Bombay Sandwich

One of our family friends whom I fondly call “Idea Mani” was visiting us few days back. He insisted me to make Bombay Sandwiches for him as he had them, when he had visited us long ago. All he remembers was how the Sandwichwalla (sandwich stall owner) used to rapidly prepare sandwiches as if he was in a hurry to catch Bombay fast trains but doing it smooth and tidy, smothering butter on a slice of bread and quickly applying chutneys on top as if in a grid, layering vegetables as per customers' choice and finally layering another slice of bread. Using a sharp thin knife, he made 9 small square cuts that neatly slides from his chopping board onto the paper placed plates. Then, he would serve the sandwiches with ketchup that a brought a broad smile to the hungry and waiting customers.

What nostalgic memories I had was how we could find school children, young college-going students, working men and women - all returning home crowding around a stall, which at first we may not even notice. At a glance, we will notice the mass being engaged in similar actions. And  then ,we see the people one hand holding plate (left mostly unless the person is left-handed) and the other hand busy carrying a small ‘square’ into the mouth with a wide smile. We would be drawn to that crowd to finally make out that the Sandwichwalla was the big fuss.

This SandwichWalla that I am talking about used to operate there and my news about this is about 15 Years ago when I was in school.

Almost every street, every junction of Mumbai used to have these sandwich stall. I remember that they used to sell for Rs. 3, making it an affordable nutritional snack though I have no idea how much these cost now.

So, finally, I came up with my version for of my friend Idea Mani.

Ingredients:

Cilantro Mint Chutney

Cilantro(leaves and tender stems)	1 Cup
Mint(Leaves)	1 Cup
Ginger	½ inch
Green chilies	2 (increase the quantity to your preference)
Jeera powder	1 Tsp.
Lemon juice	2 Tbsp.
Salt	To Taste

For one sandwich

White bread (originally used)	2 slices
Butter	As required
Cilantro mint chutney	As required
Chaat masala	¼ tsp
Salt and pepper	A dash
Thinly sliced cucumbers	As required
Thinly sliced tomatoes	As required
Thinly sliced boiled potatoes	As required
Thinly sliced boiled beetroot	As required

Method:

Cilantro and Mint chutney

Wash the cilantro and mint leaves. Add all the ingredients for cilantro and mint chutney except lemon juice .Grind into a fine thick paste, with very little water. Put it in a container. Add lemon juice and mix that in.

Assembling the sandwich

Butter both slices of bread one side. Over the butter, apply cilantro mint chutney.

Place a few slices of cucumber. Next- add chaat masala.

Then place few slices of potato with chaat masala.

Next- Place a few slices of beetroot with chaat masala.

Finally add tomato slices with a dash of salt and pepper and chaat masala.

Cover the vegetable top slices with buttered bread.

Carefully, with a sharp serrated knife, cut into squares taking care that the filling does not come out. This is how I served Bombay sandwich with ketchup to my friend Idea Mani, and he enjoyed!!

Tiranga (tri-colored) Kanjeevaram (Kanchipuram) Idli

It’s been a long time since I made kanjeevaram idli. Since my mom was visiting us, I got a chance to have these idlis.Unlike regular idli that is bland, plain and white in color, the Kanjeevaram idli is different. It is a colorful and seasoned Idli. The seasoning gives it a nice flavor.

I wanted to try making tri-colored dish for Republic day. So thought why not give a try with these idlis. I used tomato for saffron color and spinach for green color.

This is an ideal travel food. It doesn’t get spoilt for a long time. So, in the Iyengar weddings, this is packed for kattu saadha koodai along with puliyodharai and bahala bath.

I steamed /cooked as a big cake instead of using a traditional idli stand. Let’s see how it is made.

Ingredients:                                                                             

Raw rice	1 Cup
Par boiled rice	1 Cup
Urad dal	1 Cup
Dried ginger ((Sukku powder)	1 Tsp.
Pepper Jeera powder	1 Tsp.
Salt	1 Tsp.
Asafoetida	½ Tsp.
Ghee	1 Tsp.
Sesame oil	1 Tbsp.
Yogurt	1 Tbsp.
Spinach	1 cup
Store-bought tomato paste	1 Tbsp.

For seasoning

Oil(Sesame oil)	1 Tbsp.
Mustard	1 Tsp.
Bengal gram	1 Tsp.
Urad dal	1 Tsp.
Curry leaves	Few sprigs

Method:

Soak raw rice, par boiled rice and urad dal together for 6 hrs. Grind them into a slightly coarse paste.

Leave the batter in a warm place to ferment for 6-8 hrs. When the batter is ready, add salt, dried ginger powder, pepper jeera powder, asafoetida, ghee, sesame oil and yoghurt.

Next - heat oil in a pan, add all ingredients (mentioned in the seasoning) one after another. When they turn golden brown, add to the batter.

Now we are ready to make idli cake. Divide the batter into 3 equal parts, first one for orange color, second one for white color, and last one for green color.

Orange Batter: Mix store-bought tomato paste to the idli batter.

Green batter: Blanch spinach in water. Grind it to a fine paste. Mix the paste to the batter.

Take a flat wide-bottom vessel that will fit inside your pressure cooker. Grease the vessel well with oil. First, pour orange color batter.

Steam it by keeping the vessel inside your pressure cooker for 5 minutes on a medium flame. Now lower the flame.

Next - pour the regular white batter over the steamed green batter

. Increase the flame and steam it again for 5 minutes.

Lower the flame, pour the final green colored batter over the steamed white batter. Increase the flame and steam it again for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let the idlis completely cool

. (Don’t try to remove the idlis before it cools completely. You won’t get the shape what you are looking for. )

Tri colored kanjeevaram idlis are ready to serve with tomato chutney.

 Tips that I follow for this recipe:

• I used 1 quart. Pyrex Glass Container to make idlis.
• To ensure that I get the colors mixed well, I took some batter and spinach Paste and once ground them in mixer.
• In order to get the idlis out of pan in shape, I made sure they were cooled completely and greased the container very well with oil.

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan

Brinjal or Kathirikkai or Eggplant or Baingan happens to be one of my favorite vegetable.

My love for this vegetable grew  more as I started knowing its versatility as it lends itself to many dishes. Almost every cuisine in the world uses brinjal and they apply various different cooking techniques -roasted, deep-fried, sautéed, grilled, baked, mashed, stuffed…everything works with this vegetable. I got introduced to Bagara Baingan by my sister-in-law and love this dish.

 The vibrant gravy has a rich and unique flavor. It is spicy, tangy and nutty with a hint of sweetness, and tastes good on its own that you’d lick off the plate.

The ingredient list might seems long but most of them are roasted and ground to thick paste.

Ingredients:

Purple baby brinjals washed + quartered with stalk intact	6
Small lemon size tamarind extract	1
Oil	2 Tbsp.
Grated Jaggery	¼ Tbsp.
Ginger paste	1 Tsp.
Asafoetida	½ Tsp.
Turmeric powder	1  Tsp.
Khari leaves	Few sprigs
Coriander leaves	For garnish

Dry Roast:

White sesame seeds (till)	1 Tsp
Coriander seeds/dhaniya	1 Tsp.
Jeera	1 Tsp.
Copra powder/Coconut powder	1 Tsp.
Garam masala (whole/akka) Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves	2 each

  Roast with Oil

Peanuts	2 Tbsp.
Red chilies	3
Medium size onion	1

Method:

Fry the brinjals in 1 Tbsp. oil until soft but still hold their shape and drain aside.

In the same oil roast peanuts, red chilies and onions for a minute separately. Also dry roast all the ingredients mentioned above separately. Then grind all of the above wet and the dry ingredients with some water into a smooth paste.

 In another pan, sauté bay leaf, jeera, ginger paste, asafoetida, turmeric, Khari leaves, with 1 tbsp. ghee for a minute, and add the ground paste to this mixture.

Keep stirring constantly for 5 minutes, with the lid on as gravy splatters outside until oil oozes out. Now add tamarind extract, salt, red chili powder, grated jaggery and let it come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add brinjal and cook for 10 minutes on low flame until you get a thick consistency.

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

This spicy tangy dish pairs well with biryani or coconut milk rice.

Coconut Milk Rice

Friends, when you suddenly have some special guests visiting you, and you want to WOW them, I think this dish would be a winner.
 All you need is few ingredients. No chopping or no grinding required. Just one onion, one green chili, some coconut milk and few Indian spices are enough to prepare this delectable dish.

Coconut milk rice has a very subtle flavor of coconut milk, and it pairs well with any spicy side dish.

Ingredients:

                          

Basmati Rice	1 Cup
Coconut milk	½ Cup
Water	1 ½ Cup
Onion diced lengthwise	1 Medium size
Green chili slit in the middle	2
Garam Masala (whole) cardamom, cinnamon, cloves	2 Each
Ghee	1 Tsp
Oil	1 Tsp
Cashew nuts	5-8
Bay leaf	1

Method:

Soak Basmati Rice in water for 30 minutes. In a pan, add ghee and oil, sauté whole garam masala, bay leaf, green chilli and onions for 2 minutes.

Then add basmati rice with water and salt. Let it cook until it is 75% done (on medium flame, it took me about 10-12 minutes).

Then, bring down to low flame, pour coconut milk and keep stirring so that rice does not stick to the pan.

When the rice is fully done, remove from flame. Coconut milk rice pairs well with bhagara baingan or kurma

Baked Maggi Spring Rolls

Hello again to all you wonderful people.

I am sure all of us enjoy the famous delicious 2-minutes Maggi noodles. Everyone in our family enjoys including my 3.5 year old. So today, I am making spring rolls with Maggi noodles.

I came across a video on you tube (Rajshri food) on similar Indian spring rolls, which caught my attention. In addition to that, my husband polished away a whole plate of these baked spring rolls, without saying a word ☺. I am sure to make them soon again.

Let us see how it is made.

Ingredients:

Spring Roll sheets	As needed
Thin peels of carrot	½ Cup
Thinly sliced cabbage	½ Cup
Maggi instant noodles including the masala	1 packet
Finely minced ginger	½ inch
Finely chopped green chili	1
Chat masala	½ Tsp
All Purpose flour	1 Tbsp

Method:

In a pan, heat oil, sauté ginger, green chili and stir-fry for a minute. Add Maggi noodles and add 3/4th cup of water and the let the noodles soften. Add in the masala that comes along with the noodles.

Next - finely chop the cabbage and peel the carrot. Adding carrot peels instead of finely chopped carrots was easier and useful when wrapping the spring rolls.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Make a thick paste out of all purpose flour and water to help seal the edges of the spring roll.

Take one spring roll sheet, and make a bed of carrot peels and cabbage topping with 1 Tbsp. of noodles. Sprinkle chaat masala over it, and place in one corner side like shown in picture.

Brush the corner with the paste, and fold just to cover the filling like an envelope.

Brush the paste towards the end and start rolling the filling.

Place all the spring rolls on a baking sheet and brush them with oil. Bake them for 25 minutes. When done, remove from the oven and serve with hot chili sauce.