Indian Street Food - The Bombay Green Chutney Sandwich (Grilled Version)
A popular street food and sandwich, especially in Mumbai, that is made with bread and vegetables, accompanied by a spicy green chutney and tomato ketchup.
Ingredients
For the Green Chutney:
- 1 cup fresh coriander
- 1/2 cup fresh mint
- 1/2 inch piece of ginger
- 3 to 4 green chillies (or according to your taste)
- 1 1/2 tsp lime juice
- to taste Salt
For the Sandwiches:
- 8 slices white sandwich bread
- 50 gm salted butter (preferably Amul)
- Green chutney (from above)
- 2 medium sized cucumbers , thinly sliced
- 3 to 4 tsps Chaat Masala
- 1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
- 3 medium sized potatoes (boiled and peeled), sliced
- 3 medium sizedtomatoes , thinly sliced
- some tomato ketchup
Instructions
- First make the Green Chutney. Put all the ingredients for the chutney into the blender or the chutney jar of your mixer/ grinder. Add a couple of teaspoons of water (as little as possible) and grind to a smooth thick paste. A runny Green Chutney will make soggy sandwiches. This sandwich will keep in the refrigerated for a couple of days, if stored in an airtight container.
- The white Sandwich bread I get here has a pretty soft crust, so I donu2019t trim them for this sandwich. On the street, Indian sandwich sellers tend to vary between keeping the crust on their sandwiches, or else trimming the corners off.
- Start by buttering one side of all the eight slices of bread and then spreading a thin layer of the Green Chutney over this.
- Build the Sandwich on 4 slices of the 8. Start by laying a layer of sliced potatoes, a light and even sprinkle of the Sandwich masala, then a layer of sliced cucumbers, another sprinkle of the masala, then a layer of the sliced tomatoes, a sprinkle of the masala, and then the sliced onions. Sprinkle some more masala lightly and then drizzle some tomato ketchup over the top.
- Cover each of the four built up Sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread, with the buttered side down. Slightly press the Sandwiches down (don't squish them down) and grill them in a sandwich press/ sandwich maker to a golden brown.
- Cut each Sandwich diagonally into two and your Bombay Chutney Sandwiches are ready to be served warm, with a little Green Chutney and tomato ketchup on the side, if you like. This recipe makes 8 half Sandwiches and serves 4.
Notes
For variations on the Bombay Chutney Sandwich:
For the original, non-grilled version of this Sandwich, after adding the tomato ketchup, cover with the other slice and just lightly press down. Cut the Sandwich into 4 equal squares and top/ garnish each square with a little Green Chutney and a squiggle of ketchup and serve.
For a toasted version of the Sandwich, put the Sandwich in an electric Sandwich maker or a handheld Sandwich Toaster and toast it to a golden brown.
For a Cheese, Tomato & Chutney Sandwich fill the Sandwich with only sliced potatoes and tomatoes, then grate generous amount of cheese over the tomato layer and grill it. You can also substitute the cheese with crumbled paneer, if you prefer.In India we also have “Jain” versions of many popular street foods. The Jains are an Indian community who are vegetarians but also don’t eat onions or root vegetables. So to make a Jain version of this Sandwich, leave out the onions, potatoes and substitute with more of the cucumbers and the tomatoes and proceed to make it as usual.
Sometimes these Sandwiches are also topped a a little more butter and sev (crunchy, deep-fried chickpea flour vermicelli) for some delightful crunch