Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Sandwiches are a staple at house. Whenever I am lazy to make lunch for us I make sandwich for self and a simple paruppu saadam for pappu. Well, the huss eats at office, ofcourse. Since its sandwich just for me, I like to play with the fillings. Add something of this, something of that, give it a taste test, season it some more, more garlic would never hurt. This is how I go about when I make salads or sandwich fillings. Its really therapeutic when you make a delicious cheese laden sandwich which you know that no one is there to share it with.

I love grilled cheese sandwiches, can have them anytime but sometimes I like these cheese laden sandwiches too... And when its got parmesan in the filling its just the best.

~*What U Need*~ Bread slices - 2 Chicken breast - 1, cooked and chopped Basil - 1 handful, chopped Mayo - 4 tbsp Garlic powder - a big pinch Salt, pepper - to taste Parmesan cheese, grated - 3-4 tbsp Sour cream - 2 tbsp Butter How I Made it: Mix the chicken with the basil, mayo, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. When ready to serve, butter the bread slices, place the filling in between and toast in a medium hot pan or preheated grill.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
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Chicken Salad | Easy & Healthy Chicken Salad

I have always eyed the rotisserie chicken that they sell in walmart or sams. It looks so juicy and whenever I see one I always dream of making potpies, salads and sandwiches. Whenever I think of buying one or whenever I ask the huss to buy one, he always says 'get it if you think that you can finish it'. And then I back off. That word means that the chicken is meant for me and only me. Finally I mustered all my courage and bought a rotisserie chicken last week. We had it on sandwiches and then I made pot pie one day and finally I finished it by making a big batch of this salad which I had for lunch with a side salad and then with some soup for dinner.

~*What U Need~* Cooked Chicken - 1 cup Celery - 1/4 cup, chopped Green onions - 2, chopped Grapes - 1/2 cup, chopped Almonds - 1/4, slivered For the dressing: Yogurt - 1/4 cup Mayonnaise - 1 tbsp Sour cream - 1 tbsp Coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped Brown sugar - 1 tsp Vinegar - few drops Salt - to taste Pepper - to taste Red chilli powder - a pinch(optional) How I Made it: In a mixing bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt and sour cream, vinegar, brown sugar, red chilli powder and salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped coriander and mix well. Do taste test and season as needed. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill well.

Serve on a bed of lettuce or side of salad or in a sandwich.

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Cheesy Sweet Corn Sandwich | Sandwich Ideas

I am a sandwich person. I love sandwiches totally and I love playing with the fillings. Be it a simple potato sandwich or something elegant like this nutella caramelised sandwich, I love sandwiches. Don't talk about the huss, he is just the opposite... He wants idlis and dosas for breakfast and when it is a weekend, the latter is a must... Crispy dosas with hot sambar is his thing.

Show him variety and he will be pleased... And so using different sandwich fillings interests him. I once tried a peanut butter and cheese combo which was happily welcomed and since then I have been trying new fillings updating the blog then and there. Be it the desi aloo matar filling or the all-american nutella caramelised banana filling, he we have been enjoying sandwiches these days, thanks to the creative cook in me.

A three and a a quarter cup of boiled corn kernels, half a capsicum residing in the last corners of the fridge seemed to challenge me ~ an open challenge to put them to good use, a good and tasty use. Sandwiches were all that I could think of and some grated cheese for the huss would certainly do the job. He loves anything cheesy and so the masala cheese cubes are a pantry and a sandwich staple for him. You can skip the cheese if needed too for the mayo makes up for the cheesiness.

~*What U Need*~ Bread - 8 slices Sweet corn kernels - 3/4 cup Capsicum - 1 finely chopped Mayonnaise - 2 tbsp Pepper powder, salt - to taste Butter/ghee/oil - to toast Grated cheese - 1/2 cup

How I Made it:
Pressure cook corn until soft. In a mixing bowl, add corn, capsicum, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix well. Apply the corn filling on the bread slice, sprinkle grated cheese and close with another bread slice.

Toast with butter till the cheese melts.

Serve with some cucumber slices sprinkled with salt and pepper!!!

** My Notes:
** You can even use onion and finely chopped carrots.
** U can use regular white bread too..

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Whole Wheat Calzones ~ Two Ways

Thanks to all who took time to wish for the kid's birthday. It was so kind of you and IWe love you all for that. It was a great day for me and the party was a big hit. The theme was blue and everything from the cake to the decorations to the party wear were shades of blue. People loved it and the kid enjoyed getting pampered. We were showered with love and blessings and thats what mattered the most. Post party cleaning was a big pain and I am taking it slowly. Almost everything has been tidied up and life is slowly coming back to normal.

The kid is one year old, its as if only yesterday we were blessed with our prince. Time is running real fast and before we could even realise, hes gonna grow up really big, throwing crazy questions at us leaving us speechless. I am so looking forward to those times. Now that he naps less and walks, I am not sure how I am gonna keep up with the monthly bake here after. If not a bake atleast a sweet or dessert will be made on the 22nd of every month and shared ofcourse.

Coming back to the post, I have become lazy post his birthday and have not cooked anything new. These calzones were made some time back for our breakfast as I had some left over sweet corn and quarter of a capsicum. The stuffing made up for only two calzones and so for the remaining one I scooped a tbsp of nutella and some strawberry preserve. Believe me we loved the later. It was sweet, chocolaty and tart which made it all the more tempting...

~*What U Need*~ Whole wheat flour - 1 cup All purpose flour - 1/4 - 1/2 cup Active dried yeast - 1 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Warm water - 1/2 cup Filling: Sweet corn - 1/2 cup Capsicum - 1/2 cup Onion - 1/4 cup, finely chopped Salt, pepper - to season Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp Pizza sauce - 1 tbsp Mayo - 1 tsp Cheese, grated - 1/4 cup Nutella - 1 tbsp Strawberry preserve - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Mix everything under filling and set aside. In a small cup, mix lukewarm water, sugar, oil, yeast and salt. Let rest till frothy for 10 mins. In a mixing bowl, add whole wheat and all purpose flour.

Add the yeast mixture and knead to a soft, non-sticky elastic dough. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with damp cloth and allow to rise for 45-60 mins.

Once the dough had risen, punch down the air and divide into 3 equal balls. Take one ball, on a well floured surface n using rolling pin roll into circle. Add the filling in the center, fold the filling using the other half and press the edges using finger or with fork. Make sure u have sealed the edges tightly and properly. Make 2-3 slits on top and brush the top with milk or egg wash and place it on iron pan or greased baking tray.

For the nutella calzone, add 1 tbsp nutella and 1 tbsp strawberry preserve in the center and repeat as above. Bake at 375F (190C) for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Serve warm with some freshly squeezed orange juice...

** My Notes:
** These make a healthy and great breakfast option.
** Add more vegetables to make it more heavier.

So thats it Folks...
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Gobi Kheema cutlets and frankies

The whole family loves cutlets, but not the toasted ones (except me). If cutlets, it has to be deep fried for them and so I don't make them. Toasted cutlets with paruppu saadam is comfort food for me. During my 12th, amma had to go through an operation and to make lunch simple, she made a big batch of potato cutlets and used to store it in the fridge. It was always cutlets with paruppu saadam for me but I never went yuck for the combo. In fact, as I said it is comfort food for me now.

With the huss away, I always opt for simple meals and to make matters easier I try to incorporate make-aheads as much as I can. The kid is turning naughtier day by day and he dashes off to the steps with the blink of any eye. So amma is always on the look-out for him and I take care of the kitchen business. As I was planning for a simple but not-the-regular weekend lunch, I saw the cauliflower head that I had bought from big bazaar just because it was on a sale. Its been cauliflower peas masala for a while now and so I just didn't want to make another batch of it.

And then I got reminded of "cutlets". Amma was ok with the toasted ones as she has become overly-health conscious these days and she was even game for the baked ones. So finally we settled for pan-fried cutlets. And then we decided to make a bigger batch so that we could use it for a couple of days. We made cutlets for our lunch and the next day we made some frankies spreading some mayo and tomato ketchup for our breakfast. You could make it more heavier topping it with more veggies of choice.

~*What U Need*~ For cutlets Cauliflower florets - 1 cup Potato - 1, medium Onion - 1, medium Tomato - 1, small Green chilli - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Egg - 1 Bread crumbs - to coat Fortune Rice Bran Oil - to toast For Frankies Wheat Tortilla/Chapathis/Plain Tortillas - 4 Cutlets - 4 Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsp Garlic Mayonnaise - 4 tbsp Salt, pepper - to season Veggies of choice - optional

How I Made it:
Clean the cauliflower and cook in salted water with a pinch of turmeric for 5 mins. Drain from water, pat dry, grate and set aside. Pressure cook potato for 3 whistles or till tender, peel the skin and mash well.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai and when hot add the cumin seeds, chopped green chilli and saute. Add the onions and saute till soft. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell fades off. Add tomato and saute till soft and done. Add the masala powders and salt and saute well.

Add grated cauliflower and cook for 2 mins. Then goes in the mashed potatoes, mix well. Bring together, pinch small balls out off this and flatten into cutlet shape. Dip into beaten egg and then coat evenly with bread crumbs. Toast in Fortune Rice Bran Oil till evenly cooked.

Serve with some ketchup!!!

To make the frankies, toast the tortillas with some Fortune Rice Bran Oil in a tawa. Spread the mayo and ketchup in the middle of the tortilla. Top with crumbled cutlet pieces, grated cheese(optional) and veggies of choice, both of which I ignored.

Serve with more mayo.

This post is a part of Healthy & Tasty Recipe Contest with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil & BlogAdda.com

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Cheesy Onion-Capsicum Mayo Sandwich

I love trying out new kinda sandwiches. I love putting this and that on top of the bread slices, toasting them with some butter and having them hot alongside a tall glass of banana smoothie or just cold milk for my morning breakfast. While I can eat bread for breakfast all seven days of the week, huss is just the opposite. He twitches his nose when I say it is sandwich for breakfast. And so to make him interested, I try varieties of sandwiches.

This sandwich was born out of inspiration. Inspiration from a local bakery at my hometown. Back there, they serve chopped onions and capsicum mixed with so fresh mayo over a loaf of pillowy soft dinner rolls. I am addicted to these and during my stay there, I had them twice a week. Coming back, I was craving for those buns and when I had some bread slices resting on the counter, I made them my way... Not that good, but good enough to stop my craving till I go back...

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, finely chopped Capsicum - 1/2 of medium, finely chopped Cheese chilli spread/ any s/w spread - 1 tbsp Mayonnaise - 2 tbsps Salt, pepper - to season Bread slices - 6 Butter - to toast

How I made it:
Mix every ingredients in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. U can add chopped chilli for spiciness. Spread the mixture on the bread slices, toast with some butter and serve warm...

Simple and yummy kid friendly sandwiches ready!!!

So thats it Folks...
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No Cheese Whole Wheat Tandoori Chicken Pizza & announcing a chota-sa break

Its been a long time since I have been around in the food blogging world.. guess its one week... yes that seems long to me. My system crashed and the mother-board doomed. I am not sure when everything will be back to normal and hence have decided to take a break till I am back to Chennai... Will miss all your posts and will not be able to hop in as usual... So take care till I am back... I will be trying loads of new recipes in the meantime and hence will have a cartload to blog about when I am back. :)
As promised I am publishing my pizza post now.

Healthy whole wheat pan pizza crust topped with tandoored chicken pieces and an olive-oil mayo sauce. Guilt free indulgence

I have a thing with yeast... I am terrified to use it. The first time, I tried activating yeast, it didn't even rise and that was the last time. But I have always been drawn to all the yeast-ed recipes out here. My mom uses yeast in making aappams and since she is around me now, I mustered my confidence and started working with yeast... to be frank it was amma who did it and me just popping my head in at times to check if the yeast had risen. So finally I activated it... it doubled and tripled in volume by and by...

OMGosh. I was too excited. Only after I activated the yeast did I think about "What to make with it"... I have been longing for pizzas for quite sometime since I have been put on a no-outside-food diet these days. What best than making it at home. Went for a healthier version with the wheat crust and no cheese but I will be trying the cheesy versions very soon. The result was a healthy yet deliciously creamy pizza which everyone loved. Now off to the recipe. Again see ya guys... Will be back in a month with lots more to offer...

~*What U Need*~ For the Whole wheat crust Whole wheat flour - 1 cup Active dry yeast - 1 tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Luke warm water - 1/2 cup Olive oil - 1 tsp Salt- 1/4 tsp For Pizza topping Tomato chunks - 1/4 cup Onion rings - 1/4 cup Shredded Tandoori chicken pieces - 1/2 cup Garlic mayo - 2 tbsp Pizza Sauce - 3 tbsp For garlic mayonnaise cream sauce Mayonnaise - 1/4 cup Garlic cloves - 2 Heavy Cream - 2 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tsp

How I Made:
The pizza crust
Dissolve sugar in warm water and add yeast to it. Set aside until frothy. Meanwhile combine whole wheat flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour the yeast mixture and olive oil. Knead the mixture well until it is no more sticky. You can add few spoons of atta if needed. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and leave it aside until it doubles in volume. Transfer this dough into a greased baking tray and evenly press this dough to form a thin or thick crust.

Garlic mayonnaise cream sauce
Mix together all the ingredients and whisk well till fully incorporated. I mixed 2tbsps of mayo with 1 crushed garlic clove and spread it on the base before topping with pizza sauce. The remaining mayo I mixed with the other ingredients and used it to top the pizza instead of cheese.

Spread the garlic mayo followed by pizza sauce, arrange veggies and tandoori chicken over the prepared crust leaving 1/2 " on all the sides. Bake the pizza for 25-30 mins at 220 deg C or until crust turns golden brown in color.

Slice and serve with garlic mayo cream sauce... indulge guilt-free...

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Red Cabbage Mixed Salad

As I had already mentioned I am a diehard fan of any kinda salads these days. I prefer having a refreshing bowl of salad and a glass of fruit juice to the daily dinner menu. And huss also joins hands with me these days. So we just go chop!! chop!!
Making salads has given me the option to explore many un-tried veggies, fruits and salad dressings. I just play with all the ingredients in hand and am enjoying it.
One such veggie is the red cabbage. I have seen red cabbage many times but was not sure what to do with it and hence usually ignored it. But after I read a few articles on its usage in salad, I grabbed some when I went for my next grocery shopping.

~*What U Need*~

Red cabbage(cut into chunks) – 1 cup
Boiled corn kernels – ¼ cup
White cabbage(cut into chunks) – ½ cup
Cucumber(de-seeded and cut into chunks) – ¼ cup
Tomato(Medium) - 1
Carrot(julienned) – ¼ cup
Capsicum(julienned) – ¼ cup
Pitted black olives – 2 tbsp

For the Salad Dressing
Apple cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
Mayonnaise – 2 tbsp
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper – a pinch

How I made it

De-seed and dice the tomato into cubes.
Add all the ingredients mentioned and give it a stir.

Refreshing bowl of salad is ready.

Serve immediately. Sit back and enjoy!!!

Though the name suggests Red cabbage, I would say that the overall color of the veggie falls under Purple. So off this goes to Food Palatte Series Purple held at Torview

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