Rude Food by Vir Sanghvi: A true Indian classic

Chilli Cheese Toast is now popular all over the country. But it was only invented in the 1970s and the inventor never gets the credit

I yield to nobody in my admiration of the American Grilled Cheese sandwich, possibly the only edible, fully-vegetarian sandwich to come out of that continent. And I am a fan of all kinds of British and Australian cheese toasts. But the greatest cooked bread-and-cheese combination was invented in Mumbai.

The great thing about Chilli Cheese Toast is that the quality of the cheese does not matter so much. It’s the chillis and tomatoes that give it a zing

The Mumbai chilli toast was invented by Satish Arora when he was the Executive Chef of the Taj

Satish Arora’s handwritten chilli cheese toast recipe that he used in his Taj days

The dish now turns up on every menu, often with refinements. This version comes from ITC hotel

One version says the dish was invented at the Harbour Bar at the Mumbai Taj in 1970

The Welsh Rarebit is an English dish which has to be cooked with a cheese sauce, not with a slice of cheese or grated cheese