WOW. So much has happened since the last time I posted! I can't even imagine catching up at the moment so I am going to share with you this recipe for delicious Pav Bhaji I recently learned from my second host mom. Here goes (this recipe serves about five):
1) Gather the vegetables picture below and any other favorites:
Tomato, capsicum (green pepper), cauliflower, cabbage, onion, garlic, two small potatoes, and two of these tiny eggplants. Other options include green peas and carrots.
2) Peel the potatoes and cut up all the veggies.
3) Place all the veggies except for the tomato, onion, and garlic over some water in a pressure cooker and steam boil them. They will look like this when finished. They should be soft, but not mushy. Set these aside for later.
4) Put the tomato, garlic, and onion into a food processor.
5) Grind the tomato, onion, and garlic until they look like the picture below.
6) Listen to live piano music while cooking. It really enhances the atmosphere. Thank you Marie from Germany!
7) Take out a pan and fill the bottom of the pan with oil. Set the stove to a medium heat and pour the tomato, onion, and garlic mixture into the pan. Mix in a few pinches of each of the following spices: chili powder (red), turmeric powder (yellow), dried coriander power (brown), mustard seeds (black), salt (white), and cumin seeds (center).
8) Finally mix in the Pav Bhaji garam masala which I am hoping is available in U.S. supermarkets or else I will have to hunt for it in Asian markets or Indian stores when I return.
9) Add this, which my current host mother and I think may be dried mango powder. It is optional.
10) Finally it will look like this.
11) Now take the veggies you boiled and set aside. Put these in the food processor and grind until they look like the picture below.
12) Pour these veggies into your pan and cook for a a bit longer on medium heat. Now your Bhaji is complete!
13) Meanwhile, butter your Pav (any bread or buns, think hamburger or hotdog style, will do) and toast it in a pan on the stove until it is golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside. Now your Pav is complete!
14) FINALLY ENJOY YOUR HOMEMADE PAV BHAJI!
You may also choose to squeeze some lemon over your Bhaji or sprinkle over it some chopped onion.
How to eat: Tear the Pav with your hand and fold it around the Bhaji to scoop it up. It's that easy!
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| Here's a picture from www.sailusfood.com because I ate mine too fast to take a picture of the final product... |
ALSO here is a much more detailed recipe similar to the one I learned that may be easier to follow if you want to try to cook this dish yourself :)
Pav Bhaji Recipe: http://www.tarladalal.com/Pav-Bhaji-2813r
