Where it all began
The Mumbai toastie
The very first thing we ever sold — off a griddle, wrapped in paper, handed across a market table. Everything else came after this.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Diet
- Vegetarian
The story
This was the first dish we ever made as Mumbai Mix.
The idea started when my sister Dimple went wedding shopping in India and came back talking about the Mumbai sandwich everyone seemed to know and love. I had never been, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Growing up, cheese toasties were my thing. I made them for my siblings, my cousins, and anyone who came round hungry. So when Mum and I started dreaming up Mumbai Mix, it made sense to begin with something familiar — but make it ours.
We built our version with Mum's red pepper sauce, proper chutney, chaat masala and three layers instead of two.
Customers loved it, but it wasn't quick enough for market life every week. That pushed us towards curries, and later dosas.
But this is where Mumbai Mix began.
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient as you go
For the chutney
For the toastie
Method
Five simple steps
Blend the chutney
Blend the coriander, green chillies, lemon juice and salt with a splash of water to a thick, spreadable paste.
Spread and layer
Spread chutney generously on all four slices of bread. Layer potato, tomato, cucumber and onion on two slices, then season with chaat masala.
Add cheese, if using
Scatter the grated cheese over the vegetables, then close the sandwich with the second slice, chutney-side down.
Butter and press
Butter the outside of both slices. Toast in a hot sandwich press or a griddle pan with a weight on top, until deep golden and crisp.
Cut and serve
Cut into triangles while still hot, and serve straight away with extra chutney on the side.
From Our Kitchen ❤️
Cheese toasties were the one thing I could always make.
Before Mumbai Mix, before the stall, before the queues, they were my little signature at home — made for my brothers, my cousins, and anyone who turned up hungry.
When Mum and I created the Mumbai Toastie, we took that memory and built on it: Mum's red pepper sauce, the bit we still keep to ourselves, a proper chutney, chaat masala and the three-layer sandwich style I had become obsessed with.
Selling it at Southbank with KERB felt huge. It was one of those moments where I thought, maybe we're really doing this.
It wasn't the dish that carried the business in the end.
But it was the dish that started it.
— Deshna & Mum
Read the full story of how the Mumbai Toastie started Mumbai Mix, or explore Mum’s Red Pepper Sauce, the recipe this toastie is built around.