As we look at the end of Ramadan, the heart is aching and there is a feeling of sadness. We always wait for the best 30 days of the year, but the way it goes is like sand in between your fingers. You don’t even realize how quickly it passes. Alhamdulillah, I am grateful to the Almighty for giving me a better Ramadan, when compared to last year, where I really struggled with everything, thanks to the hectic schedule in my last work place. At that time, I had decided that I wouldn’t be working this Ramadan anywhere, and before I knew it, Allah opened up the doors to keep me as free as possible for this Ramadan. As always, I am not sure if I have done good to do the most I can during this month. There is always a feeling of “not doing enough” while the month slips through your fingers. However the feeling is, let us make sincere dua that Allah accepts all the little things we do, knowingly and unknowingly, and give us the due reward, as we await our fate on the Day, when He assembles all of mankind from start to finish.

This is also the time to appreciate and be grateful for all the blessings He has showered us in our life, the small and the big, and make sincere duas for all the people going through hard times, those in private and those in public, thanks to the world that seems to be very unfair at the moment. But we as people of faith, know for sure that nothing lasts forever, and just like Firaun met the most unlikely death that he never expected and how Allah kept him for us as a reminder till the end of the world. all those who think that the world is theirs have already their fate sealed and ready, Bi’iznillah…

Even though mine is always a food blog, those who are consistent readers know for sure how I pour out my feelings and thoughts in this little space of mine. It has been a long time since I have literally done that in this space, thanks to writer’s block or whatever is called. But the mind is muddled and the heart aches immensely at the situation of the world. The feeling of helplessness just chews the inside and we are unable to do anything. Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal…

Meanwhile, something that I have been wanting to make for a really long time and never got around making is the Arayes. It is a shamelessly easy recipe, but I have always been worried about multiple things going wrong in this recipe. Sometimes, I really wonder when I will ever stop my overthinking. This quality of mine has taken away a lot of my precious time and space in my life and head, that sometimes I really want to beat myself. What do I say? After a huge level of procrastination, I made this recipe, and I was shocked beyond at how easy it is and how difficult it is to screw it up.

Arayes is a Middle Eastern appetizer which is made in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and other Levant countries with small variation. The pita can be thin or thick, the meat filling can be a couple of spices more or less, but nonetheless, the essense is the same – pita with a slice of meat mixture in it, toasted to perfection and enjoyed immediately. I have placed it as an “entree” but it can be an any-time meal basically – a lazy lunch or dinner, or as a snack, like we enjoyed it after our simple Iftar of fruits and tharikanji. Please don’t forget to pair it with the dip for a delicious layer on top.

I kept the filling thin in each pita, so that I wouldn’t be worried about the meat not cooking. But if your pita is the thick ones, it is better to keep the filling thick as well, and cook for a longer time till the filling is done. Otherwise, this is a no fuss recipe. The bottom may get a little soggy when you bake it, but toast it on a stove top to get it crisp. Hmm… I guess that are all the tips I can think. Let’s move to the recipe…

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Arayes | Middle Eastern Pita Meat Pockets

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Arab

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm beef mince
• 1 onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch parsley around 50 gm
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp ground all spice optional
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses optional
• Salt to taste
• 4 pita bread meduim
• Olive oil as required

FOR DIP

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• One squeeze of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp cold water
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray and brush with olive oil.
• Mince the onion, garlic and parsley in a processor.
• Add into the mince along with the rest of the ingredients except the pita and olive oil.
• Give a good mix. Divide into equal portions, for a total of eight.
• Cut each pita into half, making a total of 8 peices.
• Spread each portion of the meat into center of the pita. Spread as thin as possible.
• Repeat for all pita and set aside, arranging on the tray.
• Brush with some olive oil on the top.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, till the meat is cooked. Grill the top for 1 minutes to brown the top.
• Serve hot immediately with the dip.
• For making the dip, blend all the ingredients together till smooth. Add 2 tbsp water first and add more to make it as per your required consistency. Keep aside in the fridge till the time of serving.

Notes

I have used thin pita bread. If you are using the thick pita bread, please make the filling thicker. 

The post Arayes | Middle Eastern Pita Meat Pockets appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

A cuisine that has intrigued me for quite some time and I have been really wanting to try has been that of the Parsis.  Parsis are a very small community in India that are known to have their ancestors from Persia, are primarily settled in Gujrat and some parts of Maharashtra and follow a religion called Zoroastrianism. Their cuisine has a heavy influence of Persian cooking with Indian styles and is heavily centered on non-vegetarian delights. I have already posted a couple of Parsi recipes – the Marghi na Farcha and the Akuri  – on the blog and wanted to try more recipes. So when Valli did her announcement post for the Blogging Marathon #139 with a theme “Select one cuisine and cook three dishes” and the list had Parsi cuisine, I jumped at the opportunity to try at least a few easy ones that I can try.

One very iconic breakfast or snack that is a product of the Parsis but is extremely popular in Mumbai in the Irani cafes is the Bun Maska. The dish is very straight forward – bun slathered with some “maska”, which is a mixture of butter and cream. A couple of months ago, I happened to watch a movie called Maska on Netflix, about a son who is pressurized by the mother to carry on his father’s dream of becoming a “maskawala”. The scenes where they show the actor throwing in the flour and then kneading the dough for the buns is a thrill to watch, especially for someone who loves to bake, but hasn’t been doing much due to a lot of reasons and excuses. Hehe…

Since I took some pains in doing the set-up, I thought – why not make a reel with a trending audio, was so apt to this dish!

While I tried reading up about this iconic recipe, it lead me to some beautiful articles like this one that captures the essence of this simple dish. It is usually served with a cup of strong Irani Chai and enjoyed by dunking into it. The bun used can be your regular pav, however the general consensus seems to be to use a slightly sweetened bun that is studded with some tutti frutti. I couldn’t track down sweetened buns and hence settled in with regular pav.

All you need to do is to cut through the pav, toast them for a little time – optional but highly recommended, slather a blob of butter on one side of the hot bun – the heat will melt the butter and make it spreadable – and equal amount of fresh cream on the other. Then bring them together and enjoy it warm with your tea – dunking or no dunking is your choice. I am the latter. Despite being an extremely simple dish, it tastes phenomenal. I have always had toast with just butter or just cream, so combining both of them together is genius. Some do say that you can try sprinkling some sugar in it or add a little jam too, but let’s keep it simple. Try it out for yourself while you enjoy your next cup of tea… The only thing you need to ensure is that the buns are fairly fresh for the best taste.

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Bun Maska

Course Tea Snacks

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 pav or tutti frutti bun fresh
• 10 gm butter softened
• 1 tbsp cream use more if you like

Instructions

• Slit the pav or bun and toast on a hot pan just till done - this step is optional but highly recommended.
• Take out, slather the butter on one side and the cream on the other bun.
• Attach together and enjoy with a cup of chai!

The post Bun Maska appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I so look forward to the Blogging Marathon every month, so that I would at least try something new instead of lazying around, which has become one of my favorite pastime now. Not mentioning, the climate hasn’t been exactly conducive to feeling energetic either. Anyway, this week, the theme I selected for the Blogging Marathon #139 is “Don’t be Cheesy”. I love how Valli sometimes coins the phrases for themes. Hehe… I know of people who are extremely mad about cheese, but I am not one among them. I like them in a limited dose and if it goes more, it nauseates me – cheese lovers, please ignore me… So the three recipes in this theme will use just enough cheese to make them “cheesy”.

While my head was in a rut regarding making a breakfast that would be well within my macros – yes, I am trying to eat cautiously to push back some of my weight, that I have already derailed shamelessly over the past couple of years… -, the IG post from Fufu Kitchen popped up on my feed and I immediately had to try it. Of course, I didn’t add as much as cheese like she did, but of course, you could. For HD, I used a square cheese plus a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella, and he really enjoyed it. The dipping is simply eggs with very little milk, regular seasonings and the star ingredient – zaatar. I would suggest to increase it as much as you would like by sprinkling on the toast while you get it done. This is something I make once a week now for myself – I love it so much!

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Cheesy Zaatar French Toast

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Arab

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp zaatar heaped plus more if needed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 slices large bread
• Olive oil for toasting
• 2 cheese slices
• 2-4 tbsp grated mozarella cheese optional but recommended

Instructions

• Whisk together the eggs, milk, zaatar and seasonings till well combined.
• Dunk the bread in the mixture to coat as much as possible and well.
• Heat a pan. Drizzle some olive oil. Cook two toasts at a time. Toss both sides till done. Sprinkle some more zaatar on it while cooking if using.
• Keep one slice of cheese and mozarella if using on one slice. Top with the other slice. Press down and cook briefly on both sides just till all melted.
• Enjoy hot!

Notes

Use more cheese and zaatar as needed. 

The post Cheesy Zaatar French Toast appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Days are going super fast. Ramadan has been good, Alhamdulillah… It has been really hot on and off, however the fasting has been less stressful, when compared to the past few years. Let me leave you with a little dua that has become a favorite of mine lately:

Since we make a lot of snacks, and I use a lot of bread at home, I decided, why not post a three back-to-back series of snacks made of bread. I love using bread, since it is a very versatile product and can be used in a variety of ways that our family will like. My head really thinks of bread kunafa and bread pudding, but let us do some savory snacks this time. This sandwich is one of the easiest sandwiches I have ever made. My girls love grilled cheese sandwich, just filled with square cheese and/or mozzarella and toasted till brown on a hot pan with some melted butter. All I did was to slather some pesto into it. I wasn’t sure if my girls would love the green thing that was lined up in between, but to my surprise, they ate up the entire batch I made. I had to save myself up a slice to just know how it tastes. I have used homemade pesto – recipe will come up after Ramadan, InShaAllah… though I have a mixed herb pesto recipe, that can be used too – but you can use store bought pesto. It is a simple recipe, without too much hard work, but delicious nevertheless… Off to the recipe…

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Pesto Cheese Sandwich

Course Tea time snacks - Spicy

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 6 slices bread
• 3-6 tsp pesto
• 3 slices cheddar cheese
• 3 tbsp mozarella cheese
• Pepper
• Butter to toast

Instructions

• On both slices, spread thin layers of pesto. Keep one square of cheddar cheese and sprinkle one tablespoon of mozarella cheese. Crush some pepper. Close.
• Repeat with the other bread, to make a total of three sandwiches.
• Heat pan, melt butter and toast both sides till golden brown and cheese is melted.
• Enjoy immediately.

The post Pesto Cheese Sandwich appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

We are already two months done in 2022. I guess my fingers are still not used to typing this year. It is like time is flying really fast. I am trying to do as much as I can but all I can do is slag and hope that things will be better. Everyone tells not to beat myself up, but I really don’t know at times what I need to do. One side of me is hopeful about the Almighty’s Mercy, while the other side goes into a deep trench thinking too much. Aren’t we all like that in times of desperation? At this time, I remember that prayer of Musa (AS) that is just as relevant for any period of our life:

Rabbi innee limaaa anzalta ilaiya min khairin faqeer
“My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need.” (Surah Al-Qasas Ayat 24)

The way the heart feels after this is recited is unbelievable. We will only get what He has willed in our way. That is the biggest reassurance we can have in this fleeting life…

On another note, I lost my flash drive which had all my blog material and a lot more things while sending off all our laptops to be serviced. I am crest fallen, to say the least, because I had all planned out for the coming month, but thankfully the backlog isn’t much, so all I need to do is to find some time to go through my camera to find all my drafts. But I am feeling really lazy to go through the mass of photos to do it. Ah, anyway, Alhamdulillah, I haven’t lost much and hopefully I can get it back with a little bit of work, InShaAllah…

Coming to the recipe for today, this is one of the recipes that I have loved a lot while making. The sandwich cake is a Swedish special – a beautiful way of decking up an otherwise boring looking bread sandwich. I think the first time I came across it was on Shazia’s site long back. It immediately piqued my interest. I have a family, who even though like sweet stuff, don’t necessarily enjoy cakes. If I bake anything, they just eat a little piece. The rest is upto me to distribute and maybe keep some slices frozen for future use. However that wasn’t the case with this “cake”…

Most of the recipes online use a mix of cream cheese and mayonnaise. I replaced part of the cream cheese with labneh, just to make it a tad bit healthier. This recipe is quite forgiving. I used just the regular vegetables used for salad, like cucumber, carrot and some corianders. You can add shredded chicken for an extra bit of protein. I kept the filling to the minimum and kept the “frosting” for the sides quite thick. It is very important that you rest the cake as much as you can. The more you keep, the more softer the bread gets, flavors settle and it just tends to add a lot of flavor. I can’t wait for Ramadan to make this again. This is a perfect and healthy Iftar snack idea… Off to the recipe…

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Sandwich Cake | Simple Savory Sandwich Cake

Course Tea Snacks

Cuisine European

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 10 slices brown bread
• 180 gm labneh
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp mustard sauce
• 1 cucumber peeled and grated
• 1 carrot peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

• In a bowl, whisk together the labneh, cheese, mayonnaise and mustard along with the salt and butter till a nice thick mixture.
• Take half of it and toss along with the cucumber, carrot and coriander leaves. Season well.
• In a long plate, layer two bread slices. You may remove the slices or keep it. Spread on layer of the vegetable mix.
• Top with two more slices of bread and repeat till done. Use the leftover to cover on the top and sides.
• Use the remaining labneh mix to cover the whole "cake" on the sides and top.
• Transfer into a fridge for around two hours for the flavors to settle. Sprinkle up the coriander leaves on top, slice up and enjoy as your afternoon tea.

Notes

You can include shredded chicken or drained tuna flakes for an extra protien into the mixture.

If you don't have labneh, you can replace it with a tup of Philadelphia cream cheese. I wanted to make it a little guilt free, so I used the labneh. 

The post Sandwich Cake | Simple Savory Sandwich Cake appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For me, breakfast are synonymous to eggs and hence I had to post something to do with eggs in this week’s Blogging Marathon #131 theme for “Quick Breakfast”. I have been eyeing this sandwich ever since I saw it on one of my favorite Instagrammer’s page. She does such amazing reels that you feel like cooking immediately. But since I am trying to stay on the already increased weight that I am on, plus I have extremely fussy kids who don’t welcome too much experimentation, I refrain from trying too many new recipes as such. But this sandwich was bookmarked for my breakfast meals.

The beauty about this recipe is that it is absolutely a breeze to make. Don’t we all love such recipes? Japanese egg sandwiches are said to be a convenience store favorite and one of the easiest dishes in their repartee. Having said that, this is my first Japanese recipe on the blog, as well… Hehe… OK, coming back, all you need as filling is boiled eggs, Japanese mayonnaise and your usual salt-pepper seasoning. Since I don’t have Japanese mayonnaise in my pantry, I used replacements close to it, that I figured out from Semi’s video plus my search on Google. The quantity mentioned makes three bread sandwiches. The filling needs to be nice and thick, so don’t fret when you see a lot of filling. Since this is really easy, I urge to try this as soon as you can for your next breakfast…

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Japanese Egg Sandwich | Tamago Sando

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Japanese

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2 eggs large
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp mustard sauce
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Butter as needed spreadable
• 3 slices of large bread

Instructions

• Boil the eggs till done. Peel.
• Using a fork, smash the eggs coarsely, as smooth or chunky as you like.
• Add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper and give a good mix.
• Divide into three equal portion.
• Cut each bread into half. Spread butter on both the slices. Spread the egg mixture on one slice and top with the other. Repeat with the others to get three rectangular sandwiches.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

Usually Japanese mayonnaise is used. If you have in your pantry, then skip the mayonnaise, mustard and sugar, and use instead.

The post Japanese Egg Sandwich | Tamago Sando appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I have been finding it extremely difficult to get to blogging. I have my parents around and it has been crazy busy, in a good way. They are here just for a few more days, and that is why I thought maybe I shouldn’t focus much on the blog. Yet, when I get some time in, here I am trying to post at least one recipe in some free time I get…

With a lot of sweet posts floating on the blog, let me break it a little with these awesome sandwiches. It is getting cold and the worst part is the constant hunger. Snacking has become the norm and laziness creeps in most of the time. It feels really cozy to sleep in especially in the mornings. That is when sandwiches come handy. Aren’t they anytime food? You can use them as a meal or just-in-between bites. I don’t have that many sandwich recipes on the blog, which is something I would like to improve on, but let us concentrate on today’s super delicious sandwiches…

I made them with cooked beef, that I had in my fridge. You can use leftover curried peices, that usually don’t get eaten, because it is just meat. Hehe… The sauces are out of your fridge and when used, give a slight tinge of sweetness and a delicious barbeque flavor that amazingly complements with the meat. The filling is ready in minutes, and then spread on warm toasted bread and dig in right away. I would have added minced onion, but I am not a fan of raw onion, and hence I skipped it. You can even zing up your filling with a couple of diced jalapenos too… Off to this super simple recipe…

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Pulled Beef Sandwich | Easy Shredded Meat Sandwich

Course Snacks

Cuisine South American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 150 gm cooked beef chunks
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup heaped
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 4 slices bread big
• Butter for toasting

Instructions

• Shred the cooked meat. Add all ingredients from tomato ketchup to salt.
• In a fry pan, cook the filling just till done. The sauce will turn sticky and brown. Switch off.
• Toast bread till done.
• Spread half the filling on one bread and top with another. Make the second sandwich.
• Dig in warm!

Notes

You can add one tablespoon each of minced onion and/or jalapenos, as per liking for more bite.

I didn't add salt, since the sauce was salty in itself. 

The post Pulled Beef Sandwich | Easy Shredded Meat Sandwich appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Usually my year end posts are a detailed analysis about how the year has been. I don’t know what to say about this year, but as I read somewhere, I guess the mantra this year was to just survive and stay afloat. We witnessed a massively different years that turned around many lives. I have already written so much this whole year about the experience, that I don’t want to repeat it. But I guess, we are very fortunate to be living in an age where technology is quite advanced and the world did a decent job in reducing the impact. However, it was also the year that showed how narrow minded and prejudiced certain sections are. It actually made me feel sad that despite all the education that we get and the tolerance we are taught, things aren’t very different from what it used to be before. At least, it was only limited to a small scope before, but now with social media, the vicious attacking and backstabbing gets too much to handle. It causes a general level of paranoia even in the close knit circle that you may already have. I only wish that we all broaden our horizons and thoughts and understand only one thing – that one day we go back to where we actually belong and all that will matter is how much goodness we have been able to do…

I am ending this month with a recipe post that is related to the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge, that I very much enjoy. This month, the theme is “Hot Pots” as suggested by Priya Vijayakrishnan. I was intrigued by the theme and upon checking, it seems that it is basically any food that is to be eaten hot, so that would include our curries as well. Since it is winter or at least chilled weather in most of the parts in the world, this theme was quite apt. I was assigned to Priya as partners, however she had an emergency and had to withdraw her participation from the challenge. I sincerely wish her all well. I was then given ingredients by Renuji – bell peppers and paprika.

All that clicked my head when the ingredients were given was to make Chicken Fajita. Who doesn’t like a good filling inside a tortilla? They just make amazing meals, for any time of the day. With days getting more comfortable and nights getting chilled, there is nothing as cozy as a warm meal like these. “Fajita” is actually the Tex-Mex name for strips of beef, however it is not necessary to be made with meat. Chicken is a much leaner protein and so much easier to cook too! All you do is to cook your meat, bell peppers and onion in a mix of spices till done, spread them into a roasted tortilla with fillings of your choice – cheese, guacamole, salad, beans, etc. -, wrap them and bite into them by holding with your hands. It was just a couple of months ago I did the Mexican Pozole for the same challenge, and it is surprising that this post is again a Mexican recipe.

Even though I had taco seasoning readily with me, I went ahead and did a mix of the spices I had in my pantry. I spread all the ingredients on the tray, sprinkled the spices and tossed up the mixtures. Then the filling was baked till done and served hot. The girls had a lovely time assembling the rolls by themselves, though I had to draw a line in between to make sure they don’t eat more than they are supposed to. Off to this super simple recipe…

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Chicken Fajita Tray Bake

Course Main

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 500 gm boneless chicken
• 1 large green capsicum
• 1 large orange capsicum
• 1 large onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• Salt to taste
• 8 to rtillas
• Lettuce and mayo to serving

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Keep a tray ready.
• Cut the chicken and capsicum into stripes. Chop the onion roughly.
• Toss in all the ingredients from olive oil to salt and coat well on the cut peices. Spread on the tray.
• Bake for 40 minutes till done, stirring in between.
• Serve hot with tortillas, chopped lettuce and mayo (or sour cream).

Notes

If you have taco seasoning readily available, then you can use roughly two heaped tablespoons instead of all the spices used (from chilli to oregano).

The post Chicken Fajita Tray Bake appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Food ideas have always come by in interesting ways for me. It can be a memory associated with it, or an idea coming off from some food I may have eaten some time ago, or simply by staring at the ingredients in the fridge that need an urgent makeover, to avoid going into the bin. The latter keeps happening to me because sometimes I buy stuff without thinking too much and then they threaten to ditch me. It mostly happens with me on vegetables – guilty as charged, your honor! I end up crying and promising myself that I won’t do anything like that again, but alas, history keeps repeating itself and even though I have minimized it a lot, it still keeps happening…

After starting off with the Tahini Banana Bread for this year’s Bake-a-thon, today’s recipe is a delicious savory bread pudding that can be put into the category of “any time food”. It can be eaten as breakfast on a busy weekday morning. It can become brunch on a lazy weekend. It can become lunch or dinner if you crave for something different. It can become a part of your afternoon tea party. I really don’t know where this can be fit into, but you can totally go as per your mood.

Even though I call this a “bread pudding”, I have used buns in this recipe. I buy a pack of buns each time we fry some nuggets or burger for dinner. Always it happens that only two buns would get utilized and then the remaining four in the pack languishes inside the fridge to be forgotten. I had made this recipe during Ramadan and saved it up to post for the Bake-a-thon. While rummaging the fridge for making something for Iftar, I found this hard rock buns, that I didn’t want to throw since there was no signs of any spoilage and I wanted to put it on rescue mode. A little bit of research on Google and I ended up with an idea of making some bread pudding. Since during Iftar we aren’t very fond of sweet stuff, I decided to go the savory way.

The recipe is very simple and quite forgiving. I have used sausages for the meat crunch, but you can add leftover boiled chicken, or for a vegetarian version, I feel soaked soya chunks or even paneer would be amazing. I have sauteed onions and the vegetables in some spices and added it to the pudding for a nice kick. The sauce is extra rich due to the use of some cream in addition to the eggs. The pudding is then generously topped with cheese – never enough cheese! – and then baked just till done. Immediately after shooting, we dug in for our chai time and the whole pan was wiped out in minutes. Thankfully, I had made only jeerakanji for dinner that night, so I had no leftovers. It was such a filling meal and we were already feeling awesomely full. I would suggest to try it as a weekend dinner – such a cozy meal feels!

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Savory Bread Pudding

Course Main

Cuisine International

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 10 gm butter
• 1 large onion sliced thinly
• 1 cup capsicum julienned
• 6 mushrooms chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• 6 sausages sliced
• 4 large buns chopped coarsely
• 4 eggs
• 170 gm pack cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 3 spring onions sliced
• 100 gm mozarella cheese

Instructions

• Melt the butter. Saute the onions till caramelized. Add the vegetables and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic powder and white pepper powder. Adjust salt and switch off.
• In a baking dish. chop the buns and spread.
• Spread the cooked mixture, and sprinkle the chopped sausages.
• Whisk together the eggs, cream, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper till smooth.
• Pour all over the mixture.
• Sprinkle the spring onions and the cheese. Allow it to sit till the oven is preheated to 180 degrees.
• Bake for 25 minutes or till the cheese is melted on the top.
• Serve warm.

The post Savory Bread Pudding appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

While choosing the theme of “No Cook Recipes” for this week’s Blogging Marathon #117, I was sure that I had to make this Mortadella Sandwich, that was a part of my pregnancy food when I was carrying Rasha. If you are my blog’s stable readers, you would all know how much I love food linked with stories. Hehe… This is one thing that HD used to make for me almost on a regular basis then. He hardly cooks or fixes meals these days, and I really miss it.

We used to stay quite close to my office when I was carrying Rasha. We had actually shifted to make it easier for me to go for my MBA classes till I completed it, and then discovered that I was pregnant. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I say that that year was the best year of my married life. I do tell HD on and off that I seriously miss those days when I had him completely to myself. I guess we all feel like that as years go by in marriages… Anyway, I am a big time snoozer and I was no different during that time. A colleague would come to pick me up from home and I would always wake up 15 minutes before he would turn up. When I got ready, HD would quickly put together my lunch bag. There would always be one tub of fruit yogurt, some fruits and this sandwich for breakfast. I am not so fond of cold cuts as such but he would fill the bun or bread with lettuce and tomatoes, and add some mayonnaise or cheese. I used to happily eat them for breakfast.

This theme gave me the chance to make sure that this sandwich appears on the blog. Hehe… It is a very easy recipe and apt if you are looking for some easy sandwich to make for the kid’s lunch box or for your spouse’s breakfast. If you like toasted bread, then go ahead and keep a cheese slice in between, and toast the sandwich in a hot pan with some butter. That way, it is amazing too! But I have to stay true to the theme, so kept in no-cook. And being the lazy head I am, I eat it just this way! Off to the recipe…

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Mortadella Sandwich

Course Snack

Cuisine International

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 2 slices large bread
• 1-2 tbsp garlic mayonnaise
• 4 lettuce leaves torn
• 4-6 slices mortadella
• 1 cheese slice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Slatter the mayonnaise on the bread and keep side by side.
• Top both slices with equal quantity of lettuce.
• Arrange the mortadella slices equally on both the bread slices. I cut two of them into half and arrange in a way where the squares of the bread would be covered. The third one would be in the round shape in the center. Same is done on the other bread.
• Keep the cheese slice on one of the bread slices. Season if required.
• Lift the other arranged bread carefully and keep onto the bread slice with cheese. Press down for a few seconds.
• Enjoy!

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