Bombay Vegetable Sandwich (street food)



So many nostalgic moments linked to street food growing up in Bombay. My favorite, is of sitting on the Government Law College window ledge across from Churchgate railway station, and watching the sandwich walla busy making sandwiches to order. A steady flow of people waiting in line while others hurried past to catch their train. One by one, our classmates would arrive, a few of us from work, laughing and talking, cracking up at silly jokes, making up stories about the passersby and the crowds of people waiting to eat sandwiches always amazed us. Both the sandwich and sukha(dry) bhel vendor next to him had a thriving business.

Sandwich walla
(Picture courtesy - Radha N.)

The sandwich stall was very basic, a bamboo or wooden stand, with box that doubled as a table top. The simplicity was deceptive as it contained everything he needed to make the most delicious sandwich. I'm seriously drooling at the thought of an Amul butter (maska), coriander chutney, vegetables sandwich with layers of red onion, tomato, cucumber, potato, and the exotic and very red beetroot, salt and pepper, all arranged to perfection and cut into bite sized pieces. With a swipe of his hand he would transfer the cut sandwich to a paper plate. Top it with a well known brand of tomato ketchup or an orange colored home brand. A good meal, and all it cost was Rs. 2 or 3, very affordable to students and the general public.  It was a filling and sumptuous meal.

Street food had a charm of its own, we could savor a variety of food and cuisines on our college allowances and minimal salaries during those early career days. We worked hard, studied hard and partied plenty, enjoying life without responsibilities and worries, our parents and friends to fall back on.. Enough of the nostalgia... Here goes the Bombay sandwich, perfect addition to my dysfunctional cooking or should I say 'Non' cooking style.. :)

Ingredients for the sandwich:

1. 2 or 3 slices of bread (wheat, multi-grain, rye or white)
2. Soft butter or margarine(optional) as required
3. 1-2 thin slices of cheese (could be Mozzarella, Swiss, cheddar, pepper jack .... ) 
4. 1 tsp or more of green coriander chutney(I buy the Nirav brand which stays good refrigerated for months, homemade chutney with coriander, green Thai chilli, peanuts ground smooth with salt to taste.. works great too)
5. 2-4 slices of tomato(Larger they are, the less slices you need)
6. 2-4 slices of onions
7. 8-10 slices of cucumbers(English, Persian or the pickle variety)
8. 3-4 thin slices of boiled/steamed potatoes(optional)
9. 3-4 thin slices of boiled/steamed beetroot(optional)
10. Salt and black pepper shaker

Assembly:

1. Use the same plate you plan to serve in, it should be large enough for the bread to lie flat
2. Take 2 slices of bread and spread a thin layer of butter on the inner side
3. Over it spread a layer of green coriander chutney
4. Place a slice, chutney side up on the plate.
5. Add a layer of sliced cheese of any variety 
6. Add layers of vegetables starting with the tomatoes, followed by a light shake of salt and pepper over the vegetable
7. Layer on, with cucumbers, onions, potato, beet,.. salt and pepper, added to taste
8. Top with final layer of tomato
9. Place the second slice of bread with chutney side facing down
10. Now for the best part.. The sandwich needs to be cut to bite sized pieces. Hold the sandwich down with the span of your palm and using a sharp paring knife (same kind used to slice the onions and tomatoes). make three or four cuts on the wider side and two or three cuts across.

Notes: It sounds very simple, but the trick lies in the lightness of your hand with the salt and pepper shakes and the thin cuts on the vegetables. I sometimes add spinach or lettuce instead of cucumbers or onions for the crunch, or make it a simple cheese and tomato sandwich. I like cheese since it adds some protein content.

If you don't have coriander chutney on hand, use black pepper with a heavier hand. You can add mayo or mustard or ketchup or whatever you fancy. This is one dish, you have to own, to make it delicious.

You could add a slice or two of vegetables, meats, boiled eggs, whatever you like in a sandwich. I have tried avocado instead of potato; fresh mozzarella cheese (looks like eggs in the picture above) and  loved it.  If you have sandwich masala(available in the Desi Indian store) you can use it also. 

Eggplant(Brinjal) Red Curry

Eggplant red curry with coconut milk, peanut butter, schezwan sauce

We all love eggplant (brinjal / baingan /..) at home and I try to make different types of sabzi's and gravy's but they are usually from India.
 

Last week, while browsing the web for a recipe using peanut butter, I stumbled upon this recipe from Archana's kitchen. Knowing how much my husband loved spicy red curry, I figured, why not give it a try. I had most of the ingredients but tweaked the measurements to our taste.

There was a can of coconut milk in the pantry, a bottle of low sodium less sugar peanut butter which no one liked and some store bought Schezwan sauce. I love using schezwan sauce to flavor stir-fry vegetables, noodles or fried rice.

 

Garlic is something I don't use in my cooking, it was very unusual to have fresh garlic at home.  We got some cleaned garlic pods at the Fresh Farms grocery store this past week, the better half had a brilliant idea of eating them raw.  He took a bite and that was it.

 

The chopped garlic gave a distinctive flavor to the curry, it was definitely the key ingredient as it integrated well with the spicy red sauce and made the eggplant very flavorful. 

 

So here goes, a simple and easy recipe that fits right into my dysfunctional cooking alley.

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (baingan bartha variety). Cut into 1cm circular discs, make it a half circle and cut into thin segments like you would section a pie, so each piece has the skin at the end.
• 6 or 7 cleaned pods of garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 3-4 dry spicy red chilli peppers broken in half
• 3-4 tbsp sesame oil
• salt to taste

For the sauce

• One 200ml can of coconut milk. If the coconut milk is too thick add 1/4 cup of water.
• 2 tbsp peanut butter or 1 cup roasted peanuts ground smooth in a coffee grinder
• 2-3 tbsp of Schezwan sauce, I used 'Ching's Secret' brand found in the Indian store.
• 1/2 tsp grated jaggery / brown sugar or plain sugar, if needed

Method

the brinjal is well cooked but not mushy

1. Take sesame oil in a wok and warm for a minute 
2. Add the halved red chilli peppers and the chopped garlic, saute for a minute
3. Add the eggplant(baingan/brinjal) and stir well
4. Cover and cook on low to medium heat stirring occasionally until done (should not be raw or mushed up). It takes about 7-8 minutes
5. On low heat, add the blended sauce and stir well
6. Increase the heat to medium, stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes until the sauce starts to boil slowly
7. Switch off the heat and enjoy with some steamed rice

Enjoy yummy red curry

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. My older daughter who will be heading out to university soon is very choosy about food and she absolutely loved it though it was spicy. you can decrease.

Notes: Use a hand whisk to blend the sauce and a heavy wok/pan with a heavy lid will generate some steam and keep the eggplant moist while cooking on a low to medium flame without making it mushy. The first time I used my light pan and the brinjal cooked very unevenly,.  I had to sprinkle water and it got mushy, it was very tasty though. :).   Next time I plan to try this curry recipe using stir fry vegetables instead of eggplant, I am pretty sure it will be delicious, too.  

Do try this recipe and let me know if you liked it.   Today, my daughter wanted the curry sweet so I added a few flakes of splenda and she loved it.  Whatever works.

Diwali Special.. Sheera cake with left over haldiram rasgolla sugar syrup.. :)

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak(Happy New Year). 

Diwali Diya(lamp) lit early in the morning before sunrise

This year we decided not to make sweets or savories for Diwali since the girls were busy with their activities thru the weekend.   Ed had a brilliant idea, "Let's open a dabba(box/can) of Haldiram rasgolla's" he said, and for once I agreed, everyone loves it at home and we always stock a couple for special occasions.

Later, while rummaging around the garage fridge, I found the last box of  Sri Krishna Sweets(India) Mysore pak hidden away, they stay good for at least a year refrigerated..  Savories, we had some from the Indian store, last weekend we bought some Anand  jackfruit chips and Swad corn chewda, added some Swad boondi to it to make it mixture, a south-indian must have for Diwali.



Diwali breakfast - Idli, chutney,
jackfruit chips, chewda,
Rasgolla, and Mysore pak

Early morning did the naivedyam and heated up some Deep idli's in the microwave and liquefied some Nirav coriander chutney to go with and we had our yummy Diwali breakfast.

As evening came the rasgolla's were almost gone but more than 1/2 a can of the sugar syrup remained, reluctant to dump it in the sink, I have refrigerated it in the past and then thrown it away after a week.  This time I was determined to try something and what better reason than it's Diwali today!  Looked up for recipes online, but wasn't successful finding any.   Have always loved my sister's Satyanarayan puja sheera made with milk. so thought why not. 


Diwali Naivedhya (or Naivedyam) of sweets and savories

We had the sooji(rava/cream of wheat), the sugar syrup, milk, but wait the store bought Ghee bottle was empty!  Think that would stop a determined me, never! Luckily, we had butter as my younger daughter has been on a baking spree these past few weeks.  So first, I had to make some ghee, well that's another recipe..  not really but let me add it separately for folks who want to make some of the good stuff at home.

Ghee made, drained the liquid ghee into a steel vessel before it hardened and allowed the darkened impurities to stay at the bottom, my older daughter and husband love to eat the left overs, so nothing wasted. 

Here goes the recipe for Sheera Cake(cake, as in cut into diamond shape).  Didn't take many pictures while making the improvised recipe based on watching sis make it over the years.  I can safely say it was a super hit at our house, it all gone by the next morning.

Sheera Cake with Haldiram's left over sugar syrup

From Left, Greetings, Rava(Soji), Sugar syrup, ghee remnants, milk, sheera being stirred, cashew,
Indian golden raisins(kismis) and Sheera Cake cut and ready to serve

Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups of milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups of water
- 1 and 1/2 cups of the leftover rasgolla sugar syrup (strained)
- 1 cup sooji/rava/cream of wheat(we shall call it rava)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup ghee(there will be some leftover)
- 1 handful cashews
- 1 handful raisins
(can add more or less of both)

To color and flavor
- a few(7-8) strands of saffron
- 4-6 cardamom (elaichi) peeled and powdered

Directions:

1. Take 1 tbsp of ghee in a small pan, when hot, add the cashew and stir for a couple of minutes.  then add raisins and stir until the raisins are puffed up and the cashews is a golden brown, remove from pan and keep aside
2. Using the same kadai. I wiped it clean with a paper towel, add the rava and stir in 1/2 tbsp ghee.  Stir slowly until it starts to brown takes ~4-5 minutes on low to medium flame.  Remove from pan and keep aside(if left in the pan it will continue to cook and brown).
3. In a larger kadai, you need the extra space for stirring so it does not spill over add the milk and water and a few strands of saffron(kesar), once it starts to get hot, lower the heat and add the strained sugar syrup and stir in well.  Allow it come to a slow boil increase to medium heat. ~2-3 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to a minimum and add the roasted rava slowly with one hand while stirring with the other, so it does not form lumps.
5. Add 2-3 tbsp of ghee and keep stirring until it starts to thicken(~2-3 minutes) still on low heat.
6. Stir in the roasted cashews and raisins from step 1.  You could add them in at the end, if you like the crunch, or over the top just before cutting into slices,  I prefer it cooked in as it spreads out evenly.
7. Increase the heat to medium low and add 2-3 more tbsp of ghee, continue stirring it will harden as the water gets absorbed.
8. Test if the rava is fully cooked.  If you feel its too grainy and dry, then add 2-3 tbsp of water or milk and continue stirring.  It should not burn or brown.
9. Once its done it will leave the sides of the pan easily and the ghee starts to glisten and ooze out, the cooking time is ~12-15 minutes after adding the rava.
10. The more ghee you add the more ghee will ooze out when done.  1/2 a cup of ghee is plenty.
11. Add elaichi powder and stir well.
12. You don't need to grease the plate.  I like to transfer it to a glass Pyrex and then cut into diamond shape..  Easier to serve and eat..
13. Using the back of a spoon or a knife to make 3/4" wide cuts going in one direction and then a 3/4 or 1" going diagonal to the first, to make diamond shapes.
14. You can make it look fancy; brush ghee across the top, or sprinkle edible glitter or spread silver foil or press in a sliver of almond or a raisin.  You could also roll it into balls and place in a small cupcake wrapper if you want to serve to guests.
15. Let it cool before covering with a lid.  We had missing corners before it had cooled.  So I know it was a hit.

Could we call it sugar free since technically we never used any sugar.  No way!  Enjoy a delicious sweet treat with leftover sugar syrup from Haldiram's rasgolla.  You can use any kind of left over sugar syrup.  If it's thick, dilute on the stove with some water before using.

Hope you enjoyed making my dysfunctional style of cooking sooji/rava sheera, kesari, halwa whatever it may be called across India; a tried and tested recipe in most homes. Mom's 'sunset yellow' food colored rava kesari was never one of my favorite sweets, so never bothered to make it.  Now I'm pretty sure each time we open a Haldiram's rasgolla dabba there will be a request for this Sheera cake!

Tip: Additional milk or water may be needed as it depends on how much liquid is absorbed by the rava to cook.  I used milk and needed 1/2 cup more which I added a few spoonful's at a time as needed before it was done.

Minerstone vegetable - desi style (Mixed vegetables with a twist)

Do you know the miner stone soup story?  As a kid it always fascinated me, that a stone could make such a tasty meal.  

The story goes like this..  A miner went from village to village during times of hunger and need.  He would ask the villagers for the largest cooking pot in the village, he told them he had a magic stone that created delicious soup, all he needed from each villager was a bowl of water and a small amount of edible ingredient they had stored away when times were good.  As expected, they had a variety of ingredients like dry roots and beets, dried corn and beans, some spices, hot peppers, some grains, etc..  He asked them to add it into the pot, he then added the magic stone and salt from his bag.  It cooked and he stirred and he tasted...  Finally, he asked them to bring their bowls and they all sat around the fire and ate their fill, saving the rest for another meal.  He took the stone, washed and polished it clean, then safely put it back in his bag and went on his way, he was happy the villagers would sleep with a full stomach that night and maybe learn something valuable from the experience.  Some did some didn't..  Did you? :)

Tonight,, we had my version of the minerstone vegetable minus his magic stone.  Its my go to recipe when I'm all out of dinner ideas or ingredients.  With 'Fall' in the air, all we got at the Sunday market was raw green tomatoes, heirloom colored bell peppers and large green bell peppers. Found some sorry looking carrots lost in the back of the refrigerator. In the freezer found a bag of frozen cut cluster beans and another of green pigeon peas.  So here goes..  it was delicious so I had to share.

Minerstone vegetable a la carte
with puffed paratha, dal and yogurt OR with steamed rice blended in

Ingredients:

Vegetables used today
- 1 large Green Capsicum(bell pepper)
- 6 colored peppers the long variety used for salads
- 3 green (raw) tomatoes
- 3 sorry looking carrots
- 3/4 cup frozen cluster beans
- 3/4 cup frozen lilva tuvar (pigeon peas)
- 1/2 to 1 cup of water

 For Tadka(Saute)
- 1-2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp store bought ginger garlic paste (as I did not have fresh ginger which I would normally add grated or chopped fine)

For Seasoning
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- a pinch each of cumin and coriander powder(force of habit)
- salt to taste

Directions:

1. Wash and cut the vegetables into small bite size pieces (~square or long doesn't matter)
2. Take oil in a deep wok/pan with a lid, add jeera, cover and keep in medium heat until it splutters.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste or grated ginger, cover and let it cook for a couple of minutes on a medium heat in the hot oil.. It imparts good flavor to the vegetable..
4. Add the beans first, then the peppers, then the softer and easier to cook vegetables in that order.
5. Add the frozen cluster beans and pigeon peas..  stir fry for a few minutes(3-5) till its thawed
6. Add chopped peppers and stir well
7. Add chopped green tomato and carrots, stir well.
8. Add the seasoning(red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder) and mix well
9. Add a cup of water, less if you have juicy vegetables like zucchini or ripe tomatoes, it allows the vegetables to cook evenly and create the yummy gravy.
10. Cover and cook on high heat, when the water starts boiling
11. Reduce to medium heat and cook covered, stirring occasionally until the beans are soft and crunchy(8-12 minutes).
12. Cook without the lid for a few minutes longer(4-6). 
13. Mix in some steamed rice or eat as a side dish with roti, paratha or naan.

This is my dysfunctional cooking a la miner style..  our sumptuous dinner was minerstone vegetable a la carte.  Kids choice, with 'Kawan' brand puffed paratha, tadka dal and plain desi yogurt.  Grownup's choice, we took it a notch higher, adding steamed rice to the vegetable with a touch of red chilli powder and a pinch of salt..  On the side, we had spicy mango pickle and plain yogurt.   

Do mix and match vegetables on hand to create your own special blend of 'minerstone' vegetable or soup.   I have tried a combination of the above vegetables, and also, bean sprouts, zucchini, frozen green edamame peas, frozen Chinese beans,... whatever is readily available in the kitchen.

Today's tip: Cook by taste and soon you will be creating delicious concoctions you can share with the world. 

Chaat Special - Dahi Papri Chaat and more..

Growing up in Bombay, we had chaat's served as a snack, for lunch or dinner, or just because.. :)

My first exposure to chaat was mom homemade 'Bhel puri'.  In the 60's and 70's eating out was a novel experience and street food not something we indulged in, so mom learnt how to make it. Thanks to her awesome palate and some help from our Gujarati neighbors.

She would painstaking make the basic ingredients; fry the sev and puri, roast peanuts, prepare the dry bhel mix, make the tamarind-date chutney(boiling and reducing it so it would last a while) and so on.  We knew how much effort when into these preps.  It was so good, family and guests often requested her to make bhel puri when they visited..  having heard how tasty it was.

During my college days, chaat's like Bhel puri, Pani puri, Sev puri, Dahi batata puri and of course Ragda patties, Chole Bature, Dahi wada, etc. were quick meal options.  Our favorite haunts being Linking Road opposite National College and Chowpatti(at Opera house).

My first exposure to Dahi papri chaat was at a fast food place in Calcutta near Brooke Bond house on Shakespeare Sarani.  It was our favorite hangout for a quick snack and coffee.  To cut a long story short.. Last month, our cousin in Tennessee served us papri chaat and pani puri.  It had been a while since we ate both chaats.  The girls loved it, so cousin packed up a bag of papri's and puffed puri's for us to bring home.  Did not bring the chutney's.

Being lazy, I had found store brands for both chutneys, very similar in taste to mom's and the one I made from scratch in the many years we lived in NJ.   The brands are important since these were found purely by trial and error and their long refrigerated shelf life.  The Nirav coriander chutney and Deep tamarind-date chutney are must haves, both can be found in most Indian(desi) grocery stores around the US. 

Chaat's are all about taste, assembly and preference.  If you have the right products and ingredients putting them together is a breeze.

Dahi Papri Chaat

Ingredients
- a bag of Papri or kadak(hard) puri
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- salt and sugar to taste
- Deep tamarind-date chutney
- Nirav coriander chutney
- Red chilli powder
- finely chopped coriander leaves and thin sev to garnish(optional)
- Chaat masala(optional)
- one large red onion finely chopped
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes boiled/steamed and cut or broken down with fingers but not mashed (sprinkle some chaat masala or salt over and mix in for flavor)
- 1-2 cups Dahi(Yogurt) any brand or homemade

Preparation and Assembly

For Dahi - Measure required dahi into a bowl and whisk it smooth, you can add a little bit of water if it's too thick.  Add a pinch of cumin powder; a  pinch or two of powdered sugar; a pinch or two of salt; Blend well. Taste and add cumin powder, sugar or salt as desired.  As I mentioned earlier, chaat is all about taste and preference, with practice comes perfection.

Before serving - Keep all ingredients ready on the counter top,  Dahi, two chutneys in bowls with individual spoons for ease of use.   Liquefy the coriander chutney if its too thick. other ingredients in plate, use your hand to break the papri.

1. Break some papri to cover the plate, Scatter spiced/salted potatoes and onions evenly over the papri
2. Spoon blended dahi(yogurt) on top, so it covers the plate as shown
3. Sprinkle some red chilli powder with your fingers(optional)
4. Spoon coriander chutney as shown
5. Spoon tamarind-date chutney as shown
6. Garnish with thin sev and chopped coriander leaves
7. Enjoy the delicious Dahi papri chaat.

Variation - Dahi batata puri

1. Make a hole on the thinner side of the puffed puri, you have to be careful so as to not break it up the puri.
2. Fill the puffed puri with a mix of potatoes, drained canned chick peas/chana or cooked mung sprouts (optional); chopped onions(optional)
3. Place 6-10 filled puri's per plate
4. Spoon blended dahi into each puri or over the top
5. Top each filled puri with some sweet chutney and the spicy chutney
6. Sprinkle some red chilli powder for spice
7. Garnish with sev and chopped coriander
8. Enjoy delicious Dahi batata puri.. you have to open your mouth wide and eat the whole puri in a single mouthful! :)

Sev Puri - From my sister's kitchen

Another variation - Sev batata puri

1. The Sev puri is the thin and crunchy counterpart of the papri
2. Place the puri's around the plate(don't make this if the puri's are thick, they need to be thin and crunchy, if you live in NJ you may get them as sev puri's in the store)
3. Top with some potatoes and onion
4. Spoon sweet and green chutney(both liquefied)
5. Top generously with some sev and chopped coriander leaves
6. Enjoy, you have to eat a puri with its toppings as a single mouthful

The above is my dysfunctional style of preparing delicious chaats, All you need to do is prep the dahi, boil potatoes and chop onions.   If bhel mix is readily available, take required quantity in a bowl, add roasted peanuts, boiled potatoes, chopped onions, sweet chutney, and coriander chutney; Mix well, top with sev and enjoy yummy bhel puri anytime with a spoon or a crunchy puri.  You can make it healthier by adding chopped raw mango, avocado, blackberries, blue berries, tangerine oranges, fresh spinach leaves, mung sprouts, firm ripe tomatoes whatever is available, in season, crunchy, tasty or sour.. :)  Do comment if you enjoyed making and serving chaat in my dysfunctional style!