Potato Sandwich ( With Honey-Mustard-Mayo sauce)

An easy sandwich thrown together in a jiffy when I am not in the mood to cook. That is how I would describe this. Some boiled potato sitting in the fridge was the starting point. Seasoning it with salt and pepper and layering with some onion and tomato slices, I realized that it was missing that oomph thing. Raided the fridge once again and came up with a bottle of mayo, mustard sauce and a Tabasco sauce. Did not want any tomato ketchup as I was anyways using fresh tomatoes. Decided to go ahead with a mayonnaise-mustard sauce combo but decided to sweeten things a bit as it tasted a bit too tart. Added a spoonful of honey which beautifully balanced the flavours of the sauce. Giving in to my cravings, add some cheese to the sandwich and I had the ultimate comfort food at hand.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins ( as I had the boiled potatoes at hand )

Ingredients -

• 3 slices of sandwich bread
• 1/2 grated boiled potato
• a few slices of onion
• a few slices of tomato
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp mustard sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 3 tbsp grated cheese
• freshly ground pepper
• salt to taste

Preparation - Lightly toast the bread slices.

Mix the mayo, mustard sauce and honey in a bowl.

Season the grated potato with some salt and pepper.

Take one bread slice. Cover it with the mayo-mustard-honey sauce and then layer the potato over it. Cover it with another slice. Place the onion and tomato slices over it. Sprinkle grated cheese, salt and pepper. Close with the last slice. Gently press and cut diagonally with a sharp knife.

Serve immediately ( or cover tightly with a foil wrap and put in the kids lunch box ).

Gajar Alu Suva Bhaji

A simple stir fry with carrots, potatoes and suva greens, this one is loaded with nutrients and quite easy to prepare too!! The sweetness of the carrots and potatoes go beautifully with the sweet smelling herb. I have used the herb to flavour this stir-fry rather than as a core ingredient.

This recipe goes well with rotis and parathas. It is a good option for a 'lunch box/dabba' wala subzi as it is dry and can be made in a jiffy. Leave out the potato if you find it too starchy or if suffering from high blood sugar.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 small carrots
• 1 medium potato
• 3-4 tbsp suva/dill leaves
• 1 small onion
• 1-2 dry red chilis
• 2 pinch cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 2 pinch coriander powder
• a pinch of cumn powder
• a pinch of turmeric
• 2 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation - Wash and cook the potato and carrots for 1-2 whistles. Remove and keep aside till steam escapes. Remove their outer skin/peel. Cut into cubes.

Chop the onion into small pieces.

Cooking - Heat oil in a wok . Add  broken red chili and cumin seeds. Allow the seeds to splutter.

Add chopped onion and fry till translucent. Add all the powdered masalas along with the suva leaves and fry for 1-2 mins.

Add the boiled carrot and potato. Toss everything together. Remove from the flame.

Serve hot/warm with rotis/paratha.

Gobi and Chenna Paratha

When the kids start school, one invariably runs out of options for the tiffin/lunchbox sooner or later. With time being a constraint and junk not a healthy option, a variety of parathas/upmas and sandwiches are the best alternatives available to working mothers. This is one such 'Paratha' that is filled with the goodness of cauliflower and chenna(panner). Best part is that it takes very less time to make and can also be made in the microwave (Just brush on some oil on the rolled out paratha and place it in the microwave for 2 mins) .

Read on for the easy recipe-

Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients -

• Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups)
• chenna ( 1/3 cup )
• cauliflower florets (1/2 cup)
• onion ( 1 small, chopped )
• coriander leaves ( 1 tbs, chopped )
• cumin powder ( 1/5 tsp )
• red chilli powder ( 1/5 tsp )
• salt to taste
• oil/ghee ( 2 tsp )
• warm ghee ( 1/2 tsp ).

Preparation - Boil water in a saucepan. Add salt and a little turmeric. Add cauliflower florets and boil for 3-4 mins. Drain and transfer to a bowl containing cold water. Allow to stand for 2 -3 mins. Darin excess water. Buzz in a hand blender/food processor for 1 minute along with the chenna to get a coarse mix.

Take the flour in a plate. Rub in the warm ghee.

Add the chopped onion, chenna, cauliflower paste, cumin powder, red chilli powder, coriander and salt. Mix well. Add water little by little to get a stiff dough as the chenna and cauliflower also have quite a bit of moisture. Cover with moist cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Make 4-5 balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into parathas/circles.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick tawa. Put one paratha, add little ghee/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip and add some more oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other parathas as well.

Note - Skip the chenna or replace with some grated silken tofu for a vegan version.

Channa Chadchadi

Cooking Time Required: 10 mins
Cost of preparation: 20-25 rupees

Ingredients: Bengal gram ( 1 cup ), onion (1 no., small), green chilli ( 1 no.),
coriander powder ( 1/5 tsp), roasted cumin-chilli powder (1/4 tsp), cumin seeds ( 2 pinch ), mustard seeds ( 2 pinch ), fennel seeds ( 2 pinch ), fenugreek seeds ( 1 pinch ), 1 tsp oil, salt to taste, chopped coriander leaves ( 1 tsp ) .

Preparation: Chop the onion and green chilli into small pieces.

Soak the Bengal gram overnight. Wash and cook for 2-3 whistles. Drain the excess water and keep aside.

Cooking: Heat the oil in a pan. Add the seeds ( mustard, cumin, fennel & fenugreek ) followed by the onion pieces and fry till translucent. Add the green chilli and boiled bengal gram along with salt.

Stir fry for 5 mins. Add the coriander powder, oasted cumin-chilli powder and chopped coriander leaves. Remove from fire.

Serve with mudhi/muri/bhel as a snack or with rice and dalma as part of a meal.

Note: Channa chadchadi with white rice and
href="http://authenticoriyafood-oriyarasoi.blogspot.com/2010/07/cooking-time-required-10-mins-cost-of.html">Dahi Aloo is a quick-fix lunch option and can be prepared in less than 15 mins ( if one boils the channa and potato the previous night ).















To reduce the calories, one can also substitute the yogurt in Dahi Aloo with
buttermilk.