This Mumbai Street Food Will Put Your American Grilled Cheese To Shame

@mumbaiguide

There aren’t many chefs that customize a snack to the level that a Mumbai sandwichwallah (sandwich maker) does. The Mumbai veg. cheese grill sandwich is famous throughout the streets of the city.

People in Mumbai go crazy over this food. The levels of cheese and butter used to make it can vary depending on the stall and sometimes the veg. cheese grill sandwich is served with a sliced carrot and sauces like ketchup or chutney on the side. Some variations use raw onion and capsicum. The flavor of the green chutney becomes immersed into the bread and the veggies.

A post shared by Helen Graves (@foodstories) on

A sandwich maker might be up as early as 5 a.m. to make all of the chutneys for the sandwiches. In Mumbai, these sandwich gurus buy vegetables from different markets and receive daily deliveries of fresh bread, condiments and coal for the grill. To make these sandwiches, the sandwich maker needs green chutney, garlic chutney, butter, white bread, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, peppers, beetroot and cheese.

The whole process of making the sandwich requires about 50 minutes from start to finish and one could probably feed two people, it’s that packed. Most vegetable grill sandwiches are on the spicy side.

These sandwiches are usually inexpensive and heavy on your stomach. One of the best places in Mumbai to eat a veg. cheese grill sandwich is at Anand Stall in Vile Parle West. Here’s how the pros do it over there.

At Anand Stall, the sandwich maker uses butter, mint, coriander, chutney, tomato, onions, capsicum, potato, pani puri masala, tomato sauce and white cheese.  The secret to making this sandwich is all in the fresh vegetables and homemade chutney. While you can make a veg. cheese grill sandwich on your own, nothing will quite measure up to the ones these professionals whip up in Mumbai. They’ve mastered their craft to a T.

A post shared by Yummitment (@yummitment) on