Pav Bhaji (Bun Bread With vegetable)

Bhaji for Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji with butter and salad

Pav Bhaji is a special preparation of Maharashtra, India. It can be taken for lunch, dinner or even as evening snack. The aroma of Bhaji is heavenly and Pav (unleavened small bread) heated with butter along with reddish color Bhaji tastes yum and requires great will power to resist. My husband treated me to Pav Bhaji when I reached Pune after marriage, since then I am hooked to Pav Bhaji, and when I like something I have to learn how to cook it. One thing I learnt that when you make anything at home you can experiment and do lots of variations. I share my recipe with you all. Learn how to make and make your own variations and enjoy the delicious Pav Bhaji.

Preparation Time: 30min.

Cooking Time: 60min.

Servings: 5-6 large servings of Bhaji

Ingredients required for Making Bhaji:

• 100 gm. Cauliflower

• 50 gm. Cabbage

• 10 – 20 gm. Carrot (One small size carrot)

• 50 gm. Capsicum (Two medium size capsicums)

• 25 gm. Red bell pepper (Lal Shimla mirchi, one medium size)                                                                                                                                                                                       

• 150 gm. Onions

• 200 gm. Potatoes (5-6 Medium size potatoes)

• 200 – 250 gm. Tomatoes

• 50 gm. Garlic – Ginger paste

• 100 gm. Pav Bhaji masala

• 10-15 gm. Red Kashmiri Mirch powder

• Red chili powder to taste

• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder

• Salt to taste

• 100gm. Butter

• 8- 10 Sprigs of green coriander leaves.

• 5 - 6 Kadi patta( curry leaves)

Directions for Making Bhaji:

• Boil the potatoes.

• Peel the boil potatoes.

• Mash the boiled and peeled potatoes and keep them aside.

Boiled mashed Potatoes

• Cut finely cauliflower, cabbage, and carrot after washing.

Finely cut vegetables

• Cut finely capsicum and red bell pepper and keep them aside.

• Cut finely tomatoes and keep them aside.

• Cut onions very fine and keep them aside.

• Wash, drain green coriander leaves and cut them finely.

• In a cooker take finely cut cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and half of finely cut capsicum and red bell pepper.

Mixture of vegetables ready for boiling in the cooker

• Add 1/2 Tea spoon of salt and one cup of water, put the lid of cooker and keep for boiling on high flame.

• When pressure builds in the cooker lower the flame and cook for 10 min.

• Remove the cooker from gas and allow it to cool.

• Keep a thick bottom wok on gas on high flame.

• Put 100 gm. butter in the hot wok.

Butter being melted

• When the butter melts add kadi patta in it.

Kadi patta in melted butter

• When kadi patta become brownish in color and the fragrance of kadi patta starts coming out add finely cut onions in it.

Onions being cooked with the seasoning of kadi patta

• Lower the flame and cook the onions till they just start turning brown.

• Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a min. or so.

Stage of cooked onions with ginger - garlic paste when Tomato should be added

• Add finely cut tomatoes and cook toll the mixture leaves the edge of wok.

• Add boiled potatoes and mix thoroughly.

Mashed Potatoes added to the mixture of cooked onions and tomatoes

•  Cook with regular stirring till the mixture leaves the edge of wok.

 Mixture of cooked potatoes,onion,and tomatoes

• Add boiled vegetables with all liquid in the cooker and mix nicely.

Boiled Vegetables added to cooked onion, potato, tomato mixture

•  Cook with stirring and mashing.

• Keep on adding little amount of water in between.

• Add finely cut capsicum and red bell pepper, mix and cook with regular stirring and mashing.

• When the mixture becomes homogenous add salt to taste red chili powder, Kashmiri mirchi powder and turmeric powder and mix thoroughly.

Turmeric powder, salt, chili powder added to the mashed mix of boiled vegetable

• Cook for a min. or two, and then add Pav bhaji masala.

Pav bhaji powder added to the mixture of mashed vegetables

• Mix thoroughly then add 100 ml. of water and cook for 5 min. with regular stirring.

• Bhaji should look like a paste; no vegetable pieces should be seen in the bhaji.

• Cover and remove from heat.

• Add 3-4 tea spoons of cut coriander leaves and mix.

• Beautiful red color bhaji with a wonderful flavor is ready.

Bhaji ready for Pav Bhaji

• Take the bhaji bowl/plate put a blob of butter on it, decorate it with coriander/ strawberry/cherry/ringlets of onion and tomato as per your liking.

Bhaji for Pav bhaji ready to be served

Bhaji for Pav Bhaji

•   Serve hot bhaji with Pav, and salad and a piece of lemon.

Directions for heating Pav:

• Heat a tawa/pan on high flame.

• Cut Pav into two halves from the sides.

• Put butter on the hot tawa and when the butter melts put the Pav from the exposed side on it and press with a spatula till it becomes of brownish pink color.

melted butter and Pav being heated

• Repeat the same with all Pav.

Direction to make salad for Pav bhaji:

• Take finely cut onions, coriander leaves, Green chilies mix them and serve.

Salad for Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji with salad lemon and a dollop of butter

Tips:

• Bhaji should be neither too thick nor watery in consistency.

• Except for some red and green pieces of capsicum and red bell pepper rest of the vegetables should be homogenous paste in bhaji.

• More the butter used better the taste of bhaji.

• Never grind the boiled vegetables and boiled potatoes in mixture to make paste.

• More the vegetables are cooked with regular mashing tastier the Bhaji becomes.

• Keep on adding little amounts of water when the Bhaji is being cooked so as to maintain proper thickness of Bhaji.

Suggested Variations:

• One tea spoon of amchur powder (dry raw mango powder) can be added to increase tangy taste.

• French beans, beetroot can be also added to the mixture of vegetables while boiling.

• Boiled Peas can be added to the bhaji before adding Pav bhaji masala but they should not be mashed.

• Pieces of cottage cheese can be added to the bhaji before adding Pav bhaji masala cheese pieces should not be mashed.

• Homemade unsalted butter can be taken for making bhaji.

• For those who do not eat onions and garlic amount of potatoes can be increased and along with kadi patta cumin seeds can be added followed by ginger paste.

Patode/ Arbi ke Patte ki Vadi/ पतोड़े (Taro Leaf Spirals)

Patode with Red Chili Sauce

Patode are savories made from arbi ka patta and besan. Some prefer it deep fried but while deep frying the nutrients are lost and lots of fat and calories are added to it, so I prefer it shallow fried in minimum amount of oil. In Maharashtra it is known as Aloo chi Vadi.

Since it has green leaves thus it is rich in Iron and besan makes it rich in protein, so why spoil it by deep frying when better taste and nutrition can be gained by shallow frying.

Patode are very good starters / appetizers. They can also be used as side dish to main course.  Why I love making it? Because my family loves it and it is nutritious with no fat, very less calories. Should there be more reason for me to want to make Patode the moment I spot fresh green leaves of arbi ?

Preparation Time:10min.

Cooking Time: 40 min. 

Servings: 20-25 pieces.

 

Ingredients required

• 6 Fresh leaves of Arbi (Taro leaves)

Arbi ke Patte (Taro Leaves)

• 100gm. Besan ( horse gram powder)

Besan

• 1 Red Chili Powder

Red Chili Powder

• 1/2 tea spoon Turmeric powder
• 1 tea spoon Salt ( or to taste)
• 1 tea spoon Amchoor powder ( dried mango powder) 
• 1/2 tea spoon Garam masala powder 
1/2 Teaspoon Ajwain /Carrom seeds
• 1 tea spoon Olive oil or any cooking oil of your choice
• Water to make paste of  Besan and boil patode.

Directions to prepare Patode

• Wash and towel dry the Arbi leaves.
• Cut the stalk from the leaves. Keep the leavers with out stalks in a dry plate and stalks to be discarded.

Washed dried Arbi leaves with stalks removed

Stalks of Arbi leaves to be discarded

• Take besan in a bowl and add turmeric powder, Ajwain, salt, chili powder, garam masala and 2 tea spoon oil to it.

Spices and oil added to the besan

•  Add water slowly with continuous mixing till a smooth uniform paste is formed.

Paste of Besan and spices

• The paste should neither be too thick nor too thin . It should be of spreadable consistency.
• Take one leaf and keep the lower side of leaf facing up on a plate.

The side on which besan paste is to be applied

•  Put 3 tea spoon of paste on the leaf.

Paste on the lower side of the leaf

•  Spread the paste evenly on the leaf.

Besan paste spread on the lower side of the Arbi leaf

• Keep another Arbi leaf with the lower side of leaf facing up so that the besan paste is sandwiched between them.

Second leaf put on the leaf with besan 

• Apply 2 -3 tea spoons of besan paste on the second leaf.
• Start folding from upper pointed end of the leaf till you reach the base so that a roll of Arbi leaf with besan paste is formed.

Roll of Arbi leaf with Besan

• Fold the open ends carefully and closer with tooth picks.

Sides closed by tooth picks

• Repeat the same procedure with rest of the leaves and besan paste.
• Boil water in a broad mouthed container and cover it sieve.
• Place the rolls on the sieve and allow them to be steam cooked for 10 min all the time the gas should be on high flame. till they change the color and become hard.( the besan paste should become solid when cooked).

Patode rolls being steamed

• Turn over the rolls and steam them for another 10 min. ( the gas should be always on high flame)

Rolls being steamed after turning over

• Poke the steamed rolls with a tooth pick if it comes out clean it means rolls are cooked.

Checking with tooth pick

• The rolls will become firm after getting steamed cooked. 

Steamed cooked rolls

• Cool the rolls and cut them to 1/2 inches thickness.

Steamed cooked rolls cut to pieces

• Take a thick bottom flat plate (Tawa) / Pan and put 1/2tea spoon olive oil on it and heat on high flame. 

Tawa with olive oil being heated

• When the tawa is hot place the cut pieces of rolls on it and cook on medium flame till golden brown on one side.(approximately 10 min.)

Pieces of rolls being shallow fried on a nonstick tawa with minimum oil

• Turn them over and sprinkle 1 ml. oil and cook on medium flame till golden brown on the other side also.

Patode cooked to golden color on both sides

• Serve and eat hot Patode with Coriander-mint chutney / Red or green chili sauce / Hariyali chutney.

Patode with Red chili sauce

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2011/09/red-and-green-chilly-sauce.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-chilly-sauce.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/hariyali-chutney-raw-mango-chutney.html

Tips:

• Towel dry the leaves nicely.

•  Add water slowly to avoid the besan and spices paste from becoming thin.

• Use always non-stick pan this will reduce the use of oil.

• Olive oil is healthy medium to cook so use it

 Suggested Variations 

• The number of leaves can be increase the number of leaves can be increased depending upon the thickness of roll you prefer.
• Finely cut coriander leaves and green chilies can be added to the besan paste. This will change the flavor as well as increase the nutrition value of Patode because green chilies are rich in calcium and Vitamin C, and coriander leaves in Iron.