The joy found between two slices of hotdog bread…creamy smooth harisa tahini coated grilled prawns, lettuce and tomatoes…the luscious Rubian roll. A take-off of the Arabian Rubian Meshwi – a grilled prawn preparation, it is an interesting twist to the sandwich.
Sandwiched, a promotion of sandwiches at Café Canopy at Abad Plaza, transforms the good old sandwich. Once upon a time all a sandwich needed were two slices of bread, butter, cucumber, onions, tomatoes and pepper. Sandwiches have kept up with the changing times. Perfect for a working meal or snack, easy go-to nourishment.
Sliced, croissant, grilled, triangular, rolled, square (piroshka-like)…Chef Abdul Khader lets his creativity do the talking. “I have tried to mix the sauces and experimented with the fillings and the accompaniments. It adds variety to the experience,” says Abdul Khader. Sandwiches can taste monotonous, but the chef has managed to keep the variety with the sauces, the combinations, the fillings and the accompaniments. Pickled veggies accompany the ‘Arabian sandwiches’ – Samak Hara, Dajaj Mushvee, Shakshooka roll and the Lebanese vegetable roll. They work well with the sandwiches. Dajaj Mushvee is a grilled chicken sandwich, again hotdog bread, with a red sauce and just as delicious as Rubian roll, not as creamy. “The Arabian sandwiches are popular. Even the traditional ones like the club sandwich have many takers,” says the chef. He has given the good old club a twist, adding a couple of layers more.
The chef has attempted to represent every cuisine in a ‘sandwich’. Indian sandwiches with paneer, mint, masala – Paneer makhni lazziz, Bombay vegetable, tawa grilled chicken, vegetable tikka, chicken cutlet and Chinese sandwiches such as Shanghai vegetable square, dragon chicken and Mongolian meat loaf are some interpretations. The dragon chicken sandwich comes with thick slices of fried potato covered with a sweet-sour sauce. The sandwich filling has a mild honeyed sweetness, a perfect balance of crispiness and spice.
Garlic potato, coated with a golden sauce, which also accompanied Arabian sandwich, made for a good break between the sandwiches. A croissant sandwich is croissant, cut down the centre with a layer of spicy ground chicken filling accompanied by crisp potato wafers – the other fillings are vegetable, cottage cheese and chicken sausage. There are grilled sandwiches, which are not too large, for the conservative.
There are a couple of ‘sweet’ grilled sandwiches – banana and pineapple. The banana sandwich is a sweet surprise – banana, sugar and coconut. The chef says these were added to the menu for the kids, but even the grown ups will fall for the joy of sliced, steamed nendran pazham , coconut and sugar between two slices of bread…
The sandwich promotion is open from 12 p.m. onwards and concludes on November 30.
