Pav bhaji ki kahani

Hello fellow Foodies

This week have you been feeling extra nostalgic?

Do not worry we are here to the rescue with this recipe of mine you will feel right at home no matter where you are.

Pav bhaji is one of the most delicious Maharashtrian dishes. Soft and buttery pav served with a mashed version of many vegetables. Pav bhaji is almost synonymous to the streets of Mumbai. A hot plate of this delicious dish fills many stomachs daily. But have you ever wondered where this dish actually came from?

It wouldn’t come as a surprise that Pav Bhaji was in the very streets of Mumbai, which was known as Bombay earlier. The story goes back to the colonial times, the 1860s,when the mill workers in Mumbai were exploited. They used to have irregular working hours and often used to return at midnight. Many of them used to work alone in the city, without their families, so they used to struggle for a midnight meal. The families of the others found it difficult to cook food at midnight, for they worked too.

The nearby food joints didn’t really have much food left at midnight, they just had some leftover vegetables with them. So, to help these workers get a cheap meal, they devised a plan.

The owners of the food joints decided to combine all the leftover vegetables from the day, and mash them together. They used to serve this with the leftover buns from the Jesuit churches, which were called ‘pao’. Hence pav bhaji was invented.

The leftover vegetables surprisingly made a very delicious dish, which tasted extra tasty when combined with the soft pav. This dish was also very nutritious. It combined the goodness of many vegetables- peas, carrot, capsicum, potato, onions and sometimes even cauliflower. So, this dish was nutritious, filling and easy to make.

Pav Bhaji recipe:-

Preparation time - 20 mins

Cooking time - 30 mins

INGREDIENTS-

• 2 large potatoes 385 grams,

• boiled1/2 head of a small cauliflower 215 grams, boiled1/2 of a large green pepper 135 grams, boiled1/2 cup frozen green peas boiled

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 2 medium red onion 230 grams, finely chopped

• 2 inch ginger 24 grams, finely chopped

• 7 cloves garlic 20 grams, finely chopped

• 2 green chilies finely chopped, adjust to taste

• 3 large tomatoes 425 grams, finely chopped

• 1/3 cup tomato puree

• 1.25 teaspoon salt

• 1.25 cups water divided

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala or to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste

• 2 teaspoons kasuri methi also known as dried fenugreek leaves

• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

• juice of 1 large lemon

Homemade Pav Bhaji Masala:

• 4 tbsp coriander seeds (20 grams)

• 2 tbsp cumin seeds (18 grams)

• 5 dried red chilies (3-4 grams), adjust to taste

• 8 cloves

• 1 tbsp fennel seeds (9 grams)

• 3 black cardamom

• 1 cinnamon stick, around 2 inches

• 1 tsp turmeric powder (6 grams)

• 2 tsp ground black pepper (6 grams)

• 1 tbsp amchur (18 grams)

• ½ tsp ground ginger (1 gram)

• 2 tsp black salt (12 grams)

For the pav -

12-14 pav

butter to toast the pav

pav bhaji masala to sprinkle

Coriander to sprinkle

Method to make pav bhaji masala -

1.Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chilies, cloves, fennel seeds, black cardamom and cinnamon stick in a pan on medium heat until fragrant, around 3-4 minutes.

2.Let it cool and then transfer spices to a spice grinder. Stir turmeric powder, ground black pepper, amchur, ground ginger and black salt.

3.Grind until powdered and well combined. Store pav bhaji masala in an airtight container at room temperature and use as required. This makes around 100 grams of pav bhaji masala.

Method to make pav bhaji -

1.Boil the veggies first and keep them ready. Mostly used pressure cookers used to boil them until they were soft and tender.

2.Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot on medium heat. Once the butter melts and oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

3.Add the chopped onions and mix.Cook the onions for around 4 minutes until golden brown in color. Add the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chili.

4.Cook the ginger-garlic-green chili for 1 minute.Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook for 2 minutes.Add tomato puree, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt. 5.Cover the pan and let the tomato cook for 6 minutes until softened and completely cooked.Add the pav bhaji masala, red chili powder and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.

6.You may also add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar here (optional).Mix well and then add in 2 teaspoons of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).Stir in the boiled veggies and mix.

7.Using a potato masher,, mash the veggies until they are completely mixed with the masala. Add the remaining 3/4 - 1 cup water and mix.

8.Cover the pot and set heat to low. Let the bhaji simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.Open the pot and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.Add a generous amount of chopped cilantro.Then add in juice of 1 large lemon. Let the bhaji simmer for 2 more minutes and then remove pan from heat.

To toast the pav -

1.To toast the pav, melt butter on a pan on medium heat.

2.Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala and fine chopped coriander on top of the butter and then place the buns on the pan.

3.Press to toast the pav until crisp and golden brown from both sides.

Serve with finely chopped onions, lemon wedge and love!!!

Your feedback is important to us please leave a like and comment if you liked the post

We will be back with more this Saturday