles in the egg mixture for a minute. Turn over and let the egg soak into the other side of the sandwich as well.
  • While the bread is soaking up the egg, heat a swirl of oil in a frying pan. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is covered properly with oil.
  • Lift the egg-soaked sandwiches and place them in the pan. They WILL BE very fragile and prone to collapse, thanks to their dunking, so handle with kid gloves.
  • Fry on both sides till golden brown.
  • Serve piping hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.


Handy Tips:

#1: As you can see, this recipe is very flexible, and lends itself very well to variations. You can substitute the coconut chutney with a grated cheese-and-chopped-chillies mix, or a mint chutney, or your normal cheese spread. For a sweet version, you can slather on some peanut butter or jam (or both in a classic PB&J combo) or even Nutella onto the bread and dip these sandwiches in a mix of eggs, sugar, cream and fry till gloriously golden.

#2: Always use stale bread (at least a day old) for making French Toast - the drier the bread, the more it soaks up the eggy mixture and the tastier is the end result. A great way to use stale brittle bread!

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