Delicious French Toast, Indian Style

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Shake up your morning routine and whip up a quick and easy batch of Indian-Style French Toast. This fluffy, easy breakfast recipe sweetens up any day!

The mere mention of French Toast brings back a lot of memories of my mom dishing this out once a week at least and me happily chomping it down. I quickly learned that the French Toast here in the US and served readily at IHOP differ dramatically from what we ate growing up in India.

American French toast tends to be less sweet and accompanied by maple syrup, whereas the ones we ate growing up eating in India are sweeter since they have sugar in the batter and they are just served as is.

This recipe while it does have sugar, I have cut it down to the bare minimum so that it has a mildly sweet flavor and for those who want it American-style, can serve it with maple syrup.

French Toast – a brief history

The origins of this dish were documented as early as the 4th century as “another sweet dish” with bread soaked in an egg and milk mixture, and then fried. It was a way to salvage stale bread and turn it into something edible.

Over time, many countries created their own variations of a classic French toast recipe with many of the same elements; eggs, milk, and bread.

Some alternative names include “Poor Knights”, “Bombay French toast”, “German toast”, and “eggy bread”. While traditionally sweet, French toast can also be made with a savory egg mixture using salt and pepper and served with butter.

What is the best kind of bread for French Toast?

While many kinds of bread make excellent French toast, the ones considered best include challah and brioche. If challah or brioche bread is not available, use any thick bread you can find in your grocery store.

Note: Thin, soft, white sandwich bread will disintegrate when soaked, so it is best to avoid using them in this dish. If you don’t have a choice, then you can toast them to dry and toughen them.

It also helps to buy or use bread that is not pre-sliced. This way, you can slice the bread into thick 1-inch pieces perfect for soaking up the egg mixture.

Is it better to use stale bread?

Yes, stale, dry bread absorbs more of the egg mixture resulting in a flavorful dish.

How do you dry out your bread for French Toast?

A few of the most common ways to dry out bread includes putting your bread in the refrigerator and/or lightly toasting in the oven.

Tips to make the best Indian Style French Toast

1. Though you can butter or any oil to fry these bread slices, I prefer the nutty flavor of ghee – it makes the dish so much more flavorful.
2. Use stale, dry, and hard bread as it soaks up the egg mixture without falling apart.
3. Use powdered sugar since it easily dissolves in the egg-milk mixture.
4. Whisk until the egg whites and yolk are completely combined, or else the whites tend to separate and stick out while cooking, making the toast unsightly.
5. If you have granulated sugar at home, you can sprinkle it over the toast when it is almost done cooking. Give it a minute on the pan face-down to allow it to caramelize.
6. If you are using store-bought sandwich bread, do a quick soak; otherwise, it will disintegrate.
7. Drain off excess custard from the bread, or else the toast will end up being soggy, and the excess custard will spread out while cooking.

Variations

• Add a pinch of cinnamon to turn this into cinnamon French toast
• A dash of orange extract gives a fresh flavor to this dish.
• If you have granulated sugar at home, you can sprinkle it over the toast when it is almost done cooking. Give it a minute on the pan face-down to allow it to caramelize.
• Stuffed French toast with hazelnut butter – check out Aneesha’s recipe for Nutella French Toast. 

Other delicious breakfast ideas

1. Baked French Toast – Prep for this Baked French Toast right before bed and enjoy a weekend-style breakfast on any weekday morning.
2. Egg Bhurji – Eggs scrambled along with onions, tomatoes, and green chili – this recipe of egg bhurji is delicious and filling and a perfect way to start your day!
3. Indian Omelette -This delicious and fluffy Indian omelette is easy to master and makes a healthy breakfast any day of the week!
4. Chocolate croissant bread pudding – Flaky croissants are smothered in a sweet egg custard and baked to perfection with melty pockets of chocolate in this double chocolate croissant bread pudding.
5. Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread with chocolate chips makes a healthy quick bread perfect for snacking! With just a few wholesome ingredients, this double chocolate quick bread will become a family favorite!

This post was first published on March 3, 2014, and completely updated with pictures and text on June 5, 2020.