It may surprise you to know that tomato along with chilly and potato came to India from South America during the rule of Aurangzeb in the late 17th century. Experts trace the route of their journey from South America to Europe before landing in Indian sub-continent.
Today tomato is a popular vegetable in Indian households, and indeed in other countries. It is the ideal option to choose when you want to give your dish a tangy flavor. It goes with nearly all vegetables that I can imagine like ladies finger for example.
A brief research on the web reveals a range of mouth-watering Indian recipes with tomato. Some of these like tomato rice (of the south Indian origin), mushrooms in onion-tomato gravy, tomato soup, tomato chutney, tomato pickle, and tomato salad with sliced cucumber and onion are quite popular across a large populace.
My long-time friend, now an occasional nutritionist, insists that we eat tomato daily because she says it is a nutrient-dense super-food and a rich source of vitamins A and C and folic acid.
How does that help?
Well, in layman’s terms, tomato helps to counter cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, constipation, and a host of other health hazards.
Except for few odd dishes tomato is a constant companion in my cooking. Last year when the tomato price went through the roof it was difficult to manage things. That didn’t stop me using tomato although I used it in small quantity to keep costs under check.
Although I use tomato mostly as cooking ingredient, I often make sandwiches with it for my family in the breakfast. And let me tell you, we enjoy it like none else.
If you are a tomato enthusiast and a sandwich lover, here are a few simple steps to make grilled tomato sandwich in less than 3 minutes. Guaranteed.
Ready? Let’s begin.
1)
Get 2-3 fresh and ripe medium-sized tomatoes, one for each pair of sandwich. Flavorful, juicy tomatoes make great sandwich. Unpluck the stem and wash them clean from dirt.
2)
Cut each tomato into 3-4 identical flat pieces, taking care that the juice inside doesn’t spill over much.
3)
Take a slice of brown bread (nutritional?) and on one side paste a thin layer of butter. I use Amul Lite which is said to have low fat, low cholesterol (don’t query me detail on this… please). The thickness of butter layer may depend on how old you are.
4)
Place 3 or 4 tomato pieces on the buttered side of the bread slice. Now sprinkle freshly ground pepper a bit liberally, and also add some amount of kosher salt or table salt to it (picture above).
5)
Place another bread slice on it (note I haven’t buttered the second slice), and grill the pair in a griller. You need a sandwich or bread griller for this, and NOT bread toaster. I have the Philips sandwich maker for that; mine is black in color (similar product picture at right).
6)
Would I prefer some add-ons, like a layer of cheese maybe, or/and some herbs perhaps? Thank you. For me a dash of butter with pepper and kosher salt are okay for a tasty tangy crispy tomato sandwich for my breakfast (picture below).
That’s all there is to grilled tomato sandwich. Eat the crunchy sandwich fast – else it becomes soft after a while.
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So… what’s your take? The comment section below is all yours to share your secrets.
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