Cucumber-Cheese-Chutney Sandwiches

I love the whole concept of picnics. It is my favorite way of spending time with family. In Chennai, we used to go picnicking every alternate months.  Most of the times we used to plan picnics, on the last minute, and I would hurry to make some sandwiches to carry along. I just loved to spend time sitting on the beach, enjoying my husband’s company, having fun making sand castles with my son and eating those home made sandwiches. But since we’ve shifted to Coimbatore, life has been to busy off lately with something or the other happening. Not that, I am complaining but I do miss that stuff a lot.

Just to relive those memories, I made my usual picnic sandwiches at home. I felt really nostalgic while preparing these sandwiches. Although they are very simple to make, but these sandwiches hold a very special place in my heart. We call them picnic sandwiches at home.

Ingredients for chutney:-

• handful of coriander leaves
• 5-6 mint leaves
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp cumin pdr
• salt to taste  

Method:-

• Grind all the chutney ingredients in a blender with very little water to a smooth and semi-thick paste.

Ingredients for assembling:-

• bread slices
• cream cheese
• cucumber slices
• lettuce leaves

Method:-

• Apply cream cheese on bread slice.
• Then apply chutney on it.
• Place 4-5 cucumber slices.
• Place a lettuce leaf on top.
• Apply cream cheese on another bread slice.
• Then apply chutney on it.
• Cover the sandwich with this slice.
• Cut diagonally and serve.

Notes:-

• You may choose your toppings or fillings as per your likings.
• You may also use leftover vegetables or chicken chunks in this sandwich.

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this entry to :- Pari's Only Food For Pregnancy Event and Sreevalli's Healthy Bites Event and Nayna's Lets Cook With- Cheese Event and Cooking With Love - Sister & Sara's Home Page and Eat Seasonal Food, Fresh Event & Jagruti's Event announcement page and Healthy Diet–Lunchbox Recipes & Priya's Healthy Diet page and WTML & Gayathri's announcement page and Amrita's Friends Forever Event and Kids Delight "After School Bites" & Valli's Announcement Page and Whats with my Cuppa 2 & Nupur's Home Page and Vardhini's Chaat And Chutneys Event

Dahi Phulki / Lentil Dumplings In Yoghurt Sauce

I simply love dahi phulki and it is also a favorite recipe in my family. It is a simple yet delicious snack usually made during summer-time. It can be served as an appetizer or side dish to any meal. This is a traditional recipe passed on from my grandmother to my mother and now to me.

Ingredients for phulki:-

• 1 cup white urad dal (skinned black gram dal)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• pinch of cooking soda
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

Method:-

• Soak urad dal for 4-5 hours in enough water.
• Drain all the water from the dal and grind it along with black pepper and ginger.
• Grind it to a smooth paste using as little water as required.
• Add red chilli powder and cooking soda to the batter and mix well.
• Leave overnight for fermentation. 
• Add salt to the batter and whip it well.
• Heat oil in a wok.
• Drop dollops of the dal batter to the hot oil and fry the phulkis till light golden.
• Remove and keep aside.

For the yogurt Sauce:-

• 2 cups yogurt
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste

Method:-

• Whisk yogurt along with cumin powder, garlic paste, red chilli powder,salt and ½ cup water.
• Add the phulki's to this sauce.

Ingredients for tempering:-

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 - 4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

Method:-

• Heat oil in a small saucepan.
• Add garlic and cumin seeds.
• Saute till light brown.
• Pour over dahi phulki's and serve.

Notes:-

• If you like the phulki's very soft, you may soak them in salted water for a few seconds and squeeze out the excess water before adding to the yogurt sauce.
• You can add chickpea flour (besan) instead of urad dal for instant phulki's. Make a batter of chickpea flour, salt, little red chilli powder and a pinch of cooking soda. 

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this entry to :- CWS–Urad Dal & Priya's CWS Page and My Bowl of Snack and Dish it Out – Lentils/Legumes and Vegetables and Mission Explore Food: Lentils & CookCookandCook & Thoushaltcook and Spotlight: Beans & Lentil

Cheesy Chicken Kebabs

I always make these kebabs and freeze them in an airtight box once or sometimes twice a month. Whenever I'm usually busy or tied up with some work, these kebabs come as a huge life-saver, just like instant food can be. These can also come handy when you have unexpected or unannounced guests at home. If you have them ready in the freezer, just fry them and they are ready to be served. These kebabs are delicious and my all-time favorite too.

Ingredients:-

• ½ kg boneless chicken 
• 200 gms cheese (shredded)
• ½ cup all purpose flour / maida
• 3 tbsp coriander leaves (chopped)
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp dry red chillies (crushed)
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 7-8 green chillies (ground)
• 4-5 slices bread (soaked in water & squeezed the extra water)
• 2 onion (ground)
• salt to taste
• eggs (whisked)
• breadcrumbs
• oil for frying

Method:-

• Mix chicken, cheese, coriander leaves, dry red chillies, ginger-garlic paste, black pepper powder, green chillies, onion and salt and grind till well blended.
• Add maida and soaked bread and mix well.
• Grease your hands lightly with oil.
• Take small balls and shape them in kebabs.
• Heat oil in a pan. 
• Dip in whisked eggs.
• Roll the kebabs in breadcrumbs.
• Deep fry till golden brown.
• Serve as a starter or snack with tomato sauce.

Notes:-

• You may freeze the cutlets in an airtight box after rolling them in bread crumbs and fry them later when needed.
• If the mixture is pasty and unable to form shape, add little maida to it to get proper consistency.

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this entry to:- Flavors of Cuisines - Middle Eastern

Corn & Capsicum Quiche

Quiche pronounced as ‘keesh’, which is means ‘Cake in a shell’. It is a savory bake which is mostly prepared at breakfast and is a complete meal in itself. I had baked this quiche for breakfast today . A healthy bake with a pie/tart crust laden with butter filled with mild flavours, cream, cheese, eggs  and veggies.  

Ingredients  for the tart :-

• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 tbsp butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• chilled water (for kneading the dough)

Method:-   

•  In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and salt. Rub the mixture with your fingertips till it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add egg yolk and mix well.
• Add the chilled ice water and knead the dough lightly. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. 
• Grease a 9-inch tart dish lightly with oil.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough with light hands.
• Spread the base carefully on the tart dish and gently push the pastry into the sides of the dish to give it a shape. Do not leave the dough hanging around the edges as it might be difficult to remove the quice later.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Ingredients for the filling:-

• 5 tbsp corn
• 1 capsicum (chopped finely)
• 3 tbsp cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 cup fresh cream
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp white pepper pdr.
• ½ tsp mustard pdr / paste
• ½ tsp salt

Method :- 

• In a bowl,  combine eggs, cream, salt, pepper pdr, mustard and mix well. 
• Add in sweet corn, capsicum, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Mix well again.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. 
• Pour the filling mixture on top of the half baked tart.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes till done.

Notes:-

• You may prick small holes before baking the tart or spread some rice, baking beans or lentils on it so that it doesn;t puff up while baking or else just press lightly with hand while still hot and it will get back to origainal shape
• The vegetables can be changed as per your liking (mushrooms, spinach , broccoli, green peas, cauliflower or sliced baby corn etc) in this quiche. But be sure to steam the vegetables before mixing them up for baking.
• You may also add some boiled and shredded chicken.

Happy Cooking!!