For the love of sandwiches

I LOVE sandwiches and fix them up at home quite often. I love the versatility of the sandwich – anything and everything can go into it – like bhel poori or aloo poha. I keep experimenting with the fillings that I use in sandwiches and, often, have been surprised by the wonderful taste of some random ingredients thrown together. The OH is not a great fan of sandwiches but, slowly and gradually, he is becoming a convert. 🙂

This post is a dedication to the humble sandwich, which has saved me on many a busy day – offering a quick but tasty bite, sometimes sinful, sometimes healthy. What I am going to do is jot down some of my favourite types of sandwiches.

Here goes:

~ Vegetable sandwich aka Bombay Sandwich

Spread butter evenly on one slice of bread. Spread green chutney* on another slice. On the slice with green chutney, arrange boiled and sliced potatoes, boiled and sliced beetroot, thin slices of cucumber and tomato. Sprinkle some chaat masala on top of the vegetables and add a dollop of tomato ketchup. Close the sandwich with the buttered bread slice.

You can even add sev (omapudi) in the sandwich – sprinkle a bit over the vegetables before adding the chaat masala and tomato ketchup.

~ Corn and cheese sandwich

Spread cheese spread evenly on two slices of bread. On one slice, spread some boiled corn. Sprinkle some chaat masala over it. Cover with the other bread slice.

~ Cheese and jam sandwich

Spread pineapple jam on two slices of bread. Grate a cube of cheese on one slice and cover it with the other.

~ Cheese and chutney sandwich

Spread cheese spread on one slice of bread and green chutney* on the other. Join them together to make a sandwich.

~ Cheese, chutney and jam sandwich

Spread pineapple jam on one slice of bread and green chutney* on the other. Grate a cube of cheese on the slice with green chutney. Cover it with the slice with jam on it.

~ Jam butter masala sandwich

Spread butter on one slice of bread and pineapple/mixed fruit jam on the other. Sprinkle chaat masala liberally over the bread slice with jam. Cover it with the buttered slice of bread.

~ Moong sandwich

Butter one slice of bread, and spread green chutney* on another. On the slice with green chutney, add some moong that has been boiled with a little salt and water. Add a dollop of tomato ketchup over the moong and sprinkle with chaat masala. Cover with the buttered slice of bread. If you wish, you can add finely chopped onion to the moong.

~ Pani poori sandwich

Boil some potatoes with a little salt, and peel and mash them. Boil some red chana as well. Mix together the mashed potatoes, boiled red chana, salt and chaat masala to taste.

Spread green chutney* on a slice of bread, and butter another slice. Spread the potato mixture on the bread with green chutney and add a dollop of tomato ketchup over it. Cover with the buttered slice of bread.

Alternatively, instead of butter, you could spread some tamarind-jaggery** chutney on one slice of bread. The other slice will have green chutney* on it.

~ Aloo mutter sandwich

Boil some potatoes with a little salt, peel and mash them. Boil some green peas with a little salt. Heat a little oil in a pan, add the mashed potatoes and green peas, add salt to taste (if required), a teaspoon of garam masala and turmeric to taste. Mix well and let it cook for about 5-7 mintues. Take off heat, and let the mixture cool.

Spread some green chutney* on one slice of bread, and butter on the other. Spread the potato-peas stuffing on the bread slice with green chutney. Add a dollop of tomato ketchup over the potato stuffing, and cover with the buttered slice of bread.

~ Mixed vegetable sandwich

Finely chop some potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Boil some green peas in a little water. Take a little oil in a pan and heat it. Add the vegetables, boiled peas, salt and sugar to taste, a teaspoon of garam masala and turmeric each and mix well. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. When it is almost done, add a few tablespoons of tomato ketchup to the mixture and mix well.

Butter one slice of bread, and spread green chutney* on another slice. Spread the vegetable mixture on the bread slice with green chutney. Cover with the buttered slice of bread.

~ Club sandwich

Spread green chutney* on one slice of bread, and pineapple jam on another slice. Grate a cube of cheese over the bread slice with green chutney, and cover it with the bread slice with jam. Spread some green chutney on top of this sandwich. Arrange vegetables, tomato ketchup, chaat masala and sev (optional) over it, as in the vegetable sandwich recipe above. Cover this with a slice of bread that has been buttered. Grill the sandwich in a toaster.

~ Open sandwich

Puree about 3 tomatoes and an onion together. Heat a little oil in a pan and add a teaspoon of ajwain (omam). Once it splutters, add the tomato-onion puree to it. Let it cook till the raw smell goes away. Add salt, sugar and red chilli powder to it to taste. Let it cook till the mixture thickens a bit, and add a few tablespoons of tomato ketchup to it. Mix well and take off heat.

Spread this gravy (this is the gravy that I use for home-made pizza too) on a slice of bread. Add some chopped tomatoes, capsicum and onions on top. Grate half a cube of cheese over it, and broil it in the oven for a few minutes. Alternatively, you could also cook the sandwich on a dosa griddle, covered with a lid.

Notes:

*For the green chutney, just grind together a few green chillies and a small bunch of coriander in the mixer.

**For the tamarind-jaggery chutney, soak some tamarind in warm water for about 10 minutes and extract the pulp from it. Heat the tamarind pulp on a high flame till the raw smell goes away. Add jaggery to taste and cook till the mixture thickens a bit. When it is almost done, add about a spoonful of cumin powder to it. Let the chutney cool before using it.

If you are a fellow sandwich lover too, let us rejoice together in the pleasure of this simple treat and, most importantly, let us swap recipes. 🙂