Silly Races and A picnic

The tradition for Munch Bunch is simple.... 4 foodie families meet once every 4 to 6 weeks and try to cook a new themed menu to test different menu's and just explore a little outside our comfort zone. We have attempted Greek, Vietnamese, Indian Area Specialties, Ethiopian, Burmese.... aah so many more!

This month's theme was ..... 'Silly Races and a Picnic'.

With summer in Chicago, heading to the beach/park/somewhere outdoors is a must and miss Chatterbox decided that having silly races would be the perfect way.... so 12 adults, 8 kids ranging from 3 months to 9 years all headed to one of the Chicago Beaches right next to a park with all the picnic gear is full force.

Silly Races: Miss V made a list of 11 races and we managed to play 1: Lemon in a spoon race which was awesome fun! But we did play lots of Frisbee, catch the ball, cricket, walking on the beach, Simon Says and just having kids run around as we sat and caught up and just enjoyed sitting on the mats and soaking in the wonderful lake breeze.

Menu:

To begin with crunchy Vegetable Pastry Puff followed by Potato Kathi Rolls just reminiscent of the Mumbai infamous street food and then a delicious take on the Bahn Mi sandwich.

Of course for dessert we had a cake and to celebrate the American Independence Day ... a gorgeous cake.

For drinks this time since we were at the beach, we had lots of water, juices to keep it simple.

Kathi Roll/ Frankie:

This is a Mumbai special and totally reminds me of a simpler time walking on Breach Candy with my friends and asking the Rajesh Frankie wallah, please make it spicy! And then giggling along with friends and walking a lot more.

Makes 16 Frankie’s

Ingredients

Yellow Potato: 10-12: Boiled, peeled and mashed well

Yellow Onion: 2 thinly slices

Garlic: 3 cloves finely chopped

Ginger: 1/4 inch finely chopped

Serrano Peppers: 3-6 finely chopped

Cilantro: 1 cup finely chopped

Olive Oil: 3 tsp

Spices

Jeera: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1 tsp

Chilli Powder: 1 tsp (Use more to make it spicy)

Amchoor: 1 tsp

Chaat Masala: 2 tsp

Salt: Per Taste

Black Pepper: Per Taste

For Garnishing

1 Red onion: thinly sliced and marinated in 2 tsp chaat Masala

6-8 Serrano Peppers: Chopped well and marinated in 1 cup vinegar

Garlic Chutney: Readily available in Indian stores or homemade =

Tortilla: All purpose tortilla - 16

Process:

Making the Stuffing

1. Heat the olive oil and add Jeera till it splutters

2. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, serrano peppers. Sautee for 5-7 min. (till onions are translucent)

3. Add all the spices and cook for 2-3 minutes

4. Add the mashed potatoes and mix well, cook for another 5 minutes add cilantro and turn the flame off.

Assembling

1. On a flat bottom pan, heat the tortilla till warm

2. Spread the garlic Chutney

3. Place the cooked potato in the center, top with marinated onion and chilli-vinegar.

4. Roll like a burrito and sprinkle with chaat masala if needed

I covered with parchment papers since I wanted to keep it simpler to pick up and eat at the picnic, this is a wonderful idea for school lunches as well, since quick to grab and eat and you can include choice of vegetables as a filling. The best part of this Kathi roll/ Frankie was....is... it reminds me of home. 

Enjoy!