Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Pav Bhaji

       Pav-Bhaji is a very popular dish in India and possibly the most popular in Mumbai. It originated in Mumbai as a quick meal for the labourers. Pav translates to bread in Marathi and Bhaji is simply a potato based mix vegetable curry. Every city in India has their own variations on the Bhaji. Being a Mumbai-ite, I naturally love its version the most.

Here is my take on the famous Mumbai Pav Bhaji.

Ingredients:
  • 4 Medium Sized Potatoes
  • 1/2 Medium Sized Cauliflower
  • 2 Green Bell Peppers
  • 1 Onion
  • 1.5 Cups Green Peas
  • 2 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
  • About 3 cups Tomato paste/puree
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • Pinch of Asafoetida
  • 1 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
  • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • Finely chopped Cilantro
  • Salt to Taste
  • Butter
  • 6-8 French Dinner Rolls or Pav
Instructions:
  • Boil the green peas, florets of cauliflower and green bell peppers. I prefer to use the Pressure Cooker to boil these vegetables, but we can use any steamer.
  • Once boiled and soft, mash all these vegetables properly and keep them aside.
  • Now, boil the potatoes until soft and mash them properly.
  • Take a pan and heat some butter in it.
  • Add asafoetida and cumin seeds to it.
  • Once the cumin seeds start to crackle, add the garlic and onions to it.
  • Add salt and saute them till the onions turn pinkish.

  • Now, add the tomato puree to the pan
  • As soon as the tomato puree starts to boil slightly, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and pav bhaji masala to it.

  • Let it cook for 4-5 mins
  • Then, add the mashed vegetables and potatoes to it and mix it very well.
  • Now add the lemon juice and cilantro to it

  • Let it simmer on medium heat for 5-7 mins
  • In the Meantime, Heat some butter with chilli powder on a griddle, and toast the dinner rolls
  • Serve hot with some chopped onions on the side


          The best part about Pav-Bhaji is that the recipe is very versatile and can be tweaked to suit any palate. You can be creative and add any vegetable or ingredient. Please leave a comment with your variations of this dish.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for finally talking about >"Pav Bhaji" <Liked it!

    ReplyDelete

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