How to choose a sandwich maker?

Sandwich makers are also called Sandwich Grills, Sandwich Toasters, or Panini Makers.

During early 1960s, a company in India used to make a sandwich maker. It looked like a prong. At each end of the handle it supported an aluminum cavity with raised edges. These cavities were about 5"x5". One would grease the cavity with Ghee, put a sandwich in the cavity. The prong was locked in place pressing the the sandwich. The Sandwich maker was held over open fire in a Choolah. When opened, it revealed a sandwich where the exterior was crusted brown. The contents were sealed in. I remember making a lots of Aloo Gobhi sandwiches.

Times have changed.

Nowadays, you can buy an electric sandwich maker. You can use Kulcha or Naan. Put dry Curry of you choice. Try my old childhood favorite Dry Aloo Gobhi curry. Make sure the Curry is as dry as possible. Fold the Naan over. Put it in the sandwich maker.

The sandwich maker is a hinged equipment. The hinge supports two non-stick baking plates (griddles). You Put your sandwich on the griddle. Make sure the griddle is at least 10" long and 6" deep. 10"x6" will allow you to put a folded Naan in. The grills should have raised edges to prevent the food from spilling out of the press. The top and bottom plates may have other raised edged to leave some cross or waffle like impressions on the bread. The impressions are only for eye-appeal. The top plate is locked down. You can set the temperature to low, medium, or high. It has an indicator light to indicate that cooking is finished.

The sandwich makers normally consume about 1,500 watts. The sandwich makers only brown the bread surface in contact with the grilling surface, and heat the food through. They don't really cook the foods. You must use pre-cooked stuffing and and baked breads. The heat though process is good enough to melt cheese.

Panini is an Italian sandwich made with Ciabatta bread. You can really use any type of bread. For filling, you can use any vegetarian or meat dry curry. The grill surface is non-stick surface, I would still baste the bread with Ghee or Butter. The basted bread results in crispier brown crust. You can make a hot ham and cheese sandwich on whole wheat sliced bread to my favorite Aloo Gobhi sandwich with Naan.

Google Group | Disclaimer | What do you think!