"Bhooch Pooch"- Recreating a Recipe

         Debasish, my cousin from Tripura, went to Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra (RECK) in the 80s to study civil engineering. Often he’d stay with us in Delhi and used to tell us stories from RECK. One was about Bhooch Pooch. Most engineering students eat and drink a lot and are perpetually hungry. Debasish was no exception. One day he enigmatically told me that only Bhooch Pooch could take care of the midnight hunger pangs of the RECK students (those were pre-Maggi days). All the RECK canteens and dhabas made  Bhooch Pooch. 

What is Bhooch Pooch and what does it mean? Well I think it means a mish-mash of a dish. It needs lots of eggs, sliced bread and onions. So when Debasish was at our home way back in the early 80s I insisted that he make Bhooch Pooch for breakfast. We had a large family of six to feed. So in went a big loaf of Britannia sliced bread. We could add only six eggs as Ma would allow only half a dozen eggs for an experimental dish. It turned out to be quite a tasteless as the amount of bread overpowered the eggs and the onions. We were quite disappointed with Bhooch Pooch that we never made it again. Debashish was crestfallen. The signature dish of RECK canteens and a big part of RECKulture sank on debut at our home. 

Nandini, my daughter recuperating from the Omicron variant, said that she wanted me to make breakfast. I said fried eggs? She said No!. I said omelette? She said No!, I said Eggs Chakra?, She said No! I said Bhooch Pooch? She said what is that? I said let me make it for you. I was relieved she did not say no to Bhooch Pooch.

It has been 35 years since I even heard myself say Bhooch Pooch. I had faint memories of how it was made by Debasish. One thing that I remembered from the debacle at our home was that it should have less bread and more eggs. So I conjured the recipe sticking to the basics of bread and eggs as I had no idea of how the original is made. The 1&Only Bhooch Pooch recipe is:

Heat a small pan and add the oil. When the oil gets heated, at low flame add the diced ginger, green chilli and onions. Let them fry and turn brown on low flame. Cut the two slices of bread into small pieces and add it to the pan. When the bread gets a bit fried and mixed well with the onion-ginger-chilli, break the three eggs into the pan. Mix well so that the eggs coat the bread and get well cooked. At the end add the diced coriander leaves and mix them well. Bhooch Pooch is ready. Best served with Maggi Hot Tomato Ketchup.   

I have no idea if the original Bhooch Pooch tastes the way I have made it. But Nandini liked it and it made my day. Maybe one day I will visit Kurukshetra to have a real taste of Bhooch Pooch and RECKulture. 

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