Mumbai Grilled Vegetarian Cheese Sandwich Made With Fresh Baked Bread

This is a very popular sandwich made by street vendors in India. You can find many recipes of these online. This recipe is unique because, unlike other recipes, this includes the recipe to bake the specific type of bread used by street vendors across India. I have included some photos of my previous experience eating in Mumbai.

You may ask what is Mumbai grilled vegetarian sandwich and how is it different than any other sandwich?.. Glad you asked.

This sandwich is unique due to (4) distinct reasons:

1. Bigger Bread (20% bigger). Minimum of 5" x 5".
2. Tons of Veggies
3. Balance of spice(s)
4. Very filling (1 sandwich can be 2 servings)

DIY (Restaurant Style) Sandwich Bread (5" x 5")

• 820 grams of AP flour
• 12 grams for salt
• 5 grams of dough enhancer
• 15 grams of yeast
• 60 grams of neutral tasting oil
• 60 grams of white sugar
• 450 mL of luke warm water (110 F)

Green Sauce (Chutney) - Grind everything together in a food blender

• Fresh Cilantro Leaves
• Spinach (a few to enhance green color, optional)
• Green Chilis (optional, preference on spice)
• 3 large cloves of garlic

Sandwich Masala

• 2 tbsp of Chaat Masala
• 2 tbsp of salt
• 2 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of pepper

Sandwich Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• (2) medium potatoes, boiled, and peeled
• Mozzarella or Light cheddar cheese, grated, thinly sliced
• 1/2 stick of butter melted

I strongly recommend baking this bread. It really makes a difference in the overall texture and taste of the sandwich. Alternatively, you buy store bought bread but try to get bread that is baked fresh and can absorb a lot of moisture. This is same type of bread you will often find when ordering this sandwich at a restaurant or street vendor in India.

Use a stand mixer and mix all of these ingredients first.

1. 450 mL of luke warm water with (15) grams of yeast
2. 60 grams of neutral tasting oil
3. 60 grams of white sugar
4. 12 grams for salt

Once mixed, slowly start mixing about 100 - 200 grams of flour. Do not mix all of the flour at once, allow the mixer to do it's job in slow speed. From time to time, stop the mixer, and use a long spatula to mix the dough by hand. You want to make sure all of the dry and wet ingredients are mixing together.

Once properly mixed, gradually increase the speed, and allow the dough to form it's own shape. Do not over mix. Sprinkle some oil on top (to prevent drying), cover with a towel, and allow the dough to rest for about 30 minutes. You want good gluten to form. By using luke warm water the dough will rise a little bit faster.

After 30 minutes, properly butter the loaf pan. I'm using a loaf pan with a lid. You can use the pan of your choice but for best results, a use the tallest loaf pan you have available. Here is a good one to use available from Amazon (link here).

Butter the loaf pan very well. You want to make ensure no spot is dry. Next, roll the dough properly to roughly the same length as the pan, it should be in a cylindrical shape. Place the dough inside the pan and press on the dough such that the dough spreads evenly, cover with a lid, and towel. Let the dough rise to the top.

Bake the dough in an oven at 400 F for 35 to 50 minutes (depending on your oven).

The sandwich masala is the only flavor inside this sandwich. It is important to ensure this flavor is created well otherwise the sandiwch's flavor will be bland.

This spice has a mix of savory, sweetness, sourness. Chaat masala is a very common and popular spice added to many Indian snack foods. This flavor is enjoyed by many, the only difference with the sandwich bread masala is that we are adding a lot more salt (since none of the other veggies have salt), cumin powder (slight nutty flavor), and freshly cracked pepper (bitter / spice).

Next create the green chutney as described above. This chutney is also very popular in Indian snack foods and is also commonly available in most grocery stores. To make it at home is very simple, simply mix the ingredients described above.

Boil the potatoes, peel, and dice them to the same size as the other vegetables. During grilling, it is vital everything cooks evenly.

To layer the sandwich requires the following:

1. Bottom sandwich loaf (buttered on both sides, green chutney on the inner side)
2. Potatoes sliced / dice
3. Good sprinkle of sandwich masala
4. Onions (diced)
5. Bit of cheese sprinkled
6. Slice of bread (buttered on both side, green chutney on top side)
7. Sliced cucumbers
8. Sliced tomatoes
9. Diced Green Pepper
10. Sprinkle (light) sandwich masala
11. More cheese sprinkled
12. Top Loaf (buttered on both sides, green chutney on the inner side)

As it's visible, this is a big sandwich - that will compress during grilling.

Use a cast iron skillet and heat it up to medium heat. Once upto temperature, reduce heat to low.

Place the sandwich carefully and press down firmly for about 60 seconds with a plate. Pressure should be firm and even across the sandwich making sure contents of the sandwich stay inside.

After 60 seconds, check the toast level of the loaf. If it is golden brown, carefully flip the sandwich, and repeat the process.

After grilling (should take about 3 minutes), remove the sandwich, and cut it into bite spice pieces. With a 5" x 5" stacked sandwich, you can cut them into minimum of (4) pieces.

Serve and enjoy!

If you'd like, you can find more unique Indian food recipes at www.recipesbydaisy.com.