Sweet, salty, spicy, and savory. This classic Mumbai sandwich recipe is full of flavor that will leave you wanting more! It contains beets, potatoes, butter, coriander chutney, and is a popular street food in Mumbai. Serve this sandwich as a filling and delicious breakfast or snack.

The Mumbai sandwich, also known as the Bombay sandwich, is an incredibly delicious vegetarian Indian street food where chutney, juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and gooey melted cheese meet a bold dose of spice mix.

There are many different sandwich recipes served in the city of Mumbai. But this popular and delicious vegetable sandwich was one of my favorites during my college days. Whenever I forgot my lunchbox, my friends and I would go to a sandwich stand across from our college and order our very own custom vegetable sandwiches.

My sister especially loves the toasted version of these sandwiches and always orders them when we go to restaurants and cafes in Mumbai. This post is especially dedicated to her.

Where does the Mumbai sandwich come from?

As a colonial legacy, the sandwich is generally attributed to John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. According to “The Oxford Companion to Food” by Alan Davidson, Montagu preferred to eat food in this form so that he did not have to leave the card table.

Since this format was perfect for easy eating and almost begged for commercial use, it soon experienced a real explosion in England's food scene.

But before the British could make the sandwich known outside England, India was already raving about two other colonial imports, namely bread and potatoes from the Portuguese, who had already settled in India.

Then the British came and brought us the concept of the sandwich. The idea of vegetables in the sandwich, such as bell peppers, beets, cucumbers, and onions, as well as the chutney in the form of coriander and pudina (mint in Hindi), comes from various parts of India. But everything was very easily available in Mumbai and the triumph of the Mumbai sandwich began.

There is no real date for when the Mumbai sandwich was exactly created. It probably dates back to the 1960s, when many migrant workers came to the city due to the booming mill industry. While the closure of the factories brought Mumbai's textile industry to a standstill, the Mumbai sandwich survived this time completely unscathed. Almost four decades later, this humble creation can still be found on almost every street, and is still extremely popular with college kids and workers, all the way up to high society.

Ingredients for Mumbai Sandwich

Vegetables – The various vegetables that make up the bulk of this sandwich are cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and beets. Sometimes green bell peppers are also added.

It might seem unusual to you at first to put beets on a sandwich, but this earthy vegetable elevates the flavor of this sandwich from ordinary to top-notch. The beetroot is cooked and sliced before being layered into the sandwich. This adds a nice sweetness and ties all the savory and spicy flavors together. I highly recommend using beetroot to create a truly authentic Mumbai sandwich, and it tastes absolutely fantastic.

Of course, you can leave out vegetables you don't like or add others you prefer. There are hardly any limits to your creation, but for a rounded street food experience as in Mumbai, I suggest adding all the vegetables as listed in the recipe.

Dhaniya Chutney (coriander dip) – The chutney can be prepared a day in advance and kept in the fridge. It is versatile and can be added to Kathi rolls, pakoras or chaat.

Spices – Black salt and chaat masala give this sandwich recipe a lot of flavor. You can also add bhuna jeera (roasted cumin powder) as well as freshly ground black pepper for more flavor.

Chaat Masala – An important ingredient is the chaat masala powder. Chaat masala is a tangy spice blend that is often sprinkled on Indian snacks. You can easily find chaat masala online or at any Indian grocery store. But it's best to make it yourself using my recipe. It's ready in no time.

Bread – Soft, fluffy white bread is the best bread choice for your Mumbai sandwich. But you can easily use your preferred type of bread. For healthy sandwiches, whole wheat bread, multigrain bread, or soft rye bread are some good options.

Butter – Regular dairy butter, usually salted, is used in this vegetarian sandwich, but you can substitute it with vegan butter instead.

Variations

• Vegan option – To make a vegan version of the vegetable sandwich, replace dairy butter with vegan butter.
• A variation of this sandwich recipe also includes cheese. You can use grated processed cheese or cheddar cheese. In India, we use the popular brand Amul processed cheese
  
   

FAQs

Can I use garlic in coriander chutney and leave out the mint?

Yes, you can add garlic to the coriander chutney, I do that sometimes too. If you don't feel like having a mint flavor or don't have any mint on hand, you can leave it out completely.

How do I pack my sandwich for my road trip?

I actually don't recommend this sandwich for packing for car rides, as the sandwich can get a bit soggy. But for other sandwiches that don't use watery ingredients, wrap the sandwich in foil and then place it in a tiffin box. The sandwich is now ready for a trip!

Serving suggestions

These sandwiches are so good that I often make them for brunch or as a light lunch or dinner. They are also absolutely recommended as an evening snack in front of the TV.

Ingredients for 5 Sandwiches

For Vegetable Sandwich

• 10 slices of white bread, whole grain bread, rye bread or any other soft bread
• 2 small to medium potatoes, cooked and sliced
• 1 medium beetroot, cooked and thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 small to medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
• Butter, soft and at room temperature, salted or unsalted to taste
• Chaat Masala, to taste
• Black salt, to taste
• Bhuna Jeera (roasted cumin powder), to taste – optional
• Freshly ground black pepper – optional
• Tomato ketchup or sauce for serving the sandwiches
• For preparing Dhaniya Chutney (coriander chutney)

• 1 cup tightly packed coriander leaves
• ½ to 1 tsp Chaat Masala powder, add to taste
• 1 to 2 green chilies, or more, to taste
• Salt or black salt, to taste
• 1 to 2 tsp water for mixing or grinding – optional
  
   

Instructions

Make Chutney

Put coriander leaves, chaat masala powder and green chilies in a blender. Add a pinch or two of salt. Chaat masala already contains salt.

Grind the chutney ingredients until smooth. You don't necessarily need to add water. But if the ingredients are not grinding properly, add 1 or 2 tsp water.

Transfer the Dhaniya Chutney (coriander chutney) into a bowl. Check the taste and add a little more salt if necessary.

Cover the chutney and set it aside briefly if you are making vegetable sandwiches immediately, otherwise place it in the refrigerator.

Gemüse zubereiten

Rote Beete und Kartoffeln kochen oder dämpfen, bis sie weich sind. Du kannst beide Gemüse in einer Pfanne, einem Schnellkochtopf oder im Instant-Topf dämpfen.

Beide Gemüse nach dem Abkühlen schälen. Dann die Rote Bete in dünne Scheiben schneiden und die Kartoffeln ebenfalls in Scheiben schneiden.

Zwiebel und Gurke schälen und in dünne Scheiben schneiden. Zum Schluss die Tomaten ebenfalls in dünne Scheiben schneiden.

Mumbai sandwich topping

Spread the bread slices evenly and very well with butter.

Now spread the Dhaniya-Chutney on the slices.

Place the vegetable slices in individual layers on a slice of bread. Sprinkle the black salt and Chaat Masala on each vegetable layer. If you want it less spicy, skip sprinkling on every other layer.

Cover the sandwich with the second slice of bread.

You can toast the sandwich in a panini grill or in a cast iron pan until the bread has a golden, crispy layer.

Cut Mumbai sandwich in two halves.

Serve freshly prepared Mumbai sandwich with ketchup.

Tips

• Green chutney gives this sandwich a deliciously spicy flavor. If you are making green chutney from scratch, you can add more or less of certain ingredients. For example, add fewer green chilies if you prefer a milder chutney, and add more if you want more heat.
• You can also add fresh mint leaves to the chutney for a refreshing minty flavor.
• Cut off the edges of the bread slices as desired.

I look forward to hearing from you...

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