The cold sandwich cake
When sandwiches are mentioned everyone has thier own favourites. Sandwiches eaten during our school days in the Seventies , were very basic, as every Indian school going child will remember. Mostly white bread with butter and jam, or if you were lucky cheese and butter.Cheese was a luxury which not everyone had, especially in India. If you were lucky and had relatives staying abroad, then you would recieve small tins of kraft cheese😊. Of course Amul cheese cubes were already around, but were a little out of reach for an average middle class family. Back to sandwiches, my grandfather always had a slice of bread with green corriander and mint chutney as his evening snack. Those were the days when chutney was made using a grinding stone. The aroma of fresh mint and corriander leaves being crushed with green chillies and garlic is till today etched in my memory..
Whoever has lived in Pune, even for a short time will surely know about the Marzorin sandwiches. Soft crustless bread, filled with chicken, eggs, tomato and chutney… I crave these sandwiches even today…and they are a must on all my visits to Pune.
Todays recipe is a mixture of all my childhood memories..
Credit for the chicken pate filling goes to my friend hilda mascarenhas, who writes a wonderful food blog, hildastouchofspice.com. Do visit her food blog .
The cold sandwich cake
Basically you will require 3 types of fillings, and 16 slices of crustless bread
Ingredients..for chicken pate.
1 chicken breast
3 to 4 tbsps mayonaise
1 tbsps mustard paste
1 tsp honey
2 tbsps grated cucumber( helps to keep the filling moist)
Salt, pepper.
1 tbsp chopped celery leaves.
Method…
Boil the chicken in water which has been seasoned with salt and pepper.
Dispose the chicken bones, and put the meat in a food processor along with chopped celery..Pulse it and transfer the shredded chicken to a bowl, and add mayonaise, mustard, honey and cucumber. You should have a moist mixture. Keep aside.
Ingredients for second layer
4 Boiled eggs, sliced.
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced cucumber
Butter
Ingredients for 3rd layer
1/ 4 th cup mayonaise
1/ 2 cup basil leaves
2 green chillies
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of one lime
Salt
4 slices of cheese.
Method…
Blend basil leaves, chillies, garlic, lime and mayonaise together to get a pretty green spread, season with salt and a pinch of sugar.
Other ingredients are, finely sliced radishes, shredded carrot, shredded lettuce leaves, alfalfa sprouts and mayonaise.
Method
Keep 4 slices of bread on a serving platter, in a neat square.
Apply butter thinly, and add the chicken pate, level till all the 4 slices of bread are covered.
Cover with 4 slices of bread, and apply butter lightly, top with sliced tomatoes sliced eggs, and sliced cucumber…season with salt and pepper.
Cover with 4 slices of bread, apply the basil mayonaise and top with 4 slices of cheese in a single layer..
Lastly, top with 4 slices of bread, whose underside is spread with basil mayonaise.
Press down gently, and apply mayonaise all over the sandwich, covering it from all sides.
Gently press shredded lettuce, carrots all over sides and top…decorate with radish slices, cucumber slices, and alfalfa sprouts.
Chill thoroughly, cut into wedges and serve
A beautiful centerpiece is ready for your parties..
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