Heart warming Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Corn Soup

While going to pick up the car from the service station, we saw two men selling ears of corn from the backside of a truck. He kept shouting "4 for 20 rupees". I told him I wanted just two and got some home. I wanted to make my sweet corn soup once more. This time I also got celery from the local store. Chopped pieces of celery leaves as well stalk when added to the soup make me go back in time to when I used to have this soup at home. This soup used to be made quite often at home. It is filling as well as good in the cold of Ooty. When tasting the soup with the celery added, I remembered that we used to have this with chicken sandwiches. It brought back one particular memory from the past.

Power cuts were quite common in Ooty when it rained. A tree would fall somewhere and there would not be power for days at end. On one such night, we were singing songs, a favorite time pass on a powerless evening, and munching these yummy chicken sandwiches along with the soup. My granny was around too and she would each time try to pry away the bollywood numbers from our minds and try to sing some songs in praise of god. Some of my most cherished memories and delectable combos.

Ingredients for 2 sandwiches :

1. 4 slices of brown bread
2. Butter
3. 1 leg of chicken
4. Salt to taste
5. 1/4 tsp vinegar
6. Pepper to taste

How I made it :

1. Boil the chicken with salt, vinegar in water. I pressure cooked it for 2 whistles on high and 1 whistle on low. The vinegar makes the chicken stay white and cook faster. Retain water/stock for use in soups, curries for enhanced flavour.
2. Shred the chicken into small pieces.
3. Heat the tava. Place the slices of bread on the warm tava. The idea is to warm the slices through.
4. Generously butter all slices of bread on 1 side each.
5. Mix pepper into the chicken. 
6. Take two slices of bread. Place them down with buttered side facing up. Spread chicken on the bread. Cover each with the other slice of bread with buttered side down.
7. Serve hot with any soup of your choice. 

We had this with sweet corn soup and it was a whole lot things for me. A hearty meal indeed.

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Sweet Corn Soup/Cream of corn soup

I'm sooo thankful that the monsoon did finally arrive in Bengaluru. The rains this year have been pathetic and depressing. However, with what little we do get, what else can one do on a Sunday afternoon?? Yes, have something hot. I had bought these 2 steamed ears of corn from a push cart vendor and I knew what I was gonna do with them.

Ingredients for 4 bowls of soup :
2 ears of corn - steamed
4 cups of water
1/4 cup fresh cream/milk
2 tsp black pepper corns
1tsp vinegar
salt to taste
2 eggs (optional)
1tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

How I made it :

1. Remove the kernels from one ear of corn.
2. Grind the kernels with the fresh cream/milk, pepper corns and vinegar. Not completely into a smoothie but till the kernels appear as tiny as coarse bread crumbs.
3. Mix the cornflour in the water. Make sure the water is cold. 
4. Add the paste in step 2 in a vessel. Mix in the water from Step 3. Mix well so that all is well incorporated.
5. Add salt to taste. Add the sugar as well.
6. Also add the kernels from the other ear of corn.
7. Bring to a boil on low heat.
8. After about 5 minutes, slow drop in the egg in a steady drizzle mixing as you do. 

Serve hot. I'd reckon adding chopped celery would take this to another level. I did not have any at hand.

Edit : I don't have a picture that does justice but it was truly heart warming on this cold rainy afternoon. I served it with chicken sandwich on another day and got quite a good capture of it then.

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