Street food scene in India
Street food in India is a gastronomic adventure like no other. From Pav Bhaji in bustling streets of Mumbai to Chaats from the vibrant lanes of Delhi, you'll find an array of mouthwatering delights that combine local flavors, fresh produce, and affordability. Whether it's the spicy and tangy chaats of North India, the crispy vadas of the South, or the savory kathi rolls of Kolkata, Indian street food embodies versatility. These delectable treats not only cater to diverse taste buds but also showcase the rich culinary heritage of the country.
One such example is the Murukku Sandwich from Chennai, a delightful creation that takes the traditional South Indian snack, murukku, and transforms it into a flavorful sandwich. This fusion of crispy murukku with local produce and spices is not only a taste explosion but also incredibly budget-friendly. Indian street food, in all its forms, offers a gastronomic journey that tantalizes the taste buds while keeping your wallet happy.
What is Murukku Sandwich?
Sowcarpet Murukku Sandwich is a delicious take on the street Sandwich with murukkus or chaklis sandwiched between a special Sandwich chutney. Served in parts of Chennai as a street food delicacy
How we were introduced to this Murukku Sandwich ?
This happened perchance. Almost on serendipity. The husband called and said his classmate from Chennai would be having dinner that evening. After dinner, we were animatedly chatting about the impending movie "Kabali" that was to release that week (this was way back in 2016!!), and I came to know that this friend was a HUGE movie buff that he had planned to catch first day, first show in Chennai at 4am ! Talk about being starstruck !!
And then somehow the conversation veered towards food (the friend's mom makes one brilliant chai masala that he sweetly carries to our place whenever he visits), and on learning I blog, he invited me to visit them in Chennai and mentioned that his wife would take me to one of the hottest spots for foodies in Chennai especially those in Sowacarpet in Central Chennai (I was expecting him to mention some upscale restaurant, TBH)
Sowcarpet comes from the sanskrit words Sahukaar (which means rich man) and Pet (or Pete) means area and major industrialists rub shoulders with small merchants & traders alike and is pretty crowded - day or night. The food scene opens here in the evening though. This area is similar to Kalbadevi / Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai, Avenue Road or Tharugpet in Bangalore etc.
Apparently its a hotbed for North Indian snacks like Vada Pav, Mumbai Sandwich, Lassi, Kachoris etc (or more importantly, delicious street food thats extremely pocket-friendly).
Well, the magic words : foodie trip + street food + pocket friendly caught my attention 🙂
Till he mentioned this wonderful Sowcarpet Murukku Sandwich doled out there - And I was sold on that. He even mentioned that the Green chutney made for this was different (well, it turned out he was a HUGE foodie along with being a MOVIE BUFF!) and gave me the recipe for this as well 🙂
Other Street foods from India you would definitely love here...
USP of Chakli / Murukku Sandwich
Well, there is not too much of a recipe, except that he said to look for A1 brand of Chaat masala to make the chutney (talk about detailing!). I had to make the chutney and the murukku sandwich and we loved it. He also gave me the recipe for Sowcarpet Chutney sandwich with bread and we made both on the same day and enjoyed the treat !
So, make this and devour it like we did 🙂 and let me know how you liked it ! my kids liked both the versions, but were partial to the bread sandwich
Prep time : 20 mins ; Zero Cook , Serves : 3
Ingredients:
- Murukku / Chakli - 6 pieces (store bought or homemade - small sized)
- Wholewheat bread / White bread - 6 slices
- Sowcarpet Green Chutney - to spread (recipe here)
- Cheese spread - 1 tablespoon (I used it for only the murukku sandwich)
- Cucumber, Onion, Tomato slices (thin slices) - as needed {I skipped Onions totally}
- Chaat Masala - as required
Toppings:
- Cheese - to grate (I didn't use)
- Fine Sev / Ompudi
- Chaat Masala
- Roasted Cumin powder
PIN FOR LATER
To Assemble the Murukku sandwich:
- Take a sturdy murukku with a flat base, apply the green chutney liberally. Top with the cucumber slices, tomato , cheese spread, onions, sprinkling chaat masala after each layer.
- Close with another Murukku slathered with chutney on the inside so it sticks.
- Top with fine sev / Ompudi, chaat masala, grated cheese (I skipped this), and roasted cumin powder.
- Serve immediately.
To Assemble the Sowcarpet Bread sandwich:
- Apply a generous layer of the chutney on the inside of a slice.
- Top with Cuke slices, tomato slices, onions, apply a handful of sev. sprinkle Chaat masala.
- Close with another slice whose one side with chutney faces the inside.
- Apply a little green chutney and top with sev generously. Slice and serve.
- Enjoy :-))
Sowcarpet Murukku Sandwich | Street food delights
Equipment
- Pots and Pans
Ingredients
- 6 Murukku Chakli. store bought or homemade - small sized
- 6 slices Wholewheat bread White bread
- 4 tablespoon Sowcarpet Green Chutney - to spread recipe here
- 1 tablespoon Cheese spread I used it for only the murukku sandwich
- ½ Cucumber sliced into thickish roundels
- 1 Onion sliced into thickish roundels, optional
- 2 Tomato sliced into thickish roundels
- 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala or as required
- 2 tablespoon Cheese - to grate I didn't use
- 3 teaspoon Fine Sev Ompudi
- 2 teaspoon Roasted Cumin powder
Instructions
To make the Murukku Sandwich
- Take a sturdy murukku with a flat base, apply the green chutney liberally.
- Top with the cucumber slices, tomato , cheese spread, onions, sprinkling chaat masala after each layer.
- Close with another Murukku slathered with chutney on the inside so it sticks.
- Top with fine sev / Ompudi, chaat masala, grated cheese (I skipped this), and roasted cumin powder.
- Serve immediately.
To make the Bread Sev Sandwich
- Apply a generous layer of the chutney on the inside of a slice.
- Top with Cuke slices, tomato slices, onions, apply a handful of sev. sprinkle Chaat masala.
- Close with another slice whose one side with chutney faces the inside.
- Apply a little green chutney and top with sev generously. Slice and serve.
- Enjoy :-))
vaishali sabnani says
Kalyani one of our foodaholics members told me about this and sent me a link to that Chennai restaurant where they make these sandwiches , in fact I have already posted it sometime back , isn't it amazing ? We all loved it . Love your clicks , they are tempting me .
Gayathri Kumar says
This is a very new dish to me. What an innovative way to serve murukkus. I remember seeing this on Vaishali's blog too. Delicious..
MySpicyKitchen says
I remember these sandwiches from Vaishali's blog. I think she posted it last month for the sandwiches without bread, if I recall. Anyway, these muruku sandwich look amazing and tempting.
Priya Suresh says
Omg, this murukku sandwich is seriously fabulous Kalyani, now am so tempted to make this sandwich soon. Loving it.
Harini R says
Very very innovative Kalyani. I am in awe about your enthu! Love it.
Suma Gandlur says
I was wondering how the man knew a chakli recipe until I saw what the recipe was. Really an interesting one to try.
Suma Gandlur says
I was wondering how the man knew a chakli recipe until I saw what the recipe was. Really an interesting one to try.
Srividhya says
murukku sandwich.. super ponga.. sema sema sema...
Nalini's Kitchen says
Delicious murukku sandwich,I am a big fan of both murukku and thattai sandwich.Looks gorgeous.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Kalyani, I absolutely love this idea. How innovative. I am literally tempted to try this out sometime 🙂
Archana says
Love the iidea. Guess I will be making this for Diwali.
Smruti Ashar says
That is a wonderful idea. I love chakli and this sounds like a great sandwich!!
Pavani says
What an interesting sandwich with murukku. I'm going to try this one some time soon.
cookingwithsapana says
Very nice idea to make sandwich with murukku.
Srivalli says
Very nice one and in fact surprising that I have never tasted it. I remember talking about it with Vaishali. Your pictures are making me want to try them myself!
Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen says
Looks absolutely divine kalyani, murukku itself is already a yumm snack, slathering it with green chutney and topping it with sev n cukes makes all the more irresistible!!!
Sowmya :) says
These murukku sandwiches look so awesome! I never managed to visit Sowcarpet during my Chennai days. But this looks like a good enough reason for a visit. Yumm!
The Pumpkin Farm says
never ever heard of them kalyani....these are must to try especially after diwali when you are done with chaklis for a year ....the pictures are tempting and loved reading about your story
Neha says
This sowcarpet murukku sandwich is a new one for me. It not only is visually impelling sandwich but has the finest flavors as well. So nice to know about newer foods and culinary ideas floating around. This is an awesomely great one!
Kalyani says
Thank you so much, Neha!
Seema Sriram says
How cool is this! I always felt murukku needed a chutney and this is next level of happiness. yummy
Kalyani says
awesome, Seema:-)
Priya Vj says
Aah haa..idhu nalla irukku.. I have heard a lot about street food specials from sowkarpet and recently I saw some reels on insta and was blown by the variety and the similarities it had to Bombay street food ..murukku sandwich is certainly a nice find and I must make it soon.
Kalyani says
Try maadi madam 🙂