A date with an American Masala

For a self-proclaimed foodie, my knowledge about foods that I eat seems to be surprisingly sparse. You must have heard me raving about this amazing grilled cheese sandwich that my mother used to make for me that I kinda sorta modified to make my own...what? you haven't -- then I insist that you read the recipe here
What I didn't know was that this killer sandwich is called a toastie : a toasted sandwich made in a special machine, usually containing cheese combined with some other foodstuff.

I ran into Suvir Saran, an amazing chef and the author of the book American Masala. He inspired me to get out his book and my toastie maker and combine two of his recipes to make one killer toastie.

First things first - just in case you were wondering this is a toastie maker

I used the recipe for the warm pepper dip from the book American Masala (modified to my taste of course)

• 2 Sprays of High Heat Spectrum Canola Spray 
• 1 medium red onion - chopped
• 10 Baby Red Bell Peppers  - That's what I had on hand
• 2 medium tomatoes - chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic - peeled
• 2 Serrano - increase for more heat
• 1 tsp  Sea Salt
• 1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Feta Cheese
• Milk to make the dip (To consistency)

Toss all the ingredients, except milk & cheese, together. Spread on a greased baking dish. Roast in a pre-heated 450 degree F oven for 1 hr, stirring every 15 mins. Blend and make the dip. Here is how my beautiful dip looks (even Buddha approved!)

How I make my toastie?

• 4 Slices High Fiber Whole Grain Bread
• Spread the bread with the Red Pepper dip (thick coat)
• Take a Amul Cheese Cube or whatever cheese rocks your boat (tear and spread across the bread)
• Cover with another slice of bread
• Close the toastie maker and let the magic begin!

Here is how the Toasties looked -

K2 absolutely adores this version of the Toastie -- he will have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Sending this recipe to :

1. Nandoo's Kitchen for her event Healthy Diet : Healthy Breakfast (brainchild of Priya's Versatile Recipes)
2. Cooking 4 all Season's event - Come Join us for Breakfast
3. Food Better be Good's event - Kid's Delight : Lunch Box Series

Thanks Suvir for your wonderful book that has so many lovely recipes (most kid-approved, at least my kid approved :) )