Simple cucumber sandwich

 Hi all

After a hiatus, I plan to be more regular with my food blog. Here is a simple cucumber sandwich recipe for you that can be breakfast, eaten with afternoon high tea, or as a snack. 

Ingredients:

- Sliced bread (white, whole wheat, or your choice)

- Fresh cucumbers, thinly sliced

- Cream cheese or butter

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Optional: dill, mint, or other herbs for added flavor

Method:

1. Begin by spreading a thin layer of cream cheese or butter on one side of each bread slice.

2. Place a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers on one bread slice.

3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and any optional herbs over the cucumbers.

4. To create a sandwich, add another bread slice, cream cheese/butter side down.

5. Remove the crusts from the sandwich for a more traditional look.

6. Cut the sandwich into smaller triangles or fingers for serving.

Enjoy your homemade cucumber sandwich!

Feel free to get creative by adding other ingredients like smoked salmon, radishes, or sprouts for extra flavor and texture.

Thai Eggplant with Goda Masala

When I was a kid, my mom would shoo me away if I wandered around the kitchen, saying, ‘পড়াশুনা করো গিয়ে, রান্না বান্না করার জন্যে সারা জীবন পড়ে আছে ' (Go and study. You have your whole life to cook) Maybe she feared that I would lose out in the rat race if I got distracted by other things.

 The kitchen has been always a magical place for me where simple ingredients turn into delicious dishes with a pinch of this and a dash of that. Needless to say, my mom is one of my greatest champions now even when it comes to my cooking. I try to respect her conventional palate but sometimes I nudge her to try new things. Recently, I have seen her being more adventurous with food and enjoying different flavors that could appear outlandish to her. In the picture is Thai eggplant cooked with goda masala, coconut flakes, jaggery and peanut paste. Added sliced onions and green peas to add complexity. You can add tamarind too.

Method:

1. Cut the eggplant (preferably small sized one for aesthetics) into bite sized pieces
2. Fry sliced onion in cooking oil until uniformly browned. Add the eggplant pieces and sauté for a while. 
3. Add goda masala
   Ingredients link
4.  When the eggplants are almost done, add jaggery powder, coconut flakes , and peanut passte. You may alos add tamaring if you want it to be tangy.

Enjoy with roti (Indian flatbread) or as a side to a bigger meal with rice.

Bok choy with potatoes and eggplant

You can make this recipe with Yu choy sum, spinach (palak) or Vietnamese/Malabar spinach (Pui) too.

Method:

1. Heat Mustard oil in a wok. Temper with nigella seeds (kalonji/kalo jeere/কালো জিরা )
2. Add cubed potatoes and diced bok choy, Add eggplant. If you are using other greens like spinach or Vietnamese spinach, you can add the stalks first and leaves later. Add salt to taste and turmeric.
3. Stir-fry until almost done. Add slit green chilies and nigella seed paste (optional).  Boil water in a saucepan. Add for gravy.
4. You can add deep-fried lentil dumplings (ডালের বড়া) and mustard paste (সর্ষে বাটা ) for extra punch.

I added the core of banana blossom, steamed and chopped into thin slices for variety. Good source of fiber and vitamins. Good recipe to eat in Summer.