Pav Bhaji

I have a friend here in London, Rashida, who thoroughly enjoys cooking. She has a toddler and in spite of that whips up the most amazing fare...that too on a regular basis. Me on the other hand, even without any distraction (well unless you take Ro into consideration) finds it difficult to cook just one meal every day. I fret and complain about having to chop and sauté...same old story people..nothing has changed there.

Rashida makes the yummiest biryani and aloo parathas and there have been times I have shamelessly declared how nice it would have been if she stayed somewhere nearby and then she could make all the lovely food and I could well, do my food styling and photography. She loved the idea...so now its only a matter of convincing her husband to move this side of town...right Rashida??? ;)

She keeps inviting me over to spend the day and spoils me with food all day long and like that's not enough, she packs some for me saying I wouldn't have to go back home and make dinner, instead we can sit here and talk more..works for me. So the last time she made some awesome Pav Bhaji and I don't even want to remember how much I ate, because I ate A LOT! She packed some for me as usual and I had to take a few pics and get Rashida to send me the recipe. If ever I wanted to make it, I would have a recipe to fall back on right?

So here's a kick-ass Pav Bhaji from Rashida's kitchen. Thanks a lot for all the yummy food you have made for me, showing me how to make aloo parathas (even though I doubt I'll ever try it) and most of all for being a good friend.

Potatoes- 2 medium

Egg plant- 5 small or 1 medium

Green pepper- 1/2 medium

Cauliflower florets- 1 cup

Cabbage- 1 cup

Carrot- 1 medium

Frozen green peas- 1/2 cup

Onion- 3- 4 medium, finely chopped

Tomatoes- 2 large, chopped

Curry leaves- 1 sprig (optional)

Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tbsp

Green chillies- 2, chopped

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Pav Bhaji masala- 1 1/2 tbsp

Oil- 4 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Fresh coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, roughly chopped to garnish

Pav- to serve (used store bought)

Butter- 1 tbsp

Lemon- 1, cut into wedges

Roughly cut the potatoes, brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, green pepper and carrot and cook in a pressure cooker with some salt and 1/2 a cup of water until it is fully cooked.

If there is a lot of water remaining, remove the vegetables and mash it with a masher. Retain the vegetable stock.

In another deep pan (non-stick if possible), heat the oil and splutter the cumin seeds.

Add about 3/4th of the chopped onions and saute till they turn a light brown colour.

Add the green chillies, curry leaves and ggp and stir fry for about half a minute...just to get rid of the raw smell.

Add 3/4th of the chopped tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the oil separates from the masala.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and 1tbsp of the pav bhaji masala and stir continuously until the masala is cooked and oil separates.

To this mix, add the mashed vegetables and green peas. Adjust salt and combine well.

Bring to a boil and then cook on low heat for about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it is too thick, add some water (you can use up that vegetable stock here, if required) and loosen it up. 

Add the remaining pav bhaji masala and cook on medium heat heat for a minute or two, stirring continuously.

To assemble:

Slice the pav horizontally and apply some butter on each side.

Heat a tawa and pan fry the pav on either sides by pressing it lightly and  till the pav is slightly crisp and dark brown.

Place the pav on a plate, followed by the bhaji garnished with coriander leaves, remaining onion and tomato and lemon wedges (squeeze just before you eat)

Note: Heat 2 tsp of ghee until it is smoking hot and do a tadka when you add the remaining pav bhaji masala in the end and immediately cover it for a minute. It really makes a difference (although completely optional).