Pesto-Cottage Cheese Sandwich | Quick Bite

 

Hi All!!!

I’m here with yet another easy to make, quick fix sandwich which I personally love a lot. There’s a tea bar named kettle close to my home, apart from the various flavours of tea they also serve sandwiches, muffins and a few desserts. I love this place and whenever possible, me and the kid hang out there.

 

Amongst the variety of the sandwiches that Kettle serves, is also the Pesto-Paneer Sandwich and I order it most of the times when I visit the place. I normally stock up Basil leaves in my refrigerator and use it largely for flavouring. But this time I took some time out and made some fresh Basil pesto. It’s not that I’ve not made pesto earlier but in the last few months the leaves would finish before I could think of grinding them.

I love the freshness of the Basil leaves, it just refreshes my mind. I love to play around with this herb creatively and innovatively in my dishes. Have posted a few recipes earlier using this herb and my favourite amongst them is the bruschetta!!

This time I spent a good time peeling the pine nuts which gives an authentic taste to the pesto but I excused myself from adding the parmesan cheese as I was planning to use the Cottage Cheese. This sandwich is ready to eat in flat ten minutes if you have a pesto made in advance and there’s no big recipe behind the filling, it can be quite a flexible mix based on your taste buds..

Pesto-Cottage Cheese Sandwich

Preparation Time:5mins | Cooking Time: 3mins/ sandwich | Serves:3-4 | Difficulty Level:Easy

Ingredients

6-8 bread slices (I used whole wheat)

2-3tbsp Home made basil pesto

chilli flakes ( as required)

Italian seasoning (as required)

Freshly ground pepper (as required)

salt (if required)

olive oil (if required)

150gms soft cottage cheese/ paneer

Method

    

Cube the cottage cheese into small cubes and mix it with the pesto, chilli flakes, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt. After mixing if you find that the stuffing is dry, mix a little olive oil.

Meanwhile preheat the sandwich maker or the panini grill. Spread the mix evenly on a bread slice and then cover it with the second slice of bread.

Apply oil or use oil spray on the grill and place the sandwich. Grill for 2-3mins.

Remove the sandwich from the grill, cut the sandwich into halves and serve hot with some tomato sauce.

Sending this to my event ‘ONLY’ Sandwiches, burgers and Panini, guest hosted by Savi-Ruchi.

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Chickpeas in Pickled Spices & Pickled Chickpeas Sandwich Too | Achari Chana | Step Wise Cooking | Vegan | Gluten Free

 

 

 

Hi All!!

I’ve been away from blogging for about two weeks, but it feels like ages. People might guess that I was mopey and I didn’t have anything to post but that was not the case friends (pun intended). In the last fortnight on and off  I could see the fluctuations in the temperature here which I could also compare with my health, which was also going up and down but was largely down with the virus having fun in my body. Also, the younger kid was writing his first term papers and the house had become quiet to let him study. Being the mother I could feel the pressure of his studies hitting me as well. He needed me to be around all the time and help him with his difficulties and doubts. Fortunately he has his last exam today and I’m already elated that I can relax now…what a sense of relief!!!

While the kid studied, I would read a lot of books; fiction, romance and obviously cookbooks. The other day I had run out of the veggies and I had no mood to go out and shop. The lazy me soaked some chickpeas with no clarity or vision in my mind,  of how I would cook it. I wanted to cook something different but had no idea how..

So after soaking the chickpeas I came and sat with the kid, flipping through the books as I couldn’t watch TV too . After flipping through some old Good food magazines, I picked up Camellia Panjabi’s 50 Great Curries Of India and I was so happy reading all of them, all over again. While I read, I landed on a recipe of lamb cooked in Pickled spices. After reading the recipe I was too tempted to try it in a vegetarian way. I asked myself, people make achaari paneer, achaari aloo, achaari bhindi, why can’t I try the spices with chickpeas? The thought itself exhilarated me and believe me friends I needed that sense of elation desperately, with all the pressure around. The thought was so intoxicating that I immediately went ahead and searched for all the spices and other ingredients. I realized that a skerrick of an ingredient was not available in the desired amount required for the recipe; I was short of yogurt, so I immediately searched for tomatoes and was happy to see a few of them sitting pretty in the refrigerator.

Bit by bit I garnered all the ingredients and laid them on the kitchen platform and geared myself to cook. Fortunately, I always have ginger, garlic and onion in the pantry no matter what else finishes, so I was kind of sorted with the recipe. The curry turned out superb, perfect to inebriate my spirits. It was well spiced, tangy and perfect to tickle the taste buds.

During the course of cooking I got a thought that the chickpeas with pickled spice blend might taste great with the paav, the thought led me to remove a portion of the dry chickpea achaari, with which I intended to make a sandwich later on. The Achaari Chickpea Sandwich  was quite different & innovative. It turned out very tasty and the kid loved it.

 

CHICKPEAS IN PICKLED SPICES | ACHAARI CHANA

Soaking Time:4-6hrs | Preparation Time: 1hour | Cooking Time: 30mins | Serves: 6-8 | Difficulty Level: Moderate

 

Ingredients

3-1/2cups Cooked Chickpeas

4 medium sized tomatoes/ 250gms yogurt

8-10 baby potatoes (optional)

2 medium size red onions

a large handful of fresh coriander

6-8 green chilies (spicy version)

1/4tsp red chili powder (optional)

4-5 garlic flakes

2” piece ginger

salt to taste

about 1/2cup oil

1/2tsp dry mango powder (optional)

Pickle Spices

1-1/2tsp Fennel seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1tsp onion seeds (kalounji)

3/4tsp mustard seeds

3/4tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana)

 

Method

Wash the dry chickpeas (about 1-3/4cups) and soak them in water for 4-6 hours. Pressure cook them with some salt to taste and a pinch of soda bicarbonate, till tender. This takes about 25mins. What I normally do is that I let the cooker attain full pressure on high flam, then reduce the flame and cook it on low flame for about 15-20mins.

 

Dry roast the pickle spices on a low flame for 5mins, cool and grind them together. I have powdered here but one can keep it coarse too. Fill the spice mix in slit green chilies and the spice mix left after filling be kept aside to be used later.

Roughly chop the onion, tomatoes and coriander.

Grind together onion, garlic and cleaned ginger to a paste.

Similarly grind together tomatoes and coriander.

Heat oil and tip in the stuffed green chilies and sauté lightly for a few seconds.

Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and sauté properly on low flame till oil separates.

Add turmeric, chili powder and the remaining spice mix and cook for a minute. Add the chili powder only if you believe that the green chilies are not spicy enough. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomato-coriander paste and cook till done. Add salt to taste and dry mango powder. Cook till oil separates.

Tip in the boiled and drained chickpeas. The drained water should not be thrown as it is used later to make the gravy. Mix thoroughly and cook under cover for a few minutes. At this stage when the curry was dry, I removed a small portion to make the Achaari Chana Sandwich.

 

Add the halved potatoes (this is completely optional) and about 2cups of the drained chickpea water. Bring the gravy to a boil and cook after covering with a lid for about 15-20mins. One can keep the gravy thick or thin as per their choice.

 

For The Achaari Chana Sandwich

Take two whole wheat bread slices and spread a thick layer of achaari chana on one bread slice. Top the chana with sliced onions and carrot juliennes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Cover it with the second bread slice. Heat a panini grill and apply some olive spray. Grill the sandwich. Serve with some sauce/ green chutney and salad.

 

Sending the sandwich to my event ‘Only’ Sandwiches, burgers & Panini, guest hosted by Savi-Ruchi.

A few chickpeas recipes that you can try ..

Green Chickpeas Biryani

Hariyali Chana Masala

Garbanzo & Paneer Curry

*No Oil Chana & Instant Whole Wheat Bread Bhatura

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Paav Bhaaji…No, No Bhaaji In The Paav | Quick Bite | Step Wise Method

 

Hi All!!

I’m sure many would relate to me when I say that the kid’s exam is your own exam..though my kid is grown up and quite independent in many ways but during his assessments he needs me the most. I do not indulge myself in teaching him word to word but I’m always there to solve his difficulties and also to boost up his morale, so I get tied up at home..last few days saw me doing that only..After finishing morning chores, I would sit and make a test paper for him to solve once he is back from school and then stay with him till he finishes studies. Amongst all this I was also helping a friend to look out for a house. Today is the day when I’m breathing in a relaxed manner, now that the tests are over and the friend also has has got an extension in her lease, phew!!

The kid had a half day in school today, so I wanted to make something interesting before he came home. I had not made pav-bhaji in a long time, so thought of making that for lunch but I was also in the mood to bake a bread to relax myself as it has a therapeutic effect on me. Plus, I also wanted to use the bread flour which I had eagerly bought in Thailand. My mind started working on how to accomplish both the things simultaneously and  that’s when the thought of making a stuffed pav-bhaji came to my mind. I made the bhaaji and used it as a filling. Instead of making regular stuffed round buns, I thought of making a more attractive bread, so indulged in a braided version.

The product formed after the baking was a soft braided bun with a bhaaji filling. Kid entered home sniffing, I had just finished the first batch of baking the buns before he stepped in and he was too eager to pounce on them. I had to push him away so that he could wash himself before he could savor the pav-bhaaji..First bite of the bread into his mouth and instantly the thumb was up with a smile and he was ready to finish more. He couldn’t stop praising the new version of Paav bhaaji or Bhaaji in a Pav and I was more than overwhelmed..

At night we savoured the remaining bhaji with the paav in the authentic paav bhaji style. The bhaaji has turned out too good and S mentioned that it is as good as Amar Juice Center, in Mumbai.

Preparation Time for bread: 20mins

Total Time to Make Bhaaji: 1hour

Rising Time:40-45mins

Baking Time Per Batch:16-20mins

Serves: 4-6

Difficulty Level: Moderate/ Needs Skill

 

Ingredients:

a cup of bhaaji

For The Bread

4cups APF or Bread Flour + more for rolling and dusting

1/4cup of Butter/ Oil/ Shortening +1tbsp oil

1tbsp active dry yeast

1tbsp sugar

1-1/2tsp salt

1 - 1-1/2cup of warm water

milk for milk wash

 

Method

For step by step tutorial on how to make an authentic bhaaji, read the post here.

Heat a cup of water to a lukewarm temperature. Add sugar and yeast and let the yeast proof (makes a froth).

 

Take 3cups of the flour and keep 1cup of flour aside. To this add the salt and 1/4cup oil/butter. Mix thoroughly.

Using the proofed yeast, knead the doug. Add the remaining flour gradually, stop adding flour when you feel the dough is slightly sticky. Knead the dough for 10mins, by the end of the kneading it should be smooth and not stick on the floor and hand. Apply some oil and cover with a greased plate or cling film.

Let the dough rise and double in volume, this takes about 45-60mins depending on the temperature outside. One can also read this post on working with yeast in low temperature to get a better understanding.

Punch down the dough and release the trapped air and knead it again for 2mins.

Break the dough into portions slightly larger than a lemon and using the flour roll an oblong shape of 1/2cm thickness.

Place about 2tsp bhaaji vertically in the center of the rolled dough.

Give equidistant slanting cuts on either side of the bhaaji on the rolled dough.

  

Start folding the cuts crossing over the bhaaji, first left touching the second cut on right, the first cut on right touching the second cut on left and so on.. Fold the last end underneath.

 

Let the braided bread rise again for 15mins covered. Apply a milk/egg wash. Bake 4-6 at a time. Bake for 16-20mins in a pre-heated oven at 180C till golden in color and when tapped on top produces hollow sound.

Serve warm.

 

Sending this to my event 'Only' Crazy For Potato, guest hosted at Nivedhanam.

Tips

Never take the full measure of water mentioned in the recipe at once to knead the dough as the absorption of water varies from flour to flour.

Always take lukewarm water for proofing the yeast. Insert the finger in the water, if the heat is bearable and not hurting, one can proceed with the addition of yeast. Hot water shocks the yeast.

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