Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji literally means 'bread curry'. This native dish of Maharashtra is something that every Mumbaite will swear by. It is found in every nook and corner of the city...in roadside stalls, restaurants, eateries etc. All you need is to stand near a vendor preparing one...the spicy aroma that wafts through the air will make your mouth go slurrpp!

The curry comprises of common vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, bell pepper, green peas, carrots, beans, cauliflower, cabbage etc that are mashed and blended with spices. So this is a perfect recipe for a fussy toddler who sulks at the sight of veggies. For those who like to know there veggies apart, there is a variation called 'Khada Pav Bhaji' where the vegetables are not mashed.

Lets get into the recipe first. Later shall share some history about this dish.

Ingredients (Serve size: 2)

Potato - 1 medium sized, diced

Beans - 1 cup finely chopped

Green peas - 1 cup shelled

Carrots - 2 cubed

Cauliflower - 2 cups florets

Cabbage - 2 cups finely shredded

Capsicum (Bell pepper) - 1 medium sized, finely chopped

Onion - 2 medium sized, finely chopped

Garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped

Tomatoes - 2 blended in a liquidiser

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1 tsp (I use the 'Badshah' brand. 'Everest' is also good)

Pav

For garnishing:

Finely chopped onion

Finely chopped coriander leaves

Sliced tomatoes

Lemon wedges

Pressure cook all the vegetables (except bell pepper) for 5 to 6 whistles with a pinch of turmeric. Once done, mash them with the help of a ladle.

Meanwhile coarsely grind onions, garlic and little of chopped bellpepper. Heat oil in a pan. Saute the onion-garlic-bell pepper mixture till it turns translucent. Add remaining bellpepper.

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste. Saute for a few seconds before adding pav bhaji masala powder.

Add the tomato juice. Cook for few seconds before adding mashed vegetables. Then cook again till the all veggies & spices blend well and you can smell that familiar aroma.

To serve, heat a pan. Melt some butter and slightly roast cut pav on both sides. To make the pav spicy you can add some pav bhaji masala to the butter before frying the pav.

Garnish the bhaji with coriander leaves. Serve the dish with bhaji, pav, chopped onions, sliced tomatoes and lemon wedges.

Some points to note:

1. Primarily the bhaji or curry is potato based. However i have reduced the quantity of potato and increased other veggies to up the nutritional content.

2. Since my little niece was going to eat this too, i have not made it too spicy. The street side versions are quite spicy. You can increase the quantity of pav bhaji masala as per your requirement.

3. Pav bhaji masala typically comprises of spices like dry mango, red chillies, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cardamon, black pepper, black salt, cloves etc all of which are ground into a fine powder. If you dont have pav bhaji masala you substitute it with garam masala.

4. You can prepare other interesting variations of this dish like Cheese pav bhaji (served with grated cheese), Paneer pav bhaji (served with grated paneer), Dry fruit pav bhaji (with a generous sprinkling of dry fruits) or Khada pav bhaji.

5. This dish is traditionally served with pav or more commonly called laadi pav. These are available in all bakeries in mumbai. If you dont find one you can substitute it with bread.

6. The dish is usually served with lots of butter (read cholestrol, if you care) on steaming hot bhaji.

Coming to the origin of pav bhaji, I found some interesting facts from Wikipedia. Here is it.

The origin of this dish is traced to the heyday of the textile mills in Mumbai. The mill workers used to have a short break for lunch. A full lunch which was not rushed probably needed more time than what was available. A light lunch was also preferred given that physical work followed immediately. A vendor understood this and came up with this dish using items or parts of them available on the menu. The role of roti or rice was taken up by pav and the curries that usually go with Indian bread or rice were amalgamated into just one spicy concoction-the 'bhaji'. Initially, it remained the food of the mill-workers. The dish eventually found its way into restaurants and spreading over Central Mumbai and other areas.

Well, isnt this the one that is so delicious, nutritious and can be prepared in a jiffy. So next time your toddler makes a face at veggies, think pav bhaji !