Club Sandwich (Pakistani Café Style)
کلب سینڈوچ (پاکستانی کیفے اسٹائل)
The club sandwich is a Pakistani café classic, a fixture on every hotel coffee-shop and family-restaurant menu: three slices of toast stacked with chicken, egg, cheese and salad, held together with toothpicks and cut into four tall triangles. Local versions swap the ham of the original for spiced chicken and a thin omelette, which most people now think of as the real thing. It's a satisfying lunch and a reliable choice for guests.
- ⏱ Total: 40 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Cook: 20 min
- Easy
- Serves 2
Method
Tap a step when it is done.
Slice the chicken breast horizontally into 2 thin fillets. Rub with the salt, pepper, chili powder, soy sauce and garlic and leave for 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a or frying pan and cook the chicken for 4–5 minutes per side until browned and cooked through. Rest for 3 minutes, then slice thinly.
Wipe the pan, add a few drops of oil and make a thin omelette from the beaten eggs, about 2 minutes. Fold or cut it to fit the bread. Toast the bread slices on the or in a toaster until golden.
Mix the mayonnaise with the ketchup. For each sandwich: spread a toast with sauce, add lettuce, chicken and tomato; cover with a second toast spread on both sides; add the omelette, cheese and cucumber; top with the third toast, sauce side down.
Press gently, push 4 toothpicks in near the corners, and cut diagonally both ways into 4 triangles. Trim the crusts first if you like. Serve with fries and coleslaw.
Kitchen notes
Leftover tandoori or grilled chicken, or shredded chicken from yakhni, works perfectly and saves a step.
Toast the bread well: it keeps the sandwich from going soggy under the sauces and salad.
Dry the lettuce and tomato on kitchen paper before layering.
A café institution
In Pakistan the club sandwich is the safe, satisfying choice at hotel coffee shops, family restaurants, school canteens and office cafeterias. It arrives as four tall triangles held together with toothpicks, with fries and a little coleslaw on the side. The local version uses spiced chicken and an omelette instead of the ham and bacon of the American original, and many people make it at home for guests and Sunday lunches.
Building a stack that holds
The secret of a neat club sandwich is in the layering. Toast all the bread well, so it’s firm. Spread sauce on the inner sides only. Keep wet things like tomato away from the bread by putting lettuce or cheese next to it, and dry the salad first. The middle slice of toast gets sauce on both sides and acts as glue. Toothpicks at the corners stop the layers sliding when you cut.
Make it your own
Swap the chicken for leftover chicken tikka or tandoori chicken, use our garlic mayo instead of plain mayo, or add a slice of crispy fried chicken for a crunchier version.
Serving
Serve with masala fries and coleslaw. For simpler sandwiches that travel well in a lunch box, try the chicken mayo sandwich or the egg sando.
Questions people ask
Why is it called a club sandwich?
It's usually traced to American gentlemen's clubs or club-car trains of the late 1800s. Nobody is completely sure, but the three-layer stack has been the standard ever since.
Can I make it ahead for a party?
Cook the chicken and omelettes ahead, but toast and assemble no more than an hour before serving. Cover with a damp cloth so the edges don't dry out.
Nutrition (estimate, per serving)
- Calories
- 640
- Protein
- 40 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
