This Indian street food favorite is filled with spiced cilantro chutney and delicious vegetables, then grilled to perfection. If you’re in the market for a new veggie laden sandwich, try my authentic Indian Veg Grilled Sandwich recipe today!
Table of Contents
About this recipe
This is another easy and healthy veg grilled sandwich recipe that can be made for a quick breakfast and brunch.
Though the grilled sandwich recipe is similar to Bombay Veg Sandwich, it is the grilling that makes a huge difference.
While you can omit the grilling to make this more like a basic veggie sandwich, I’m here to tell you that this simple step makes all the difference.
Crunchy, buttery bread crisps up against the vegetable like a giant crouton wrapped around a salad. Trust me, make this today!
You can choose to make this truly street style veg grilled sandwich in an electric grill sandwich maker as I have done – or use an open grill or hand-held stovetop toaster.
Grilling the sandwich makes the bread slices golden crisp and many people like it that way. I am personally fond of both the ways – toasting as well as grilling.
How to make Grilled Sandwich
For ease of preparation, you’ll want to prep everything before you start assembling the sandwiches.
Prepare the vegetables
1. Steam or boil 1 medium beetroot and 2 small to medium potatoes in steamer or pressure cooker. If pressure cooking, then cook them with 1.5 to 2 cups water for 2 whistles.
2. Chop the cucumber, tomatoes and onions in thin round slices. Peel and slice the beet and potatoes thinly.
Make the chutney
3. Take 1 cup tightly packed coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies or serrano pepper (1 to 2 green chilies)and 1 to 2 chopped garlic cloves (small to medium-sized) in a chutney grinder jar or food processor.
Add and ½ to ¾ teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon black salt and white salt or rock salt as required.
TIP: Love spicy foods? Me too! I usually add 2 to 3 green chilies as we prefer a spicier chutney in these grilled sandwiches.
4. Grind the chutney ingredients till smooth. If you cannot grind, then add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. I did not add water as there was enough moisture after rinsing the coriander leaves to help them grind to a smooth chutney.
TIP: If you want to switch things up, you can do half coriander and half mint leaves.
5. Collect the coriander chutney in a bowl. Check the taste and add more salt if required. Cover and keep the chutney aside if you are making sandwiches immediately, otherwise cover and refrigerate.
TIP: Not much of a morning person? Feel free to prepare the vegetables and chutney the night before so that you can slap together the sandwiches with ease in the wee hours.
This sandwich will help you start your day off on the right foot, no matter how much of a night owl you are.
Assemble the sandwich
6. Using the bread slice of your choice (whole wheat, white or brown), spread a relatively liberal and even layer of butter on the inside slices of your bread.
TIP: This spreading of butter helps to create a barrier for the chutney so your bread doesn’t get soggy. Think of it like putting peanut butter on your bread before jelly.
Spread a thin layer of chutney over the butter.
7. On one slice, layer rounds of potato. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of chaat masala and roasted cumin powder.
8. Layer with tomato, onion, cucumber slices and beet slices (if using them). Add another pinch or two of chaat masala and roasted cumin powder, and finish with some black salt.
9. Top with your other slice of bread, chutney side in. Spread a thin layer of butter on the outside layer of the top bread slice.
TIP: Did you run out of butter? Not to worry. Spreading a thin layer of mayonnaise on the outside layer will result in just as beautiful grilled bread.
How to make grill sandwich
10. Preheat your grill. When warm, flip the sandwich so the butter side goes down. Butter the outside of the now top piece of bread.
11. Close the grill lid and grill for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crispy.
12. Serve grilled sandwich hot or warm with a side of green chutney or tomato ketchup.
Expert Tips
- Bread: Almost any sort of bread will work for this, as long as it is sliced. White, wheat, brown or sourdough bread slices should all work marvelously. I do not recommend using buns for this recipe, as the bun will not achieve the same beautiful golden grill as sliced bread. You can use fresh bread or even a day old bread. I have used brown bread here.
- Vegetables: The beauty of this sandwich is that you can add any veggie. Feel free to add lettuce, bell peppers, even cheese to the mix to make this sandwich really work for you. Want more protein? Add a swipe of hummus or some paneer, tofu or cheese for an added boost. Don’t like onions? Don’t feel obligated to add them. Tomatoes aren’t in season? Use red bell pepper instead.
- Chutney: I have used coriander chutney to make these grilled sandwiches. You can use any green chutney of your choices like mint coriander chutney or even just plain mint chutney.
- Prepping ahead: You can prepare the coriander chutney and boil the potatoes a night before and then refrigerate them. So in the morning quick hours, you just need to slice the cucumber, tomatoes and assemble the veg grilled sandwich.
Grilled Sandwich FAQs
Not to worry! You can still get your bread golden and crispy in a pan. If possible, use a weight to press down the sandwich to replicate the panini press. A good, cheap option I always keep on hand is a brick wrapped in foil. Sometimes I also use my marble rolling board and stone mortar-pestle.
If you’re looking for a lower fat version, you can simply toast your bread in a countertop toaster and omit the butter. While it is still good, though, the butter does make a big difference!
It is not advisable to make this sandwich in the microwave for a few reasons. First, the water content of the vegetables will weep, making the sandwich soggy. Secondly, bread doesn’t usually like the microwave very much. It can cause the bread to get very dry and chewy. Finally, the best part of this sandwich is that it is grilled, which you cannot achieve in the microwave.
No problem at all. Simply substitute a mint chutney or another green chutney of your liking. If you don’t like green chutney at all, simply omit it or use a different chutney of your choosing. Another great alternative is to spread an eggless or vegan mayonnaise on your sandwich. A cheese spread also tastes good.
Sure! Just swap vegan butter for the regular butter when toasting your bread.
In Mumbai, this is often eaten as a snack item, but it makes an equally suitable breakfast or lunch. Green chutney and tomato ketchup are wonderful to serve on the side. We also like to have ours with a tall glass of chai and a side of chips.
I must say, most hot sandwiches are best consumed while hot. As the bread cools off, it can become chewy. The addition of chutney and the water content of the vegetables in this sandwich also risk a soggy bottom.
If you are looking for a better lunchbox sandwich, I would recommend something with a drier filling. Roasted vegetables, chana masala, and besan chilla all make good packed sandwiches when made with hummus or mayonnaise.
This coriander chutney is one of my absolute favorites. I haven’t found a single savory Indian snack that it doesn’t pair well with like Samosa, Kachori, Onion Pakoda, Bread Pakora, Vada Pav.
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Grilled Sandwich
By Dassana Amit
Ingredients
For grilled sandwich
- 10 slices white bread or brown bread or whole wheat bread or sandwich bread
- 1 potato (medium-sized) – boiled, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 beetroot (medium sized) – boiled, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 1 cucumber (small to medium) – thinly sliced
- 1 onion (small) – thinly sliced
- 1 tomato (small to medium) – thinly sliced
- butter as required
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder or add as required
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder or add as required
- ½ teaspoon black salt or regular salt, add as required
- ¼ teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper – optional
- tomato ketchup – to be served with the sandwich
For coriander chutney
- 1 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves (small to medium sized) – chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies or serrano peppers or 1 to 2 green chillies
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon lemon juice or add as required
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon black salt – optional
- salt or rock salt, add as required
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water for grinding chutney – optional
Instructions
Making coriander chutney
- In a grinder or blender grind all the above chutney ingredients to a smooth paste using very little water. Set the chutney aside. If there are leftovers, then keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Preparing veggies
- Boil or steam the potatoes and beets if using them. They should not be cooked too much or fall apart. Just cooked well until softened. Peel and slice them when warm.
- Rinse, peel and slice the onion, tomatoes and cucumber in thin rounds.
Assembling sandwich
- Butter all the bread slices. The butter has to be spread evenly and generously so that the bread does not become soggy on spreading the chutney. Spread some green chutney on the slices.
- Place a few slices of potatoes and then sprinkle with roasted cumin powder and chaat masala powder.
- Then place 2 to 3 cucumber, tomato, onion and beet slices if using them. Sprinkle roasted cumin powder, chaat masala powder or sandwich masala and black salt.
- Cover the sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread.
- Spread butter on the top of slices.
Grilling sandwich
- In a preheated grill, place the sandwich carefully with the buttered side facing at the bottom. Be careful when doing this. Now spread butter on the top side facing you.
- Close the grill and grill the sandwiches for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp and golden.
- Remove the grilled sandwiches with a wooden spatula. In batches grill the next lot.
- Serve the grilled sandwich hot with tomato ketchup and coriander chutney or any other green chutney of your choice
Video
Notes
- Bread: You can use fresh bread or even a day old bread. I have used brown bread here. You can use whole wheat bread, multi grain bread or just a good healthy sandwich loaf.
- Vegetables: The amount of vegetable toppings can be adjusted according to the size of the bread. You can add vegetables of your choice in this sandwich to make it more healthy. You can easily add capsicum (bell pepper) in it.
- Topping Ideas: Hummus, mayonnaise, tofu, paneer, cheese are some ideas.
- Chutney: I have used coriander chutney in the sandwiches. You can use any green chutney of your choices like mint coriander chutney or even just plain mint chutney. Homemade eggless or vegan mayonnaise can also be spread on the bread.
- Prepping: You can prepare the coriander chutney and boil the potatoes a night before and then refrigerate them. So in the morning quick hours, you just need to slice the cucumber, tomatoes etc and assemble the sandwiches.
Nutrition Info Approximate values
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This grilled sandwich recipe post from the archives (Jan 2014) has been republished and updated on 15 December 2020 with video, my expert tips and faqs.
Can we pack it fir kids tiffin? They may consume it 3 hours after making.
I have never packed sandwiches till date. Please let me know if it would turn soggy
grilled sandwiches are best served hot. they become chewy and dense after cooling. for making sandwiches for tiffin, you can use recipes where the sandwich stuffing is a dry cooked preparation like chana masala or cooked beans or roasted or sauteed vegetables and where no chutney is used. even besan chilla or vegetables cutlet or falafel, make a good filling option with hummus or mayonnaise. sandwiches made with fresh veggies, chutney will get soggy in the tiffin box. hope this helps.
Hi Mr. Amit ….i am a huge fan of yours recipe…..this was superb and easy recipe….My husband loved it…Thank you very much:-)
Welcome Dr. Shruti. Thanks for your kind words. Glad to know that you both liked this veg sandwich recipe.
Will the onion taste raw or cooked?
I get sore throat if I eat raw onions. that’s why..
Priya, it will be lightly cooked but not much. if you want then you can skip adding onions.
Oh…
Thanks
I tried it without adding onions it was nice…
Welcome Priya. Nice to know this.
Can I use tava (nonstick pan) instead of oven to make veg grilled sandwich…Bcz there is no microwave oven at my home…. plzzz tell me
you can use tawa.