Bombay Vegetable Grilled sandwich

This is a very popular street food in Bombay! It is amazing how fast the guys make these sandwiches and that too effortlessly.
 Trust me , this is a very easy and filling sandwich to make. Needs a little preparation earlier, but that is all. The fillings and chutney can be played around as per your taste. I do not have a grill or panini press and made these sandwiches on a regular tawa. If you like fancy grill marks,  use the grill pan. Grill marks or not you will love the taste of it.
The green chutney freezes very well if you make big batch. Just thaw the frozen chutney and use it any time.

Get Ready

 For the green chutney

• Cilantro 2-3 hand fulls including stems, washed
• 2-3green chillies
• handful of mint leaves
• squirt of lemon juice
• salt to taste

Sandwich Filling

• Red onion sliced
• 1 small potato boiled, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 beet root, peeled ,cooked & sliced
• Sliced tomatoes ( i did not use it)
• Sliced cucumbers
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• Chaat masala powder
• Bread slices
• Butter
  
  
  

Go

• In a blender add all the ingredients for green chutney and grind to a thick paste. Add little water and set aside
• Take a slice of bread and spread butter.
• On top of the butter, spread the green chutney
• Arrange sliced beets, cucumber or tomatoes.
• sprinkle chaat masala generously on top of the veggies
• Take another slice of bread and keep it on top. On the top layer of bread spread butter & green chutney
• Arrange potato slices, onion and sprinkle chaat masala

• Sprinkle cheese as per your taste

• Butter another slice of bread and cover the sandwich with that slice

• In a pan add a little butter or olive oil and toast the sandwich golden by pressing the top of the bread with a heavy spatula.
• Flip and cook both sides of bread till they are golden.

• Cut diagonally and serve the sandwich.

Enjoy this sandwich and tell me if you liked it!

Ricotta Cheese Balls

I had half a tub of ricotta cheese left over in my refrigerator. I wanted to make something quick for the kids as a snack. I made these simple ricotta cheese balls  and both my kids and DH loved it. I made it very simple and you can add more vegetables or spices as per your taste.

Get Ready

• 1/2 tub of full skin Ricotta cheese

• 3-4 bread slices
• 1 green chilli chopped fine
• 1 tbsp of all purpose flour/ maida
• Handfull of cilantro chopped fine
• bread crumbs to coat
•  salt to taste
•  oil for deep frying

Go:

• Rip the bread slices and run it in a blender/ mixi to make bread crumbs
• In a bowl, take the ricotta cheese, add bread crumbs, green chilli, chopped cilantro and combine them all well. if you feel the mix is too moist, add some all purpose flour or besan.
• make small balls with this mix and set aside

• Roll these balls in bread crumbs and set aside

• In a deep frying pan, add oil. Once oil is hot add the cheese balls and fry them till golden brown.
• Serve hot with some tomato ketchup

Masala / Spicy Chex Mix

The holiday season is here and I am getting tired of eating sweet things wherever I go. One of my associates brought a pack of chex mix, nuts for all the staff to much on. I tried that and was not impressed as it lacked any flavor or taste. I searched Google and found recipes for chex mix. Many of them called for Worcestershire sauce which had anchovies in them. Suddenly, it occurred to me why not make a desi version of chex mix. After all, we all grew up eating mixture, chivda etc and tried this masala chex mix. There is no actual recipe or measurements. The original recipe for chex mix calls for rice, corn and wheat chex. When I went shopping, I completely forgot to buy wheat chex.

Other things to add include, cheezits, cheerios, bugles etc.

Let us get to the mix now.

Get Ready:

• 3 cups of rice chex
• 3 cups of corn chex
• 2 cups of pretzel sticks ( may use mini pretzel twists)
• 1 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts ( can use almonds, mixed nuts, pottukadalai/ dalia dal)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp oil
• Handful of curry leaves
• Chili powder
• Idli molagapodi
• 1/4 tsp hing/ asafetida
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp sugar

Go:

• Take a big mixing bowl and add all the chex, pretzels, nuts
• In a pan, melt the butter, add the curry leaves
• Turn the heat off and add the spice powders except sugar
• Pour the butter mixture, sugar on the chex mix and toss well till all the butter and spices are well coated.
• Preheat over to 350 F
• In a baking dish add the chex mix and bake for 10-15 mins.

Corn & Cheese Balls

These corn and cheese balls are very easy to make and will be absolutely loved by your kids. I made them less spicy and one can add more vegetables as per your taste. They are perfect for school lunch boxes or after school snack. of course, they taste much better when freshly deep fried. Serve them with ketchup or sweet and chili sauce.

You can get your kids involved in making them. My 7 yr old helped me make the initial balls, plop them into the all purpose flour/ maida paste. It was so much fun making with her and she ate the finished product so proudly that she made it.

Get ready ( makes 10 -12 balls of ping pong ball size)

• 1 medium sized potato boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1/2 cup of frozen corn
• 1/2 cup Grated colby and montery jack cheese ( this is what I had at home)
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 tsp besan
• 1tsp rice flour besan and rice flour can be substituted with corn flour, I did not have corn flour)
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro
• Oil for deep frying

To make the paste:

• 2 tbsp maida/ all purpose flour
• water
• Bread crumbs , no measurement for this

Go

Take half of the corn and pulse it in a blender.

In a bowl add the mashed potato, whole corn and pulsed corn, cilantro, cheese, salt, pepper etc and combine everything.

Make small balls as per your liking, rubbing some oil between your palms.

Set aside.

In a bowl add the all purpose flour, add water little by little and mix to form a thick paste. Set aside

Take potato corn balls, dip them in the all puropse flour batter. take them out and roll them in bread crumbs till all sides are well coated.

Do this with all the balls and keep them refrigerated till you are ready to fry. Just refrigerating them for a little while helps the balls to hold together while deep frying.

In a pan add enough oil for deep frying the balls.

Once oil is hot, add the balls and deep fry them till they are golden brown on all sides.

Serve hot with ketchup, chutney. You can add grated carrots, finely diced bell peppers for some pop of color and crunch.

Diamond Cuts Sweet & Savory

Diamond cuts make me think out about my " paati"! She was very good in making all types of "bhakshanam", but will give it out to us only in a rationed way. Now, I know she was implementing portion control then! I remember her making these, mainly the sweet ones and as a kid I loved to much on them a lot. I made them recently and wanted to share the recipe with you all. I made a savory one as well for my DH. I personally like the sweet ones with some hot chai and TV!

Get Ready:


 Sweet Diamond cuts

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp ghee/ butter
• water
• Oil to deep fry

Go

• In a  bowl whisk all the dry ingredients till well combined.

• Add the ghee or butter and mix well with your hands, rubbing it in the flour.
• Add water little by little and make a soft dough. 
• Add a few drops of oil and and coat the outer surface of the dough ball.

• Cover in saran wrap and set aside for few mins.
• Make ball in the size of a clementine and roll it out thinly like a chappathi.

• Use a knife or pizza cutter and cut into thin strips both vertical and diagonal to make small diamonds.

• Heat oil on medium heat, add the diamond cuts and deep fry them till the bubbles stop, they float or turn golden brown.

Savory Diamond cuts

• 2 cups All purpose flour/ maida
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 & 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp Ajwain/ omam
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• 1/2 tsp hing/ asafetida
• 1 & 1/4 tsp salt or per taste
• 2 tsp ghee
• Water
• Oil to fry

Go:

• Mix all the ingredients and make a soft dough by adding water little at  a time.
• Make them into diamond shapes and deep fry them till golden.

Keep them stored in an air tight container and enjoy as a snack

Pizzadilla

"Pizzadilla" Cool name isn't it? I know you all are rolling your eyes!

The first time I heard and tasted  something called "pizzawich" was at a joint called "Which wich" in Charlottesville, 2011. It was such a simple thing to make but the name sounded so cool that my son then 11 used love them a lot.

I have made pizzawich so many times and my kids love them! So this time I made pizzadilla, pretty simple right.

If you have kids that likes red sauce pasta and cheese, just go straight to the kitchen to make these!
This is a great food to cook with your kids or when having play dates. My daughter loves to spread the sauce, sprinkle cheese etc. She feels like a big grown  up chef, making them and eating them as well.

Get Ready:

• Medium Flour tortillas
• Pizza/ pasta sauce
• grated cheese ( I had colby and montery jack)
• olive oil for brushing

Other options include, chopped red onions, bell peppers, olives, mushroom, pine apples etc etc.

Go:

• Heat a skillet
• Spread pizza/ pasta sauce on a flour tortilla. sprinkle cheese. fold the tortilla over

• Brush with olive oil and cook on both sides, pressing down with a spatula till the cheese is ooey gooey and the tortillas are golden brown. Cut them into triangles with a pizza cutter/ knife and serve.

• Serve with sour cream, salsa or more pizza sauce for dipping.

You will be the super cool mom if you do this on a play date!

Sabudhana Tikki / Javvarisi Vadai

Packing a variety of healthy vegetarian school lunches is hard, especially if your child is picky. I am trying to identify things that would taste good in the afternoon and easy to prepare. I had once bought a pack of sabudhana tikki, of course the frozen one from Indian store and my daughter liked it. They were a little spicy for her. I made them at home toning down the spices and we had a healthy snack/ lunch dish that she enjoyed. They may not be as crispy for school lunch, but i don't think my daughter cared for that. Her lunch box came clean and I am happy.

Get ready

• 1/2 cup sabudhana/ tapiocal pearls/ javvasrisi
• 1 small green chilli chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp peanuts powdered
• 1 small potato boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1 tbsp chick pea flour/ kadalai mavu
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

Go

• Wash and soak the sabudhana in water for about 1-2 hrs. drain the water completely and set aside. I used the one available in Indian stores, not the one in chinese stores.
• Add the mashed potatoes, peanut powder, green chilli, ginger, slat, cilantro to the sabudhana and mix well till everything is well incorporated.
• make small tikki or flat discs.
• heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the tikki's and fry them in batches till golden brown and cripsy.
• Serve hot with ketchup for evening snack or school lunch box

Paneer Burji Quesadilla / Paneer Crumble Quesadilla

I recently had a friend over for lunch who just wanted to just hang out with me catching up on gossip and things. When I asked her what I can cook for her, she said  as usual, " don't worry, we can order some sandwiches!". I had some paneer that I bought from Indian store recently and I thought making a grilled paneer sandwich. But, Once my friend was here, we were busy chatting and completely forgot about the grilling part.

I ended up making a paneer burji and put it inside a flour tortilla and made it as a quesadilla. I served with some curried carrot and butter nut squash soup. My friend said the food was " out of the world". I made the same for my kids after school snack and they loved it. My daughter who does not eat cheese, ate a whole quesadilla with out any squeak!


It is so easy to put together and you can try this and see.


Get Ready

• Store brought paneer 3/4 pack, crumbled with hands. ( use a food processor if you have one)
• 1/2 white onion very finely chopped
• Lots of cilantro, i did not measure it
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• finely chopped green chillies ( optional)
• Grated ginger ( optional)
• Mission Flour tortillas medium sized
• olive oil to to cook the quesadillas

Go:

• In a bowl add the crumbled paneer, chopped onions, cilantro, all masalas and salt. combine them all well and set aside.

• Take a tortilla, spoon the mixture on one side of the tortilla. fold the tortilla over.

• You can cook them immediately or assemble them, cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate.
• In a  hot skillet, add a little oil and place the folded tortilla. Cook till golden and flip the other side.
• Cook till golden on both sides.

• Cut into any shape you want and serve with ketchup, sour cream or even a mint chutney

Variation

I used the same filling inside  bread and made them as bread rolls for he kids. Cut the edges of the bread out. With the rolling pin, roll the bread nice and flat. Spoon the paneer burji filling inside. Roll the bread tight and apply a little water to the edge and press down. Apply some butter on the bread and cook a tawa, seam side down first till golden and crispy.

Add caption

A perfect school lunch, after school snack or quick week night dinner. if you don't have tortillas, one can also use left over chapathi's.

Try this out and tell me if you and your family likes it.

Banana Bread ( Version 2)

Here is a very easy, no nonsense banana bread recipe to make. This is a second version and it was as good as my previous one.

Best Banana Bread


Kids are at home for the summer and they are always hungry. I am sure, you like me must be getting tired of providing healthy snacks for them when at home.

 Get your kids involved in baking this and they will love this. This can be made in no time.

Last Sunday, we decided to make this in the afternoon and my kids loved in cracking the eggs, mashing the banana saying" eew, eew", licking the batter and had so much fun. The recipe can be easily halved and that is what I did. So, it filled only half of the loaf pan and was ready in 40 mins of baking.


The final product tasted very good and was soft after 3 days too.



Get Ready

• 1/2 cup butter at room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 4 ripe bananas mashed 
• 1 & 1/2 cup all purpose flour ( maida)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( i did not have this, but original recipe calls for it)

Go

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease your loaf pan with cooking spray
• Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. You can use a spatula or an electric mixer.
• Add the eggs and beta well till frothy.
• Add the mashed banana , vanilla extract and mix well
• Add the sifted flour mixture and fold with a spatula. Do not beat this mix.
• Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 mins - 1 hr or till an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

Remove it out of the oven, let it cool well, slice and enjoy for breakfast or an evening snack with a cup of chai!

Sorry, could not do step by step pictures with little helpers in the kitchen!

Other options:

Adding chocolate chips, chopped walnuts would be tasty too.

Dates and Nut Energy Balls / Date Choco Nut Balls

I recently saw this recipe Here and had bookmarked it. My DH has an obsession for dates and had got this huge container. He ate most of it and some of it was sitting in my pantry for a while. I used them with available nuts at home and made a healthy and delicious snack in no time.

These are perfect as breakfast balls, after school snack or as a perfect sweet treat after meals!

They will also be great for prasad after bhajans, or pot luck dinners.

Get Ready ( makes about 20 -22 small balls)

• 1 cup pitted and chopped dates ( used about 24 dates)
• 1 & 1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts ( I used Costco salted cashews and TJ's pistachios)
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder ( I used TJ's sipping chocolate)
• 2 Tbsp dry dessicated coconut 9 available in Indian stores)
• 1/2 tso Nescafe instant coffee\
• Ghee/ oil to grease your hands for rolling
• few drops of water as needed

I decided to add the coconut at the last minute and hence missing in the initial picture.

Go

1. Microwave the chopped dates for 30 secs, so it becomes soft.  Add this to the blender or food processor with cocoa powder and instant coffee. Blend till the dates are made into a finely coarse paste and the coco powder and coffee powder are well incorporated. I do not have a food process or and used my preethi mixie. It will come out like this. This paste is going to bind all the other ingredients and will be able to hold its shape as a ball.

2. Add the coarsely chopped nuts and coconut, sprinkle some water if needed. grease your (clean ) hands and mix the nuts into the date mixture. Again if you have a food processor, coarsely whizz the nuts. I used my knife to chop them.

3. Apply some ghee to your hands and roll them into balls of desired size.

Other variations:

Use any available nuts.

Adding some cardamom powder will be even better!

Enjoy and let me know how it turned out!