Tag: savoury

Grilled Sindhi Dal Sandwich

main meal
The dal sandwich

Grilled Sindhi Dal Sandwich

This Sindhi Speciality, usually sold in carts in Ulhasnagar area, is a grilled vegetable sandwich using raw vegetables and boiled potatoes…Boiled moong dal is usually poured over it and garnished with chutneys, and some sev. A complete meal on its own, and very low on oil usage.  There are many variations for the filling, but I prefer incorporating raw vegs along with boiled potatoes.Do try it out.

A sandwich, when we were children, meant either chutney with sliced tomatoes or a boiled potato toaster, which I loved. My mother would put lots of chillie, onion, kotmir and some dry masalas in boiled mashed potato, make a sandwich and toast it using a stove top hand held toaster, not forgetting the liberal use oil used to make it crisp. We happily ate those along with tomato sauce. Never once asking… where is the protein in this meal?😁😁

Ingredients and method for dal
1 cup of yellow moong dal
( soaked for 4 hours, and boiled with 1 tbsp of crushed garlic and salt)
Boil till soft and mushy, don’t mash it up too much, leave a little bite to it.
Adjust consistency. We want it easily pourable. Not too thin nor thick
Keep aside.
Ingredients  for Sandwich
6 slices of bread
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup shredded raw beetroot
1/2 cup finely sliced green paprika( capsicum)
Tomato slices
2 boiled  potatoes.. peeled and sliced.
Some chaat masala.

Mix cabbage, carrot, beetroot and paprika.
Onto a bread slice place tomato slices and top with the raw shredded vegetables, lastly place boiled potato slices , sprinkle chaat masala and cover with another slice of bread.
Grill the sandwich with oil or butter applied.
I grilled on a stove top with a heavy cover, brushing oil to get it crisp.

Other ingredients
Green chutney
Khatti meethi tamarind chutney
Chaat masala, red chilli powder
And some sev and corriander leaves.

Assembling
Cut a grilled sandwich into half
Place on a plate
Pour HOT dal on it.
Top with green chutney, tamarind chutney, dry masala and sev.
Enyoy your wholesome meal

* make it at serving time. Eat immediately.

Vegan omelette with Premix Recipe.

snacks, Uncategorized

In a world where instant is becoming a norm, whether its instant noodles or instant meals which only need to be reheated. Everyone wants to cook something that is not time consuming or tedious and at the same time, nutritious. Today’s recipe is all that, instant and quick. A premix is always handy to have around in our pantry, and if it is a homemade premix, rest assured you are stress free knowing no preseravatives and chemicals are in it. HOMEMADE is the new normal now, especially since the world wide lockdown. A vegetarian omelette premix, which is also vegan is a boon to have, breakfast and snacking or even a light meal are suitably covered.
Growing up in Pune, my mom made a vegetarian omelette from besan(chick pea flour) frequently. This was our meal on days when she did not feel like cooking😊. 2 slices of white bread and a crisp besan omelette and tomato ketchup. Soul satisfying. I have added oats and flaxseed powder to the premix, making it more nutritious. This premix quantity will yield about 275 gms, which is good enough for about 15 medium omelettes. This premix stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

1 cup besan( chick pea flour)
1 cup oats
1/4 cup semolina
1/4 cup flaxseed
3 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp red chillie powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp saunf ( fennel seeds)
1 tsp jeera( cumin seeds)
1 tsp ajwain( carom seeds)

Method
Roast the sesame seeds for few mins and keep aside.
Grind seperately the oats and and flax seeds to a fine powder.
Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl .
Store in an air tight container

To make the omelette.
In a bowl, take 2 tbsps of the premix and add about 2 or 3 tbsps of water( you might need more) mix gently and add some chopped onions and corriander leaves, and if you like it spicy add chopped chillies. Now mix and add little water to get a batter which is medium thin. Not to thin nor thick.
Heat a non stick pan, brush with oil and using about 2 or 3 tbsps of batter spread out making a thin omellete. Pour little oil around the omelette. Once crisp on the underside, flip over and let it become crisp. Serve with a chutney or chillie sauce.

Asian fusion noodle omelette

main meal, snacks

Eggs, world wide favorite ingredient for countless recipes. You name it and an egg is most often present in most cakes, custards, souffles, in savoury dishes and the list goes on.
At our home eggs in some form are always present at breakfast time.
My favourite anytime dish is bedo dabroti( an omelette and a slice of bread).
Today’s recipe incorporates instant noodles mixed with beaten eggs and some vegetables to give you a noodle omelette. The slight difference here is that I have not cooked the noodles. So the omelette has a bit of crunch. A hearty snack or an accompaniment to a bowl of soup or a crunchy salad .
Do try this simple to put together recipe. Feel free to add or change the vegetables. A bit of crunchy bacon or ham will surely high light this simple wholesome dish. Came across this idea on a tik tok video and played around with the additional vegetables and realised that we used to make a similar omelette using cooked noodles. Flash back mode.😊. Do try this recipe.



Ingredients

2 packets of any brand instant noodles… maggie, indomie etc
Spice mix sachets( included with noodles)
2 tbsps finely chopped carrots
2 tbsps finely chopped cabbage
2 tbsps finely chopped paprika
2 tbsps finely chopped spring onions and celery.
3 big eggs or 4 small eggs.



Method..
Put the noodles from the 2 packets in a food processor and blitz for few seconds. You will get crushed noodles. Alternately you can crush the noodles manually while still in the packet, with your hands or a rolling pin.
Transfer broken noodles to a big bowl, add the spice mixture from both the packets. At this point you can add some chillie flakes or chopped chillies if you wish.
Add the carrots, cabbage, parika and spring onions celery to the noodles.
Beat the eggs seperately and add to the noodles. Mix well and add to a preheated nonstick frying pan to which about 3 tbsps oil have been added.
Spread the egg mixture evenly.
Cook on a low flame for few mins, untill golden brown.
(Do not cover)
Gently flip the omelette. Cook for a few more minutes.
Remove onto a platter and cut into wedges.
Serve hot…
** as we are using the spice packets which are included in instant noodle packets, there is no need to add salt or any other spice. Unless you wish to make it more spicy.

Chine roast chicken

snacks

As the name suggests, this is a recipe having slight chinese origins, with a touch of indonesia in the form of chillie sambal. A very simple recipe to make and of course eat😊. It looks very pretty when served . Serve this roast chicken as a starter.

This recipe has been with me for years, and we make it ever so often. The original recipe calls for pork, but we prefer the chicken version. Pls use tender chicken fillets or boneless chicken thigh. The process calls for boiling the chicken with some spices. Very simple to put together. I would like to mention that vegetarians can use thick slabs of tofu or paneer.

Ingredients

250 gms boneless chicken fillet

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper powder

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp sweet soya sauce( kecap manis) or honey

1 small beetroot peeled and sliced

( to impart the red colour )

6 red chillies

4 pods of garlic

4 cloves

1 inch pc of cinnamon

Lime juice and red chillie sauce.

Method

In a pan, add 3/4 cup of water, and add chicken, salt, pepper, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, soya sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soya sauce, vinegar, sesame oil , beetroot, garlic pods and whole chillies.

Bring to a boil and simmer till the water evaporates .

At this point if you feel the colour of the chicken is a bit pale, as that depends on the beetroot. You can add a few drops of red colour.

Discard the cloves cinnamon, and beetroot.

Remove the chillies and garlic, grind coarsely in a pestle and mortar. Add little chillie sauce and juice of one lime….this is your sambal dip.( I have used kaffir limes for a lovely fragrance.)

Finally, roast the chicken on a open flame to caramalize it…just few mins is enough.

I have used a steel mesh with a piece of foil and a few drops of oil.

To serve, cut the chicken , into slices at a slant to show the red and white contrast…

Enjoy with the spicy sambal dip.

The cold sandwich cake

main meal

The cold sandwich cake

When sandwiches are mentioned everyone has thier own favourites. Sandwiches eaten during our school days in the Seventies , were very basic, as every Indian school going child will remember. Mostly white bread with butter and jam, or if you were lucky cheese and butter.Cheese was a luxury which not everyone had, especially in India. If you were lucky and had relatives staying abroad, then you would recieve small tins of kraft cheese😊. Of course Amul cheese cubes were already around, but were a little out of reach for an average middle class family. Back to sandwiches, my grandfather always had a slice of bread with green corriander and mint chutney as his evening snack. Those were the days when chutney was made using a grinding stone. The aroma of fresh mint and corriander leaves being crushed with green chillies and garlic is till today etched in my memory..

Whoever has lived in Pune, even for a short time will surely know about the Marzorin sandwiches. Soft crustless bread, filled with chicken, eggs, tomato and chutney… I crave these sandwiches even today…and they are a must on all my visits to Pune.

Todays recipe is a mixture of all my childhood memories..

Credit for the chicken pate filling goes to my friend hilda mascarenhas, who writes a wonderful food blog, hildastouchofspice.com. Do visit her food blog .

The cold sandwich cake

Basically you will require 3 types of fillings, and 16 slices of crustless bread

Ingredients..for chicken pate.

1 chicken breast

3 to 4 tbsps mayonaise

1 tbsps mustard paste

1 tsp honey

2 tbsps grated cucumber( helps to keep the filling moist)

Salt, pepper.

1 tbsp chopped celery leaves.

Method…

Boil the chicken in water which has been seasoned with salt and pepper.

Dispose the chicken bones, and put the meat in a food processor along with chopped celery..Pulse it and transfer the shredded chicken to a bowl, and add mayonaise, mustard, honey and cucumber. You should have a moist mixture. Keep aside.

Ingredients for second layer

4 Boiled eggs, sliced.

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced cucumber

Butter

Ingredients for 3rd layer

1/ 4 th cup mayonaise

1/ 2 cup basil leaves

2 green chillies

2 cloves of garlic

Juice of one lime

Salt

4 slices of cheese.

Method…

Blend basil leaves, chillies, garlic, lime and mayonaise together to get a pretty green spread, season with salt and a pinch of sugar.

Other ingredients are, finely sliced radishes, shredded carrot, shredded lettuce leaves, alfalfa sprouts and mayonaise.

Method

Keep 4 slices of bread on a serving platter, in a neat square.

Apply butter thinly, and add the chicken pate, level till all the 4 slices of bread are covered.

Cover with 4 slices of bread, and apply butter lightly, top with sliced tomatoes sliced eggs, and sliced cucumber…season with salt and pepper.

Cover with 4 slices of bread, apply the basil mayonaise and top with 4 slices of cheese in a single layer..

Lastly, top with 4 slices of bread, whose underside is spread with basil mayonaise.

Press down gently, and apply mayonaise all over the sandwich, covering it from all sides.

Gently press shredded lettuce, carrots all over sides and top…decorate with radish slices, cucumber slices, and alfalfa sprouts.

Chill thoroughly, cut into wedges and serve

A beautiful centerpiece is ready for your parties..

THE OATS CULTURE..

Uncategorized

Years ago oats was associated with the word porridge, soft 1465300_10152728980158759_3633569604471457687_n  greyish porridge which was topped with milk and sweetened with either chopped fruits or honey. For many  many years it was considered the choice for breakfast especially in the west, second only to cereal out of a box..And to a certain extent it still is among the world’s top choice of breakfast. Easy to make and is  rich in vitamins , mainly its low in cholesterol and is high in dietary fibre.

This fact has been repeatedly pointed out to us in the form of advertisements where in a neat and tidy mother is dishing out porridge to her happy family or where a doctor in a white jacket is telling us seriously how oats reduce our cholesterol and protect our heart.

Nowadays oats are available in many forms, plain, rolled, steel-cut or even savoury..I use oats instead of breadcrumbs many a time to bread chicken or tofu or even the humble potato tikki.. here the only drawback being that oats does not panfry well… so on certain occasions I do deep fry anything that is breaded with oats…

THE TOFU OATS BURGER

FOR THE BATTER..MIX TOGETHER

1 cup flour

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp of babas curry powder

salt and a pinch of sugar

water as needed

mix everything together to ensure no lumps remain, the batter should be of medium thick consistency. Keep aside for a while.

 Take thin  slices of tofu and dip into this batter and then coat with oats, press firmly and refrigerate before deep-frying in hot oil..

Assemble tofu slices , tomato slices, salad leaves , spiced mayonnaise onto a burger bun.

serve the burger with french fries

** I make spiced mayonnaise by mixing mayonaise with chilli sauce, lime juice and dijons french mustard.