Pav Bhaji (Street food of Mumbai)

Getting back to blogging after a short break, feels so good to be back in my comfort zone :)
It was Monday, Presidents day a long weekend in USA. Had a busy rest of the weekend having too much fun! Thought of lazying around while cleaning up the house and at sharp 11:08am had a craving to eat pav bhaji after my eyes wandered on the potato bag in the pantry :) Got lucky as I had all the ingredients in the fridge except pav (Indian bread). After begging for 5 minutes to my Pati-dev who thinks weekends are his right to be a couch potato, sent him off to the store to get the pav while I geared myself to make some YUMM-O street food.

This dish is a big hit at my house and relished amongst my friends. I got this recipe from a Juhu beach vendor in Mumbai on Youtube some years back. Can't go wrong, right? I have customized the recipe just a little bit as per my convenience. I was actually surprised to see couple of ingredients that went into it like kasoori methi and hing. Well, it only adds more great flavors to say the least.

Another huge USP of this dish, can add as many variety of vegetables you want and kids will not even know :) because potatoes overpowers the rest of the clan :)- So yes, Moms can go YAY!!

Pav Bhaji was invented as a midnight dish by street food vendors, made with all the leftover vegetables from the day, mashed up together, with loads of added spice, and butter. Bhaji is the Marathi word for a vegetable dish, and pav probably comes from the Portuguese word for bread.

All I can say is try it and see if you like it.

Ingredients:

For the Bhaji:

• 2 big potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed lightly
• 4-5 ripe tomatoes chopped ( if not sour enough, add extra tbsp of tomato paste)
• 1 capsicum chopped
• 10 flowerets of cauliflower (roughly chopped)
• 1 small carrot chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup peas boiled
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili pwd (to give more color than spiciness)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4th tsp turmeric pwd
• 1- 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala (everest or mtr)
• handful chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves
• pinch asafetida 
• 2 tbsp of oil
• food color orange 1 pinch ( if you want that gorgeous color :))

To Fry the Pav:

• Butter
• Cilantro leaves
• Prepared Pav Bhaji

Garnish Ingredients:

• Chopped onion
• Sev
• Lemon pieces
• Dallop of butter on it

6 Pav (store bought for now)
Minimum 2 Pav each person to relish all that goodness of buttery bhaji :)

Preparation:

• In a non stick pan, heat oil, add capsicum, cauliflower, (carrots if using it) and quickly saute it for 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Add ginger garlic paste and let it cook for little bit more till the raw smell goes away. Add asafetida, kasoori methi and cook for a minute.
• Now add chopped tomatoes and saute it for couple of minutes. You can add 1 tbsp butter now and let it cook till you see some oil coming out from the corners. Stir in between.
• Add masalas - turmeric pwd, chilli pwd and pav bhaji masala, salt mix everything together quickly. 
• Add boiled potatoes and with a masher, start mashing everything together. Add water little by little till you get the consistency of thickness/thinness you want. It is always semi thick. Potatoes basically absorb water. 
• Taste it and see if it needs adjustment, if your tomatoes are not sour enough, add lemon juice.
• Add food color if you want.
• Let it cook on sim flame for about 7-8 minutes. Keep stirring in between and add water as you like. Add another tbsp of butter :)
• Garnish it with Cilantro and switch off the gas.

How to fry the Pav just before serving:

• Cut the Pav in the centre and semi open it.
• On a frying pan, add butter, as it sizzles add bhaji, cilantro and place the pav face down and cook for few sec. Drizzle some butter or oil on top and serve hot.

How to Serve Pav Bhaji:
Serve good amount of bhaji in a compartmented plate, chopped onion, cilantro and lemon slices on one end, you can add onions, sev and butter on top of the hot bhaji, and masala fresh pav on the other side.

Trust me, eating is much easier than writing how to serve Pav Bhaji :):) (joke)

If you are street food junkie, you may also like
Missal Pav,  Baked Potatoes Wedges,  Mumbai's special Masala Sandwich

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits:

Due to the increased interest in foods that are low-carb or low-glycemic index, the potato has unjustly earned a bad reputation. Potatoes consumed in simple roasted, grilled, boiled, steamed manner with little or no oil/butter is very healthy and nutritious for health.
It is loaded with calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron that helps in having strong bones.
It has vitamin B6 which supports heart health.
Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in potatoes that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory.

Jhatpat Cauliflower Sabji

A very very very (yes I cannot stress more :)) easy and jhatpat (quick) gobi ki sabji recipe is about to be revealed here :) Thank me later :) :) Who doesn't like Gobi? A universal flowerhead loved by almost everyone and is used in making so many unique dishes.

A simple trick that I will mention here will make a difference in the making of this sabji. I say that because cauliflower that we get here in Northern America are huge in size, and has a lot of water content than what we get in India. This used to be one of my favorite vegetables back in India. After moving here, my sabji never turned out like my mom :( that crispy-ish-ness was nowhere in the vicinity!  I was devasted first and then irritated. Later, slowly I realized that the water content in the cauliflower was the issue.

So I started to microwave the florets for 2-3 minutes before I added it in my sabji, that was it, the trick worked! I did not end up with a soggy curry anymore. No onions, no ginger... almost like a stir fry but a very tasty dish! A perfect side dish during a busy day!


Let us take a look at the recipe;

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups cauliflower florets (med size, don't cut into big florets)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds (rai)
• 1/4th tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 5 crushed pods of garlic ( or finely chopped)
• 1 stick of curry leaves
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 3/4th tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2-1 tsp goda masala (or garam masala)
• 1 small tomato chopped ( or 7-8 cherry tomatoes halved)
• salt for taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro 
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

• Cut cauliflower into florets, wash and rinse. In a microwave safe bowl, add florets, sprinkle a tad of water and cook for 3 minutes. Add florets in a colander and keep it for 5 minutes till all the water drains away.
• In the meantime, heat a pan, add oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, as it splutters add hing, garlic, curry leaves and saute on med flame. 
• Add turmeric, saute quickly and dump the florets into the pan, Mix with a light hand. Now add tomatoes, chili powder, goda masala (or garam masala), salt and mix again everything. 
• Close the lid and cook on a low flame for 10 minutes. Stir in between. Do not add water. It gets cooked in its own steam. If you see that it is very dry, add drops of water. 
• Switch off the gas once you see it is cooked. Keep an eye and do not overcook the cauliflower, let it be little crispy in texture. Now garnish it with cilantro and lemon juice. 
• Serve it with hot roti, Khoba roti, Lachcha paratha, Ragi Poori, Rice etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits: It is rich in vitamins and minerals. It's also a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, fiber, vitamin B6, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and manganese. Cauliflower is a good source of choline, a B vitamin known for its role in brain development. It contains antioxidants that support in detoxification of your body. Cauliflower contains sulforaphane, a sulfur compound that has also been shown to kill cancer stem cells, thereby slowing tumor growth. Some researchers believe eliminating cancer stem cells may be key to controlling cancer. It is known to be a heart booster!
So hell yes, this is one delicious and healthy flower in our food chain :)

Amritsari Gobi Pakoda (Cauliflower Fried Fritters)

Picture this- There is a loud thunder sound and rain splashing heavily at your window panes, you sitting calmly enjoying the rhythm of your rocking chair with a steaming hot cuppa tea in one hand, something nice to read in your lap and a plateful of hot sizzling pakodas by your side - what more do you want in life in that particular moment :).
I haven't come across anyone till now who has said NO to pakoda. This Amritsari pakoda recipe is so yummy that you will not be able to stop munching even after you had like 20 something of these. Seriously beware and I am warning you beforehand :) I recently discovered this recipe given by a foodie friend Sushma and have fallen in love with it. You can have it as a snack or enjoy it with rice and dal. A fun food for easy entertainment events too.

Let us check out the recipe, because I know you are already drooling looking at the pics :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflowers cut into small size florets
• 2 small onions chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
• 1/4th tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp cornmeal flour* ( or 1 tbsp rava(semolina))
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 4 tbsp gram flour(besan)
• 4-5 green chillies chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)
• 1/2 tsp chilli pwd
• salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

• Wash and rinse the cauliflower florets, I usually cook it in a microwave with little water for about 3 minutes, before I set it up for frying. It is totally optional.
• In a mixing bowl add all the other ingredients and mix it nicely. Add water spoon by spoon if needed. It makes a nice sticky mixture. 
• Heat oil in a kadai to a smoking point, then reduce it to medium flame and start frying the pakodas, till it is brown on all sides. Place it on a paper towel to take out excess oil. 
• Serve hot with ketchup, mint chutney or you can enjoy it as it, it is very delicious!

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Recipe adapted from authentic food delights by Sushma Mallya.

Health Benefits:

It's a good source of vitamin K, protein, thiamin, riboflavin and other vitamins and minerals. Has a good content of choline which is known for its role in brain development. Cauliflower is an important source of dietary fiber for digestive health. It is considered as world's healthiest food. Eating cauliflower is like winning the antioxidant lottery. It's packed with vitamin C, beta-carotene, cinnamic acid, and much more. Antioxidants are nature's way of providing your cells with an adequate defense mechanism against attack by reactive oxygen species.