Sandwich with basil pesto

 Most people I know are not into sandwiches..it sounds too simple! Its not French/Italian or ethnic Indian.
 Yet ...Here I am with another recipe of Sandwich. I can't help but experiment with the fillings.
Here I have tried a vegan basil pesto (Recipe by Soma) with whole wheat bread and results are pretty good.

Ingredients (for 2 sandwiches)
1. Brown bread/ wheat bread/ multigrain bread- 4 slices
2. Cucumber- 1, thinly sliced
3. Tomato- 1 big, thinly sliced
4. Capsicum/green pepper- 1 small, thinly sliced
5. Red Onion-1, thinly sliced
6. Mushrooms- 3-4 small, thinly sliced and sautéed in oil/butter
7. Salt-to taste (remember the pesto has salt)
8. Freshly ground black Pepper-to taste
9. Homemade basil pesto- 2-3 spoons (u can increase as per your taste)
10.  Italian seasoning to sprinkle (optional)
11. Mustard sauce and ketchup (optional)- to serve
12. Cheese slices (we used 'Emborg' -edam cheese)- 2

Method

• Toast the bread slices. You can also prepare the sandwich and then grill it.
• Spread the pesto on the bread and layer all the veggies onion, cucumber,capsicum, tomatoes and mushrooms respectively.
• Sprinkle salt, black pepper and the seasoning mix . Cover with cheese slice.
• Cover with toasted bread.
• Use a sharp knife and cut it into a triangle.
• Enjoy with your coffee/tea.

If you want melted cheese then you can re-heat the sandwich on a skillet . Remember to keep it the cheese- y side down. I tried it with one, as it had went somewhat cold.

Hope you like it. Do tell me about your experience.

D

Toasted sandwich with veggie curd filling

Yes, it looks like we are on a sandwich spree this month.
Am I complaining? Definitely no.


The weather here is turning rainy, which is a perfect excuse for making this toasted sandwich.
The curd filling somehow tastes like creamy mayo. How cool is that! :-)

So what are we waiting for ? Lets get started.


Ingredients
1. Bread slice of your choice (I used brown bread)- 4
2. Thick curd- 1/2 cup
3. Carrots- 2 small, grated or chopped finely
4. Capsicum- 1, chopped
5. Coriander leaves-2 tsp, chopped finely
6. Red onions- 1/2 chopped
7. Salt & pepper to taste
8. Sooji (Semolina) -1tsp (I used this when the curd was too runny)
9. Butter to toast




Method
1. Take the curd in a deep bowl and add all the veggies, salt, pepper and sooji (if required). Mix them.
2. Heat a skillet.
3. Apply butter to a slice. Put the curd mix on the other side (without the butter). Put this bread slice on the skillet; buttered side down.
4. Cover the sandwich with the 2nd bread slice and smear with melted butter on the top.
5. Let it cook on medium flame for a while.
6. Now comes the tricky step; you have to flip the whole sandwich to toast the other side. 
7. Alternatively, you can just cook one slice and cover it with pre-toasted slice of bread. Both ways it'll taste the same. Do the same with the remaining slices.
8. Serve hot with garam garam chai. :-))




Enjoy!

A Tasty Sandwich

A tasty Sandwich


Here's another staple..though the ingredients are very simple , they result in a very satisfying bite.
Yumm…..yes, we can say that for a sandwich  :-)


Ingredients (for 2 sandwiches)
1. Brown bread/ wheat bread/ multigrain bread- 4 slices
2. Cucumber- 1, thinly sliced
3. Tomato- 1 big, thinly sliced
4. Capsicum- 1, thinly sliced
5. Red Onion-1, thinly sliced
6. Mushrooms- 3-4 small, thinly sliced and sautéed in oil/butter
7. Olives-4, thinly sliced (I used pimento olives)
8. Lettuce- 4 leaves, washed and torn by hand
9. Salt-to taste
10. Pepper-to taste
11. Cheese spread- to spread on the slices- 4 tsp
12. Mustard sauce and ketchup (optional)


Method
1. Spread the cheese on the slice. You can use readymade cheese slices also.
2. Spread the layer of each vegetable ; onion, cucumber, tomato, capsicum, mushrooms and olives.
3. Add salt & pepper. Now cover with torn lettuce leaves.
4. Cover this with another slice of bread ( if you want you can put some ketchup/mustard sauce on this slice).
5. Serve with hot cocoa or tea.


Variations to the filling:
You can add corn instead of mushrooms. You can boil them instead of sautéing them.
Add dried herbs of your liking eg. sweet basil and mint.
If red onion is too pungent for you, take white onions.
To add more color use multicolored capsicum- red, yellow & green. If you have access to colored lettuce or cabbage , use that. Cabbage needs to be washed and blanched before use.
You can use mayonnaise instead of cheese spread but, I'm not a big fan.




If you have any more filling ideas for a tasty cold sandwich, I would love to give it a try.
Ciao ….shabba khair….bbye

Sandwich with Pita bread

I realized that my blog is flooded with cake and dessert recipes….not fair, since these are not the everyday cooking experiments which I undertake.


Let's change that.


Let's talk about sandwiches…everybody likes them. Easy to make and generally healthy ( no frying etc.).


Sandwiches are something which we make at least 2 times in a week for breakfast or brunch….or just like that. 
Regular white bread sandwiches are common and they taste good, but we (yup, my hubby gave the idea!) decided to change it a little and take Pita bread/Lebanese bread for our sandwich..which is like a rolled up, stuffed with veggies sandwich.


Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches)
1. Pita bread- 4
2. Cucumber- 1, chopped
3. Tomato- 1 big and firm, chopped
4. Capsicum- 1, chopped
5. Red Onion-1 small, chopped
6. Hummus- 4 tbsp
7. Olive oil- 2 tsp+ some to drizzle on salad
8. Lettuce- 4 leaves, washed
9. Salt-to taste
10. Pepper-to taste
11. Red chili powder- 1 or 2 pinch





























Method
1. Take all chopped veggies in a bowl, add salt and pepper to it. Drizzle a little olive oil on it.Herbs are optional. You can add mint, basil or thyme or whatever you fancy. I did add a little bit of dried sweet basil.
2. Take hummus and pour olive oil on it with little red chili powder and mix thoroughly with a spoon.
3. Take pita bread and spread hummus on it. Sprinkle vegetable salad on the centre, cover with lettuce and now fold the bread from both sides and the edges.
4. Heat a skillet or tava. Place the sandwiches on it and then lower the flame. Cook until toasted well.
5. Serve hot…no need for any other sauces unless you are a ketchup freak…:P

Garlic bread- a trick recipe

Who is not fond of warm, fragrant garlic bread?? Add a little grated cheese and you have got a winner!!
 They are a perpetual accompaniment of the Italian dishes and we love them.


 I buy garlic bread from a local bakery but sometimes  they are out of stock.
Now what does a lazy foodie do?


Find a trick!


So here's what I do when I have to have garlic bread.
Make garlic butter, smear on ordinary bread and toast it and….eureka! 


Ingredients
1. Butter- melted, 1 tbsp
2. Garlic- 4-5 cloves, minced
3. Salt & pepper- to taste (the use is optional)
4. White bread-4 slices


Method
1. Mix garlic, salt and pepper in the butter
2. Apply this garlicky butter onto the bread. I spread about 1tsp of the mix onto the bread.
3. Place it on a non-stick skillet or tava. When one side it done, put the buttered side down and let it brown on a low flame.
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese and microwave it for melted cheesey and garlicky bread
5. Serve hot with your pasta or use it as a starter.

Gajar matar ki sabzi / carrot-peas vegetable

This is a classic from the winter menu at my home. The juicy red carrots and tender small peas were a tempting combination. It was served on the side with namkeen Khichda/Kheech ( salted porridges made from different grains). It could be eaten just with a normal chapati (Indian flatbread).

I had not made this veg in a long time, just because I did not find the right type of carrots. I usually get the orange/yellow ones in the markets here and many times they did not match up to the taste of the red ones. I was reminded of the recipe by my hubby, who wanted to eat this one. I tasted the carrot and thankfully it had a sweet flavor which is the USP of this recipe.
I decided to give it a try and I'm was pleased by the results ..:)

It brought back the cool winter memories of my home town. I know its nearly Holi (the festival of colours) time and here I'm writing the post for the departing winters.


Gajar- matar (For 2 people)
Ingredients
1. Carrot- 1 big, washed and cut into pieces (half moon shape)
2. Peas- shelled, 1/2 katori (fill a 100 ml bowl)
3. Oil- 10 ml approx (use less oil, if you are preparing in microwave)
4. Jeera (cumin seeds)- 1/2 tsp
5. Haldi (Turmeric powder)-1/4 tsp
6. Lal mirch (red chilly powder)-1/4 tsp
7. Dhaniya powder (coriander seeds powder)- 1 heaped tsp
8. Salt to taste

Method:
Take a kadhai/ wok and pour oil in it. Heat it up a bit.
Add jeera seeds and let them sizzle for 10-15 seconds. Add haldi followed by the carrots. Sauté the carrots for a while and add peas. Cook for about 30 seconds. You might need more time if your peas are not tender and small.
Add the remaining spices and mix well, so that spices coat the veggies.
Cover and adjust the heat to medium low. Cook for a few minutes. Keep turning in between. When the carrots become soft but not mushy, then your vegetable is ready.
Serve hot with Khichda, chapati or parantha.

Shakkarkand ki kheer -Vrat special (Sweet Potato 'n' Milk pudding)

Indians have a lot of festivals and prayer ceremonies throughout the year. Fasting or vrat or upwaas are an intricate part of it. Special sweet and savory items are made on that day. This pudding is a common dish prepared on the day of fasting. Though mostly made on religious days, it easily serves as a normal dessert at lunch or dinner.

Ingredients 

1. Sweet Potato/ Shakkarkand- 3 medium sized
2. Milk (low fat)- 350 ml + more (to thin it to liking)
3. Sugar- 3 spoons or as per taste
4. Cardamom (elaichi)- powdered, 1/2 tsp
5. Saffron (Kesar)-1-2 strands
6. Almonds-3-4 & Pistachios-4-5
(All dry fruits are optional, you can also add raisins and/or cashews in the pudding)


Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 210°C.

2. Keep the sweet potatoes in the oven for 20-25 min. keep turning every 10 min. Alternately, you can just boil them in the pressure cooker, but it'll differ a little in flavor. 

3. When its done, remove from oven and keep outside to cool a bit.

4. Remove skin and cut into small pieces.

5. Heat milk in a pan and add the roasted sweet potato in it.

6. Stir and let it cook at medium heat.

7. Mash the potato pieces with the back of the spoon.

8. Add  the saffron strands.

9. Cook for about 10-12 min.

10. Pound the almonds and pistachios coarsely.

11. Add elaichi/cardamom and mix.

12. Add milk if the pudding becomes too thick for your liking.

13. Garnish with coarse mix of almonds and pistachios and serve hot.

Note: You can chill it in the refrigerator and serve cold also. It'll be equally delightful; especially in summers.

Home-made Chocolate granola

I've never been the one to eat much packaged cereals. For me breakfast has been mostly a typical Indian fare of paranthas, pohas, suji upma, vegetable daliya etc. That was until I discovered how easy was it to have variations with the daily cereal. I also came accross this recipe on 'delicious days'(blog by Nicole Stich), which made my cereal bowl even tastier!

Ingredients
Modified slightly from the original recipe
1. Chocolate - 50 gm (I've used 70% cocoa)
2. Brown sugar- 1/2 cup
3. Water - 1/2 cup
4. Oats (Quaker)- 1 & 1/2 cup
5. Extra virgin Olive oil- 30 ml
6. Honey- 60 ml
7. Desiccated coconut- 1 tbsp
8. Almonds- 1 Oz, about 10 in number
9. Coco powder- 1 tbsp
10. Cinnamon- 1/4 tsp
11. Pinch of salt

Method
1) Preheat the oven at 180 degrees centigrade for 10 min.
2) Put water and brown sugar in a pan and bring it to boil , till sugar dissolves.
3) Remove from heat, let it cool for a few minutes.
4) Add oil, honey and lastly chopped chocolate and stir until blended well.
5) In a medium sized bowl put oats, almonds, coconut, coco powder, cinnamon and salt.
6) Pour the chocolate syrup on the oats and mix well.

7) Spread this mixture as chunks evenly on the baking sheet.
8) Adjust the temperature to 165 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes.
9) Check frequently and stir in between.
10) After baking, let it cool completely before storing as it'll develop its crunchiness during cooling.

Serving suggestions
Add a little to your breakfast cereal or yogurt to make it sweet and chocolatey
Can be used as a topping for ice-creams, smoothies etc.

Dal daliya with vegetables

As I've mentioned before , daliya (wheat bulgur) can be made in many varieties. This one is comforting, not to mention that it is an ideal vegetarian protein combination of both cereal & lentils . Here is one of the variety which is based on my father in law's recipe.

Ingredients
(Serves 2 in a meal)
1. Split green gram dal- 1/2 katori , washed thoroughly
2. Daliya- 1 & 1/4 katori
3. Tomatoes - 1 katori chopped
4. Carrots - 1 cup
5. Marrow- 1 small, peeled and chopped
6. Ghee- 2 tsp + 1tsp used while garnishing
7. Water for cooking (about 3 katoris/cups)
8. Salt- 1 tsp or as per taste
9. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Method
1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Roast daliya in it, till it cooks well.
2. Add water, all the vegetables and dal in it.
3. Add all the spices and close the cooker.
4.Cook for 10 min at high flame, at least 2 whistles should come.
5. Reduce the flame to low and cook for another 5-6 min. At least one whistle should come.
6. Cook for longer if required. Switch off the gas, let the cooker cool.
7. Serve hot with curd and onions.

Peas poha

Poha or rice flakes is one of the favorite breakfast options in northern India. It is usually made in a very simple manner and is called "kanda (onion) poha". I love to create varieties and give a twist to the original.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1. Peas- 1 cup (I've used the frozen ones)
2. Onions- 1 medium sized, sliced
3. Potato - 1 small, chopped
4. Green chilies- 1 chopped
5. Rice flakes/poha- 1 & 1/2 cup
6. Groundnuts- 1 tsp
7. Tomato- 1 chopped
8. Lime juice of 1/2 lemon for one serving (optional)
9. Salt to taste
10. Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp approximately
11. Red chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
12. Mustard seeds (rai)- 1/4 tsp
13. Oil- 1 tblsp

Method
1. Wash poha thoroughly. Then drain and keep it aside.
2. Sprinkle the salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder over the drained poha.
3. Heat oil in a kadhai. Add mustard seeds to it.
4. When the seeds starts crackling, add groundnuts and fry them for a few seconds. They skin will crack when they cook.
5. Add onions and green chilly and fry for a few min. Add potatoes. Cook till they are done.
6. Add the poha and toss it in the kadhai.
7. Now add tomatoes and peas and stir till it mixes well. Cover and cook for a minute or so.
8. Add the lime juice after switching off the gas.
9. Serve hot.

Vegetable Daliya

Daliya is basically broken wheat or wheat bulgar. Its rich in fibre and also retains the most of the vitamins and minerals since it has not been processed extensively. It is made in several ways, like with milk (doodh daliya) or with jaggary (Laapsi)or maybe served like plain daliya (plain porridge). The varieties are endless.

Vegetable daliya is one of my favorites. I like it cause it's filling but doesn't gives you that heavy feeling in the stomach. Usually I make it for breakfast, but occasionally, as a light dinner, it fits the bill just fine.

Ingredients
1. Daliya- 1 cup
2. Ghee/butter- 1 & 1/2 teaspoon
3. Carrots- 1cup
4. Spring onions-1 cup
5. Capsicum- 1 medium, chopped
6. Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
7. Salt to taste
8. Water- about 1 & 1/2 cup
9. Red chili powder- 1/4 tsp
10. Lemon juice from one small lemon

Method
1. Take a pressure cooker and heat the ghee or butter in it
2. Add daliya and roast it till it darkens a little and gives a cooked aroma
3. Now add all the vegetables and salt, sauté it.
4. Pour water keeping your face away as some droplets might strike back, as the pan will be very hot
5. Close the pressure cooker. Keep it on medium high heat for a few minutes.
6. At the first whistle, turn off the heat. Let the cooker cool.
7. Squeeze the lemon over it.
8. Serve daliya with curd on the side

Serve 2 with full bowls