Tuesday 5 April 2011

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).

48 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Very addictive and irresistible pav bhaji,havent had since a long..yumm!

Prema said...

Wow yummy Pav Bhaji,luks delicious...Clicks are amazing...

Unknown said...

Wow yummy looking, am feeling hungry seeing it now :)

Sushma Mallya said...

Lovely recipe of pav bhaji...looks amazing:)

Rekha shoban said...

perfectly done pav bhaji!!!lovely click n presentation!

Jane said...

Craving aloo parathas now... :o(

. said...

One thing I always admire about you is honesty. You never pretend to be Martha stewart or that you have a flawless marriage. Thats one of the reasons I love reading your blog...but the best part is you're an amazing cook...and so I think even though you don't cook on a daily basis ... dishes like this more than compensate Ro... :)

GB said...

Nisha, it looks wonderful--I'm bookmarking the recipe....it brought back memories of this small hole-in-the-wall type of dhabha that used to serve pav bhaji (in delhi) during my college days. yumm.

schmetterlingwords said...

Mouth watering Pav Bhaji... perfectly done... You are lucky Nisha!! I think I have most of the ingredients at home... let me try this soon and tell u how it turned out.. :-)

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Tempting dish and excellent pics...

aipi said...

I am seriously craving for some pav bhaji. I wish someone serves it to me right now!!:D
Looks tempting..

US Masala

Suja Manoj said...

Looks wonderful..super delicious.

Mélange said...

Slurp !! Extremely tempting to me..Crave to have some.My all time fav..

Ria Mathew said...

I really love Pav Bhaji! Looks like you have a real sweet friend :)

Nithya said...

Addition of Egg plant and cabbage is new and interesting :) Got to try it your friend's way sometime :)

Looks really tempting even after having it few hours back ;) Even I have posted pav-bhaji today ;)

Nandinis food said...

Wow! I'd love to have some! This looks very delicious!

Padhu Sankar said...

Looks so tempting .Lovely write up and excellent pictures!

divya said...

Wow..that looks super super tempting..wonderful clicks.....

Treat and Trick said...

Tempting clicks and looks delicious!

Kulsum@JourneyKitchen said...

How nice to have friends like Rashida? Can you parcel her to me ;-)

By any chance is she a bohra muslim? Her name sounds like one!

Swathi said...

Nisha,

This pavbhaji looks awesome dleicious. you say you are not good, but I know you make fabulous one.

Suganya said...

Yummy and perfect looking one... Nice recipe.. YUM!

the Junkie book said...

though i'm not a big pav baji fan i may want to flag this to credit rashida, and you for putting it on record so candidly ;P

thank you for sharing!

Vimitha Durai said...

Yummy looking combination

Jaisy James said...

wow mothwatering pav bhaji yummy

turmericnspice said...

one of my fav foods...never made pav bhaji with eggplant...wld love to taste the diff in taste

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Pav Bhaji looks fabulous! I am famished just looking at it! I wish I had someone like Rashida around my place pamper me too.

Hey, I forgot to tell you this -- I loved the "recipe" that I said I was going to try..I am making it again this weekend for my sister and BIL. Will be making it wayyyy ahead so I have time to take some pictures for a post unlike last time where I had nary a moment to click as it had to be packed off elsewhere.

Satrupa said...

Lucky gurl to have Rashida ..... I too used to get so demanding with my friends. I would show up in a short notice and they would stir up meals in minutes.

The pav bhaji looks awesome !!

Cheers,
Satrupa

http://satrupa-foodforthought.blogspot.com

Reva said...

Hi Nisha, Pav bhaji looks absolutely lip amacking. Thanks for letting me know about the blogger's meet. May sounds fine as I am in India now and will be back in UK by May 8th. Let me know the date [or dates] so that I can confirm with my hubby as he will be in charge of our little angel for the day. I am in Kent and I can drive to any place in London in a couple of hours....
Cheers....
Reva

Suji said...

Nisha!!I cannot stop my cravings for pav bhaji now, This lokos great and is a really different version..I am make this soon ketto :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Looks so yumm and can eat anytime and many time a day too..looks absolutely tempting with ur pictures.

veena said...

looks wonderful. Incidentally i made pav bhaji yesterday:-)

Binys Recipes said...

wow dear dat looks fab.....very tempting

Hari Chandana P said...

Looks perfect and delicious.. awesome clicks !!
Indian Cuisine

Lena Jayadev said...

Nisha... i spent mor than 1hr in ur blog today... snaps are stunning.. and the way you give caption(especially Amrithsari Daal).. i just loved it.. Nigella's chocolate3 bar is too tempting.. and nw this pav bajji.. :)superb :)

Plateful said...

Hi Nisha, I stumbled across your blog through TasteSpotting and I'm very impressed, stalking you pronto :) Isn't it lovely to have such lovely friends like Rashida who spoil you with love and good food..? ;) To me, the very prospect of tasting someone else's home cooking is very appealing and I am sure I am not alone...! :)

Beautiful shots, will try this recipe soon and let you know!

Unknown said...

Awee i like the idea getting spoilt, lucky you she is so sweet even to pack food, my friend does same for me, no wonder laziness never kicks away....and wat a nice way to show how you enjoy her friendship Pav bhaji is one of my fav, will try ur version next time!

Sunitha said...

Yum! Love pav bhaji loaded with butter. Hm... need some right now.. Is there a way you and Rashida can be my neighbors?

Binys Recipes said...

hey thx for the invitation...somethg coming up.....don't think i will be lucky.....but may be someday we can meet

Anonymous said...

what a great looking dish! Packed with veggies, yum :D

Kankana said...

This is one of my fav dish and i have been planning to make it FOR EVER! :D Love the clicks! beautiful ..

Raks said...

Nice recipe,looks so tempting,love the way you have presented!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful presentation, Nisha..Pav bhaji looks super-tempting..Thanks to Rasheeda for the recipe!

Sarah Naveen said...

loved the clicks nisha!!! nice colors...

Unknown said...

Love the bhaji, and the yummy glasses of tea as well - lovely post!

Unknown said...

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments...this encourages me to share some more recipes with you all....

Rashida.

the Junkie book said...

beautiful blog head! couldn have been better.

Tanvi@Sinfully Spicy said...

Alright, I saw this on tastespotting & missed commenting.I always love the way you experiment with colors in your pictures Nisha...be it yellow or purple.Love the pictures.And pav bhaji is my all time fav!