Stale leftover bread? Make bread masala upma or as we Konkanis call it, bread-a usli. Tangy, sweet and spicy it makes a great breakfast or snack. We usually use old stale bread that is not soft anymore, but here in the USA the regular white bread has a long shelf life and doesn’t harden up as much, so I usually toast it a bit before making this recipe. Soft bread ends up becoming too mushy in this recipe. You need bread that would still hold up shape while cooking.

Ingredients:

• White bread- 10 slices
• Onions- 1 big
• Tomatoes- 1 medium
• Green chillies- 2 slit
• Red chilli powder- 1/2 Tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 Tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 Tsp
• Cumin seeds (jeera)- 1/2 Tsp
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
• Coriander leaves ( cilantro)- a handful
• Sugar- 1/4 Tsp
• Lime juice- a dash
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1. Toast the bread slices a bit and cut into cubes.
2. In a kadai heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds and split green chillies along with curry leaves then add chopped onions and fry with a little salt till it caramelizes and turns dark brown. please make sure that it does not burn.
3. Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Fry a bit then add chopped tomatoes. Fry till the mixture dries up. There should be very little moisture left. Adjust the salt.
4. Add chopped coriander leaves fry a bit then add the bread pieces. Make sure that there is very little moisture in the masala before adding the pieces of bread otherwise it might turn mushy. Mix well to coat all the pieces.
5. Sprinkle the sugar, mix and switch off the heat before adding a dash of lime juice. Mix well.
6. Can be served hot or cooled down.

Variation:

• Egg bread masala upma- In this case please do not add cumin, sugar and lime. Beat an egg in a seperate bowl, season with salt and pepper or red chilli powder. Add a 1/2 Tsp of garam masala to the mixture along with turmeric and red chilli powder in the masala. Add the beaten egg after the addition of coriander leaves and scramble then add the bread pieces.