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.

Comments

  1. Darn rain comes only on the days we want to go out, doesn't it?
    It didn't rain here for so long, we decided get our deck painted and it was almost done and guess what? IT RAINS!!:P
    Anyway, as I can see you all had a wonderful time and enjoyed the food!:))

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  2. Go away rain :( poor kids, love the indoor picnic food , must had fun i guess :)

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  3. yeah, the rain comes only when we plan to go out or do fun stuff outdoors! Anyways, good to hear that your picnic went on well. The menu looks so mouth-watering. Is it like a potluck?

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  4. i am planning to move near ur home to join in ur group of buddies and land up days of pot-lucks and picnics ;D..the food looks great..too bad on the rain..but glad all of you had a great time!

    Rajitha

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  5. Rain is so unpredictable, isn't it? We've had similar days as well.. Glad atlest you guys had a good time at home!

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  6. Awww Laavanya, I wish you lived somewhere close to where I live. I would have gobbled all that delicious mouth watering food. It hasn't rained here in months, just scorching heat everyday.
    I am sure you had a great time.

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  7. wooo..its amazing....it seems everybody had a nice time with ur delicious items..

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  8. Rain,,on the weekend ..hate it.Lovely spread.I love milagai podi idly...

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  9. Awesome picnic huhhh, lovely entry. Everything looks delicious!!!

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  10. You are such a good sport and rain did not spoil your fun.

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  11. Laayanya..thats a great spread..sad that rain played the spoiled sport!..but atleast you guys had fun indoor!..sandwiches sound exciting...love sandwiches any time of the day!

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  12. Good that you did'nt let the rain get you down..some spread !

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  13. Yeah i remeber one day we did a picnic on beachand had to pack up as it stated getting to rain.
    Clevr idea to do it indoor and the whole spreas looks delicious.

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  14. Good that you did'nt let the rain get you down....Lovely and awesome spread,i am sure must had fun and great time :)

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  15. Indoors or outdoors..I would have enjoyed the lovely spread of food on the table !!

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  16. What a lip smacking spread that is :-)

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  17. we can never trust those weather reports on tv or web :) but what a delicious spread u guys have there!!! wish i could join in the party!

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  18. that is totally my kind of food. delicious.

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  19. everyhitng looks delecious lavanys

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  20. What an amazing spread, Laavanya! It all looks delicious! :)

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  21. Asha, that's so true. My husband has been working hard power washing and sanding the deck too. We will be painting when the weather looks better. We did have a good time. Atleast the kids weren't totally disappointed.

    Cham, the kids had a good time just seeing each other though they missed all the park-related fun. Thanks.

    Yes Uma, it was a potluck.. :)

    Rajitha, sure infact my next door neighbour has her house on the market :) Do you want me to put in a good word.

    Sujatha, yes.. there have been so many times when they said 50-60% and there wasn't even a drop and with 30% it came pouring. Well, it's probably Murphy's Law :)

    RC, oh that's too bad about the heat. It was like that here for a few days but the rain is making it slightly cooler now. I like rain except for when I plan for a picnic :)

    Thank you Suma, Nags, Maheshwari, Madhavi & Sankari. We did have a good time catching up.

    Srivalli, it didn't dampen our spirits for sure.

    Thank you DB, Happy Cook, Rachel, Sunita :)

    Sia, I wish you lived close enough to hop on over for the picnic... :)

    Thank you Bee, Sagari and Kalai.

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  22. Oh wow, I would have loved being at that indoor picnic!!!

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  23. That must have been such a disappointment for everyone especially the kids, initially. Glad that it all worked out well in the end. The spread looks fabulous! The sandwiches sound good. Was thinking about the Famous Five while reading this post.:D

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  24. Thatz a delicious spread ... making me hungry :)

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  25. Laavanya-

    darn the rain, but, what a spread you folks had- wish I was part of that group.

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  26. Wow that's one picnic I would surely be disappointed to miss...what will all the glorious food :) The sandwiches sound good, will try them soon. Hey you can send them to this event too:

    http://ammaluskitchen.info/2008/06/14/announcing-herb-mania/

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  27. wow.. that looks so nice and interesting...:)it is so much fun... seeing it.. i can imagine the fun u guys had...:)

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  28. Hi Laavanya, came over to say hello! I'd have been terribly disappointed about the picnic but glad that we at least had it indoors so that the food wouldn't get wasted.

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  29. Nice feast. Have something for u in my blog....

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  30. Wow! All that delicious food! Glad you enjoyed that- even though it was indoors! Rains have a way of undoing all plans, doesn't it?

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  31. What a way to enjoy a picnic indoors...with such a spread won't really miss going out.
    Don't know what the problem with the feeds...was giving a little prob 2 days back...but is on track now.

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  32. That looks like a great spread laavanya. Sandwiches sound interesting.

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  33. That table looks so yummy! These are really interesting recipes. I like trying new things and can't wait to try making these sandwiches.

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  34. Wish I could have joined you in thic picnic Laavanya. Viji

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