Tag: chat

Paav Bhaji

Breakfast, Snacks

A fast food dish/street food served with soft bread rolls and bhaji (a spicy vegetable curry which includes potatoes, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and green peas). This delicious blend of veggies and bread tastes delicious and is enjoyed by all.

  • When oil is hot, drop the cumin seeds
  • Add green chillies
  • Add onions
  • Saute the ginger garlic paste well
  • Add tomatoes
  • Saute the chopped carrots
  • Add the chopped cauliflower and peas
  • Add tomato paste
  • Add pav bhaji masala and red chillie powder
  • Add turmeric powder
  • Mash the veggies well and add the mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

Jeera/Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Onion – 1 big (finely chopped)

Potatoes – 3 big (boiled)

Green peas – 1/2 cup (store bought, frozen)

Cauliflower – 1 1/4 cup (finely chopped)

Carrot – 1 cup (finely chopped)

Tomato – 1 medium (chopped)

Tomato paste (store bought) – 1 tbsp

Capsicum – 1/2 cup (finely chopped)

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Butter – 1 tbsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Green chillie – 1 finely chopped

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric – 1/4 tsp

Kasuri methi – 1/2 tbsp

Paav Bhaji Masala – 1 1/2 tbsp

Lemon – 1/2

To toast pav

Pav (buns) – 4 to 6

Butter – 1 tbsp

Pav bhaji masala – 1/2 tsp

For Garnish

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Onions finely chopped – 1 tbsp

Butter – 1 tsp

Lemon wedges – 1

Preparation:

Mash the boiled potatoes and keep it aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and oil in a large pot on medium heat. Once the butter melts and oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add the chopped green chillies and saute.

Add the chopped onions and saute well again. Cook the onions for around 4 minutes until golden brown in color. Add the ginger – garlic paste and fry until the raw smell disappears.

Now, add the finely chopped carrot and saute again. Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook for 2 minutes. Next, in goes the cauliflower and the fresh green peas. Saute well for 4 minutes.

I prefer to use my food processor/chopper to chop cauliflower and carrots, which helps in cutting it very finely.

Add tomato puree and salt. When it is well sauteed, add the finely chopped capsicum and mix well. Add the pav bhaji masala, red chili powder and turmeric powder.

Mix well and then add in 2 teaspoons of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and 1/2 cup of water. Add a generous amount of chopped cilantro and juice of 1/2 large lemon. Let the bhaji simmer for 2 minutes. Add the mashed potatoes to this bhaji, mix well and then remove pan from heat.

To toast the pav, melt butter on a pan. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on top of the butter and then place the buns on the pan. Press to toast the pav until crisp and golden brown, on both sides.

Serve the toasted pav with the bhaji.

Paani Puri/Golgappa/Puchka

Uncategorized

Another favourit street snack from Mumbai and Calcutta, these are mini crunchy puris served with boiled potatoes and lentils with a sweet n sour , spicy tangy water. There are many snacks that come under the Indian chaat items but paani puri is a clear winner !

  • Add oil to the semolina
  • Mix well
  • Add soda bi carbonate
  • Add maida
  • Add soda water
  • Mix well and if reqd, add more soda water
  • Knead and keep it to rest for 1 hour
  • Roll out into a big circle
  • Check out the thickness of the rolled out circle
  • Using a round cutter, cut out into small circles
  • Deep fry the puris
  • Flip to the other side when golden
  • Fried crispy puris
  • Boiled potatoes
  • Green chutney/water

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 3 big cut into cubes

Dates Tamarind chutney – 1 cup

Coriander Mint chutney – 1 cup

Soaked and cooked green moong dal/black chick peas – 1/2 cup

Chat masala – 1/2 tsp

Dry mango powder/Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp

Sev (optional) – 1/4 cup

Preparation:

For Puris

Semolina/Rava – 1 cup

Soda bi carbonate – 3 to 4 pinches

All purpose flour/Maida – 1 tbsp

Soda water – 6 tbsp

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Oil for deep frying

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, add semolina, oil, baking soda and salt. With your fingers, mix the oil evenly with the semolina. Now, add maida/all purpose flour to this mixture.

Mix again very well so that the all purpose flour is mixed evenly. Add 3 tbsp soda water first. Mix again. Then add 1 tbsp soda water more and begin to knead the dough. The semolina absorbs water while kneading. Add water in parts while kneading.

Then add 3 tbsp more of the soda water and continue to knead. The kneading is very important in getting the perfect pani poori texture. The dough should not be too soft or too hard. If you make the dough soft, then add 1 to 3 tsp more of the sooji. If the dough looks hard, then add sprinkle some water and continue to knead.

Knead it again as the elasticity in the dough helps in rolling the dough without cracks and thinly. When rolling, the dough should roll easily without any cracks. Knead to a semi soft elastic dough and keep it in a bowl or pan.

Cover the dough with a moist kitchen towel or napkin and allow the dough to rest for 60 minutes.

After 60 minutes, knead the dough again. Divide the dough into 4 parts and knead out one part into a big circle. With a round cutter, make 5 to 6 small circles, cut it out and deep fry it in hot oil. The oil should be really hot while frying. Gently nudge each puri while it is dropped into the oil. This helps the puris to puff up easily. When it turns golden brown, flip it to the other side and cook. Remove when it turns golden brown on this side. Repeat this process for the other 3 parts of the dough.

When the puris cool down, store these puris in an airtight container.

Preparing the dal and the potatoes

Soak black chana dal or green moong dal in water for 4 to 5 hours. Pressure cook black chana dal with a pinch of salt for 2 -3 whistles. or if using green moong dal, boil it in a vessel with a pinch of salt and enough water. Keep it aside when cooked and water has been absorbed.

Cut the boiled potatoes into cubes and keep it aside. Sprinkle it with little chat masala and jeera powder. Add the boiled black chick peas or green moong to it and mix.

Assembling the puris

Keep the coriander mint chutney and tamarind chutney in a bowl, ready to serve (recipe below).

To serve, tap the puri gently at the centre lightly to make a half inch hole in it. Add about 1 teaspoon of the potato dal filling into the puri. Fill the puri with some tamarind dates chutney and coriander mint water and serve.

Green chutney:

Mint leaves – 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup

Green chillie – 1

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Lemon – 1 tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Chat masala powder – 1 tsp

Kala namak (black rock salt/sanchal) – 1/4 tsp

Water – 4 cups

Wash the leaves thoroughly. Transfer all the above ingredients to a mixer jar and 3/4 – 1 cup of water and grind it to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the water and grind again. The green chutney water is ready.

Tamarind Dates chutney

Deseeded dates – 1 cup

Deseeded Tamarind – 1/2 cup tamarind pulp

Roasted cumin seeds powder – 1/2 tsp

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Black Salt/Rock Salt/Sanchal – 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

In a bowl, mix tamarind and dates with 2 cups of hot water and soak for for 1 hour. Blend them in a mixie alongwith the water, to a smooth paste. Sieve it and keep it aside.

Heat a pan. Transfer the tamarind-dates pulp to it. Add rock salt, red chillie powder, salt, cumin seeds powder and cook for 2 -3 minutes. Boil once stirring in between. Put off the flame and let it cool. You can store this chutney in the fridge in an air tight container for a month.