Mumbai Pav Bhaji

When we think of street food, the first thing that comes to our mind is Pav Bhaji. It’s a Maharashtrian dish consisting of a spicy mixture of mashed vegetables cooked in a thick gravy and served with hot buttered soft white bread rolls (pavs). Though I have had pav bhaji many times in Delhi but the one you get in Mumbai are completely different. The secret lies in its fresh taste. It’s a hot selling product on the busy Mumbai roads. The bhaji is always ready which the vendor reheats with some spices and butter… butter being their key ingredient. Dollops and dollops of butter is added and the end result is heavenly..melt in the mouth bhaji. I've tried using less butter in this recipe but feel free to add more as per your choice, the more the butter the butter..ohh sorry..better!!

Ingredients:

1 cup cabbage

½ cup French beans

2 carrots

½ cup green peas

3 big potatoes

1 cup capsicum

2 onions

2 large tomatoes

3 tbsp butter

Hing – 1 pinch

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp haldi

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

3 tbsp Pav Bhaji masala

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp dry mango powder

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil and mash cabbage, carrots, peas and potatoes. Keep aside. Do not throw away the water. It is full of nutrients and we will use this stock in our bhaji.
2. Take a pan and add 2 tbsp butter. Add hing to it.
3. Now add finely chopped onions. Sauté till they become translucent.
4. Add finely chopped capsicum and French beans. Cook for 2 minutes till the vegetables become nice and soft.
5. Add chopped tomatoes along with ginger garlic paste, haldi, coriander powder and red chilli powder.  Cook till the oil seperates.
6. Now add the mashed vegetables along with salt, cumin seeds, garam masala and dry mango powder. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
7. You can add the vegetable stock at this stage.
8. Use a masher to finally combine all the vegetables. It has to come together as a paste consistency.
9. Simmer it for another 10-15 minutes.
10. Finally add a dollop of butter and stir for another 2 minutes.
11. Remove from gas and add lemon juice.
12. Serve hot with buttered pavs.

For the pav:

1. Slit 2 pavs vertically and keep aside.
2. Heat a large tava, add 2 tsp of butter and slit open the pavs and place on it.
3. Cook on a medium flame till they turn light brown and crisp on both the sides. (add more butter if required).

Mango Kulfi

Kulfi brings back some sweet childhood memories. I still remember when the kulfi wallahs would come crying out loudly on the streets. We as children would eagerly wait for him to come, ready with money clinched in our small fists which were easily collected by throwing tantrums infront of our parents. The kulfi wallah usually carried a large earthen pot on his head which was filled with the tastiest frozen kulfi my taste buds can ever remember. We use to peep inside the pot just to take a glimpse of it. He would serve it plain without the falooda or syrup on large leaves.

Coming back from the mesmerizing thoughts, this is a no fail recipe and again nothing can ever go wrong with it. If you have to make Mango Kulfi in a jiffy, then this is the one. Very simple and easily available ingredients are used. I first tried making it when my mom gave me a carton full of mangoes. I was completely clueless what to do with them. They were the extra sweet variety and were rotting at a fast pace. Me and my husband managed to gobble down a few and also gave the little one a taste of them. Then came the famous mango shake. Still the mangoes managed to take one full shelf in my refrigerator. As I was in no mood to follow the normal recipe and spend hours in the kitchen boiling milk and thickening it, I chose a non-cook approach to my mango kulfi. I picked up fresh cream and played around with the ingredients. Result… I got this finger licking mango kulfi. Since then this is a regular in our household in the summer months.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh pureed mango

1 cup sugar

2 cups fresh cream

½ cup chopped almonds

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ tsp elaichi powder

Some saffron strands

Method:

1. Combine the mango puree and sugar in a bowl. The msugar needs to be completely dissolved. Keep aside.
2. Take fresh cream in a big bowl and beat till fluffy. This will take some time. You can put the bowl over a bed of ice if doing it manuaaly else use an electyric beater.
3. Once the cream is nice and fluffy, add the mango puree. We need to fold it gently so that the air in the cream is not lost.
4. Add the other ingredients one by one – vanilla essence, elaichi powder and saffron strands.
5. Transfer the mixtureinto a freezer safe dish or kulfi moulds.
6.    Freeze for 4-5 hours.
7.     Serve Mango kulfi cold with some sliced almonds or combine with Falooda and rose syrup.