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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Hi All!

Cooking food is all about experimenting with new ingredients and flavors. I’m decently good at mix matching flavors and ingredients. Most of the times the experiments are quite successful and rarely disastrous. A few days back the kids came back after playing soccer and were very hungry. The younger one demanded to make something very interesting and new. 

 

My mom always says that a good cook is a one who is able to cook good and tasty food from the ingredients available. So though my little grey cells were not of much help that day I still did not give up.I quickly rummaged through my fridge and pantry. My fridge was completely out of veggies and had two corn cobs staring at me. In the pantry, I knew I had a few ready to use pastes which were to be finished fast before expiry, amongst that was also the Thai Curry Paste.

I thought of making something using the two. I quickly removed the corn using my corn peeler and crushed it in the mixer.I must say that the corn peeler is one tool which I simply love. I added the Thai curry paste to the corn and tasted the mix, it tasted good so decided to make patty of the mix. I needed a binding agent, so used the potato flakes. I have started loving these flakes, they are so useful when one is  in a hurry. I gradually added the flakes and adjusted the consistency.

The Tikkis turned out tasty and  I kept 2pieces for S to taste. He liked it so much and was  disappointed that I left only two pieces for him to sample. Since the mix of the tikki turned out tasty, I thought of posting it so clicked the pics in a hurry with two children hovering over me with hunger. So, pls do not assess my pics critically.

Thai Corn Tikki

Serves:4

Preparation Time:10-15mins

Cooking Time:15mins

 

Ingredients

2 American corn, grated

2tsp Thai green curry paste

1-1/2cups potato flakes

1tsp red chili flakes

salt to taste

oil for shallow frying

Method

Remove the sweet corn from the cob and grind it coarsely.

To the corn, add the green curry paste and red chili flakes.

Add potato flakes gradually, these will absorb the moisture present in the corn. If required add a little water.

Take ping pong ball size mixture and wet the palm. Flatten it and shape it to like a tikki on the palm.

Smoothen the edges and shallow fry on both the sides till golden in colour.

Remove on a kitchen towel and serve hot with tomato sauce.

These tikkis are perfect finger foods for the kids. They are healthy and tasty too. If required one can omit the addition of chili flakes. I have added it solely because my kids love spice and corn has a sweet taste, the chili flakes balances that.

Sending it to Healthy Foods For Healthy Children- Preschooler snacks guest hosted here and originally the brainchild of Nithu.

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Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath..A Quick Fix With Beaten Rice

Hi!

I'm kick starting contributions to my event 'Only' South Indian, hosted here at Foodelicious, with a very tasty preparation from the state of Karnataka, which is S's native state. I have reiterated several times that my MIL is an excellent cook and is my guide and tutor to Karnataka style cooking or in more romantic word's she has guided me clearly on the correct path to my husband's heart who is fond of good food and especially his Mom's food.

Bissi Bele Bhaath is an all time favourite at my place and my husband call's it 'concrete food' as it sits in the stomach and makes you feel heavy and drowsy. I normally make it on weekend for lunch so that after eating  we can have a sound sleep. Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath or Bissi Bele Huli Avalakki, is a simpler and easily digestible version of Bissi Bele Bhaath and it translates to Hot Dal/Sāmbhar With Beaten Rice. This preparation makes use of beaten Rice (Poha) and Yellow Moong dal, both of which are easy to digest and quick to cook. My MIL had made this preparation for all of us during one of our  recent visits and every one had relished it. I asked her that time, how she had made it, but forgot to pen it down.

Last month, I suddenly remembered this preparation and wanted to try it, so I called my MIL but she was unavailable. Then I called up my elder co-sister R and asked her if she knew how to make it, and I was disappointed with her 'No'. I was almost ready to give up and half heartedly called  up my younger co-sister P, she brought an instant smile on my face by saying a 'Yes' and gave me the recipe. I tried the recipe that day itself and it was a huge hit in the family, so I decided to make a more healthier version and tweaked the recipe a little and to my delight it was liked even more by the two of them. The kid happily took it in his lunch box and finished it too. Tomorrow is P's birthday, so I thought it's an apt time to post this recipe.  Can't thank you enough dear 'P'  for this excellent recipe.

It’s a one pot meal and can be made very quickly.

Avalakki Bissi Bele Bhaath Preparation Time:20mins Cooking Time:20-25mins Soaking time:15mins Serves:4 Ingredients 4 hands full beaten rice/ Poha, thick variety ( I used the red version to make it more healthy) 3/4-1 measuring cup roasted Yellow Moong Dal 1small carrot cubed 1/2cup peas 1medium potato cubed 6-7 French beans cut into 1cm pieces 5-6tbsp Sāmbhar Masala 1/2tsp red chilli pwd 1/2tsp turmeric pwd 2tsp coriander pwd 3/4-1tsp cinnamon pwd about 6-7 cups water coriander stems chopped about 1-1/2tbsp tamarind paste salt to taste For tempering 2-3tbsp oil 1tsp mustard seeds 2-3 dry red chillies 2sprigs curry leaves 1/2chopped onion small hand full of peanuts 1/4tsp good quality asafoetida (heeng) Method Wash the poha 4-5 times in water and keep it aside for 15mins to soak properly. The red poha absorbs a lot of water and needs more time for soaking than the regular white poha. Dry roast the lentils till a nice aroma is smelt. Add 3cups water to the lentils and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook till half done. Add all the vegetables and coriander stems now. Cook covered till the vegetables are done and the lentils cooked. Add 3more cups of water and add Sāmbhar masala, red chilli-turmeric-coriander-cinnamon powders. Add the soaked Poha and salt to taste. The red poha needs more spices than the regular poha, so adjust your spices accordingly. Mix properly and cook covered for 10 more minutes. If you feel that the consistency of the bhaath is too thick, add more water. Pour the tempering and mix. Serve hot with curds or raita and some potato wafers to go along. For Tempering Heat oil and add the mustard, once it splutters add the peanuts and red chillies, fry. Now add the onions and sauté. Tip in the heeng and curry leaves and pour it over the bhath.

Sending this to Rasi's I'm Star Event 




Note-
One can add their choice of vegetables to this bhaath.
Cinnamon and heeng are a must as they add a good flavour to the preparation.
One can completely replace all vegetables and use only one vegetable in more quantity and make this preparation.
Adding onions is optional.
The quantity of water provided here can vary based on the quality of beaten rice used. So be observant and follow your instincts while adding water.

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Oats - Choco Fudge

Chocolate fudge is an all time favourite with my family and I’ve posted a  few versions here and here. Choco fudge is quite simple to make but this version is even more simpler and healthier too, as I have also added some Oats to it.

This month’s Monthly Mingle had two interesting ingredients to use Ginger and Almonds. I had many thoughts in my mind but I finally got fixed on a sweet. Making sweets is rare thing at my place for obviously fatty reasons but I could not ignore the fact that the kid had been asking me to make the Choco-muesli bars once again.

So, I used the concept of Muesli bars and fudge together, at the same time, did not forget the Monthly Mingle ingredients and came up with this recipe. I assure this is very tasty and at the same time extremely healthy too. It is not overly chocolaty but there’s just right balance of all ingredients. The ginger is just enough to add the right zing. It is a power pack snack for kids after they have played.

Sending it off to Kalyani’s Monthly Mingle-2 and my event ‘Only’- Oats

Oats-Choco Fudge Preparation time-15mins Cooking time-5mins Serves-4 Makes –8 Ingredients 50gms Dark Chocolate 25gms Sweet Chocolate 2-1/2tbsp Oats roasted 75gms cashew nuts, roasted and chopped 50gms Almonds, roasted & chopped 1/2tsp dry ginger powder (sounth) 2tbsp cooking butter 8-10 small cup cake liners Method Melt Chocolates on a double boiler and add half the butter. Mix. Add the ginger powder, nuts and oats. Mix. Finally add the remaining butter and spoon it immediately in small cup cake liners. Level and refrigerate for half an hour. Unmould and serve.

Sending this to Anjali's Cakes,Cookies and Desserts.
Surabhi's Holi Hai Event

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Buckwheat and Colocasia Dosa

Hi!

Sunday started off in a great way as I made one of my best impromptu preparation till date using the buckwheat. I know good ways to consume the buckwheat but making a dosa never came to my mind till yesterday and was elated by the end result.To add to my elation S took me out for shopping and I shopped and shopped till I dropped, after returning home watched 3 Idiots again on Sony TV while eating a Cheese Burst Pizza. 

Coming back to the Dosa I made, I never realized that buckwheat can yield such a perfectly textured dosa . I love the earthy flavor of buckwheat and truly enjoy it’s health benefits. While many people think that buckwheat is a cereal grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel making it a suitable substitute for grains for people who are sensitive to wheat or other grains that contain protein glutens. Buckwheat flowers are very fragrant and are attractive to bees that use them to make produce a special, strongly flavored, dark honey.

The Buckwheat has huge health benefits, it’s lipid-lowering activity is largely due to rutin and other flavonoid compounds. The nutrients in it help control blood sugar and improves blood flow thus helping prevent heart problems. The versatile food is a possible probiotic,a carbohydrate that prompts the growth of “friendly” bacteria in the digestive tract. For a detailed read on it’s health benefits check here. How to proceed for the Dosa, read further..

Ingredients

4 cups buckwheat flour

250gms colocasia (boiled and peeled)

a small handful of coriander

5-6 green chilies

salt to taste

water

Method

In a food processor grind together green chilies and coriander.

 

Add boiled colocasia and mix it with the green chili and coriander paste.


Add 4 cups of buck wheat flour, salt to taste and mix again. If required add a little water.


Remove the batter and add more batter to bring it to a dosa like consistency.

Grease a non stick pan and spread the dosa in concentric circles. Cook from either side on a medium high flame.

Serve hot with any spicy chutney. I served it with coconut chutney and green tamarind  thokku.

Sending this to Iftar Moments Hajiri 1431 hosted by Taste of Pearl City.

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Wrapped…Tomato Flavoured Mixed Veggies

Hi friends.

I am so grateful to all my blogger friends who took time to drop by and wish me on my 100th post and  I am also happy that my event has  started off..and have started getting entries for my event.

After an elaborate Biryani  I thought of posting something very colourful, tasty, healthy and very quick to make recipe. Honestly speaking I love eating wraps and my craze for them started during our stay in Mumbai. I must say Mumbai offers the best wraps that I have tasted so far and that too at a reasonable rate….

I had a few exotic veggies lying in my fridge and I even had a few chapatis asking me to use them…so I thought of making an interesting filling with the veggies,  wrap them in my chapatis and use my panini grill to grill them. End result was an extremely tasty, externally crisp and internally crunchy wrap. I have used my regular chapatis but one can use the tortillas or any other kind of bread. This stuffing can be used as a side dish or can be used as a filling for sandwich too…

Ingredients for the tomato sauce

2-3 tomatoes pureed

2-3 garlic crushed

2 tsp oil

2 green chilies chopped

1/2 tsp chilli pwd/ paprika

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chaat masala

salt to taste

Ingredients for the veggie mix

2 tsp butter

1 small broccoli cut into florets

1 onion chopped

quarters of green, yellow and red capsicum cut into thin fingers

6-7 babycorn cut into oblong slices

6-7 mushroom quartered

salt to taste

and freshly ground black pepper as per taste

Other ingredients

some butter for toasting

chaat masala to sprinkle

and an onion sliced

Method

How do we make the tomato sauce?

Heat oil add crushed garlic, once it turns light brown in colour add the green chilies followed by the tomato puree and cook. Add salt, paprika, chaat masala and garam masala. Let the sauce thicken.

What do we do with veggies?

Blanch broccoli, babycorn and mushroom one by one and remove them in  colander so that excess water can be removed.

Take a pan and heat butter and saute the onions. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and then tip in the veggies one by one and toss them for a minute. Now mix them in the tomato sauce. Ensure that the sauce covers the veggie nicely but at the same time also check that it’s not watery..  Filling is ready.

How to make the wrap?

Take the chapati and keep the filling in the centre and spread it vertically  till the edges. Put some onion slices and sprinkle some chaat masala (One can also add cheese at this stage, I avoided that as I wanted the tomato flavour to dominate in my mouth). Fold in the wrap as shown in the pics below and then apply some butter and grill them till crisp. Cut it into halves and serve.

These wraps do not need any dips or chutneys and are quite tasty themselves… So just grab and eat.  It can be an ideal snack for kids and at the same time  a very filling and healthy brunch too.

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Instant Bread Dosa… preparation in a jiffy

Hi.  I wish all my Indian friends a very happy REPUBLIC DAY.

Today I am posting a very simple, tasty and healthy recipe which is good for a working mom, tired mom, unwell mom or a sometimes lazy mom like me!!! Saturday night S asked me what’s for breakfast tomorrow? I was in a dubious state after the question as I had not planned anything till then. I surely do not like spending a lot of time in the kitchen on a Sunday. That time I just left the thought for the next day…how so very convenient..kal ka kal dekhenge …

Morning I entered the kitchen around 8 and kept the milk for boiling. The first thought that came to my mind was to make sandwich but instantly I shrugged it…who was going to boil potatoes…but then the bread caught my attention again and I thought why can’t I try a Dosa with it…surely will not taste bad and plus can be made quickly…hopefully!

So the next move was to put all the ingredients that came to my mind that point of time in the mixer grinder and make a spiced paste of that, then adjust the consistency of the batter, put the non-stick pan on gas stove, heat it and then pour a ladle full  of batter, spread the dosa and wait to see how it turns out….phew…I did lot of work…and I was so tired by then…LOL. Jokes apart one can sense how much time is really needed to make these dosas ready…

To my surprise the Dosa turned out really nice, in fact no one can make out there’s bread in it!!! The semolina added to the crispiness and curds provided the adequate sourness.  I tried an onion Uttapam also with this batter and  that tasted equally good. I will surely experiment more with this dosa in future but right now I am ready to give you the approx measurements of the ingredients…

Ingredients For Bread Dosa

5-6 slices bread (I used wheat-germ bread)

1/2 –3/4cup yogurt

1 cup poha

3/4 cup semolina/rava

3/4 cup rice flour

7-8 green chilies

handful of chopped cilantro

an inch of ginger

salt to taste

oil for applying

a tsp of cumin seeds

Method

Grind all the ingredients except oil and cumin to a smooth paste. Mix water, cumin seeds and  make the batter. This batter has to be made slightly thinner than the normal dosa batter. Heat the non stick tava and spread the dosa  and leave oil  on its sides. Turn the dosa and cook it from the other side too. My observation was that this dosa takes a longer time to cook on one side than the regular ones… Once done serve it with chutney of your choice. My kids had it with some butter and it’s surely filling..

Note- The spice level should be kept a little high, else it can taste very bland.
Sending this to RV and Sudeshana’s

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Pav-Bhaji….Mumbai Street Food

There are certain dishes in your kitchen which you think you make it the best and you have gained an expertise in that. One of such dishes from my kitchen which I believe I make really good and I like it the way I make it, have been praised by friends and relatives is surely the Pav-Bhaji. It is one preparation for which I can claim that you make it in my way and you will get accolades for it. I might sound that I am boasting about it, but trust me friends I am just sharing the truth and I am sharing with you my secret recipe which has absolutely no secret ingredients in it.It is just the right quantity of ingredients and the right texture which yields the perfect taste to the bhaji. Those who are already an expert in making this dish will agree to me. For people who have never attempted this please feel free to try it in my way.

 What is Pav- Bhaji ?

Pav Bhaji is the king of Mumbai street food. This is one dish that feeds millions of people around India on a daily basis. This melt-in-your-mouth Indian delicacy is a staple snack of the people of Mumbai and the city serves some of the finest pav bhaji.

It is very easy to make and a lifesaver for busy mothers and housewives keen to rustle up a quick and delicious meal for the family. Whenever I think of Pav Bhaji I remember Amar Juice Centre in Juhu Galli of Mumbai, where we used to go past 10’o clock  in the night and hog on this amazing street food.

 Nutritive Value

If made in low quantities of butter this is a very nutritive dish as it has lots of vegetables providing you the vitamins, minerals and fibre. It is also a rich source of carbohydrates as it has potatoes in it.

It can be a high calorie dish when made in good quantity of butter, can be fattening for grown ups but good for growing children.

Origin of Pav Bhaji

The Wiki says, the origin of this dish is traced to the heyday of the textile mills in Mumbai. The mill workers used to have lunch breaks too short for a full meal, and a light lunch was preferred to a heavy one, as the employees had to return to physical labor after lunch. A vendor created this dish using items or parts of other dishes available on the menu. Roti or rice was replaced with pav and the curries that usually go with Indian bread or rice were amalgamated into just one spicy concoction-the 'bhaji'. Initially, it remained the food of the mill-workers. With time the dish found its way into restaurants and spread over Central Mumbai and other parts of the city via the Udipi restaurants. Such is popularity of this dish, that it is common to find it on the menu of most Indian restaurants serving fast food in Asia (especially Singapore, Hong Kong), America, UK (London), Switzerland and elsewhere.

Ingredients
5-6  Boiled and peeled Potatoes grated
2 onions chopped finely
3 –4 large garlic pods crushed
10-12 French beans chopped finely
4 –5 Tomatoes minced coarsely
1 small cauliflower grated
1/2 cup peas crushed
3 capsicum finely chopped
3 tbsp pav bhaji masala
salt to taste
4 –5 tbsp butter
3-4 tsp oil
for Garnish-
Butter
a capsicum finely chopped
finely chopped onion
lemon wedges
chopped cilantro

Method for Bhaji

Heat oil and saute the onions and then add the garlic and cook till the raw smell disappears.


Add in the tomatoes and mix properly.

Steam cook the cauliflower, peas and beans along with the potatoes in a pressure cooker. After cooling crush them with hand and mix in the Bhaji. Also add the finely chopped capsicum.

Add in the grated boiled potatoes.

Add the pav bhaji masala and mix in thoroughly. Add some water to bring it to a sauce like consistency.

Mash the Bhaji  so that all ingredients get blended in each other.

Add in the Butter and bring the bhaaji to a boil.


For serving the Pav-Bhaji
Take a plate put some Bhaaji in it , put butter according to your taste and capacity. Put some chopped onion, cilantro, capsicum and squeeze in some lime juice.
Cut the pav into halves and smear butter on them and then toast them on a tava till lightly brown on either side, serve them with bhaaji.

Tip-
In an authentic Pav-Bhaji, 100gms of butter is used to make one serving plate. It does tastes heavenly but is loaded with Calories. One is free to add and check out.
Variations-
Jain Pav Bhaaji – make without the onion and garlic
Cheese Pav Bhaji- Grated cheese added to the original Bhaji.
Paneer Pav Bhaji- Grated cottage cheese added to the Bhaji, which I did later.
This can bring a good change to the regular meals so I am sending this to WYF : Light Meal  hosted by EC at Simple Indian Food
and to
 Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli, as all kids love this dish, especially if a dollop of butter is added to it.

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