An Indoor Picnic

We spent a fair amount of time planning for a picnic and what originally seemed like a 30% chance of rain (according to the weather.com website) on Saturday soon turned into a full-fledged shower just as we (6 families in all) were getting ready to leave... much to our disappointment. All our plans of watching the kids play in the carousel, take rides in the minature train, head for a walk along the lake, play some frisbee or chase a ball were shattered with dark, gloomy skies, strong gusts of wind and pouring rain.

Several phone calls later, we decided to just all meet in our home and bring the food in and make an evening of it, so all wasn't lost. Here's a picture of the goodies we were planning to take for the picnic.


The Menu: Paapdi Chaat, Dhoklas, Idlis smeared with milagai podi, plain idlis, sambhar, Tortilla chips with a jalapeno cheese dip and a mango salsa, Cucumber-mint chutney sandwiches, Jam sandwiches, Tortilla pinwheels, curd-rice and to finish it all some watermelon and grapes along with juice boxes for the kids and coke and iced lemon tea for the adults.

I made the Tortilla pinwheels and the sandwiches. The cucumber sandwiches were nice and moist and didn't turn soggy thanks to the cream cheese I incorporated with. I normally add sliced tomatoes but didn't this time because of the salmonella scare.

GREEN CHUTNEY


Mint leaves - half bunch, remove stems and wash
Coriander leaves - half bunch, washed
Green chillies - 7 or 8
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Lemon juice / Tamarind paste - 1 to 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
Grind all of the above ingredients with as little water as possible to a smooth paste.
This chutney, when watered down a bit, doubles up as a great accompaniment to several chaat items.

CUCUMBER-MINT TEA SANDWICHES
Ingredients:
Cucumber - 1, sliced very thin
Tomato - 1, sliced very thin
Light Cream cheese - 3 ounces (softened)
Green Chutney - about 3 to 4 tbsp
Ketchup - to taste
Salt and pepper - to taste
Butter or Margarine - to spread on the slices
Bread slices, edges trimmed if you want to be fancy! :)

Method:
1) Blend the cream cheese and chutney till smooth.
2) Butter one slice of the bread, spread the chutney-cheese mixture on the other.
3) Dot some ketchup on the buttered side, spread lightly and layer with slices of cucumber, followed by tomato slices. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.
4) Cover with the other slice and cut into triangles.

It's perfect for lunches too and you can also add sliced roundels of boiled potatoes if you wish.


Update: It just occurred to me that I could send this sandwich to Raaga's WBB - Express Breakfasts. WBB is the brainchild of Nandita.