Herby Chicken Salad on Multigrain Bread

I bought a lovely multigrain loaf from Bliss Chocolates. Yes, yes…they now bake loaves, pita, lavash, foccacia and a host of other yeasty delights. And their packaging is quite nice as well and you know I’m a sucker for such things anyway. After I polished off half a loaf with just olive oil and some balsamic vinegar, I was left thinking how wonderfully this bread would lend itself to my chicken salad. I know it’s winter and a Chicken Salad is more of a light summery meal. But in Bangalore, the sun still shines nice and bright and the skies are awash with my favorite shade of blue. It’s not fair is it? :P

This basic recipe has many tricks up it’s sleeve. a. You can make this ahead and keep it in the fridge, the flavors just get better. b. So needless to say, it’s a great picnic staple! c. Serve it on some cucumber roundels and you have a fancy cocktail snack at a party! d. I ate this for lunch, so yes it’s hearty enough. And finally e. even though it’s a salad, it dosen’t feel like punishment at all because it’s so yummy! If all this is not enough to make you try this right away … look at the pictures!

Okonomiyaki or "As you like" - Japanese Pizza

Featured in Foodgawker.com on 20th Nov 2012

Featured in Tasteologie.notcot.org on 20th Nov 12

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I must confess, I had never heard of this thing till my trip to Stuttgart this summer. I know Stuttgart and Japan are miles apart, but the story starts there. The co-resident’s friends, let’s call then D and E decided to make Okonomiyaki for dinner. Now E had travelled to Japan for her summer break and fell in love with this dish.

The dish being a savory omlette/ frittata/ pizza made out of flour, eggs, cabbage, veggies and pork and topped off with mayo, sweet sauce, fish flakes and seaweed. It’s so popular in Japan that there are more than 30,000 specialized Okonomiyaki restaurants. The restaurant provides you with ready okomomiyaki batter and you add in whatever your heart desires and proceed to grill it on the grill pan in front of you. Then you decorate it with the condiments of your choice and proceed to polish off your Japanese pizza! Unfortunately there are less than 100 restaurants outside Japan that serve this, so if you want to eat it, you’ve got to make it yourself!

So when E and D made this for me, I was intrigued but not entirely convinced of its merit. When I ate it though, I was hooked! Trust me the ingredient list might sound kooky but it tastes incredible! Now E is a converted vegetarian, so her version does not include pork or seafood but feel free to add it if you please. Literally, that’s what Okonomi means - “as you like” :)

P.S. A friend told me Harima in Bangalore serves a mean Okonomiyaki… must try it out!