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Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
5 min
05/01/2026
There are many ways to reinvent the everyday sandwich with Indian flavours, as this article shows. This includes experimenting with spread ideas to make your lunch less monotonous and more satisfying than ever.
Your sandwich may be two slices of bread, but its charm lies in its ability to be completely personalised. By combining traditional Indian recipes such as paneer bhurji, aloo masala, or leftover sabzis with modern international influences, you can turn an ordinary lunch into a work of art! This article will discuss how to use texture, spreading methods, heat levels, and layering techniques to create a great sandwich that incorporates Indian flavours, proving that a fantastic sandwich does not depend on premium ingredients but rather has its own unique personality and flavour combination of spice, crunch, and comfort.
Sandwiches are among the most versatile foods. You don't need any special cooking skills; you don't need a complicated recipe —you just need a good understanding of balance—soft versus crunchy, spicy versus cooling, creamy versus bold. In India, sandwiches provide a different level of comfort: convenient, easy to carry, and highly customisable.
Sandwiches will therefore fit into any form of transport. They are easy to carry; they're lightweight and perfect for office workers and long-distance commuters. They're great for satisfying late-night cravings without feeling weighed down by a heavy meal. Also, since sandwiches allow you to transform leftovers into something completely different, they encourage creativity.
Using foods that you already enjoy eating will enhance your sandwich. You can add paneer bhurji for an amazing soft scramble, with aromatic spices, which is very rich. You can add aloo masala (the same filling as for dosas), which will complement the paneer bhurji perfectly and is also a great filling on its own with some mint chutney added. Several leftover vegetable dishes, such as aloo-beans sabzi, paneer tikka chunks, mushroom pepper fry, and masala cauliflower, can all be added to your sandwich and make it into a proper ‘meal’, as they are very portable, are tastier over time, do not need to be heated to be eaten, and are great additions for lunch.
Spreads are essential to a sandwich. They add moisture, a depth of flavour, and the contrast of creaminess (if you’re using an oil-based spread) to the dryness of the bread. Once you think about all the possible combinations of ingredients beyond butter (mayo, yoghurt, and so on), you can create excellent spreads that enhance even the simplest sandwich. Mango pickle (called "achar" in Hindi) can be mixed with mayo or yoghurt for an extra-spicy, tangy spread that enhances even the most basic veggie sandwich. Green chutney can also be made into a thicker paste and used for making a “non-soak” spread when making these types of sandwiches. Tamarind chutney offers tangy sweetness and depth, particularly when paired with grilled vegetables or paneer.
It’s easy to borrow sandwich-building ideas from various parts of the world once you learn and understand the basic rules of composition of each style of sandwich. For example, Indian-style pickled vegetables and paneer on a banh mi sandwich instead of the traditional meat filling work very well together. Mediterranean-style sandwiches typically use olives, roasted peppers, and hummus as the main flavourings with a spiced potato filling. Even grilled cheese sandwiches can be enhanced by mixing in spices like podi, caramelised onions, or chilli flakes. Incorporating these flavours does not take away from the Indian-style filling; instead, it adds to the experience of eating the sandwich, making it seem both familiar and new, comforting and exciting at the same time.
The way a sandwich is created depends on the type of bread used. The best way to build a delicious sandwich starts with choosing your bread. Warm white bread pairs well with wet fillings, whereas multigrain bread offers an excellent earthy accompaniment for spicy fillings. Source more crunch and chew from harder breads like sourdough and baguettes for heavier fillings. Don't forget the order in which you place each ingredient on your sandwich, as ingredient layering can also enhance the taste. For example, start with a spread, then include greens to create a moisture barrier between the filling and bread, then add the filling, and finish the sandwich with a crunchy topping if necessary.
Create a variety of sandwiches with different ingredients. Examples include: paneer bhurji spread on toasted bread with a smear of pickled mayonnaise; a creamy sauce made from boiled eggs, cubes of boiled potatoes, crushed roasted peanut butter, and chopped spicy onion; veggie-loaded sandwich with sautéed mushrooms, peppers, and a dollop of minty yogurt; or leftover chole mixed with chopped red onion, cilantro, and stuffed into a buttered roll; and enjoy the messiness!
While there is no hard-and-fast rule stating that sandwiches must be boring or repetitive, they can easily become repetitive if you do not change the peanut butter. A little bit of tweaking with different fusions from other cultures, along with some Indian spices, can bring a very exciting sandwich to your lunch box – one slice at a time.
