Tag Archives: Carrots

Triple layer veggie sandwich

Sandwiches are another globally popular and much consumed food. Everyone is sure to have their own recipe for what they like in their sandwich.

The second recipe I wish to share today is a sandwich that is commonly served at kids birthday parties, tea parties and even cocktail events in Sri Lanka. While there might be slightly different ways on how this party snack is made in the country, I am sharing here the way my mother makes them.

Triple layer veggie sandwich

Cooking time: 15 – 20 mins

Makes 2 or 4 sandwiches

Triple layer sandwich

Ingredients:

  • Sandwich bread – 4 pieces
  • Carrot – ¼
  • Beetroot – ¼
  • Mint or green peas  – 2 tsp (mint is the more popular choice, though green peas is used in the photo here)
  • Green chilli – ½, finely chopped
  • Onion – ½, finely chopped
  • Low fat sunflower oil margarine – 1 ½ tsp (my mother uses flora margarine)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

  1. Boil or steam carrot and beetroot slices.
  2. Grate separately and add 1 tsp finely chopped onion, ½ tsp margarine and salt and pepper to taste to the two vegetables. Keep aside.
  3. Crush or coarsely grind the boiled green peas or mint with the green chilli and 1 tsp finely chopped onion. Add ½ tsp margarine with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
  4. Make the sandwich by layering each slice of sandwich bread with one of the vegetables mixtures, starting with the carrot mixture on the first layer, the beetroot mixture on the second and the mint or green peas mixture on the third.
  5. Cut off the edges and cut the sandwich into two or four triple layer, colourful sandwiches.
  6. Serve with hot Sri Lankan tea or fresh fruit juice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Stuffed Veggie Cutlet

The recipe I would like to share today is my mother’s stuffed vegetable cutlet recipe.

Stuffed Veggie Cutlet

Cooking time: 45 mins

Makes 5 – 6

Stuffed Veggie Cutlet

Ingredients:

  • Potatoes – 2, medium-sized
  • Carrot – 1, small
  • Green peas – 3 tbsp
  • Green chilli – 1
  • Onion – ½, medium-sized
  • Pepper  – 1 tsp
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Ginger – tiny piece
  • Garlic – 1 clove
  • Salt, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 1 tsp (for sauté) + for deep-frying (can be reused)
  • Wheat flour – ½ cup
  • Bread crumbs – 7 or 8 tsp

Method:

  1. Dry grind the pepper and fennel together and keep aside.
  2. Boil the potatoes and carrots separately.
  3. Peel the skin of the potatoes and mash them, adding some salt and the ground pepper and fennel mix. When they have been sufficiently mashed and mixed with the spices, make balls of mashed potato and keep aside.
  4. Mash the carrots separately and keep aside.
  5. Boil the green peas lightly, if not pre-cooked, and coarsely grind them a little so that they are half mashed.
  6. Heat a little oil in a pan. Add the chopped ginger, garlic and onion and sauté lightly.
  7. When the aroma begins to waft about, add the mashed carrot and coarsely ground green peas. Add salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes till they come together. Remove from heat.
  8. Make a batter by mixing the wheat flour with salt and adding water little by little, till reaches a pancake batter consistency.
  9. Take a potato ball and flatten it on your palm. Scoop up 1 – 1 ½ tsp of the carrot and peas mixture. Make the cutlets by covering the mixture with the edges of the potato patty like a dumpling.
  10. Dip the cutlets in the batter and roll it in the bread crumbs. Keep aside.
  11. Heat the oil for deep-frying. The oil should be enough to cover the potato balls.
  12. When the oil is ready, drop the batter coated stuffed potato balls in the pan and fry till they are browned on all sides.
  13. Serve the stuffed vegetable cutlets with tea.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mulai keerai aviyal

This is my grandmother’s recipe, as often cooked at home by my mother. Since I was on an Indian culinary journey last month, I realize that this recipe resembles a simpler variant of the Kerala avial, sans the curd.

Mulai keerai aviyal

Cooking time: 10 – 12 mins

Serves 4

Mulai keerai

Ingredients:

  • Amaranth greens/ mulai keerai/ thampala – 2½ cup, washed thoroughly and finely chopped
  • Carrot – ½ cup, sliced
  • Chilli – 1, chopped
  • Onion – 1 small, chopped
  • Garlic – 1 or 2 cloves, chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Water
  • Scraped coconut – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Put the washed and chopped vegetables in a pot with ½ cup of water and salt. Cook till the veggies are tender and the water dries up.
  2. Add the scraped coconut, mix well and cook for another 2 mins.
  3. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Fried rice

To celebrate Eid al-Fitr, my mother prepared a special lunch today: fried rice with potato curry, stuffed chilli fry, salad and wattalapam jelly pudding. So today, I will share my mother’s recipes for all five dishes, which comes under experimental and fusion cooking, in a series of posts.

Eid lunch special

(a) Fried rice

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

Fried rice

Ingredients:

  • Basmathi rice – 2 cups
  • Carrot – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Green peas – ¼ cup
  • Leeks – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Onion – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Mixed 3C spice powder – Clove, cinnamon, cardamom powder – 2 tsp
  • Kesari powder – ½ tsp (Can use biryani powder or saffron or turmeric powder)
  • Low fat margarine – 50g or 3 tbsp
  • Cinnamon – 1 ~ 2’’ stick
  • Rampe leaf/ pandan
  • Salt, to taste

Method:

  1. Put the rice in a rice cooker and add water to about an inch above the rice surface. Add a cinnamon stick, rampe leaf and a little salt and cook the rice.
  2. Sprinkle a little salt on the chopped veggies and keep aside.
  3. Heat the margarine in a pan on low heat.
  4. Add the mixed 3C spice powder and sauté for 2 seconds before adding the chopped vegetables.
  5. When the veggies become tender, add the kesari powder.
  6. Add the cooked rice and mix well.
  7. Serve hot.

Recipe Source: Raji Thillainathan.