Dahi Toast

We have been cooking some food out of Indian-ish, and this is the best known recipe from the book.  I must say that it really is a recipe that is greater than the sum of it's parts.  The yogurt spread that you make for the sandwich is just delicious, and if you are a party of one, it can be stored in the fridge for a ready made sandwich the following day.

• ¼ cup plus 6 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ tsp. black mustard seeds
• 24–30 fresh curry leaves
• ½ medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 small Indian green chiles or serrano chiles, finely chopped
• 1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of red chili powder
• Kosher salt
• 12 large slices sourdough bread
• chutney and/or ketchup

• Heat ¼ cup oil in a small saucepan over low heat until just warm. Add mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop and sputter, which should be a matter of seconds. Quickly remove pan from heat, add curry leaves, and toss to coat—they should crisp immediately from the residual heat. Set spiced oil aside.

• Mix together onion, green chiles, yogurt, cilantro, black pepper, and chili powder in a small bowl; season with salt. Spread yogurt mixture over 6 slices of bread and top with remaining slices to make 6 sandwiches.

• Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 sandwiches until undersides are crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn, add another 1 tsp. olive oil to skillet, and cook until the second side is crisp and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer sandwiches to a platter or plates; repeat with remaining sandwiches and 4 tsp. oil.

• Drizzle reserved spiced oil evenly over sandwiches. Cut in half and serve with chutney and/or ketchup alongside if desired.