One Day At A Time!

Cold weather is all about comfort food for me. A hearty bowl of soup, creamy pasta, dal rice, noodles or fritters. Well, this list is quite long. Let me tell me about our today's lunch - a desi style Grilled Cheese Sandwich . Bread and cheese is always a hit combo. Add in some colorful veggies and your humble sandwich turns into a wholesome nutritious snack. Ingredients: Onion - 1 medium Tomato- 1 medium Corn Kernels - 1/2 cup Chopped Carrots - 1/2 cup Green Peas - 1/2 cup Grated Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese - 1 1/4 cup Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder- 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Oil - 2 tbsp Bread Slices - 8 Butter or Ghee (Clarified Butter) Salt How to make Veggie Paneer Sandwich: Finely chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro and veggies of your choice. I used 1.5 cups of colorful frozen vegetables - corn, carrots and peas. Use any veggies of your choice. Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until th...

No one likes to spend too much time cooking in this hot weather. Generally, salads are my go to meal. But then, whole wheat vegetable hummus sandwich tastes so much better. So, a little bit of cooking for a wholesome sandwich with pinto beans, veggies and cheese is not bad. Does that sound good to you? Pinto Bean Hummus: Dry Pinto Beans - 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til or Tahini Paste - 1 tbsp Garlic - 1 big clove Lemon/Lime Juice - 1/4 cup Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Paprika - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich: Bread Slices Romaine Lettuce Leaves Red Onion Cucumber Tomato Feta Cheese How to make Pinto Bean Hummus Veggie Sandwich: Traditionally, Mediterranean hummus is made with chickpeas, also called as garbanzo beans or kabuli chana. Canned beans work just fine. But, dry beans are better if you are looking for a low sodium option. Soak dry pinto beans or any other beans in plenty of water overnight. Wash the beans well. Cook th...

Anyone who cooks regularly has his / her own quick fixes for those lazy days. Some like one pot meals like pasta, pulav or biryani. I prefer sandwiches, wraps and quesadillas. Today, I tried something new for our sandwiches - Cajun seasoned grilled shrimp with creamy avocados. Cajun seasoning is one of my favorite spice blends. Pick one of your favorites and add a whole new twist to this easy sandwich.

Potatoes are every one's favorite and especially kids. Aloo Tikki Burger is a light, yet filling snack, perfect for evenings. The subtle flavors of lettuce, tomato and onion taste great with a simple potato burger. If not bread, try these potato cutlets with tomato ketchup or any condiment of your choice.

Since I blog about food regularly, you guys already know my love for cooking. But, its exactly opposite when I have to cook something just for myself. And such days, there are no leftovers either.  What are your solitary meals? My lazy lunches are generally salads and grilled sandwiches. Ingredients: Boneless Chicken - 1 pound Lemon/Lime Juice - 2 tbsp Garlic - 2 big cloves Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Unsalted Butter or Oil Baguette or Thick Sliced Bread Pesto Sauce Red/Purple Onion Bell Pepper/Capsicum Tomato Cheese Slices (optional) How to make Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich: Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Grease a baking dish with oil or butter.  Crush the garlic cloves and add it to the dish. Place a skinless chicken breast on the baking dish. Sprinkle salt, fresh ground black pepper and chili powder. Add lemon juice and rub the chicken well with the seasonings.  Bake the chicken uncov...

Baked Veggie Bean Burgers made of loads of vegetables and protein rich kidney beans.  Since its baked and not deep fried, this vegetarian or vegan burger turns out to be a low calorie, low carb heart healthy burger.

Today's sandwich is a fusion recipe of Indian Fritters and the American Coleslaw. These onion fritters are well known as Kanda Bhajji or Onion Pakoda . If you are looking for a veggie sandwich, these crunchy fritters with a creamy Apple slaw is perfect. Ingredients: Red Onion - 1 big Spring/Green Onions - 6 Green Chilies - 4 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - about 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying Granny Smith Apple - 1 Cabbage (thinly sliced) - about 1 cup Serrano Pepper - 1 Celery Salt - 1/2 tsp Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - about 1/2 cup Bread or Tortillas How to prepare Crunchy Fritters Sandwich with Apple Coleslaw: Preparing Apple Yogurt Coleslaw:  Discard the seeds of the Serrano pepper and finely chop it. Dice the apple and cabbage into thin long strands. In a mixing bowl, add apple, cabbage, celery salt and Serrano pepper. ...

Every weekend when we go for our weekly grocery shopping, I go on a hunt for new kitchen gadgets, local vegetables and spice mixes, salad dressings and stuff. So far, Cajun seasoning and Chipotle were my favorites. My new favorite is Garlic and Herb Seasoning. I make sure I pick the spice mixes with No MSG. I love these spice mixes for simple stir fry vegetables like Asparagus , zucchini and bell peppers .   The restaurant style crispy chicken sandwiches are generally deep fried. When I make it at home, I go for a low calorie baked version which is equally tasty. Ingredients: Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - 2 All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup Garlic Herb Seasoning - 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Egg - 1 Milk - 1/2 cup Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Salt Chipotle Mayonnaise Sliced Bread or Buns Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions Salt How to cook Cajun Chicken Sandwich: In a small mixing bowl, ad...

Kachi Dabeli is a Gujarati snack, now a popular street food in most Indian cities.  Dabeli is a potato sandwich with a fruity sweetness, a tangy tamarind flavour and a crunchy masala peanut taste.  A onion free, garlic free Dabeli recipe. In an authentic recipe, pomegranate/anar/dalimb seeds are used, but sweet grapes work perfectly fine as a substitute.

Instant thin crust pizza made with sliced bread and vegetable toppings. Ingredients: Bread Slices Onion Spring/Green Onions Capsicum/Bell Pepper  Cilantro/Coriander Leaves Jalapenos Peppers /Green chillies  Southwest Chipotle Seasoning/Red chilli flakes Mustard Seeds - about 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup or Pizza Sauce Pepper Jack Cheese or any other cheese Butter Salt Method: 1. Finely chop onions, capsicum and cilantro.  Cut jalapenos peppers into thin circular slices. 2. Grind the mustard seeds to a coarse powder. 3. Apply little butter on one side for all the bread slices. Apply tomato ketchup on the other side of the slices.  Sprinkle a pinch of ground mustard on the ketchup side. 4. After mustard, add your choice of chopped veggies on all the slices.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the veggies for each slice.  Add grated cheese or cheese slices, jalapenos slices, Chipotle seasoning ...

A delicious Vegan Burger with potatoes and fresh fenugreek leaves.  Ingredients:   Boiled Potatoes - 2 big Fenugreek/Methi leaves - 1 cup Coriander/Cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup Carrots - 2 French/Green Beans - 1/2 cup Yellow Corn Meal - 3/4 cup Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 2 tbsp Mushrooms - 350 gms Garlic - 5 big cloves Black Pepper Powder Salt Oil Method: 1. Heat 2 - 3 tbsp oil in a skillet and add sliced mushrooms, finely chopped garlic.  When mushrooms start turning brown, add salt and black pepper.  Saute for a minute and keep them aside. 2. Saute french beans with little oil till soft.  Add little salt and save them for later. 3. In a mixing bowl, mash or grate the boiled potatoes.   Add finely chopped fenugreek and cilantro leaves.  Add grated carrot , sauted beans, corn meal (or bread crumbs or semolina), garam masala, cayenne pepper and ...

Easy and tasty Vegan Mushroom Sandwiches.  You can use any of your favourite spice mixes like garam masala, pav bhaji masala, kabab masala instead of cajun seasoning. Ingredients: Bread Slices Button Mushrooms - 250 gms Onion - 1 medium Bell Pepper/Capsicum - 1 medium Garlic - 2 big cloves Cilantro/Coriander leaves - few sprigs Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder/Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning or any other spice mix - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil How to prepare Mushroom Sandwich: 1. Julinenne slice onions and green bell pepper.  Wipe the mushrooms with a paper towel and dice them into medium slices.  Finely chop garlic and cilantro.  2. In a baking tray add onions, green pepper, mushrooms, garlic, black pepper powder, cayenne pepper, salt and cajun seasoning.  Drizzle 2 tsp olive oil and toss them well.  Spread it evenly on the tray. 3. Preheat the oven at 350 deg. F and bake the veggies for about 15 minu...

Vegan Sandwiches with veggies and coconut chutney. Ingredients: Sliced Bread Coriander/Cilantro leaves - 1 cup Mint/Pudina leaves - 1/4 cup (optional) Grated Coconut - 1 cup Green Chilies - 8 Black Pepper Powder Chat Masala Salt Oil Vegetables: Onion, Tomato, Cucumber, Capsicum/Bell Pepper (Green, Yellow, Red), Boiled Potato, Beetroot How to make Indian Chutney Sandwich: Grind grated coconut, cilantro leaves, mint leaves, green chilies, salt to a thick fine chutney. Thinly slice all the veggies of your choice. Spread the green chutney on a slice of bread.  Place the vegetable slices on the chutney.  Sprinkle little pepper powder, chat masala on the vegetable slices.  Place another bread slice on top and press it.  Heat a grill pan or sandwich maker or any pan. Roast the sandwiches both sides drizzling little olive oil.  Serve  Grilled Veggie  Sandwich  with ketchup.