Vegetable sandwich is the most common type of sandwich in India. It is a purely vegetarian item (though not vegan if butter is used), and is often seen prepared and served fresh by roadside vendors as well as in many restaurants.
It consists of vegetable filling between two slices of white bread. The most commonly used vegetables for this sandwich are the tomato, the cucumber and the potato. Other vegetables used include beetroot and onion.
Potatoes are boiled well in advance, and peeled prior to assembly. The tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and other ingredient vegetables are cut into thin slices and stacked between two slices of white bread that have been spread with butter and spicy green chutney on the inner sides. This sandwich is then toasted in a sandwich toaster (or in the case of roadside vendors, in toasting tongs over a portable gas stove). After toasting, the sandwich is cut into six rectangular pieces, and its top side is slathered once more with butter and chutney. Finally, tomato ketchup may be squirted onto the top of the sandwich.
Cheese may be added, if available, and the sandwich is usually open to customization by adding or withholding certain ingredients, or leaving it untoasted. Innumerable variations are available changing from location and vendors, the unusual ones being Szechuan vegetable sandwich and Russian sandwich.
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