Grilled Veggie Pakora Sandwich

Here's a new sandwich, assembled at home of (mostly) bought ingredients. I was inspired by the many Indian toasted sandwiches I've seen on Instagram. The filling is Veggie Pakoras (fried vegetable fritters), cut-up and mixed with instant mashed potato. The inside of each slice of bread is spread with chutney: cilantro on one side, tamarind on the other. The sandwich was fried in a covered pan, with some butter-olive oil mix, and coconut oil, until golden brown and crispy.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out.  My off-recipe experiments sometimes fail dramatically. 😐 However, in this one, the cilantro chutney added freshness, the tamarind chutney added sweetness, the Pakoras added spice and substance, and the mashed potato brought it all together. I'd say this was a success!

Instant Rava Uttapam 

(Savory Cream of Wheat Pancake), 

with Eggplant Chutney/Kathirikkai Thogayal (Thuvaiyal)

This made a yummy South Indian breakfast. The Rava Uttapam recipe is from Hebbar's Kitchen. Although this Uttapam batter has to rest for 20 minutes before cooking, it's still "instant" compared to other traditional versions. The Thogayal recipe is from Padhu's Kitchen. This was a great way to start the day!

Hebbar's Kitchen Website, Instant Uttapam Recipe

Hebbar's Kitchen YouTube, Instant Rava Uttapa Recipe

Padhu's Kitchen Website, Brinjal [Eggplant] Chutney -- Kathirikkai Thogayal (Thuvaiyal)

South Indian Mango Chutney, 

with Noodles & Papadum

Here is Mango Chutney, served with store-bought Ramen (or Chuka Soba Noodles) and Papad(um) (crispy lentil wafer that can be deep-fried, but I heat in the microwave). The Mango Chutney was leftover, from the freezer. I didn't feel like making rice, and these noodles cook in only 3 minutes. (Basically, they're ramen noodles, not fried, and without the spice pack.) Nice, easy, and tasty.

Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek, 

Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), 

& Bread Gulab Jamun

This is another late-evening snack-meal, consisting of: leftover Iraqi Chickpea Sambousek (like baked samosas), Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney), and Bread Gulab Jamun (upper right).

The gulab jamun recipe is from Kabita's Kitchen, and features dumplings made of bread and milk. I added too much milk, so then I had to add flour, but it was still a very sticky dough. That's why the dumpling doesn't look like the usual. Also, as I can't eat deep-fried food, I decided to bake them, instead. Several recipes online suggested baking at 325 F, and then putting them under the broiler. I don't like the broiler, so I just increased the temperature to 425 F. After it was baked, I soaked the gulab jamun in sugar-syrup, which contained rosewater as well as some coconut-sugar syrup.

It was close enough to real gulab jamun for me, for now. I'm sure I'll try it again, some time soon. The last time (actually the first time) I made gulab jamun, long ago, it came out exactly as it was supposed to, and I'd like to try to achieve that again.

Kabita's Kitchen Website, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Kabita's Kitchen YouTube, Bread Gulab Jamun Recipe

Manga Pachadi (Mango Chutney)

This recipe is from Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian & Grain Cooking. One mango made a large amount of chutney; it's perfect for freezing small portions for another time. It's sweet (with brown sugar in place of jaggery), and spicy at the same time. You can have it with an Indian meal, or on bread instead of jam. I've tried both ways, and both are yummy! This chutney is nice to add a pleasant kick to your day. 

I left out the fresh green chilis, so it wouldn't be too hot, but did include some whole dry red peppers in the tempering with the mustard seeds. Those dry peppers always smell sweet, even though they are spicy; the last time I made this chutney (without peppers), it was rather sweet -- so I thought their inclusion would just balance the sweet sugar.

Tomato Thokku (South Indian Tomato Pickle)

This was from the recipe of Hebbar's Kitchen from a few days ago. There are often items that I don't have at home, or have to be careful about eating, so I'm always having to modify recipes. The original recipe calls for tamarind and jaggery, which I didn't have, so I used lemon juice and brown sugar. I can't eat things that might be too sour, so I added just a little extra sugar, and too bad that I also had to leave out the chilies. However, it was so very delicious, and so easy! I was inspired to make it by the 3 fresh tomatoes I had leftover after using the others for pizza. I'm sure I'll be making it again, hopefully some time soon 

Hebbar's Kitchen Website, Tomato Thokku Recipe