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. 

Of jamming and canning

Classic peach jam 

      

Strawberry preserve

      

Cherry jam

     

If you ever see in Deli’s like Moshe’s, Le pain quotidian, smoke house or at any gourmet super markets there are pretty good chances that you would catch me around their shelves which are dotted by jams and preserves made inhouse, checking the label for ingredients and effusing over their brilliant flavor pairings but too pricey to bring them home. 

Strange but Its only this year for me in Mumbai that I got introduced to peaches, nectarines, persimmons, picture perfect cherries and abundance of strawberries. these fruits elude the markets of Hyderabad *sigh*. So in an attempt to take full advantage of the abundance I decided preserve few fruits, carefully ‘can’ them, eat it over buttered toast in the morning, eat it by spoonful when craving for sweet in the night or to put a twine around the jars and present it to friends. while I was looking up for tips on canning and recipes on Jams I did a right thing by ordering Canning for a new generation by Lianna krisoff and I was hooked. Earthy recipes and canning at home with minimum care are the star points for me in this book. 

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Each time I discuss with Seeteez something new in pastry that completely stumped me, he does not fail to remind me of my blog which is lying in limbo. That big boy can never get convinced if I plainly tell him I have no natural talent for writing and food blogging is all about beautiful writing, food styling, photography and keeping up with the trends happening in some very popular blogs all around the world. The truth is I have a lot to share. My life is practically revolving around butter, sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate and I am loving every sweet bit of it.

Without much ado I would like to tell you guys that I am now working as a trainee at a bakeshop which has been selling fantastic breads for the last 55 years. Its been two months working in a professional pastry kitchen and boy oh boy this did some wonders to my speed. 5 hours is what i spend working at the bakeshop shaping loaves, creaming butter and sugar, separating 60 eggs for a meringue and peeping into massive ovens with a crinkly face. After a snoozy local train ride I am back home ogling at food blogs and baking in my brothers adorable kitchen by the big window which truly is a spa treatment for the mind.  Every time i am close to finishing my bakery ingredients i  ever so happily make a trip to RUN to Crawford market. When I am there I’m untouched by all the melee. it’s the variety of dry fruits from macadamia to Turkish hazelnuts, cream cheese and cheddar at discounted prices, fresh herbs and my love bordering on obsession with fruits that makes this place a Medina of sorts for me.

Couple of weeks back I was insanely scouting the food blogs for recipes on homemade jam, after hours of searching I was totally lost with the whole canning process. The difference in sugar content, addition of pectin and other preservatives did little to comfort me. For that week since I was so pumped about jam making, I made Strawberry and Apple jam with Blueberries. I used this recipe from my good old trusted source, the jam turned out beautiful ruby red with every flavor being high and distinct and thus continuing my quest for good homemade jams led me to this book. This is my first book on jams and canning , it is terrific in the sense that it takes away all the mystery from canning and makes the whole jam making process a simple 4 stepped one.  More on this and jam recipes in my next post.