Pita Chips

I remembered that I had some pita bread bought before the holiday, and I think it was at least 2 weeks old. Normally, I would've used it up by now, but somehow I didn't even open it. Fortunately, it had been in the fridge, and was in very good condition. I decided that pita chips would allow me to finish it up before it would go bad.

I cut each pita into 8 wedges. (I didn't separate the top from the bottom of each pita, but you could, if you wanted to.) I sprayed the pitas with oil, and sprinkled on some salt. I baked them at 400 F for about 7-8 minutes. I tried to watch it at the end, so it wouldn't get too done. That's all! 

Toasted Pita Sandwich, 

filled with Egg, Mashed Potato, 

& Paneer (Indian cheese)

Here, instant mashed potato was mixed with Paneer, salt, and seasoning, and spread in a half-pita. I placed a bit of scrambled egg on the mixture, and put the whole thing in the toaster oven until the bread was browned. (When it cools, the pita crisps up. You can even break up toasted pita, into "pita chips"!) Simple, yet filling. 

Veggie Arayis, or, 

Egg Pita/Baida Roti

This is a half-pita, cut across the diameter, stuffed with leftover Aval/Poha Upma, dipped in beaten egg, and pan-fried. (For more info on the Aval/Poha Upma, or Indian Pounded-rice Pilaf with Veggies, please see my recent post.) This was very quick to make, and very tasty. 

My inspiration was from: 1) Middle Eastern Arayis recipes, of pita bread stuffed with a ground meat mixture, and then grilled; and 2) the Egg Parathas of @theGutlessFoodie on Instagram. Once I realized I had pita bread and a stuffing, I just knew I had to try it!

Here are a couple of examples of Egg Parathas from @theGutlessFoodie Instagram: 20 May 2017 and 25 July 2017.

Egg Pita/Baida Pita

This was inspired by the Egg Parathas of Natasha, known on Instagram as @thegutlessfoodie. I started out with a little oil, and some cumin seeds and chopped carrot/onion/celery. Next, I added in a beaten egg, mixed with some salt, turmeric, and pav bhaji masala. I turned over a pita and added it to the pan upside-down, and pressed it in. I melted a little coconut oil on the side of the pita facing up. When the egg was done enough for me, I turned over the whole thing, and pressed the underside of the pita into the pan. The coconut oil made it somewhat brown and crispy. Very tasty! The one I made a couple of days later looked even better, but I cut it up and ate it before I could take a picture. 

@thegutlessfoodie Instagram, Potato & Egg Para-zone (as an example of Egg Parathas)

Open-faced Pita Pie

This throwback to October was from a recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. Here, pita bread dough is stuffed with leftover soup from the deli -- a thick yellow-split-pea soup to which I added some tomato paste -- and baked. One of these pies made for a very hearty meal.

Mark Bittman Facebook

Zucchini Tomato Sauce with Pita Bread 

The veggies are part of another simple yet delicious dish that my grandma used to make. It’s just chopped zucchini and chopped tomatoes, cooked together with some olive oil. If you like, you can add some onions to the oil first and fry them, before adding the other ingredients. Add some salt to taste, and that’s all. This time, I included some dried Italian herbs mix and basil. (Don’t hesitate to use canned tomatoes if that’s what you have.)

Underneath the veggies is a toovar dal cutlet (but that’s a different story, and I didn’t manage to get a picture of that) for protein. 

Accompanying these, is a half pita, toasted, that I break up into my own version of pita chips. It’s fat-free, and good for scooping up the veggies.

Stuffed Pita Pie

An open-faced pita pie, from a recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Basically, you make the pita dough, then use it to surround a filling, and bake it. The filling, in this case, was some leftover soup from the deli – a yellow split-pea soup that I had added some tomato paste to, and which was very thick.

One of these pies made for a very hearty meal.