Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

I love Scandinavia - I'm currently reading Stieg Larson (the second book); have always had a very soft spot for hunky Scandinavian men - they've got a wicked sense of humor and their blue-eyed/blonde hair look, preferably with a golden tan acquired sunbathing (Cough: naked) in Goa, really does it for me. Indian men are like goats - and not in a good way. And the daily recipe emails from My Danish Kitchen had me yearning for magically being in Sweden or Denmark this morning.

If I can't be magically teleported there, at least I can take my first jab at their cuisine. An open sandwich - what's more Danish than that?! Well, the Danish Pastry is, but I ain't got the time or requisite skill to attempt something so complicated. I had a nice loaf of organic multigrain bread from the farmer's market that was unused. And I had a boiled potato (the advantages of living with your family) and chives (I love chives - they seem so buttery). So, made an open sandwich for breakfast. But Indian that I am, I did make it a bit spicy with some green chutney. Good thing I only made one slice, coz the bread was really hearty and filling.

Mushroom, Potato and Pepper Open Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 slice bread/baguette
• 1/2 boiled potato
• 2-3 white button mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons coconut milk/cream
• Handul of finely chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon green chutney
• 1 teaspoon chopped chives
• 5-8 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

To make:

• Mash your potato along with some coconut milk to make a thick gooey paste. Ideally, do this while the potato is still hot.
• In a pan, heat the olive oil.
• Chop your mushrooms and add to the pan, along with freshly ground black pepper.
• Saute the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until brown.
• Slice your bread (fairly thick). You may want to toast/grill your bread if its too flimsy.
• Spread the green chutney over the bread.
• Next spread the mashed potato over the bread.
• Layer the sauted mushrooms next.
• Next come some finely chopped green pepper.
• Finish off with a sprinkling of finely chopped chives and a dash of olive oil.

Curious about Curry

Ok, I am a curry virgin! I've had plenty to eat - how can you not, in curry-heaven India. But never attempted to make it myself. It just seems like an arduous process of grinding up spices and waiting on a pot to simmer and boil.

But I had some coconut cream left over from yesterday's ice cream, and had some starting-to-wilt pak choi that I wanted to finish off. So, a spicy coconut curry it is!

The green chutney used is just coriander, a little chilli and some coconut all ground up. The chilli paste, on the other hand is just blistering hot green chillies ground up.

Coconut Curry with Pak Choi, Peppers and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 tomato
• 1 green pepper
• 2-3 cups of pak choi
• 1/2 an onion
• 2 tablespoons chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons green chutney
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• Teaspoon of coconut oil
• 1 cup water

To make:

• Chop up the tomatoes, pak choi, onion, and peppers into bite sized portions.
• In a wok, heat the oil and saute the onions.
• Add the chilli paste and green chutney paste.
• Add the coconut cream and the water after a couple of minutes and see that no lumps are formed.
• Let it simmer away for 15-20 minutes.
• Have a taste test - if its too hot, add sugar to temper it down.
• Add the chopped veggies and turn off the gas.
• Let the veggies soak in the curry for 5-10 minutes.
• Serve with plain boiled rice.

Indian Veggie Pizza....on Naan

I had a garlic naan left over from yesterday afternoon's lunch. So, inspired by this recipe, I decided to have a slice of Indian-style pizza and make it a healthier version of the original recipe. Plus, I get to use up some of my damn vegetables (Such a mistake buying so much, but hate having it go to waste!).

To make, you'll need a half or quarter of a naan (depending on the size of the naan bread). Basically, each serving of your pizza will be one sliver of the naan - If you have a big round naan, cut it into quarters, and so on.

Mine was a day old, which was just fine with me.

On this, I used a base of green chutney - which is similar to pesto, except its made of coriander, green chillis, coconut flesh, and some herbs. I didnt make a fresh batch, it just happened to be lying in my refrigerator made by my mom. Here's a nice recipe for green Indian chutney. You could use pesto.

PS: In the original recipe, the breads look more like tandoori rotis, not naans. I'm Indian. I would know.

Veggie Pizza on Naan Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 naan
• Table spoon of green chutney/pesto
• Some thinly chopped veggies - I used green and yellow peppers, red cabbage, and some greens
• 5-10 black olives
• Dash of olive oil
• Teaspoon of roasted sunflower seeds
• Dried basil, as per taste

To make:
On a sliver of the naan bread, spread the green chutney all over.

Then, lay some green leafy vegetables, then the peppers and cabbage on top. Then the olives. Splash on some olive oil and a dash of dry basil.

Finally the sunflower seeds for crunch.

Bake in the oven at around 250 degrees celcius for around 15-20 minutes.

You can either have it as a pizza or roll it over and have it as a wrap. And yes, I'll admit, its not really a pizza - seeing as there was no cheese (or vegan substitute for cheese) or tomatoes.

I have to say, I really, really enjoyed eating this one. I still have a quarter of a naan left over, which I will use for another pizza - This one with Tahini paste as the base (should go well with the garlic in the naan), and sliced eggplants and some veggies for lunch. Mmmm. Can't wait!!