Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking the toasts
1 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
3 sprigs fresh curry leaves, stripped (24 to 30 leaves)
1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (stems and leaves)
2 small Indian green chiles or serrano chiles, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to tste
1 pinch red chile powder (like cayenne), plus more to taste
12 large slices white sourdough bread
Instructions
  1. In a butter warmer or small pan over low heat, warm the oil. Once the oil is warm but not super hot, add the black mustard seeds and as soon as they begin to pop and dance around in the oil, which should be within seconds, remove the pan from the heat. Add the curry leaves, making sure they get fully coated in the oil (there may be more popping and splattering, and that’s okay!). The leaves should immediately crisp up in the residual heat. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, onion, cilantro, green chiles, salt, black pepper, and red chile powder. Spread the yogurt mixture over 6 slices of the bread and top with the remaining slices to make 6 sandwiches.
  3. In a large pan over medium heat, warm 1 teaspoon oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, reduce the heat to low and add as many sandwiches as will fit in the pan. Cook until the undersides are crisp and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes, then flip them, add another teaspoon of oil to the pan, and cook until the other side is crisp and slightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer the sandwiches to a platter and repeat to cook the remaining sandwiches.
  4. Divide the spiced oil mixture evenly over the top of the sandwiches. Cut each sandwich in half and serve immediately with a side of ketchup and/or chutney, if desired.