Reminiscing over Mumbai and chutney sandwich

If I were to replay Mumbai brunch scene for you, then it's only fair I make you a chutney sandwich. This sandwich holds a special place in my heart, I put it top most in my healthy brunch list that I would eat at that time if I was not eating Maggi, left over Chinese food, or worst starving further. That freshly made hot sandwich was a perfect melange of local veggies, homemade chutney and fake tomato sauce between super soft white bread ,with sides removed and toasted on charcoal. You can totally ask him to omit the fake sauce and keep the sides one.

The one close to Mahim station was my regular pit stop for sandwich, after a while I dint have to tell him to add cheese to my sandwich he did it anyway. It felt normal to have a chat with him while fanned the charcoal sigree and I told him we made the same version of sandwich back at work and his pudina chutney goes by the name of cilantro pesto on our menu I was tempted to tell him our selling price was 100 times higher than his but never had the heart to shock him. He'd occasionally give a few tips on how to attain perfect smooth consistency of the chutney. Though  he never revealed measures of his blend he always told me to go easy on the mint and use a BIG handful of coriander. Keep adding water a little at a time while blending and finish it with a splash of oil.  I would stand there watching him deftly use his sharp handmade knife to slice the beets paper thin without theP support of a chopping board.  While some  of the other sandwichwalas have other variations like toasted butter jam, potato cheese his make shift work stations supported only the original chutney sandwich. He manned it single handedly without help, when he had no orders he would rip the bread covers into squares and neatly stack it to use it for packing the takeaway orders or prep a few sandwiches anticipating sudden orders.
 Here is more on Mumbai sandwichwalas if you like a further read and if that's not enough make yourself this sandwich already.



Mumbai street inspired chutney sandwich 

White bread w/o sides 4 slices 

Coriander mint chutney to smear 

Mashed and tempered potatoes 2 medium

Tomato 1 small

Cucumber 1 medium half 

Beetroot 1 small

Onions a few rings

Tomato ketchup optional
Butter a dab

For coriander and mint chutney - wash a big bunch of coriander leaves including the stalks, stalks have more flavour than the leaves, throw in a few mint leaves, a few green chillies, a teaspoon or two of roasted cumin seeds, a small clove of garlic , a squirt of lime, a dash of sugar and a pinch of salt. This can be stored in the fridge up to a week or longer.

For tempered potatoes-  Boil potatoes in an open vessel and not a pressure cooker (pressure cooker makes the potatoes too soft) , peel and mash the potatoes and leave aside. Heat oil in a pan , when hot tip in a few mustard seeds once they splutter add in curry leaves and a slit green chilli , a pinch of turmeric powder, mashed potatoes and some chopped coriander leaves. Stir for a while and turn off the stove.

Assembly-

Cut the sides of two bread slices
Smear a little butter and coriander mint chutney on one of the bread slices
Spread a teaspoon of tempered mashed potato covering all the surface
Place a few slices of beetroot, cucumber,tomatoe and onions in the same order
Season with salt & pepper use a cheese slice if you like
Now close the sandwich the other slice of bread , brush a little butter on the bread and place it in a gas toaster or griller
Grill till golden brown on both the side
Serve with tomatoe ketchup or more coriander mint chutney

Update: I found a more authentic recipe Here

Variation - Boiled eggs can be replaced in place of all the veggies, it make for a superb sandwich too.