Himalayan Cheese on Toast Recipe
The prose of Nisha Katona’s introduction to the recipe for Himalayan Cheese on Toast from Mowgli Street Food, which while employing bedrock Indian elements has nothing to do with the Himalayas, encapsulates her style. It is a little clunky and familiar but that diminishes her appeal not at all. To her credit she also acknowledges the English derivation of her adaptation.
“To get our spice kick, Indians pimp up English staples with three ingredients: coriander/cilantro, onion and green chilli. You can throw these into a Pot Noodle and make it Indian, I swear. Coriander gives a herby, floral note and the chilli and onions, a sharp sweetness. These additional tones wake up the heavy ooze of the cheese and you really need a good, strong cheddar to take the assault of all the spice.”
Her version and our minor variation on it are simple (no simpler) than its English antecedent and a delightful dish for two or three open sandwiches.
- a slice of good thick toast
- about ½ cup shredded extra sharp Cheddar
- a small seeded and minced green or red chili
- heaped Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- scant ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- heaped ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- about half a finely minced small red onion
Mix together everything but the toast (obviously), spread the cheese mixture evenly over it and blast the savory (because that is what it is) under the broiler until bubbly and brown, usually in a quick three minutes or so.
Notes:
- According to Katona, “[t]he food of Mowgli,” her accomplished restaurant empire (note the unintended ironic reference), “is the food of the tiffin carrier lunch.”
- A fastidious and Old School Katona bakes her slice of bread until toasty.
- She also fries half a teaspoon cumin seeds in a teaspoon vegetable oil “until they turn dark brown and fragrant.
- She garnishes her ‘Himalayan’ toast with more chopped cilantro, a good move.