Pav Bhaji!

Pav Bhaji, every Mumbaiite's street favorite!! I have grown up eating pav bhaji atleast once a week, where bhaji is the mixed vegetables and pav is the buttery soft moist bread! My mom used to make pav bhaji for our birthdays inviting all our friends, and everyone remembers her pav bhaji and her chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting till today!

Here is how we make it :)

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes
1 green bell pepper diced into small pieces
1 cup green peas
3/4 cup cauliflower coarsely chopped
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic
3 heapfuls pav bhaji masala
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 lemon
3-4 tablespoons of salted butter
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt to taste


sourdough bread or pugliese bread(my version of pav in the US!)
Butter to spread on the bread


Method:

Put the potatoes, cauliflower and green peas in a pressure cooker, cover with 5-6 cups of water, and pressure cook it until 4-5 whistles. Once done, let the mixture cool down. Drain the water into a separate bowl to preserve it(water has all the vitamins). Peel the skin off the potatoes. Now mash the entire mixture really well into a mush.

In a morter and pestel, add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and the chilli powder and grind it until really fine.

In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, put in the butter, and melt it. Add the chopped onions. Saute it until golden  brown. Add in the garlic mixture. Add in the chopped tomatoes, and saute it for 2-3 minutes. Add in the chopped bell pepper and saute for about 2-3 minutes. Add in the pav bhaji masala, and let it cook on low to medium heat for 5 minutes, until it looks well blended.

Add in the potato mixture and add in about a cup of the preserved water, and mix this really well. Squeeze the juice of one lemon. Now mix the entire bhaji well, stirring it occassionally and keep it at low heat. Cook it for about 10 minutes. Add in the chopped cilantro as garnish and a tad bit of butter that melts beautifully on top to make it look silky!

Slice the bread loaf into about 2-3 slices/person. Slather it with butter on both sides. Now at medium heat on a saucepan, add the slices and let it brown  and crisp nicely on both sides! The pav bhaji is ready to eat! :)

You can garnish the bhaji once on your plate with cilantro, some chopped onions and a dash of lemon! Yum!