Irish Soda Bread

Sandwiches It may sound odd to pair fresh tomatoes with soya sauce – but it works! It works beautifully. Imagine the umami of soya sauce and the tartness of tomatoes and the spice of ginger – an explosive experience for the taste buds. Pairing this with old fashioned cream cheese is the final touch that merges the open sandwich and topping with crunchy black sesame seeds not only adds the stark colour but makes me feel pretty intelligent! This is a great alternative to the traditional bruschetta or an addition to a mixed bruschetta platter. The tomato and soya toast is also a quick recipe that you can make within 15 minutes, and by adding a few extra minutes on creamy scrambled eggs – this is a complete meal for an exhausted dinner. The Recipe Serves Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins Ingredients 2-3 tomatoes, roughly sliced 2 tbsp soya sauce ½ tsp vegetable oil 1 tsp grated ginger ½ tsp salt few slices of green part of spring onions 1 tbsp cream cheese per toast 1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted 2 slices of toasted bread of your choice Instructions Heat oil in a medium pan Add ginger and tomatoes and stir for few minutes Add salt and soya sauce and let cook for a few more minutes Remove from pan Spread the cream cheese liberally on each warm toasted bread Load the tomatoes on top and garnish with spring onions and toasted black sesame seeds Eat warm

Sandwiches Equity Sandwich is what we call it at home, I have no idea what others do – but I believe it is a household dish in most Gujarati homes. Don’t ask me why, because I have no answers, and I know better than to argue with my mother and her sisters. But a bit of digging leads me to believe that the toaster equipment was made by a brand called equity – someone please verify this for me! Equity chamcho is what we kids made a large meal out of – and I mean LARGE. Each of us sat with at least 3 chamchos, half a bottle of ketchup and tall glass of cold coffee made from whole milk and a heavy dose of vanilla ice cream. There was no messing about in this meal. Occasionally, if the gods were kind (read: my mother), we got French fries too. For the longest time I beleived equity referred to the filling – shredded cabbage, tomatoes, maybe carrots, salt, pepper, red chilli powder and lemon juice along with a lot of Amul cheese – but that’s just our home! Stuffed between classic white bread, slathered in Amul butter and put in a handheld equipment and grilled over an open flame. Nothing beats this charring taste! We recreated this for one of the BBQ lunches we had – placing it on the hot coals, lending it’s delicious flavour and aroma! Coal from coconut shells: here  Equipment: handheld sandwich maker The Recipe Serves 3 Ingredients 6 bread slices Butter ½ cup shredded cabbage ¼ - ½ cup cheese, shredded (personal choice) ¼ cup finely chopped onion 1 tomato, finely chopped ½ tsp salt ½ tsp red chili powder 1 tsp lemon juice Equipment: handheld sandwich maker https://amzn.to/39cb5ek Instructions In a bowl mix the cheese, cabbage, onion, tomato, salt, red chili powder and lemon juice together Place the mixture between two slices of bread and fasten Generously butter the outside part of the bread slices and place into the handheld sandwich toaster Place on the gas flame for 3-4 minutes on each side Serve warm with ketchup and mustard on the side On a coal-grill: Place the handheld sandwich maker on the hot coals for 5-7 minutes on each side, checking occasionally

Sandwiches We’ve all had tons of bagel sandwiches, yet, I’m partial to bialy sandwiches – no particular reason, but just that I enjoy baking bialys more than bagels – it is a lot more hassle-free! The beauty of the bialy is that you can eat it as is, without any fuss, just a pat of butter or olive oil works. The topping you bake it with does full justice, so today I used The Gourmet Jar Sundried Tomato + Chili Paste to the topping, along with a heavy dose of dried rosemary. This paste is an instant flavour boost without you having to do much effort – thank me later! The Gourmet Jar’s Sunndried Tomato + Chili Paste    { this article contains affiliate links } The Recipe Serves Ingredients 2 ½ cups maida / all purpose flour 1 ½ tsp yeast 1 tsp yeast 1 tsp salt 1 cup warm water + more if necessary milk for brushing Topping: 2 onions, finely diced 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp The Gourmet Jar Sundried Tomato + Chili Paste https://amzn.to/3a3vYVZ 1 tsp salt 2 tsp dried rosemary Instructions Whisk the flour, yeast and sugar together first in a wide large bowl Then stir in the salt Slowly add the water while kneading into a dough Tip over the dough onto a clean surface and knead for 10 minutes Place the dough back in the same bowl and cover and place in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles When ready, punch back the dough and knead for 5 minutes Divide the dough into equal 10 pieces Make round balls of each one Then dent the center with the back of a spoon and gently push back from the center, outward to create a crate in the center Place each one onto a baking tray Cover with a cloth and set to proof for another 30 minutes Prepare the filling meanwhile – heat the oil and add the onions, salt and rosemary and cook Then add the sundried tomato paste and stir and cook for about 10 minutes until fragrant Set aside until ready to use Preheat the oven at 200C 10 minutes before baking the bialys Bring out the tray and uncover Gently push down with your thumbs the center of the bialys if they have risen Put a teaspoon or more into each dent Brush the sides with milk Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool Optional: brush butter on top