Ingredients

For Cooking Veggies For Bhaji

Other Ingredients
3 tablespoons amul butter – butter is also added later while serving, you can add
upto 5 to 6 tablespoons of butter too for a richer version
1 teaspoon cumin seeds,1 large onion – finely chopped or ½ cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste or 1.5 inch ginger and 5 to 6 medium garlic cloves
crushed in a mortar-pestle.
1 or 2 green chilies, chopped,½ cup finely chopped capsicum or 1 medium sized
capsicum (green bell pepper), finely chopped
2 cups tightly packed finely chopped tomatoes, or about 2 to 3 large tomatoes,
finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder,1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or freshly ground 1 to
2 soaked dry kashmiri red chilies – the latter works much better and imparts a
beautiful orange color to the bhaji
2 to 3 tablespoons pav bhaji masala, add as required,1.5 to 2 cups water or the
stock in which the veggies were cooked or add as required
salt as required
Accompaniments For Pav Bhaji
12 pavs for serving with the bhaji, 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped,1 lemon
or lime, chopped in wedges
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

Instructions
Cooking Veggies
Rinse, peel and chop the veggies. You will need 1 cup chopped cauliflower, 1 cup
chopped carrot, 3 medium sized potatoes (chopped) and ⅓ cup chopped french beans.
You can also add veggies of your choice.
Add all the above chopped veggies in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Also add 1 cup
green peas (fresh or frozen).
Add 2.25 to 2.5 cups water.
Pressure cook the veggies for 5 to 6 whistles or for about 12 minutes on medium
flame.
When the pressure settles down on its own, open the cooker and check if the veggies
are cooked well. You can even steam or cook the veggies in a pan. The vegetables
have be to cooked completely.
Making Bhaji
Heat a pan or kadai. You can also use a large tawa. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons butter.
You can use amul butter or any brand of butter. Butter can be salted or unsalted.
As soon as the butter melts, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
Let the cumin seeds crackle and change their color.
Then add ½ cup finely chopped onions.
Mix onions with the butter and saute on a low to medium flame till the onions
translucent.
Then add 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste. You can also crush 1.5 inch ginger and 5
to 6 medium garlic cloves in a mortar-pestle.
Mix and saute till the raw aroma of both ginger and garlic goes away.
Then add chopped green chilies. mix well.
Now add 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes. mix very well.
Then begin to saute tomatoes on a low to medium flame
Saute till the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you see butter releasing from the
sides. This takes about 6 to 7 minutes on a low to medium flame. If the tomatoes
start sticking to the pan, then sprinkle some water and mix well.
When the tomatoes have softened, then add ½ cup finely chopped capsicum (green bell
pepper). Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. If the mixture starts sticking to the pan, then
you can sprinkle some water. You don’t need to cook the capsicum till very soft. A
little crunch is alright.
Add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder.
Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons pav bhaji masala. mix very well.
Add the cooked veggies. add all of the stock or water from the pressure cooker in
which the veggies were cooked. mix very well.
Then season with salt as per taste.
With a potato masher, begin to mash the veggies directly in the pan.
You can mash the veggies less or more according to the consistency you want. For a
smooth mixture mash more. For a chunky pav bhaji, mash less.
Keep on stirring occasionally and let the bhaji simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
If the bhaji becomes dry and then add some more water. The consistency is neither
very thick nor thin.
Do stir often so that the bhaji does not stick to the pan. When the pav bhaji
simmers to the desired consistency, check the taste. Add salt, pav bhaji masala,
red chili powder or butter if required.
When the bhaji is simmering, you can fry the pav so that you serve the pav with hot
bhaji. Slice the pavs.
Toasting Pav
Heat a tawa or a shallow frying pan. Keep the flame to a low and then add butter.
When the butter begins to melt, add a bit of pav bhaji masala. You can skip pav
bhaji masala if you want.
Mix the pav bhaji masala very well with a spoon or spatula.
Then place the pav on the butter.
Rotate the pav all over the melted butter so that the pav absorbs the butter.
Now turn over the pav and rotate them on the tawa so that the second side absorbs
the butter. Add more butter if required.
You can turn over and toast them more if required. Then remove in a plate and keep
aside.
Serving Pav Bhaji
Now take the bhaji in a serving plate or a bowl. Top it up with one to two cubes of
butter. You can add more butter, if you like.
Place a side of finely chopped onions, lemon wedges and finely chopped coriander
leaves. Or you can sprinkle onions, coriander leaves and lemon juice directly on
the bhaji.
Serve bhaji with the lightly pan fried and buttered pav. Pav bhaji is topped with
chopped onions, coriander leaves and the lime or lemon juice is squeezed on the
bhaji while eating.