A grill cheese sandwich or toastie is perhaps the world’s most loved comfort foods. Perfect for hangover mornings, afternoon bites and of course, as a whole meal, with (let’s be honest) a side bag of chips (I know none of y’all are grabbing a bowl of salad with that!). This toastie I share has the umami wonderness of Truffle Oil speckled mustard from an Indian brand called What The Truff – they sent across this as well as the white truffle oil – both of which work gorgeously for me in so many dishes. The highlight of course is the caramelized filling – braised purple cabbage and onions in butter, olive oil, salt and sugar – a delicious condiment that works not just in sandwiches but in salads, bake dishes, in omelette and with a rice dish. Recipe Ingredients  2 slices of sourdough bread½ cup grated cheese medley (mozzarella, cheddar, processed and any other you like)½ tsp minced garlic½ tsp dried rosemary3-4 tbsp caramelized onion and purple cabbagepinch of black pepperbuttermayonnaiseWhat The Truff Truffle Mustard Caramelised Onion + Purple Cabbage 1 cup shredded purple cabbage2 onions, finely sliced½ tbsp olive oil½ tbsp butter1 tsp salt1 tsp sugar Recipe Instructions Prepare the Caramelised Onion + Purple Cabbage:Sauté all the ingredients gently on low heat, stirring occasionally until fragrant and caramelizedSet aside Toastie: In a mixing bowl stir together the cheese, garlic, pepper, rosemary and 1 teaspoon of Truffle MustardPrepare the sandwich first by spreading butter, followed by mayonnaise on both slices of breadPlace a good amount of the caramelized onion + cabbage and the cheese mixture on one slice of bread and fasten with the second slicePlace the sandwich on the hot pan and press down the sandwich a flat wide spatula to grill well on both sidesRemove from pan and slice into twoServe with an extra helping of Truffle Mustard on the side and perhaps a drop of two of the White Truffle Oil

Sandwiches,Savoury A delicious soft bread roll, with a hint of crust, torn from the center and smothered with salted butter… the most honest and pure bliss one can experience. Use this roll to scoop up sauces, dip into soup, side to a leafy salad, or just as is, with butter of course. If you feel motivated further, try these flavoured butters. The recipe is straight forward, simple and easy. The total rest period is of 3 hours – which is fairly do-able, even for me! Like for all breads, timing is crucial – if you want homemade bread, you just gotta do this! Enjoy! Yeast I use is: this The Recipe Serves Yields: 8-10 rolls Ingredients 1 cup warm water 1 tsp instant dry yeast 1 tsp salt ½ tsp sugar 2 ½ cups all purpose flour + extra if needed (maida) milk for brushing Instructions Whisk 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl Pour in the water slowly, mixing into a dough Add ½ cup more as you go And knead for 5 minutes until smooth Put into a greased bowl and cover and allow to prove for 2 hours Punch back the dough and knead for 5 minutes Cut into 8 to 10 equal balls Roll into balls and place on baking tray lined with parchment paper Cover and let rest for another hour Preheat the oven 220C Brush milk on top of each bun and bake for 20 minutes

Breakfast,Sandwiches Trust me to find the one recipe that is made within the hour, from start to finish. The soda bread has been a fascination for me since a while now, and I have had two failed attempts last year, after which I gave up entirely, comforting myself in artisanal made breads from various specialists. But today, was a different day. Today, much like the past ten days or so, have been mildly challenging in terms of conserving and cautious cooking. We ran out of bread, and in maintaining the lockdown position – I decided a bread had to be made. It was the least I could do for the family. Mind you, we rarely eat bread in this house (one loaf for about 15 days!), but ever since there’s been a lockdown announced, every member of the family has started craving food and dishes out of the norm, and there’s a demand for toast every morning. So, I came to the Irish Soda Bread – a quick prep, 4 ingredients, no kneading, no proofing, no yeast… in short, not much skill required – perfect for the kind of days we’re facing. I learnt a few mistakes from the last two failed attempts – flatten the bread more before baking – or else it may not cook all the way through. Also I add a pinch of castor sugar, along with a bit more salt. This bread has a wonderful tale and requires you to bless the bread with a cross, along with pricking the corners to let the fairies out for good luck! I followed this to the T, because I discovered this was my last bag of flour to bake with, so nothing could go wrong. I made buttermilk (chaas), with 200g yoghurt. If you have sour yoghurt which you use for kadi at home, use that dahi. The sourness is what really helps this bread! I also strongly suggest to not wait too long between the step of adding buttermilk to putting into the oven – the soda reacts immediately with the liquid, and let it on for too long, you may end up with a too dense and doughy texture. I bake it for longer than what others mostly do – because I feared the raw dough inside – and it works for me. So I give 20 minutes at the two temperatures. The last 3 minutes, I suggest flipping over the bread. Please note, that the Irish bread is pretty much a rustic bread – it ain’t a very good looking one, but tastes brilliant. It’s a home bread, not one to show off, perfect for impromptu open toasts, to scoop up pasta sauce or gravy with and make a bowl of soup more wholesome. The texture is more on the dense side, while the tops are hard. The best way to eat this, is with a thick layer of butter, and a bit of blackberry jam – it is heaven! This recipe is pretty much ingrained in my head now. I might try adding some herbs or ajwain seeds too – again, this depends on when I get my next bag of flour – speaking to you BigBasket.com !!! Anyways, please do try this at home. It’s too simple to not give it a shot. Recipe adapted from Darina Allen The Recipe Serves Serves: 1 Irish Soda Bread | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins Ingredients 450g white flour 1 tsp + a pinch extra of salt ½ tsp baking soda pinch of sugar 415ml or 14 fl oz buttermilk (buttermilk made with 200g yoghurt + remaining water) Instructions Heat the oven at 225C Take a large baking tray and dust some flour on it In a large wide bowl, combine the flour, salt, sugar and baking soda Pour the buttermilk slowly, and using your fingers, swirl it into a dough – do not knead Tip the dough into a lightly floured surface and bring together like a ball – without kneading. Use gentle palm movements to pat the dough on the sides Transfer to the baking tray Flatten out to approx. 1.5 inch Use a sharp knife to make a cross X on the centre, and small pricks into the four sides as well Bake for 20 minutes at 225C Then reduce the temperature to 200C, and bake for another 17 minutes After the 17 minutes, open the oven and flip the bread over, to bake for another 3 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool on a rack Best eaten with butter and jam! Store: in an airtight container at room temperature, or a bread basket

Sandwiches Mushrooms, garlic and bread – is a classic combination that I felt the need to revamp! Usually, the warm, comforting garlic infused mushrooms with melted oozing cheese is what really touches the soul on cool nights, stressful days and even the odd hangover breakfast. But this time, I wanted to shake things up. The past few months, I’ve been working on a project that involves Piri Piri seasoning – a blend I normally don’t reach out to. My interaction was limited to the McDonald’s fries, which, honestly, just leaves me with burning lips. But with this project, I’ve been experimenting and spending a lot of time with it. So, an authentic Piri Piri seasoning bottle sat on my kitchen counter, staring at me, daring me, ‘go ahead, use me for your personal meal’. I thought, why not – right at the moment I decided to make a mushroom toast to eat in bed – and added a hefty spoonful into the mushrooms. To contrast the softer mushrooms – I wanted some crunch factor – so I made the extra effort to fry some sliced garlic to garnish (and I felt pretty proud of myself)! After everything was ready, I became doubtful of the spice factor and found a tub of mascarpone to smear on the bread slices. Not only did this hold the mushrooms nicely, but also mellowed out the heaping spoon of piri piri. You can easily substitute the mascarpone with cream cheese, hung curd, ricotta or even mayonnaise.  If you don’t have piri piri, go for any smokey spice blend, or smoked paprika with red chilli flakes. Side note: this pairs beautifully with a glass of white wine! The Recipe Serves Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins Ingredients 1 tsp vegetable oil 100g mushrooms, chopped 1 tsp mixed herbs 1 1/2 tsp piri piri seasoning 1 tsp red chili flakes ½ tsp salt 4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced 1 tbsp mascarpone per slice of bread 2 slices of bread of your choice Instructions Heat the 1 tsp olive oil in a pan Once the oil heats up, fry the garlic chips until golden and remove from the oil and place on paper napkin and set aside In the same pan, add the mushroom with salt and seasoning and cook on high heat for 5 minutes The mushrooms should be lightly cooked and not reduce too much in size – in other words, let them be juicy! Toast the bread slices with olive oil if you wish to and then spread mascarpone on top Add the mushrooms on top Add garlic fried chips on top

Sandwiches I call this ‘sambhariyu’ toast because that’s what my mummy calls it! Sambhariyu is what she refers to any vegetable that is lightly cooked with a tempering and served as side salad or one of the components to the thali. But the real word for it is: Sambharo. The beauty of this form is that as the veggies are lightly cooked, they still have a bite to it, yet don’t feel raw. The tempering does the job of infusing warm Indian flavours which balances it off. The tempering is usually mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and green chilies. Some add turmeric and even a bit of sugar and vinegar – and like in all rules of cooking – there are none! Do as you please! And how can anything go wrong when its paired with delicious ricotta? The soft creaminess of ricotta balances well against the Indian spices and slightly crunchy veggies. Ricotta is incredibly versatile – it has the ability to pair well with most flavours and palates – ricotta isn’t a very strong flavour and hence brings out the best of the Indian tempering here. The veggie options are flexible – you could try tindora (ivy gourd) tossed with a bit of methiyo masala and pair it with fresh ricotta for a contrast. You can choose raw papaya, cabbage, raw mango… whatever is in your fridge! The Recipe Serves Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins Ingredients 2 slices of bread of your choice 1 tbsp ricotta per toast ½ tsp mustard seeds 2-3 curry leaves pinch of asafetida 1/2 green chili, sliced sliced carrots sliced green peppers sliced onions ½ tsp salt extra virgin olive oil Instructions Heat the oil in a medium pan Add the mustard seeds and wait for it to sizzle After they sizzle, add curry leaves, asafetida and onions and stir Once the onions turn translucent, add the carrots and peppers and cook until al dente and switch off heat On each bread, drizzle olive oil and toast if you wish or leave as is Spread ricotta on each slice and load with the vegetables

Sandwiches Le Artisan Boulangerie X Kitchen Therapy X The Kitchen Trail X Spotted Cow Fromagerie Grilled baby carrots in a butter and honey sauce is what dreams are made of. Little Vini (with a plus one these days…) refused to touch carrots in any form. Since marrying into my house, she now eats carrots in every form. Anyways, these finger-licking yummy carrots, are paired with tangy Chevre cheese with herbed crunchy crostinis – a delight to the tastebuds. This dish is perfect platter for a grand buffet – interesting to look at, easy to eat and the pop of colour is always inviting. This pairs well with a crisp white Chardonnay, a cup of tea, This recipe has no measurement – because it requires visual and taste judgement – and as I firmly believe, the heart always knows what it needs! Herbed crostinis and Chevre is available for sale at Le Artisan Boulangerie The Recipe Serves Ingredients • Herbed Crostinis by Le Artisan Boulangerie • Chevre by Spotted Cow Fromagerie • Baby carrots • Butter • Thyme • Salt • Pepper • Honey Instructions • Slice each carrot three times upto the stem to spread out as a fan • Brush a nonstick pan with butter and place on low heat • Grill the carrots in the butter, adding some salt, pepper and thyme • Drizzle some honey on top and remove • Spread Chevre cheese on each baguette slice, top with a baby carrot and add some fresh thyme on top • Serve