Nirry and I absolutely love toasties at home, and they are truly a little indulgence on those rainy days or whenever we simply aren’t up for a big cook. Personally I think that it’s one of the best ways to get something tasty and yet showcase some amazing flavours all between 2 slices of sandwich bread. This recipe literally came about as a result of plenty of tests on cooler days and some cravings for something ‘chatpata’ (a Hindi word for spicy, tangy, crispy, sweet, salty and umami all together).
You could call this an Indian toastie sans the cheese. For a cheese version click here to see my version of an Indian spiced cheese toastie – hands down my favourite way to have breakfast.
Inspired by Priya from Bon Appetit, I set out to create my own version of Dahi Toast mainly because this was something I had never tried and also because I too wanted to create a few ‘family favourite’ recipes to keep documented. So using her recipe as the base, I tried a few different iterations of a recipe until I found the one that I absolutely loved and have made over and over and over again since.
What is Dahi Toast?
My version is a classic combination of thick Greek yogurt, finely chopped onion, a bit of crushed fresh garlic and ginger (use ginger and garlic paste if you want!), salt, pepper, some turmeric, fresh chilli and (this is completely optional and only if you can source this) some of the masala and oil from a fresh chilli pickle.
For some extra cheeky flavour, add in some cheddar cheese too.
What ties everything together is a tempered oil with mustard seeds, dried chilli and fresh curry leaves and, sometimes if I am feeling for some deep extra flavour, I will also add in some garlic slices too.
Let’s make Dahi Toast
Trust me, this is such an easy recipe and it is so easy to make with ingredients that are easily found.
Dahi Toast
Equipment
- Flat fry pan
- Tadka pot (available from Indian grocers) or a small milk pot
Ingredients
For the filling and bread
- 8 slices thick cut bread like sourdough or thick rye
- ¾ cup thick Green yogurt the thicker the better!
- ½ medium sized Spanish red onion, chopped fine
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed to a paste
- 1 cm piece of ginger, crushed to a paste
- 1 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped cilantro
- ⅛ tsp. paprika or red chilli powder
- ⅛ tsp. ground turmeric
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or ghee
- butter or ghee to spread on the bread
For the Tadka/Chonk
- 2 dried red chillies available at South Asian grocers
- 1 tsp whole mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or ghee
Optional
- 1 fresh green chilli, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, sliced
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, chilli powder, turmeric, lime juice, chopped onion, ginger, garlic, fresh coriander and the fresh chilli (if using)
- Prepare the bread slices by buttering one side of each slice. You can brush the bread with ghee, if using, on one side.
- Prepare the tadka/chonk in a small tadka pot or a tiny pot by heating up the vegetable oil over a medium high heat. Use a small milk pot if you cannot find a tadka pot. Add in the mustard seeds
- Let the seeds fry until they start to sputter and turn off the heat. Using a lid to help shield yourself, carefully drop in the curry leaves, dried chilli and garlic (if using) into the oil. Be really careful here! Set this flavoured oil aside
- Heat up a fry-pan, griddle or a sandwich press
- Spread a thick layer of the yogurt mixture between 2 slices of bread and sandwich this together, with the buttered side facing outward. Fry the sandwiches buttered side down for roughly 1 minute or until golden brown. Flip, and fry on the other side
- Remove the sandwiches and arrange on a plate. Pour over the prepared oil with the mustard seeds, dried chilli and curry leaves to cover the sandwiches. Serve with some tomato sauce or some green chutney
This quickly became one of my favourite recipes and I love my little adaptation of an already incredible recipe. I hope you all enjoy it too! Leave me a comment below and share your photos with me on Instagram via @theminiaturelife
