A sandwich spread and friends

One of my friends, Sachin, is a big sandwich and bagel lover. Over the years he has given a great amount of business to cafe and bagel shops and one of his dreams in life is to set up a "bagelry" as he calls it. So when I made red bell pepper chutney, turned it into a spread and came up with the idea of a fresh spinach, roasted red bell pepper and feta cheese herb bread sandwich, it was Sachin, on whom I wanted to experiment first.

On the weekend Sachin comes over with his wife, Sonali, and kid and another friend, Jitu, who is excited about my chutney adventures. Everything is ready and set on the table. Chutney has been made in the afternoon, cream cheese and sour cream has been added to make the spread. The roasted red bell peppers are from the store (I have no patience that day to roast the peppers at home) and left in a sieve to get rid of the excess water. Baby spinach is de-stemmed and the feta cheese is crumbled. Kids are fed and attempt has been made to assign them to their indulgences. We are sitting around the table with our respective spirit of choice, ready for the sandwiches.

My husband, who is the designated sandwich-maker in the house, puts them together and one by one the sandwich is tasted and tested. After taking a few bites, Jitu asks, "What bread is this?" "Focaccia - herb focaccia bread, actually." I reply. J says, "The bread is amazing," and then as an afterthought, "of course, you've cracked the chutney. But the bread is too good." That's when I share a recollection of my childhood. Once guests had come over for dinner. My mother had made the typical Indian all-course meal of two vegetables, a lentil dal, white rice, a chutney, a salad, and fresh unleavened whole wheat bread topped with some dessert, I don't remember. Guess what a guest says? "Your white rice is very good." My mother is cross. She vents after they leave, "I'm not the sort of woman, who insists on my food being praised. But of all the things white rice! Who praises white rice?" I add, "Jitu, your liking the bread is exactly like that. Of course, I'm not gonna wait till you leave to vent." Sonali tries to unruffle the feathers, "The sandwich is fandu (Bombay slang for great). Not only does Annu (that's what I'm called by friends and family) cook well but she has a fine eye for buying gourmet stuff too. Sachin likes the sandwich. My husband adds his bit, "Why this spinach foliage?" I don't like the spinach." Jitu asks, "Can I just have the bread," and after a pregnant pause ---- "maybe with a little bit of spread?"

Here's the recipe of the chutney, the chutney spread and the sandwich, which stole the heart because of its bread.

Red bell pepper chutney

With what

• 2 medium red bell peppers chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 8 dry red chiles
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp tamarind paste and
• 1 tsp salt

How to

Combine all the ingredients except the tamarind paste and the salt in a wok and turn the heat to medium. Sauté the ingredients intermittently to avoid the chiles from burning. Turn the heat off after 10-15 minutes when the pepper pieces shrivel and the chiles turn black.

After the pepper mixture has cooled, put it into a food processor jar along with the tamarind paste and salt. Grind the chutney coarse. Darkened by the tamarind paste, this chutney turns out blazing red in color.

It lasts in the refrigerator for at least a week to ten days.

The red bell pepper spread

Take 10 tsp of the chutney and mix 2 tsp of sour cream and 1 tsp of cream cheese into it.

Now the sandwich

Extract two slices from a loaf of focaccia or ciabatta bread. Lather them with red bell pepper spread. Be generous, as the flavor of the spread has to reflect through the thick walls of the bread. Spread baby spinach leaves on one half. Top it with pieces of roasted red bell pepper and crumbled feta cheese. Eat and enjoy. And please don't say the bread is great.

Now a roll

You can also use this chutney recipe to make a fancy roll. Take a tortilla. Lather it with red bell pepper spread. Layer baby spinach leaves and top it with thin strips of roasted red bell pepper and crumbled feta cheese. Roll the tortilla tight and wrap it in a plastic wrap. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. Take out the plastic wrap and cut rolls. Lay the rolls on a platter in such a way that the colorful insides are visible.