Indian Pav - Bhaji

Overview:

Whenever Pav-bhaji comes to my mind, I am reminded of my Hostel/College days. Since I studied in Nagpur (Maharashtra, India), I got a chance to taste few authentic marathi delicacies and my good luck that the people who gave me that chance were generous enough to share their secret recipes too !

So this one comes from my very favorite "Kanta" tai, one of the cooks at my hostel. Although there was this particular stall in the nearby market who made the best bhaji ever in the whole town. I remember it was Rs 15 a plate, with 2 pavs and a bowl of bhaji.. sufficient for our "petite appetite" :D

Cooking time : 30 mins excluding the roasting of Pavs, serves 5-6

Ingredients: 

You will need :

• Florets from one large cauliflower(washed thoroughly)
• 1 bowl of fresh green peas (approx 200 gm)
• 2 small carrots (diced in smaller pieces)
• 3 -4 Potatoes (medium size skin peeled)
• MDH Pav bhaji masala
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 2 onions (chopped)
• 3 tomatoes (chopped)
• salt to taste
• butter
• chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chillies
• 2 tbsp oil

Recipe:

1. In a steam-cooker, put cauliflower florets, green peas, carrots and potatoes with some water. Cook at high pressure for 15-20 mins. so, let go approximately 4-5 whistles.
2. In a separate large skillet heat oil and add the grated garlic to it. saute until golden brown and then add the diced onions. 
3. saute the mixture until onions are golden pink and then add diced tomatoes. Cook covered until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Add salt to taste and then add 2-3 tbsp Pav bhaji masala.
4. mix well and add chopped green chillies.
5. Now mix all the boiled vegetables with a large spatula. Mix well till the point they appear to be blended well. This will take around 15 mins of hard labor and the outcome should be more like a vegetable paste.
6. Now add the mix we made in the skillet to the blended vegetable paste and add a full glass of water. Heat the mixture on high flame and add more salt and pav bhaji masala as per the taste requirement. The bhaji is done.!!

Serving/Presentation Instruction:

Serve in a bowl garnished with chopped coriander topped with a tsp butter, alongside freshly roasted pav.

Pavs are available in Indian grocery stores and can be roasted in oven without oil too.

** Sorry about the hardly presentable picture. Actually I cooked for 2 cricket teams so made in bulk :)