If you are a sucker for Numbers-Thank You..if Not-Thank You

Thanks for the 1.5 million hits.

You guys mean a lot to me. Without you this would never have been possible.

Trust me, except for me, the hub and my Dad, no one I know and influence in real life visits this blog.

My Dad has a slow connection and accounts for maybe 1% of the hits.

The hub has blogger blocked at work, he can do only so much on his blackberry -- 0.5 %

Me -- ok, ok 2%

The rest 96.5% is you guys who came, Visited, Liked, Subscribed and Searched.

Thank You from the bottom of my heart, even the one who searched for "arun sour daey a girl hot video" and landed here.

I hope you like what you get here, except for ummm..."hot video"...I will see if I can do anything for you next time. For now be happy with a "hot curry".

We will celebrate in 2 weeks time, stay tuned.

"Ganapati Bappa Moriya, Pudhaycha Varshi Laukar ya"

Samwich -- Sandwich

Easy, quick meals is my mantra these days.

In my late twenties I would have scoffed at "meal" and "mantra" being uttered in the same breath and dialed DeenDayal Dabba Delivery or Shanghai Indian Chinese for the quickest route to nirvana. If DeenDayal refused or my delicate digestive system protested I would say "Yenna Rascala" and throw potatoes, egg and rice in the pressure cooker. In under 20 minutes I would have a princely meal of alu seddho(mashed potatoes), dim seddho(boiled eggs), bhaat(rice) and ghee with a tender kancha lonka(green chili) to be bitten into.

As I even write the above line, I have a strong desire to do it again. The "alu seddho-bhaat" part I mean. Ok, ok even the "Yenna Rascala" part.

But growing up to be in the wrong side of thirties comes with it's own baggage. Blogging adds to it. So even though Indian cuisine has a plethora of quick-easy meals, Dal-Chawal cooked in the Pressure Cooker being a prime example, I don't do that.

I make sandwiches.

And I intend to write erudite sentences like "And what works better than a sandwich for a quick easy meal, may I ask ?"

So we have had sandwiches for dinner exactly 4 nights in the last 3 weeks. The sandwich toaster languishing in some dark corner of the closet has been fished out, dusted, wiped and given a warm hug.

"Why didn't I think of you in my dark, cranky, loony days ?", I croon to her, the sandwich toaster, in a hushed tone. Yeah I am weird and I have phases. Currently it is the sandwich's turn. Let it bask in unrequited love till Dal-Chawal pushes it over.

The idea of the first meatball sandwich with mushroom comes from the Pioneer Woman. Also the term "fry sauce" which I then saw in the price club's flyer last month

If you have the ground chicken do everything like my Chicken MeatBall post and instead of making spherical shapes make patties. Or if you have those chicken meatballs already, just use them. Drizzle a little olive oil and pan fry or bake them.

Now heat some olive oil in a fry pan. Add onion and saute till soft. Add some chopped mushroom, a little garlic, salt and lots of black pepper powder. Saute till the water from mushroom has dried up and it is cooked.

Take a slider or a whole wheat burger bread. Mix a little mayo with Maggi hot & sweet ketchup. This apparently is called Fry sauce. Only no one but me uses Maggi Hot & Sweet, actually they use some ketchup or hot sauce and cayenne. Slather this on the bread. For a Desi touch, use green corriander chutney instead but that doesn't go too well with the onion+mushroom combo.

Place the chicken/balls/patty strategically on it. I halve the chicken balls and place them on the bread.

Heap the onion+mushroom on it. Sprinkle some grated cheese. Pop in the oven and broil till cheese melts.

Put the other half of bread slathered with the same sauce on top. There is your sandwich with dark,musky secrets inside. Yum, yum.

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The idea for the Tomato sandwich cones from One Hot Stove.

In a bowl put some chopped fresh tomatoes. The tomatoes need to be good, fresh ones, the one's from Patel Cash & Carry will not seal the deal. Add some chopped fresh basil. Sprinkle some salt and fresh ground black pepper. Drizzle a little Olive Oil. Let the tomatoes sit for 15 minutes.

Now take a slice of whole wheat bread. Slather it with a green corriander chutney. I used straight from a jar. It is beautiful. Heap the tomatoes on the bread. Sprinkle grated cheese. I used Taco Blend. Cover with another slice of whole wheat bread and pop in the sandwich toaster till it magically turns into a sandwich that shrieks spring even in Fall.

Tomorrow we will make Rogan Josh, maybe Not.

Alu Gajor er Tarkari

School has started. The weather too has decided that summer vacation is over. The car windows have signs of frost in the mornings and dusk comes in early. BS started 2nd grade and seems to like her class teacher a lot.

We have the same bus driver since last year, a sweet soul who drops off BS right in front of home and always has a cheery word in the morning. This is important because our current situation is such that walking even a few yards to a bus stop and waiting for the bus to drop off in the afternoon would be very inconvenient. The driver could have easily told us to do that given that there is one more kid down the road but thankfully she didn't. Thank God and bus drivers for the small blessings they scatter our way.

The only change BS faces is in her section and hence a change in some classmates. She hasn't complained about it yet and continues to meet her old friend during recess.

The morning commute however has been worse, worser(?), worsest(?) with start of school and looks like it is me who is the most overwhelmed with the start of a new school year. There is so much to get done during a day that I just wish the earth would spin slower or the girls grow up magically and go to college, live in a dorm, make their own meals and leave me alone. It is another thing that when that time comes I will cry my heart out, write sob stories and book a vacation to Greenland.

Talking of growing up either I am going nuts or the world is no longer the place of my childhood but I seem to have weighted questions on my mind these days. Like how do I tell BS to be safe when I am not around, I meant not "not around for ever", momentarily, an hour or two or eight. Like is it okay to drop her off at one of her activity classes and then spend that 45 minutes contemplating what to make for dinner while roaming the streets with shrieking LS in the car seat.

Do you sit through your kid's activity classes or do you just drop and pick up ? What if it is a solo activity and you are not too familiar with the instructors ? What do you do, I desperately need to know.

The Alu Gajor er Tarkari/Potato and Carrot sabzi is a quick dry dish usually prepared during the winter days back home when the first sweet orange carrots of the season have made their appearance and green peas are in plenty. It would be served with rutis hot off the tawa on cold evenings or with parota/paratha on Sunday breakfast.

I made neither ruti nor parota. But I like it with rice and BS does too.

Sometimes I give BS rice mixed with a dry vegetable dish or lemon rice/fried rice for her school lunch.This was a friend's brilliant idea and works for at least one lunch a week. The Alu Gajor er tarkari works well towards that purpose. I wish I could say BS happily ate this lunch of hers. But I will be honest, she didn't. I made her eat the leftover at home though and that she happily did.


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Alu Gajor er Tarkari

Chop 3 potatoes in small cubes.

Peel and chop fresh carrots in cubes or longitudinally(cubes preferred). You can use frozen mix of carrots and peas too. I had 1 cup of carrots and 1/4 cup of green peas.

Heat Olive Oil/Canola Oil in a fry pan

Temper the oil with 1/2 tsp of Kalonji/Nigella Seeds and 4 green chili. If you like the smell of Hing/Asafoetida add a pinch

When the spices pop, add the potatoes and 1/4 tsp of turmeric. Saute for a minute

Add the carrots and saute for one more minute. Next add the peas. Add salt to taste.
Edited to Add: I add a tsp of fresh grated ginger too. I forgot.

Cover and cook with intermittent stirring. Sprinkle a little water if necessary, only little. The potatoes should retain their form and not be mushed up.

When the veggies are all done, not mushed up but done, add a few drops of lime juice and adjust for seasonings. This is usually a light dish with no spices overpowering the taste.

Similar Recipes:

Beet Gajor Chechki