Australian cricketer Pat Cummins, who is playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League, happened to try tried Pav Bhaji for the first time that too after asking for dinner recommendations in Mumbai on Twitter.
He took to twitter and wrote after dinner “Wow, I’ve been coming to India for 11 years how had I never tried it before!?! Delicious,”
Pav Bhaji basically happens to be fast food dish from Mumbai (Bombay) that sees a vegetable curry (bhaji) cooked in tomato gravy and is served with a soft bread called the pao. The bhaji sees all types of vegtables and the bhaji is traditional Indian name for a vegetable dish, while Pav or Pao happens to be the Portuguese word for bread, which was introduced by them during their brief presence in Mumbai around the mid-1500s. The origin of this dish can be traced back to the era of textile mill workers living in the city of Mumbai in the 1850s. Their lunch breaks were too short for them to have a full-fledged meal and the labours needed something that was filling too due to strenuous physical labor after lunch. This dish was invented to fill the gap that these textile mill workers had. This dish was cheap easy, quick-to-prepare, and yet nutritious food too. From the humble beginnings, this street food of Bombay has come a long way and has become a household name.
Pao Bhaji recipe by Kunal Kapur-
Ingredients
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Pathar Phool (lichen) – 1no
• Garlic chopped – 1/2 tbsp
• Green chilli – 1 no
• Carrots chopped – 1/4 cup
• Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Potato mashed – 1cup
• Salt – to taste
• Water – 2 1/2 cups
• Methi Leaves (Fenugreek) – a pinch
• Butter – 2 tbsp
• Onion chopped – 1/4 cup
• Ginger chopped – 1/2 tbsp
• Beans chopped – 1/4 cup
• Cauliflower grated – 1/4 cup
• Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Tomato puree – 3/4 cup
• Pepper powder – a pinch
• Green peas – 1/2 cup
• Pao (soft buns) – 6 nos
Method
• To make the bhaji heat oil & butter in a pan, add Pathar phool and saute.
• Add chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chopped green chilly.
• Saute them for 3-4 mins.
• Now add chopped beans, carrots and cauliflower.
• Add salt and toss for 2-3 mins.
• Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
• Stir for a while and add boiled & mashed potatoes.
• Cook for few minutes and then add tomato puree.
• Cook till oil surfaces.
• Now add water, green peas and methi leaves powder and let it come to a boil and then simmer till it thickens.
• Slit the pao from the centre and apply butter on the inside and toast them on a hot pan.
• Serve crisp pao with creamy bhaji.