Spinach Corn Sandwich | Grilled Corn and Spinach Sandwich Recipe

Grilled Corn and spinach sandwich recipe with step by step photos.I always look for various sandwich recipes as they are filling and can be made as a snack or for breakfast too,it can be easily packed for the lunch box as well.Though I have been preparing this sandwich for ages, I never got to post it in my blog.Better late than never , I am finally able to post this simple and delicious Sandwich recipe in my blog.

I love the grilled sandwich varieties where as TH likes the fresh sandwich varieties and few recipes suit for both the kinds. I make the fresh sandwich version for him and I prepare the grilled version for myself.Mumbai style Vegetable Sandwich is one example where one can eat it fresh or grilled and also this Spinach-Corn Sandwich can be done the same.Though taste wise both the fresh/grilled sandwiches taste nice I prefer the grilled version as I am inclined more towards the buttery cheesy hot grilled sandwich.

Spinach Corn sandwich is available in most of the coffee shops and pairs nicely with a cup of coffee or juice.You can serve this in a bite sized portions in your tea parties or it can be prepared like a open sandwich toast which makes a great appetizer for parties.The stuffing of the sandwich itself is so creamy that one can avoid the addition of cheese in the recipe but I do add cheese when I prepare it for my kiddo or for my guests.Also,I use mostly home made wheat bread for my sandwiches and I also prefer to add wheat flour instead of all purpose flour in the recipe for white sauce and I hardly find any difference when it comes to taste.Over all it is a healthy sandwich recipe(minus cheese) for adults and a wholesome Sandwich recipe for kids and even my three year old eats this sandwich without any complaints.

Check out other Sandwich recipes in my blog:

• Bombay Masala Toast Sandwich | Potato Stuffed Sandwich
• Cucumber Sandwich
• Vegetable Bread Toast-Iyengar Bakery Style
• Vegetable Sandwich-Mumbai Style

Here is how to make the grilled Spinach and Corn Sandwich Recipe.Do give a try!!

Spinach Corn Sandwich | Grilled Corn and Spinach Sandwich Recipe:

Serves 4 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 30 mins

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Snack/Breakfast

Ingredients:

8 slices Sandwich Bread(Wholewheat/Multigrain/Maida bread)

1/2 cup Cheese,grated

3/4 cup boiled Corn kernels

1.5 cups chopped Spinach

1 small Onion, finely chopped

2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp All purpose flour(or wheat flour)

3/4 cup Milk

1 tsp Oregano(or Mixed Herbs)

1 tsp Red chili flakes

3/4 tsp Black/White Pepper powder

Salt, to taste

1 tbsp Olive oil or regular Oil

Butter, to spread

Method:

• In a kadai heat regular/olive oil and add finely chopped garlic and fry for half a minute and then add finely chopped onions and fry well until they turn translucent.

• Add chopped spinach and boiled corn kernels and fry for 4-5 minutes until the spinach wilts and gets cooked.
• Now sprinkle the flour(or wheat flour) all over the mixture and mix nicely and fry for a minute or two.

• Reduce the flame and add milk slowly by stirring continuously( to avoid the lumps formation) and continue cooking until the sauce thickens.You can add 1-2 tbsp cheese to the mixture and mix nicely.

• Add salt, pepper, chili flakes and oregano and mix nicely and cook until the mixture becomes thick.Switch off the flame and let the mixture cool.
• Apply Butter on one side of the bread and place 2-3 tbsp of stuffing and spread it nicely and sprinkle required amount of cheese and cover it with another butter sided bread slice and repeat the same for all the sandwiches.

• Heat an electric grill or Toaster or tawa and add some butter on the griller/toaster/tawa and place the prepared sandwiches and apply another layer of butter on top and close it and grill/toast it until it turns brown. If you are doing on tawa you can fry it on both sides by pressing it nicely with the spatula for uniform color.

Serve it hot with Tomato Sauce.

Notes:

1. The addition of cheese is optional as the white sauce itself is rich and creamy.
2. This can be prepared as open sandwich or toast, place the mixture on the buttered bread,baguette and sprinkle cheese on top and place it in preheated oven and bake it for 6-8 mins until the cheese melts.It makes a great party appetizer.
3. You can make Corn-Spinach Pasta by adding the boiled pasta to the same prepared mixture instead of making a sandwich.
4. You can make Spinach-Babycorn sandwich by replacing corn with finely chopped babycorn in the recipe.

Technorati Tags: corn and palak sandwich recipe, spinach corn sandwich recipe, corn and spinach sandwich, grilled cheesy corn and spinach sandwich recipe, cheesy spinach and corn sandwich, corn and spinach toast, breakfast recipes, sandwich recipes ,snacks recipes, kids lunch box recipes, kid-friendly recipes, party recipes, tea time snacks

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Palak Puri Recipe | How to make Palak Poori

Puri is a popular breakfast in almost all parts of  India and also there are few variations in various regions to the simple puri.While the most common version is by using the whole wheat flour there are variations like the Luchi, which is a Bengali version of puri with all purpose flour.Even at our place we prepare puri with a mix of wheat flour and all purpose flour.Puri is again a versatile recipe that one can flavor the puris with spices like a mix of all masalas to make masala puri or ajwain to make ajwain puri or you can add puress of various vegetables or greens to make vegetable puree or you can even stuff them and make various stuffed puris.

Coming to today's recipe - Palak Puri is a simple puri recipe where I have added pureed spinach while making the dough which resulted in beautiful green puris. There were days that deep fried foods used to be rare at home just to compensate the extra calories we used to gorge on weekends in the restaurants,but now staying in a different country and also an active toddler at home - I have started preparing these deep fried goodies often at home. As my little one ate this puri for the first time he was so surprised to see a colorful puri in his breakfast plate.Also, I prepare puris for him in various shapes using cookie cutter instead of a round puri, so he likes it even more!!

Check out other puri recipes in my blog:

• Mangalore Buns | Deep fried Banana Buns
• Matar Kachori with Alu ki Sabzi  - Delhi Style (must try recipe)
• Methi Poori and Potato Masala
• Poori and Mixed Vegetable Saagu
• Vadappam(Riceflour Poori) and Chintaku Palya

Palak Puri Recipe:

Serves 2-3 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 30 mins

Cuisine: North Indian | Category: Breakfast

Ingredients:

1.5 cup Whole wheat flour

1 medium bunch of Spinach(Palak), 2 cups when roughly chopped

2 Green chilies,optional

2 tsp Oil

Salt to taste

Oil,to deep fry

wheat flour, to dust

Method:

• Blanch the spinach(palak) along with green chilies(if using) in hot salted water until they turn slightly soft .Drain and cool it and grind to a smooth paste.
• In a large bowl, take wheat flour and add ground palak puree, salt and 2 tsp oil and mix nicely.

• Add water little by little until you can make semi-hard dough. Knead the dough nicely for 3-4 mins and apply oil and cover it and leave it aside for 10-15 mins.
• Slightly knead it again and divide the dough into 10-12 small lemon sized balls.

• Roll each ball into 4" diameter puri(slightly thicker than the rotis) by dusting it with wheat flour or by using oil whichever is convenient for you.Roll 5-6 puris and keep them ready.

• Meanwhile heat sufficient oil in a kadai over medium flame.Once the hot is hot enough which you can test by putting a tiny pinch of dough, if it raises immediately means the oil is hot enough.

• Gently slide one puri in the hot oil and try to press it in the center slightly until it puff up and turn them to the other side and fry them.
• Remove with a slotted spoon and repeat the process for all the puris.

Serve the puris hot with Chole/Kadai Chole/Pindi Chana/Aloo Bhaji/Aloo gravy/ Boondi Raita and and North Indian Aam ka Achar.

Notes:

1. If you are preparing it for kids, avoid green chilies in the recipe as I did.
2. You can even flavor it with a tsp of ajwain for making the dough.It is optional.
3. You can make any vegetable puris like the same by using either carrots or beetroots or tomatoes and follow the same process.

Technorati Tags: palak puri recipe, how to make palak poori, north indian breads, puri recipes, breakfast recipes

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Keerai Molagootal Recipe | Palakkad Recipes

Keerai Molagootal is an authentic Palakkad Iyer recipe which is prepared out of spinach,toor dal and coconut mixture. I saw this recipe being posted by many of my tamil friend bloggers all these years but I never thought of making it by myself. Tamil cuisine is a bit unexplored territory for me apart from the usual breakfast recipes.I had mentioned in this post about my helper who had introduced the Chinese chye sum greens to my kitchen, she only has introduced even this dish to us.She had learnt it from her earlier employer who is a Tambram belonging to Palakkad and hence I would say this is an authentic version of the recipe.So, do not get surprised if you see me posting more Tamilnadu recipes in my blog.

I have mentioned many times in my blog that we eat lot of greens in our regular cooking and spinach is one such green which gets featured more.There are lot of options in North Indian cooking but have limited options in south Indian cooking and hence I always end up making spinach dal, spinach sambar and spinach chutney.Repeating the same dishes might be boring and hence a change in recipes is always welcome and this is one such dish which is getting featured now often in my menu.

Check out south Indian green recipes to serve with rice:

• Thotakura(Amaranth leaves) Stir fry
• Dill-Dal Stir Fry/Sabasige Soppu Palya
• Gongura Pulusu Kura, Gongura Pappu
• Thotakura Pesarapappu Podi Kura/Amaranth-Moong dal Curry
• Menthikura Pappu/Methi Dal
• Palakura Pappu / Spinach Dal

Keerai Molagootal Recipe:

Serves 3-4 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 40 mins

Cuisine: Tamilnadu | Category: Side dish for Rice

Ingredients:

1 bunch Spinach/Palak

1/4 cup Toor dal

1/4 cup grated Coconut or 1/3 cup chopped Coconut pieces

2-3 Red chilies

2 tsp Urad dal

3/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

to temper:

2 tsp Coconut Oil/ regular Oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Urad dal

1 Red chili,broken

4-5 Curry leaves,optional

Method:

• Clean ,wash and cut the spinach roughly and boil it in water for 3-4 mins and drain it.Pressure cook toor dal and keep it ready.

• Heat 1/2 tsp of oil and add urad dal and red chilies and fry until they turn red in color.Cool them a bit.

• Grind the roasted urad dal and red chilies with grated(chopped) coconut and cumin seeds to a fine paste by adding enough water. 

• Add boiled spinach to the ground coconut mixture and grind it again.

• Add the ground mixture to the pressure cooked dal and add salt and turmeric powder and cook for 4-5 mins until the mixture boils.Adjust the consistency as required.

• Heat coconut oil or regular oil in a small tadka pan and crackle cumin seeds.Add urad dal, red chili and curry leaves and fry until the dal turns red and add it to the cooked mixture.

Serve it hot with steamed plain rice, some dry curry and papad.

Notes:

1. You can avoid grinding the spinach and instead add the finely chopped and boiled spinach and follow the recipe, it will not look green like this.
2. Greens like green Amaranth or red amaranth can be used to prepare this molagootal recipe by following the same recipe and also few vegetables like beans, cabbage or a mix of vegetables.
3. The quantity of spinach should be more and the toor dal should be less in the recipe.
4. Coconut oil is said to give the best flavor in the recipe, but I used regular oil in the recipe.

Technorati Tags: molagootal recipe, keerai molagootal recipe, palakkad iyer recipes, palakkad recipes, southindian side dish, tamilnadu recipes, side dish for rice, spinach recipes, keerai recipes

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Dal Palak | Palak Moong Dal | Palak Dal

I prepare Palak dal in two types - one is the typical South Indian style of  Palak Dal using Toor dal and chopped palak and the second version is this dal where Palak is used in pureed form along with moong dal(yellow or split green gram).The first version of Palak Dal tastes best with the rice where as the second version tastes best with rotis or naans or simple steamed basmati rice. Because of the addition of palak paste the dal also gets a rich green color which itself looks so appetising. In addition to that I usually add a tadka(tempering) of finely chopped garlic in chili oil at the end to the dal which makes it even more delicious in flavor and taste and looks of the final dal, which is perfect for you to serve in your parties instead of the usual fare like Dal Tadka, Dal Fry and Dal Makhani.

You can check out various Palak recipes in my blog:

• Aloo Palak
• Grilled Corn-Palak PaneerMakai Palak Paneer
• Palak Paneer
• Rajma Palak
• Palakura Pappu / Spinach Dal
• Palak(Spinach) Rice

Dal Palak Recipe with Moong Dal:

Serves 2-3 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 40 mins

Cuisine: North Indian | Category: Main Course - Dal

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Moong dal(Yellow or split Green gram)

2 cups Spinach,chopped

1 Onion, finely chopped

1.5 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

2 Green Chillies

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1/4 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Amchur powder(Dry Mango powder)

1 tsp Cumin seeds

a pinch of Asafoetida

Salt to taste

1.5 tbsp Oil

to temper:

2 tsp finely chopped Garlic

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Red chili powder

2 tsp Ghee

Lemon wedges, to serve

Method:

• In a pan add 1/2 tsp oil and add green chilles and chopped spinach and fry until the spinach becomes slightly mushy and cooked.Cool it down and grind it to a smooth puree.

• Pressure cook moong dal until 3-4 whistles and let it cool down completely.Slightly mash it and keep it ready.
• In the same kadai add 1.5 tbsp oil and crackle cumin seeds and asafoetida and then add finely chopped onions and fry until they turn pink in color.Add Ginger-garlic paste and fry well until the raw smell goes away.

• Now add pureed spinach and fry nicely for 4-5 mins until the oil leaves at the edges.
• Add all the spices - coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, amchur powder and salt and fry nicely again for another couple of minutes.

        

• Add cooked moong dal to it and mix nicely and cover it and cook for 4-5 mins until it is done. 

        

• In a small tadka pan heat ghee and crackle cumin seeds and add finely chopped garlic and fry until it turns slightly brown in color.Switch off the flame and quickly add red chili powder and give a quick stir and add this tempering to the dal.

Serve it hot with Roti/Naan/Parathas/Rice/Jeera Rice.Serve a lemon wedge along with the dal.

Notes:

1. I usually do not add tomatoes when I cook any spinach dish and hence I compensate the sourness of the tomatoes by adding amchur powder and lemon.If you are using tomatoes you can add finely chopped tomatoes after you add onions and fry nicely.
2. The tempering of garlic is optional but gives a nice flavor to the dal, hence I recommed to use it.
3. The beauty of the dal is its green color because of the addition of the pureed palak, but one can prepare it by using chopped palak.

Technorati Tags: dal palak, palak dal, palak dal with moong dal, palak moong dal, north indian dal recipes, side dish for rotis, side dish for rice

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Palak Mushroom Curry Recipe | Khumbh Palak | Mushroom Recipes

My weekly groceries always has Spinach in the list and I make atleast once a palak based gravy like Aloo Palak, Palak Paneer, Makai Palak Paneer, Chana Palak, Dal Palak, Saag Paneer, Rajma Palak, Palak Kofta curry, Veg Palak, Soya Palak or Mushroom Palak. These gravies pair nicely with everyday rotis or any other Indian flat breads like Parathas,Naans,Kulchas or even mild pulaos like Jeera Rice, Bagara Rice, Peas Pulav or plain Basmati rice. If you like Mushrooms then this recipe is a double treat as the goodness from the palak and the meaty texture of mushrooms is definitely a treat for your taste buds. Mushroom recipes are the most requested recipes from my readers too.

Among all the greens, Palak is the most easiest green to clean and can be used in various dishes too apart from the gravies - you can prepare Palak(Spinach) Rice, Palak Khichdi, Palak Thepla,Palak Aloo Paratha, Palak Paneer Paratha, Palak puri and also various snacks like Palak Pakora, Hara bhara Kebab etc.Even in South Indian cooking it is been used extensively like Palak dal, Palak chutney, Keerai Molagootal, Sambar etc. The list seems endless,no wonder that the usage of these greens are so extensive in Indian cooking considering the possibilities that one can prepare using these greens.Now off to the recipe.

If you are interested check out other Mushroom recipes in my blog:

• Matar Mushroom Masala | Dhingri Matar
• Mushroom Chettinadu | Chettinad Mushroom Masala 
• Mushroom Biryani 

Palak Mushroom Curry Recipe:

Serves 2-3 | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 45 mins

Cuisine: North Indian | Category: Side dish(Gravy)

Ingredients:

250 gms Button Mushrooms

1 big bunch fresh Spinach(Palak)

2 tbsp fresh Cream or 1/4 cup whole Milk

7-8 Cashewnuts,optional

2 Onions (1 roughly chopped, 1 finely chopped)

2-3 Green chillies

2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/2 tsp Amchur powder

3/4 tsp Kasuri methi

a pinch of Sugar

1/2 lemon,cut into wedges

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Salt to taste

2 tsp Butter

1 tbsp Oil

Method:

• Clean and wash spinach,1 roughly chopped onion and boil it with green chillies and cashewnuts for 4-5 mins and drain them and keep aside.Alternatively you can saute them until the leaves wilt,add a pinch of sugar while cooking spinach which helps in retaining color.This process takes 4-5 mins.Cool the spinach.

• Grind the spinach mixture to a fine puree.If you are doing it ahead remember to open the mixer after it is ground or transfer the mixture into a bowl.Don't keep the ground mixture covered for a long time as it will loose its beautiful color.

• Clean mushrooms nicely,I usually rub the mushrooms with maida to remove the excess dirt and wash them and pat dry them.Trim the stalks and cut the mushrooms into 4-5 slices lengthwise.
• In a wide pan heat 1 tbsp oil and sliced mushrooms and saute for 5-7 mins until they shrink a bit and leaves the juices and dries up.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a big kadai and crackle cumin seeds.Add ginger-garlic paste and finely chopped onions and fry well until the mixture is light brown in color and the rawness of onions disappears.
• Add the spinach puree to the fried onions and add enough salt to it and cook it open over medium flame for 3-4 mins.

• Add coriander powder,amchur powder,cumin powder,garam masala and kasuri methi(slightly rub it in between your fingers while adding)to it and fry for a couple of minutes until the oil in the masala leaves the edges.
• Add fried mushrooms to the spinach gravy and cook for another 2-3 mins until the gravy coats the mushrooms and also helps the mushrooms absorb the flavors.

• Add butter to it and a give a nice mix.
• Add cream and give a gentle mix and switch off the flame.If you are using milk add the milk after you switch off the flame.
• You can squeeze lemon now or serve the lemon wedges with curry so that you can squeeze it over curry while eating like how it is served in restaurants.But do remember lemon is essential to give the sourness to palak mushroom as I did not use tomatoes in the gravy.
• Add a blob of butter while serving.

Serve the gravy hot with any kind of Indian breads like Roti/Naan/Chapati/Paratha/Kulcha or Pulav.Also serve sliced onions and lemon wedges along with it.

Notes:

1. Its a basic thumb rule to remember,do not cover while cooking any greens as they loose the beautiful green color.If you want to make it ahead and keep the gravy ready you cover it with a lid only after it comes to a room temperature.You can use perforated plate while cooling.
2. I mentioned many times before that I do not combine palak and tomato as I believe that combination would lead to stone formation(though I am not sure).Hence addition of amchur powder and lemon juice is essential to give the sour factor to the gravy.If you want you can add tomato puree while sauteing and cut the amchur powder.
3. Replace the mushrooms with paneer to make delicious Palak Paneer Gravy.

Technorati Tags: palak mushroom curry recipe, palak mushroom gravy, mushroom recipes, khumbh palak.  palak khumbh, side dish for rotis.  north indian side dishes, north indian gravies

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Palak Khichdi Recipe | Vegetable Palak Khichdi

Khichdi is a great comfort food for many of us,I would prefer to make it especially on those days I am lazy to prepare anything. It requires minimal effort with basic ingredients available in the pantry.You can pair it with pickle,papad and curd and it does not need any side dish,but it tastes nice with kadi too.There are various versions of Khichdi - it can be prepared with toor dal or moong dal.with or with out vegetables.

Today's recipe is a variation to the usual khichdi - Palak Khichdi, the addition of palak and vegetables makes it extra nutritious and makes it a wholesome meal.One can add chopped palak or grind the palak to a puree and add to the khichdi, either ways it tastes delicious. But grinding the palak gives a nice color to the khichdi.You can avoid vegetables and make simple plain palak khichdi too, even it tastes delicious.I have made this khichdi umpteen number of times after my son is born and of course with no spices and now as I have introduced spicy food to him, I prepare it in a same way but reduced the spice level in the recipe.

Check out other Dal based One Pot meals recipes in my blog:

• Bisi Bele Bath -Truly Karnataka Style
• Ven Pongal | Ghee Pongal
• Pulagam Pacchadi Recipe
• Pappu Biyyam/Chana dal Rice
• Sambar Sadam

Palak Khichdi Recipe:

Serves:3-4  | Author: Prathibha

Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 30 mins | Total time: 45 mins

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Mains - One Pot Meal

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice(Ponni or Sona masuri)

1/2 cup split Green Moong dal(Pottu Pesarapappu)

1 cup small diced Vegetables(Carrot,Beans,Potatoes,Peas)

1 Onion, roughly chopped

2 Garlic pods, finely chopped

1 tsp Coriander powder

3/4 tsp Cumin powder

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Ghee(or 2 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp Oil)

to grind:

1 medium bunch Spinach(Palak),chopped

2 Green chilies

3/4" Ginger, chopped

to temper:

7-8 Curry leaves

1/4 tsp Asafoetida

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2" Cinnamon Stick

2-3 Cloves

Method:

• Chop all the vegetables, onions,garlic,ginger and keep them ready.Soak split moong dal and Rice separately for half an hour.

• Grind chopped spinach, green chilies and ginger to a fine paste.
• Heat ghee in the cooker and add the ingredients mentioned under tempering - cloves, cinnamon,cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida in the order and fry until the cumin seeds sizzle.

• Add chopped garlic and onion and fry nicely until they turn translucent.Add all the chopped vegetables and green peas and fry them for 3-4 mins.
• Now add the ground spinach puree and fry nicely for another 3-4 mins.Add soaked and washed moong dal and fry for another couple of minutes.

• Add coriander, cumin powder and salt and fry for another couple of minutes and then add soaked and washed rice and give a gentle stir.

• Add 4.5-5.5 cups of water based on the consistency you need. If you want it soft and slightly liquidy use 5.5 cups of water.
• Let water come to a boil and then close the pressure cooker and cook it for 4 whistles.

• Once the pressure comes down check the consistency of khichdi. If you still want it watery you can boil some water in another vessel and add it to khichdi and boil it again for a couple of minutes.

Serve it hot with kadi/Curd,Papad and pickle.You can add some ghee on top before serving.

Notes:

1. The addition of vegetables is optional but I find it as a complete meal by itself and hence add vegetables to the khichdi.
2. You can add Toor dal instead of split green moong dal in the recipe.
3. You can also add 1/4 tsp Garam masala while adding coriander powder and all.It gives a nice taste too.As I add it in the tempering I avoid to add it again.
4. I added a final tempering of finely chopped garlic and cumin seeds fried in ghee until crisp and also added a fat pinch of red chili powder and added the tempering to the khichdi before serving.Those cripsy bites of garlic in between tastes yumm.

Technorati Tags: palak khichdi recipe, how to make palak khichdi, easy one pot meal recipes, khichdi recipes, palak recipes

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