Mumbai Masala Sandwich

Fresh sandwich bread stuffed with potato filling, tomato, onions, chutney and a special spice powder. These ingredients make up the Mumbai Masala sandwich.

I worked in Mumbai for a year but never summoned the courage to try these from the large number of roadside eateries. The best I could do was wada pav from a cart outside our residence and that was because my roommate bought it for me. Recently I ate this sandwich at a friend's house and finally understood why everyone loves it so. I had to try it at home.

I  got my chance when I made this sandwich bread. My daughter loves potatoes and bread separately but did not care for the potato bread combination. My husband loved it even if he had never heard of the sandwich before. I really liked it and can see how it fits into the Mumbai street food scene.

You will need (for 4 servings as a meal)
A loaf of Sandwich bread
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, cut into rings
1 tbsp butter

For the potato filling
3 large potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 Serrano pepper (or other green chili pepper), minced
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 inch ginger, shredded
1 tbsp. sandwich masala (recipe below)
1/3 cup frozen peas
4-5 sprigs cilantro
5-7 curry leaves
salt to taste

For the chutney see this recipe

For the spice blend powder
2 tbsp. cumin seeds
6-8 cloves
1 in cinnamon stick
1 tsp. black pepper corns
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. black salt
1/2 tbsp. aamchur

Make the chutney and keep aside. To make the spice blend powder, roast all the spices, except black salt and aamchur, and grind to a fine powder. Mix in the black salt and aamchur. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Boil and peel the potatoes. Mash roughly and keep aside, do not knead. Chop the onion and green chili pepper. In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Next add onion and Serrano pepper. Saute till tender then add the turmeric powder, sandwich masala, ginger and frozen peas.

Saute for a few minutes until peas are cooked.

Add the potatoes and salt to taste. Add a few tablespoons water to soften the mixture if needed. Turn off heat and allow it to cool.

To prepare the sandwich cut slices of bread and apply a layer of butter followed by chutney on one side of both slices. Spread potato filling over the top of one of the slices. Add a slice or two of tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle the sandwich masala liberally, adjust according to taste. Place the second slice chutney side down over the first.

Apply a little butter to the bottom of a sandwich toaster and place the sandwich inside. Add a dab of butter to the top.

Close the contraption and brown both sides. If you do not have one of these sandwich toasters then you can toast it on a pan.

Enjoy!

With this post I have reached a mini milestone. This is my 300th post.