Bombay Sandwich - the street food packed with vegetables

And a chutney to extend the life of herbs

Last month the TasteAtlas announced its top 100 sandwiches in the world list. As I read this article, I decided to lobby the heck out for the next year - for Bombay Sandwich, a street food stuffed to the gills with vegetables.

Bombay has now become Mumbai, but Bombay Sandwich - toasted as well as untoasted - continues to be in demand. Experience this sandwich once on the city’s action-packed streets - the traffic is roaring and speeding by and the tropical heat sits like a weight on the heart. However your stomach is satiated, palate is in heaven and you realize that this is the moment when you no longer feel the choking hold of life’s baggage. You’re simply happy because you just had a superb sandwich.

Bombay Sandwich from the streetside vendor - untoasted and toasted version

Bombay Sandwich is a portable, sumptuous, inexpensive sandwich - made right in front of you by carefully balancing a mountain of vegetables between two slices of bread lathered with salted butter and cilantro chutney, the heart and soul of this sandwich.

There are five main ingredients of a Bombay sandwich. Let’s first talk about the cilantro chutney. You have probably tasted cilantro chutney served with samosas or paapad in Indian restaurants. IMO, it is the best condiment known to mankind. Throw a dollop on top of crackers and cheese for an appetizer, wake up a salad dressing with a spoon-full, grill vegetables in a marinade of fresh orange juice and cilantro chutney, splash some on baked potato along with sour cream, enjoy an Indian-flavored pizza by replacing tomato sauce with this chutney, mix with some plain yogurt and cream cheese and pour on a grain bowl. If only it could cook itself …….

And before I lose your eyeballs because you’re a cilantro-hater, wait; cilantro is easily replaced by parsley, basil, mint or a combination of your choice. I recently replaced cilantro with curry leaves and the chutney turned out extraordinary. What I’m trying to tell you is chutney is a way of life cooking technique widely applicable to herbs or greens and a tasty way to extend their life (more about this in Technique). Traditionally Bombay Sandwich is sold on hand carts with cilantro or cilantro/mint chutney.

Choose a neutral bread, no sourdough or seedy breads, because bread is just a vehicle to carry the goodies inside. Bombay Sandwich works the best with sliced white bread for the rectangular shape of the bread allows for proper distribution of vegetables. And that is very important because, according to my husband and a sandwich purist, one should taste each vegetable in every bite.

Salted butter adds an additional layer of flavor compared to unsalted butter. The salted butter of choice in India is Amul butter, an iconic brand, beloved for tongue-in-cheek billboard ads, that satirize/celebrate news and current events through clever wordplay.

Amul ad from last month

Slices of cucumber, tomato, red onions, boiled potatoes and boiled beets – yes, you heard it right - are the vegetables typically used in a Bombay Sandwich. Feel free to skip the vegetables you don’t like (no raw onions for me); sliced carrots and radish, lettuce and spinach will be fitting additions too.

Sliced vegetables for Bombay Sandwich

And now sprinkle chaat masala liberally on every layer. Available in Asian grocery stores, Chaat masala is a piquant, tangy, umami-rich and salty spice mix. Like tajin, it goes very well on top of raw vegetables and fruits. Go for salt and pepper in the absence of chaat masala.

Bombay Sandwich is sold toasted or untoasted.

RECIPE - CILANTRO CHUTNEY

Cilantro chutney - the best condiment known to mankind!

Cilantro chutney is the glue that holds the Bombay Sandwich together. It is also a recipe within itself and a power workhorse to the boot.

You must use the stems of cilantro, just discard the bottommost woody portion. Thai chile peppers are available in Asian grocery stores. If not, replace them with serrano peppers but halve the proportion. If you are not a fan of hot food, skip the peppers completely.

Ingredients

• 2 cups roughly chopped cilantro including the stems (about 1 thick bunch or 2 puny bunches)

• 1-2 Thai chile peppers (I use four because we are heat freaks)

• 1 medium clove of garlic

• ¼ cup unsalted, unroasted peanuts #

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 teaspoons lime juice

Yield – Little less than a cup

# Substitute peanuts with an equal amount of pepita seeds in case of nut allergies.

Method

• Blend the ingredients into a smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of water, if needed, to facilitate blending.

• Store cilantro chutney in a glass container in the refrigerator. It stays good for two weeks.

RECIPE - BOMBAY SANDWICH

Ingredients

• 2 white bread slices

• Salted butter

• 1 teaspoon cilantro chutney

• 4-5 thin, round slices of Roma tomato

• 4-5 thin, round slices peeled cucumbers

• 4-5 thin, round slices peeled red onions

• 4-5 thin, round slices of boiled, peeled potatoes

• 2-3 thin, round slices of boiled/steamed/roasted, peeled beets

• Chaat masala or salt, pepper

Yield - 1 sandwich

Method

• Lay 2 slices of bread next to each other on a cutting board. Apply butter on one side. Apply ½ teaspoon cilantro chutney on the buttered side.

Or you could just stop and eat a Chutney Sandwich

• Now start placing the sliced vegetables on the bread in layers one after the other. One layer of tomatoes – 4 to 5 slices - followed by a layer of cucumbers and so forth.

• Sprinkle chaat masala or salt and pepper on every layer. Place the other bread slice on the top.

• Cut the sandwich into two pieces diagonally and serve with ketchup and/or cilantro chutney. Or toast it to amp the oomph. Add a slice of melty cheese like Cheddar or Havarti on top of the vegetables and use a panini press or a cast iron pan to toast. Don’t forget to apply butter on the outer sides for grill marks. Serve the toasted Bombay Sandwich hot with tomato ketchup and/or cilantro chutney.

  

  Bombay Sandwich

TECHNIQUE - GRIND HERBS INTO A CHUTNEY

Does this happen to you too? I arrive at the farmer’s market with a bounce in my step and a twinkle in my eye. The green abundance sends me on an instant high. I want to buy the squash - after all it’s in season - I’ll make chutney, sabji, add it to dal and roast it with Berbere for a quick lunch. Mushrooms - for pizza topping, noodles and it’s been such a LONG time since I’ve had mushroom masala sabji with peas. And OMG, the herbs are for sale - 4 bunches for a dollar, I’m NEVER EVER getting a deal like this. Let me load up first and think the specifics later.

I come home and as the week rolls by, I will be thankful if I get time to prepare dinner. None of the grand plans are working out plus I feel guilty that the produce is losing its prime.

Turn your wilting greens and herbs into chutney.

The very basic template of a chutney is put all the ingredients together and blend them. At the very basic, chutney is made up of star ingredient, heat providing ingredient, tart ingredient and homogenizing ingredient. Let me explain -

First is the star ingredient – In herb chutneys, star ingredient is cilantro, cilantro-mint, basil,

Heat providing ingredients are green chile peppers, dry red chile peppers or red chile powder.

The tart ingredient is normally lime/lemon juice, tamarind or even sour yogurt.

And the homogenizing ingredient prevents the chutney from becoming runny while imparting creaminess to it. Normally they’re roasted peanut powder, sesame powder or even grated, unsweetened coconut. Sometimes garlic or ginger is added for additional kick.

Cilantro, parsley, mint, basil and greens like watercress, spinach, fenugreek leaves, fennel fronds are ripe for chutney treatment. A combo of cilantro and parsley or cilantro and mint is wonderful too.

Blend 2 cups of herbs with a thai chile pepper or two or none, 1 medium peeled garlic clove, ¼ cup unsalted and unroasted peanuts or pepita seeds, ¾ teaspoon salt and 5 teaspoon lime juice with an additional teaspoon of water to temper the consistency in the blender. Paste these measurements on the fridge to save your herbs from destruction and transform them into a multi-tasking condiment.

SHOPPING LIST

1) Chaat Masala - MDH, Everest

2) Salted Butter - Amul

The next meal of ChutneyLovers is Pithla, Bhaat and Mithbhurka, a rustic meal from Maharashtra.

Do you have an Indian dish you are yearning to cook? Anything you have tasted at a restaurant and wish to churn out at home? Want to learn more about spice proportions or spice pairings? Drop me a note in the comments, and as long as its vegetarian, we will tackle all your culinary wishes, queries and desires.