Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Poached Eggs with Peas .... Easy Peasy Brunch !

"Yatri Gaan krupya dhyaan de .... Train Number 2010, Howrah se Secunderabad jane wali Faluknuma Express teesh (30) minutes vilambh se chal rahi hai. Yaatriyon ki asuvidha k liye humen khed hai". The same announcement was repeated in English and Odiya. Everyone on the Platform were all ears and were listening attentively to the garbled announcement.
I waited for the train along with a dozen, well my family and relatives ..... No not everyone was traveling. In fact I was the only one to board the train. You guessed it right, they were all their to see me off. I felt like I was going to war .... but I was actually going back to college after my semester break. My maternal aunt had reminded me for the infinite time about drinking milk everyday and eating the almonds she had packed. Maa continued with her constant reminders of not talking to strangers on the train and not eating anything from vendors. She had packed Poori and sukhi alu subzi. It was enough to feed my fellow co passengers as well. And it would be unjust if forget about the empty Bisleri bottle which was refilled by dad at home with filter water. He had better reasons to spend those 12 bucks than buying water on the train.



Monu my three year old cousin was after her father's life to buy her a Frooti from the nearest stall. That was her only motivation to come to see anybody off at the station. My uncle finally bought a crate of chilled Frooti for all of us. Monu grabbed two of them one in each hand and sipped it with a straw making a funny sound. The chilled Frooti helped her sober down a bit.
In the mean time there was another announcement ..... it was so taint that we could hardly understand a word. Anyhoo we waited on the same platform after checking with a coolie about the arrival of the train. Sony and Suma .... both in their early teenage were busy flipping pages of 'The Femina' at the nearest Book Wheeler. They were talking to each other about something and giggling.

The Chai wala and Boiled Anda wala were hovering around our bunch. I don't blame them for it ..... Our gang was loud enough to get everybody's attention. The topic of discussions were anything and everything under the Sun. Itu Mousi was worried about her Bai going on a 2 days leave, Aai was apprehensive about the rains and the crops ..... Mom was unhappy about some of her students not faring well in the pre board exams and was tensed about the forthcoming inspection at her school. And as usual dad was sweating and he was just worried about everything !!
Everybody had almost forgotten about the train ..... till they felt the platform tremble. There was another garbled announcement and this time the train had arrived.
Everyone started running towards my coach. Our gang had caused enough inconvenience for the fellow passengers by crowding around my berth. Dad pushed my luggage under the lower berth and locked it with a chain to secure it ... simultaneously giving me some last moment advice. He pulled it twice to ensure that it was firm and locked. Maa and Aai rushed out with moist eyes leaving me feel home sick. Dad hugged me and hurried down. I stood near the door as the train started moving.I waved at them trying to hide my emotions. The train gained speed and I was alone with a cyclone of emotions ....


The inspiration for this recipe comes from Prerna's IndianSimmer - . She is one of the most gorgeous food blogger I have come across. I have tweaked the recipe a bit but you can find the original one here.

Preparation Time 30 minutes
Serves 3
Ingredients
Large Eggs -3
Green Peas - 2/12 cups
Chopped Onion - 1/2 cup
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Green Chilies - 2
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Curry Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt per taste



Method of Preparation

1. Heat oil in a wok and saute the chopped onions. Add chopped green chilies, corriander powder and curry powder. Mix in well.
2. Add the peas and stir in. Add salt and cook till the peas are soft.
3. In another pan heat some oil. Break an egg and poach it. Sprinkle some salt on it. Once the egg is cooked remove from heat

Serving Tips
Serve warm with your choice of bread over a bed of peas.