The Rokeby Melt

And as I lie in bed, trying to battle the obnoxious fever, feeding on healthy lauki ki subzi, I miss home and the comforts that come attached with the word home, and reminisce -- the foothills of the Himalayas sitting in all their glory, basking in the sun. The trees stretching in the crisp morning air, waking the birds and the animals. Gun Hill, Barlowganj, Jharipani, Landour -- ah! In this hot state of fever how I crave the touch of the cool mountain breeze of Mussoorie.

The Himalayan mountains sitting in all their glory

Mussoorie trees stretching in the crisp morning air

And how I miss that delicious sandwich I had had for breakfast at Rokeby, in Landour, on my last trip there. The fresh lettuce, the juicy, sweet onions and the melange of all things gorgeous! No wonder this last Sunday I replicated the same and treated myself to simple joys that were a combined wonder of wonders. But before anyone blames me of plagiarism, let me make two clarifications:

a) This is an original recipe solely inspired by what I tasted, and

b) I ordered a dish for dinner at Rokeby the night before this breakfast and that mustard chicken tasted EXACTLY like what I had created and put on this blog a few months ago. (Read "Cut the Mustard")

Well, I call this one, The Rokeby Melt. Recipe below:

Ingredients:

Hot Dog Buns - 2

Eggless Mayonnaise - Enough to spread dollops of the same on the buns

Cheese Slice - 2

Mushrooms - 200 gms, thinly sliced

Red Onions - 2 medium ones, thinly sliced

Olive Oil - 6 tbsps

Garlic - 1 clove, thinly sliced

Lettuce - 2 medium leaves

Pepper - To taste

Salt - To Taste

Sugar - 1 tsp

Balsamic Vinegar - 2 drops

Method:

       •    Take a wok and heat 4 tbsps of olive oil on medium heat. Add the sliced onions to this wok and cook till they turn a deep brown. Add a dash of salt to the onions, and in order to hasten the caramelizing process, also add a teaspoon of sugar. Ensure that you keep stirring the onions every now and then to prevent burning. Further, add some more oil in case you feel the onions are drying out. Once the onions are deep brown in color and taste sweetly divine, they are caramelized and ready to be used for the sandwich. (NOTE: Caramelized onions keep for over 2 weeks if stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, so you could easily caramelize onions earlier and use as necessary).

       •   Now take another wok and heat the other 2 table spoons of olive oil. Add the thinly sliced garlic to the heated oil and cook for about a minute before adding mushrooms to the same. 

       •   Allow the mushrooms to cook for a while before adding a dash of balsamic vinegar to the wok, in order to enhance the flavor of the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms have sweat and turned golden brown, remove from heat.

       •   Meanwhile, halve the hot dog buns horizontally and toast mildly.

       •   Now smear mayonnaise (I prefer the eggless variety as I strongly dislike the eggy after-taste).

       •   Tear some lettuce and prepare a comfortable bed on the lower half of the bun for the remaining sandwich to rest on.

       •   Now gently spoon out and spread on the lettuce bed a layer of the caramelized onions and then a layer of mushrooms. Sprinkle some pepper and salt to taste.

       •   Add cheese slices on the upper half of the bun and gently rest it as the crowning glory.

       • Nuke it in the micro for about 30 seconds to ensure the cheese is nicely melting and   binding all of the sandwich together.

       •   Voila! It is ready to eat!!!! Serve with Mustard & Tomato Ketchup.

            

So you see, peeps, I may vacation by the sea and live in the plains, but I am a pure mountain girl, and when I miss my pretty Himalayas, the big time breakfast person (read Anka) will do anything to savor the taste of the hills... 

Now, GO DIG IN with a mug of freshly churned cold coffee!!!! :D