Ribbon sandwiches

 

I know that picnics and days out in the open are long gone, but I couldn't resist posting these delicious ribbon sandwiches before it was ridiculously late. The temperatures have dropped significantly and its no fun waking up in the morning to a cold apartment. The moment you are out from under your duvet you shiver and wish to crawl back in. We have finally taken out our winter clothes much to my dismay and Ro is already psyching me out saying winter is gonna be horrible. After 3 years of running back to India for Christmas, this year we are staying put. But that's about 70 days away and I have enough time to whine about it ;)

Coming to the sandwiches. These, when my mum used to make way back when we were kids, were not received with much enthusiasm. In fact I hated the coconut chutney more than anything. Fast forward to some 20 years later and I think I love it. I called up mum a couple of weeks back to get the recipe and she laughed so much at the irony. Also because, Ro is not a big fan of coriander leaves or any leaf for that matter and while my mum kept mentioning coriander leaves I kept referring to it as that thing, because Ro was sitting right next to me listening in on the conversation. He finally found out that a major chunk of the sandwich was made using coriander chutney and begged and pleaded to not do so. If its one thing I've learnt after 6 years of being married, its to ignore the other half when you see signs of the drama queen surfacing. And that's exactly what I did.

 

I also have to bring to your notice this uber cool gadget the lovely people over at The Handipcked Collection sent me. Its a Herb Saver Fridge Pod that keeps herb cuttings fresh and watered inside your fridge, thereby prolonging their live for a longer period. I can very happily say, 'it works.' The coriander leaves I used for this recipe were fresh even after about 2.5 weeks, except for a few leaves turning yellow here and there. I have had trouble trying to make them last in my fridge and they always end up rotting on me. If there was one downside to the product it would be that the plastic see through cover is a bit tough to handle. Its not something that just comes open with a quick pull and is a bit of a struggle. Other than that its quite a handy thing to have. It snugly fits on my fridge door and apparently can be used for vegetables like asparagus and stuff. Don't forget to check out The Handpicked collection for some great Gift ideas. I'm definitely a big fan.

Anyhoo, once the sandwiches were done, Ro completely forgot about his coriander leaf aversion and all was good with the world. I made the two chtneys over 2 days and then on the 3rd assembled the sandwiches. If you do everything together at one go, I doubt you would ever want to make it again. So spread it out and its much easier. Will I make this again...hmm maybe when I'm in one of those proactive cooking moods. This sandwich is great for picnics and for an English Tea where finger sandwiches are a must. Its also very lah-di-dah :)

(Makes around 20 quarter sandwiches)

Bread- 15 slices (brown or white)

Coriander chutney- approx. 1 cup (recipe follows)

Tomato chutney- approx. 1 cup (recipe follows)

Butter- 1/4 cup (at room temperature)

Coriander chutney

Coriander leaves- 2 cups, washed and roughly chopped

Grated coconut- 1 cup

Mint leaves- 10 to 12

Tamarind paste- 1 tsp (approx.)

Green chillies- 2 (adjust according to preference)

Salt- to taste

Sugar- 1/2 tsp

Grind together all the ingredients in a food processor/ blender, scraping down the sides at intervals, until you get a smooth-ish paste.

Resist the urge to add water though!

Transfer into an air tight container and refrigerate till ready to use.

Tomato chutney

I followed this recipe of mine, except I didn't roast the tomatoes, just sliced them and used as it is. Feel free to roast them if you prefer it that way. I also used vegetable oil instead of olive oil and added curry leaves along with the mustard seeds. Once the chutney is done, keep aside to cool and then store in an air tight container till ready to use. It stays for about a week in the fridge.

Assembling:

Bring both the chutneys to room temperature.

Into the coriander chutney add the soft butter and mix it well. No traces of butter should be seen.

Do a taste test, add salt if required, and keep ready.

Onto the first slice of bread evenly spread about 1 tbsp of coriander chutney.

Top with another slice and spread the same amount of tomato chutney on it.

Finally top with a third slice and gently press it down to settle the fillings in.

Slice into half diagonally and then into quarters, or if you prefer, slice into smaller squares.

Serve for tea or at a picnic. It would be a hit trust me.

 

Notes: You can spread butter on the bread slices as well, but I didn't bother to.

I left the edges in tack as well, because Ro is a sucker for stuff like that. Feel free to slice them off if you think its too hard or something.

My mum sometimes does 3 layers with the third one being an egg mayo sandwich. Our cheap thrill when we were young was that it was made to look like our Indian flag :)

Store leftover sandwiches in an air tight container, slightly warm it in the oven for about 10 mins and have it the next day. that would make it slightly crisp as well.