Pav पाव Bhagi भाजी, Pav means bread and Bhagi means Vegetable so this is a dish of bread/buns served with vegetable cooked in a tangy tomato sauce. It is a famous Street food in India. It comes originally from Mumbai then Bombay but today it is famous all over India. Kids as well as adults love it. I remember at our home it was made in the weekends and it was an all time favourite at birthday parties as well and it still is. Now this recipe of mine is inspired by an authentic Bombay Pav Bhagi which is made mostly with boiled potatoes, peas and tomatoes, but I have also added one red capsicum to it.
When the girls were small and a bit fussy to eat the veggies then in my Bhagi other then peas and potatoes I also added broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower and whatever the seasonal vegetables were. The girls says they were robbed of the real taste of the dish, but whatever is healthy, right! Now-a-days I make both the kinds the authentic one and mine one
So here is what you will need: (for 4 People)
For the Bhagi:
- 500 gms boiled potatoes
- 1 red capsicum, chopped
- 3-4 red tomatoes, chopped
- 2 red onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 green chili, finely chopped
- an inch piece of ginger, finely grated
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp of red chili powder
- 1 tbsp of pav bhagi masala if available or else Garam masala
- 1 tsp of amchoor powder/dried mango powder/dried Amla(gooseberry) powder
- Butter and oil to cook.
Method:
1. Boil the potatoes with skin and keep them aside to cool.
2. Chop all the other vegetables and peel the potatoes.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in pan, add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Now add the ginger and green chili, saute for half a minute. Now add the tomatoes, capsicum and all the spices except Amchoor powder.
4. Mix it all well and let it cook until the capsicum is a bit soft and the tomatoes gets cooked and and the whole mix looks a bit shiny.
5. Now add the peas and crush the boiled potatoes and add them as well.
6. Mix all the things well and add half a cup of water. Let it cook on the medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. With the help of a hand masher, mash the veggies a bit so that they become homogeneous.
7. Add half a tablespoon of butter to the Bhagi and mix it all well. Now simmer and cook for further 3-4 minutes.Mix again with the masher.
8. Add another half cup of water and mix it all well. Now add the Amchoor powder and cook further on low heat for a minute or two. Close the heat and let it sit covered for 2-3 minutes and in this time make the Pavs ready.
Other Ingredients:
Pav or any bread of your choice ( 8 pieces)
Chopped onions
Chopped red or green chili
reshly chopped green coriander
wedge of lime.
Preparing the Pavs:
Heat a Crepe pan or a flat gridle add some butter to it and heat the pav on the pan on both sides, now I honestly think this is a must but its entirely your choice to warm the bread or not. Another option would be to heat the bread with butter in an oven.
Serve the bhagi and top it with a small cube of butter and garnish it with chopped onions, chilies, coriander and a wedge of Lime. Serve it warm.
Tip: Pav is a soft bun but you can take any bread of your choice. If you see in the picture you can see I have taken small sandwich buns. You can also take brown bread or a baguette or anything you fancy.
I like to use dried Amla/Gooseberry powder as it very rich in iron (its black to dark brown in colour when dried) then my Bhagi looks a bit brownish in colour and I like that. But its not easily available so a good substitute would also be either a bit of mango powder or half a teaspoon of tamarind pulp or else we always have the good old lime. Now depending on what type of potatoes you have used the quantity of water might differ.