Mooli ke Paranthe/ Muli ke Paranthe Recipe

Every time I make paranthas I can hear, "Garam garam paranthe ko thandi thandi dahi mein dooba kar phat se munh mein dalna chahiye." Yes, I am that big a fan of Hindi romantic movies that I can quote dialogues from bad ones too. But after all I am an Indian girl raised in the 90s... what do you expect?

Mooli ke Paranthe/ Muli ke Paranthe

But that's taking away from the topic... so coming to mooli ke paranthe. Mooli ke paranthe get this unique sharp tang from the taste of the raddishes. For lovers of spice (like me), this is heaven! Add to it flavours from home-made masalas and you've got an absolute winner!

Mooli ke Paranthe/ Muli ke Paranthe

Here's my recipe of garam and masaledaar mooli ke paranthe.

Mooli ke Paranthe/ Muli ke Paranthe Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: about 2 minutes per parantha

Makes: 10 paranthas

Ingredients

1 cup grated white radish
1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
2 tsps jeera (cumin) powder
1 tsp laal mirch (red chilly) powder
3 tsps dhaniya (corriander seed) powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup water for kneading the dough
Salt to taste

2 tbsps whole wheat flour for dusting
Oil as required for roasting the paranthas

Method

In a large dish, mix the grated radish with the dried spice powders, the carom seeds and the salt. Mix together well with your fingers.

Now add the flour and start kneading the dough by adding a little water at a time. Knead a hard dough as the radish will keep losing water and the dough will keep getting soft. Rest the dough for 10 minutes.

Make balls of the dough of 1/2 inch diameter and roll out thin paranthas. Roast lightly on both sides, brush some oil and then cook the paranthas through.

Serve hot with yoghurt, chutney or pickle of your choice.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

Creamy and crunchy. Those are the first words that come to me as I sit to write about this sandwich. And that is something I cannot move past as I think of this sandwich.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

But I should move on and talk a little bit about coleslaw. It is foreign to us, after all. Coleslaw is a salad made primarily of shredded raw cabbage dressed with vinaigrette. However, mayonnaise has replaced vinaigrette in many ways, so whatever coleslaw I've had till date has been dressed with mayo.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

I was craving some really good coleslaw day before, but I am off mayonnaise (though I use the veg version) for some time. So I  racked my brains, used some substitutions, and came up with this! A healthy, veg coleslaw sandwich recipe!

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Assembly Time: 2 minutes per sandwich

Serving size: 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

2 cups grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

2 cups hung curd

1 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp pepper

Salt to taste

16 slices of brown bread

Method

In a bowl mix together the hung curd, garlic paste, salt and pepper. Whip them well so they form a smooth and even dressing.

Add in the grated cabbage and carrots and mix well. The dressing should coat the vegetables well. 

Taste and adjust seasoning.

To make the sandwiches, spread a 1/2 inch thick, even layer of the coleslaw between the two breads. Cut diagonally or vertically and serve!

Top 10 Mumbai Street Foods (Vegetarian)

Mumbai is a foodie heaven. So many different cultures reside here that there is a diversity of food available here. There are dishes here that suit every taste palate. Every street food lover will find something here that he/she will really enjoy!

This is a list of my top 10 favourite Mumbai foods. Now for some wada pav to eat!

1. Wada Pav/ Vada Pav

My recipe of Wada Pav can be found here.

Wada Pav/ Vada Pav

Wada pav has often been compared to Indian burger. I disagree, strongly! Wada pav is a very unique dish in itself. Mashed potatoes are slowly cooked with ginger, garlic and basic spices. Then they're coated in a gram flour cover and deep fried till crispy. They're then served in a pav (a bread) with mint-corriander chutney or tamarind-jaggery chutney or a dry roasted garlic chutney. Each bite is poetry of soft pav, crispy spicy wada and pungent and sweet chutneys.

While any street corner will have a shop or cart selling wada pav, some of the highly recommended places in Mumbai to have wada pav are Ashok wada pav (near Kirti College, Prabhadevi), Anand wada pav (Vile Parle), Aram Milk bar (CST) and my favourite for its amazing chutney Gajanan wada pav (Vishnu Nagar, Thane). 

2. Pani Puri

Pani Puri
Image from: http://www.walkthroughindia.com/cuisines/top-10-best-road-side-food-of-india/

Golden crispy puris are slightly broken on the top.  They'refilled with boiled ragda (white chickpea), boiled potatoes, boondi (gram flour fried balls), tamarind and jaggery chutney. The whole puri is then dunked in pungent and sour mint water. Open your mouth wide and pout the entire puri in. And then let the juices flow!

You can have a wonderful version of this firecracker of a dish at Elco (Hill Road, Bandra), Prashant Corner (Panchpakhadi, Thane), Sindhi pani puri house (Chembur). 

3. Frankie

My recipe of veg frankie can be found here.

Veg Frankie Recipe

Frankie is one of Mumbai's favourite pick me up meal. A potato-vegetable, paneer, egg or chicken filling drenched in ketchup, chutney, mayonnaise, or schezwan sauce, with fresh shredded crunchy onions, cabbage, carrots served in a soft roti, is a good substitute for a meal, on the run.

There are Tibbs outlets all across Mumbai that I would recommend. Their Dadar outlet opposite Shivaji Park is still one of the best places to eat it at! 

4. Pav Bhaji

My recipe of Pav Bhaji can be found here.

Mumbai Pav Bhaji

The Mumbai Pav Bhaji is a very famous dish that needs no introduction. The bhaji is a mixture of mashed vegetables cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes and specific spices for a long, long time in a kadhai or the thick iron tawa. Pav is a special bread which is roasted with a big dollop of butter just before serving, so that when you pick it up the butter just drips from it. Eat it with your fingers, lick them, repeat! 

For me, pav bhaji is only the one at Cannon Pav Bhaji (opposite CST station). Other places serving good pav bhaji are Sardar Pav Bhaji (Tardeo), Amar Juice Center (Vile Parle West), and Shiv Sagar (Opp Singhania school, Thane).

5. Dosa

Paneer Schezwan Dosa

Be it the classic dosa or dosa with a twist, Mumbai takes dosa to another level! The picture above is that of a paneer schezwan dosa, where the vegetables, boiled noodles and paneer are cooked with schezwan sauce, tomato ketchup, chilly sauce, soy sauce and vinegar on the dosa as it cooks itself. And then this is served on the side. Who'd have thought of flavouring dosa like this?

For your classic dosas go to any Udipi in and around Matunga and King's Circle like Madras Cafe, Ramashray and Mani's. The Mumbai version of dosas can be found at Khau Galli Dosawala (Vallabh Bag lane, Ghatkopar East), the dosa waala outside the amin gate of Kalina campus of University of Mumbai, and Vikas Complex Dosa Waala (near Vikas Complex, Thane).

6. Indian Chinese

My recipe of Hakka noodles can be found here

Veg Hakka Noodles

Like with other cuisines, we Indians have our own spicy version of Chinese cuisine called Indian Chinese. You'll find this version of Chinese on roadsides as well as in fancy restaurants all over Mumbai. Hot spicy Manchow soup with fried noodles, crispy Manchurian balls, salty and tangy Hakka Noodles, punjent Schezwan Rice, sweet and sour American Chopsuey are names that will make any Indian salivate. We love this version of Chinese and are pulled to it again and again.

7. Mumbai Sandwich

Mumbai Sandwich, Image from : http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/06/11/mumbais-21-best-sandwiches-2/

Mumbai sandwich with it's pungent corriander-mint chutney, vegetable filling and unique way of toasting using a hand toaster on an open flame is another famous street food in Mumbai. A sandwich is something that can be eaten any time of the day, and hence you'll always find large crowds outside sandwich stalls throughout the day.

One of my most favourite places to eat a Mumbai sandwich is the sandwich stall outside St. Xavier's college. He makes sandwiches with the most delightful fillings like spinach cheese, navratna kurma, chhole, maggi. You name it and he might just have a sandwich version of it!


8. Ragda Pattice

My recipe of Ragda pattice can be found here 

Ragda Pattice Recipe

Delhi may have it's aloo tikki, but Mumbai's ragda pattice can give it a run for it's money any day! A soft yet crsipy aloo patty is served topped with a spicy white chickpea curry and tangy, sweet and pungent (yes all at the same time) chutneys, onions, crunchy sev and corriander leaves. That's a mouthful of ragda pattice for you!

9. Misal Pav

Misal Pav

Misal Pav is another street food you shouldn't miss in Mumbai. In this dish soft unroasted pavs are served with a garlicky, onion-y, tomato-ey, spiced curry of legumes like moong and matki topped with crunchy salty farsaan and chopped tomatoes and onions. Dip the pav in the gravy and gobble it up. Follow it up with a spoonful of the misal topped with farsan. Heaven!

10. Thalipeeth

My recipe of thalipeeth can be found here. 

Thalipeeth Recipe

This one is an unusual choice and may not usually appear on Mumbai street food conventional lists. However this is something you should definitely try if you are in Mumbai! Thalipeeth is flatbread made by flattening dough made of a flour of slow roasted pulses with onions, chillies and corriander with your fingers on a tawa and then shallow frying it. It is crisp on the outside yet soft on the inside and has a lovely melody of tastes from the flours, onion and corriander. 

Healthy Falafel Rolls Recipe

Falafels are an integral part of the Lebanese, Palastenian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Like any traditional dish, there are different versions of its recipe and preparation. The underlying similarity among them is that they are made of chickpeas. It's the herbs and spices that vary across cuisines.

Healthy Falafel Rolls Recipe

Falafels are traditionally served in a pita pocket with dips, condiments and pickles to spice it up. In my healthy version, I've shallow-fried the falafels instead of deep frying them (though the recipe remains the same if you wish to deep fry them) with little effect on the texture and wrapped them in a whole-wheat roti (an Indian unleavened bread) instead of a refined flour pita.

Healthy Falafel Rolls Recipe

Preparation Time: 8 hours (overnight soaking of chickpeas)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Assembly Time:  2 minutes per roll

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Falafels

2 cups chickpeas (kabuli chana) soaked overnight
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped flat parsley
2 tsps cumin powder
2 tsps corriander powder
2 tbsps sesame seeds
1 tbsp gram flour (besan) for binding
3 tbsps olive oil
Salt to taste

For the rotis

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsps whole wheat flour for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp oil

For the Lebanese Yoghurt Dip

1 cup hung curd
2 garlic cloves crushed
Salt to taste

For Serving

1 medium onion cut into thin slices
3-4 pickled jalapeno slices per roll

Method

Falafels 

Cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker till done (about 15 minutes). Drain the extra water.

In a grinder, coarsely grind the chickpeas.

Add in the onion, chopped flat parsley, cumin and corriander powder, sesame seeds, salt and gram flour and make a dry mixture.

Make 1 inch balls from the mixture, flatten them a little and shallow fry on both sides on a medium high flame. Make sure they turn golden brown on both sides to get the falafel crispiness.

Roti 

Knead a pliant dough out of the wheat flour and water.

Use the oil to ensure the dough doesn't stick onto the plate or your hands. It will make for a better mixed dough.

Make a dough ball of 1 inch diameter. Sprinkle some dry whole wheat flour on the rolling suface, use a rolling pin in circular motion between both hands till you get a thin roti.

Heat a flat griddle and roast the rolled out roti on both sides till done.

Lebanese Yoghurt Dip

In a bowl mix together the hung curd, crushed garlic and salt. Whip together till you get a creamy smooth mixture.

Assembling the Rolls

Whole Wheat Rotis for Healthy Falafel Rolls

First take the roti and arrange the shallow-fried falafels on it.

Whole Wheat Rotis and Falafels for Healthy Falafel Rolls

Now add a layer of the creamy Lebanese yoghurt dip

Whole Wheat Rotis, Falafels topped with Lebanese Yoghurt dip for Healthy Falafel Rolls

Finally add in the onion slices, pickles and some parsley leaves.

Healthy Falafel Rolls

Roll it all together and serve!

Healthy Falafel Rolls

Top 10 Rainy Day Foods

Mumbai has finally seen some rains yesterday and today after a few erratic showers that marked the beginning of the monsoon a month back. As I sit in the balcony with a large mug of hot tea, rainy day food cravings hit me!

There are so many things I wish to make and eat that I came up with my list of Top 10 Rainy Day Foods... and here I am typing it away. So what would be on my mind on rainy days? Here goes

1. Kulhad Masala Chai

Hot and spiced full-bodied Assam tea, boiled to strong perfection with milk and sugar, served in a rustic earthernware kulhad - that's your Kulhad Masala Chai

Kulhad Masala Chai

The fragrance of the earth as you touch the kulhad to your mouth for a sip, followed by the minty and gingery sweetness of the tea just about defines perfection to a tea-lover like me. 

2. Bhajiyas/ Pakoras

Nothing can beat the combination of hot crispy onion bhajiyas (pakoras) and chai on a rainy day. Thin slivers of onion dipped in a gram flour batter spiced with corriander powder, red chilly powder, garam masala and turmeric powder and fried to golden brown perfection... oh sigh! 

Palak Kanda Bhajiya with Dipping Sauce

I also make this different version of bhajiyas- Palak Kanda Bhajiya with a dipping sauce which mesh the interesting tastes of spinach and onion and are served with a dipping sauce that has minty and corriander tastes added to your regular ketchup.

3. Wada Pav

Wada pav is Mumbai's most famous snack and street food and I strongly believe it must have been invented on a rainy day for rainy days! 

Wadapav

Wadas have a potato filling that has boiled and mashed potatoes cooked for quite some time with ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. This filling is then enveloped in a gram flour batter and deep fried. The prepared wada is served hot in a pav (a local bun) with a fresh green corriander and mint chutney and date and tamarind chutney Though you will find a wadapav stall at every nook and corner of the city, the best wadas are always the homemade ones... and they're so easy to prepare and gobble down! 

4. Thukpa Soup (Vegetarian)

Thukpa is a noodle based clear soup from the North East region of India. Usually served with a piece of meat, I have made a vegetarian version of the soup at home.

Thukpa Soup (Vegetarian)

This garlicky clear soup with hints of ginger and pungency and loads of noodles to twirl around your fork makes it a fun and must-have meal for when you are watching the rains from your balcony! And of course because of the noodles and less spiciness, kids love it!

5. Cutlets 

Ooooh cutlets! My favourite rainy day morning breakfast when I was at St. Xavier's.

Healthy Cutlets (but don't tell the kids that!)

A cutlet is a very simple patty of boiled potatoes and myriad vegetables cooked with spices which is then coated with semolina and fried or shallow fried. This little patty packs many flavours and enveloped in a pav (bun) it makes for such awesome rainy day comfort food. 

6. Bread Butter Jam

Rainy days can make you really hungry at times and then you want nothing but a quick fix! At these times there can't be anything better than warm, toasted bread served with butter melting on it with a dollop of jam for sweetness.

Bread butter with Apple Cinnamon Jam

One of my favourite jams to have is my home-made apple cinnamon jam which is fruity, sweet and has the perfect note of spice from the cinnamon in it!

7. Ragda Patties

I can have chaat any time and anywhere! And I am sure there are many people like me! While pani puri is my go-to chaat at all times, rainy days call for some hot chaat that is filling too... and so on rainy days I make ragda patties.

Ragda Patties

Ragda patties has soft potato patties served with a spicy white chickpea curry (ragda). This is then topped with date and tamarind chutney and mint and corriander chutney, sev, chopped onions and fresh corriander. Hot ragda patties with lots of sweet and tangy flavours makes for a great rainy day chaat!

8. Paranthas

Imagine a cool rainy day when the skies are grey and you are served a hot parantha right off the tawa with a big dollop of butter... sounds just about right, doesn't it?

Delhi ki Paranthe Wali Gali Ke Paranthe

Paranthas are flatbreads, usually spiced, that are made either with or without filling. On rainy days I like making these Delhi ke Paranthe wali Gali ke Paranthe. These flaky, crispy flatbreads spiced with dry spice powders between the layers are really yummy, especially when served with loads of butter!

9. Corn Chaat

Rainy days call for corn! I cannot think of any time when we've gone and got wet in the rains and not ended the day with bhutta (corn on the cob roasted on coals and served with lime juice, slat and red chilly powder rubbed all over it).

Corn Chaat

At home, I prefer making corn chaat on rainy days with lots of boiled sweet corn, chopped onions and tomatoes and masalas for the twist and taste.

10. Oats Upma

Oats upma can be one of those healthy yet yummy things people on a diet can have on a rainy day. A large bowl of this upma can make for a great breakfast or a light lunch or dinner when watching those rains fall away.

Oats Upma

Oats upma is a recipe I tried when I was craving upma but there was no rawa (semolina) at home. So, I made the upma in the traditional way and just substituted oats for rawa and voila! I had another tasty and very healthy dish ready to eat!

So here's my list of favourite rainy day dishes... what are your's?

Ragda Patties (Indian Street Food/ Chaat) Recipe

Ragda patties is my second most favourite dish of Mumbai street food or chaat after pani puri. It is a very elaborate dish that has many components - soft potato patties, a spicy curry made of dried white peas (ragda), two tangy chutneys- the date-tamarind (khajur-imli) chutney and corriander and mint chutney and garnishing of chopped onions, chopped corriander and sev (very thin fried small noodles of chickpea flour).

The Components of Ragda Patties

Ragda pattice is a very filling and healthy dish. It has all the essential nutrients in one bowl - carbohydrates (and not much fats) from the shallow-fried potato patties, proteins from the dried white peas and various vitamins and minerals from the ingredients of the chutneys like dates and corriander and mint. It can make for a complete meal in itself and is one street food you can't fill guilty about indulging in!

Ragda Patties: The Final Dish

In this recipe, I will share  the recipes of each of the individual components - the potato patties, the ragda (dried white peas curry) and the date and tamarind chutney... I have already done a post on my attention stealing corriander and mint chutney and its recipe can be found here. Apart from this I will also give step-by-step instructions with pictures as to how to serve it in the traditional manner.

It is a long recipe, but worth every minute of the effort. So as the song goes, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start".

Ragda Patties Recipe (Indian Street Food/ Chaat)

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For the Patties

8-10 medium sized potatoes

2 green chillies

1/2 piece of ginger

3 tbsps cornflour/ potato starch powder

2-3 tbsps peanut or olive oil for shallow frying

Salt to taste

For the Ragda (Dried White Peas Curry)

2 cups dried white peas (soaked 7-8 hours)

6 cups water

2 tbsps peanut or olive oil

2 tsps cumin seeds

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1 medium or 2 small tomatoes finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsps red chilly powder

2 tsps garam masala powder

2 tsps corriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

Salt to taste

For the Date-Tamarind  Chutney

1 cup red/brown dates deseeded

1/2 cup water

3 tbsps tamarind pulp

1 tsp red chilly powder (optional)

Salt to taste

For Serving

2 medium onions finely chopped

1/2 cup loosely packed corriander leaves

1 cup sev

Method

The Patties

Potato Patties for Ragda Patties

Grind the green chillies and the ginger into a fine paste without any water.

Boil or pressure cook the potatoes and mash them.

Add the ginger-chilly paste and the salt and mix well with your fingers and hands.

Shape into rounds of around 2 inch diameter, flatten a little between both palms and coat with cornflour  or potato starch powder.

Heat the oil on a pan and shallow fry the patties till they turn golden brown on both sides. 

The Ragda (Dried White Peas Curry)

Ragda: Dried White Peas Curry

Pressure cook the soaked white peas with the water for 4 whistles on high flame and around 10 minutes on a low flame. This will ensure that the peas cook through completely.

In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and temper with the cumin seeds and asafoetida.

Turn the flame down to a medium high before adding in the tomatoes. Fry them for about two minutes. 

Now add the turmeric powder, the red chilly powder, the garam masala powder, the corriander powder and the cumin powder and fry with the tomatoes on a low flame for about 4-5 minutes till they start releasing the oil.

Now add the cooked white peas, the salt and some water (if needed to adjust consistency) and mix well.

Bring to a boil and then lower the flame and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes so that the spices blend well with the white peas and make a thick curry.

Date-Tamarind Chutney

Date-Tamarind Chutney

In a pressure, cook the dates with the water for one whistle.

Blend together the cooked dates (minus the water used for cooking if there is any left over), the tamarind, the salt and the red chilly powder (optional) till they form a smooth thick chutney.

For Serving

To serve, first take a deep dish or bowl and put in two of the potato patties.

Serving Ragda Patties Step 1

Pour about 3-4 serving spoons of ragda (dried white peas curry) on the patties to cover them.

Serving Ragda Patties Step 2

Next add the chutneys - the date-tamarind chutney and the mint-corriander chutney.

Serving Ragda Patties Step 3

Now garnish with the chopped onions, sev and finally the corriander leaves.

Serving Ragda Patties: The Final Dish

Enjoy some Mumbai chaat (street food) in the comfort of your home!

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

And I have reached my 100th post!

It has been quite a journey writing about food the last one-and-a-half years. I have indulged in creating as well as learning new recipes, food memories from the different home kitchens that I love, one food experiences at my favourite restaurants and some learning and fun in food thoughts and food creativity. This blog was always meant to combine my two loves: food and writing... and it has helped me bring them together with a lot of fun and learning adventures!

For my 100th blog post I was planning to create a new recipe. I was wondering what the theme should be when I realised that the holiday season that the entire world celebrates - Christmas and New Years' Eve - are just around the corner. It brings with it some really great parties and holiday food. I am part of a lot of food-related groups on Facebook and I follow a lot of food blogs (not surprising, really) and I see the Christmas trends of bakes and cakes in full swing. I am not a baker, so the best way I can contribute to this party season is through some savoury party food.

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

These Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés are a quick preparation making them a perfect party food. They are cruchy yet cheesy, non-spicy, cheesy, creamy and dotted with sweet corn and have been liked by fussy kids and adults alike.

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés 

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapé

Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapés

Preparation Time: 15 mins (to steam the corn)
Cooking Time: 10 mins

Makes 25 canapés

Ingredients:

5 tbsps butter
5 tbsps refined flour (maida)
2 cups milk
1 tbsp grated cheese
1 cup sweet corn steamed
½ tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

For serving:

25 basket puris/ tart shells

Method:

In a pan heat the butter till it melts. Lower the flame, add in the refined flour (maida) and keep stirring and roast till the flour releases a roasted aroma. This takes about 4-5 minutes.

Keep the flame low and while stirring the roasted refined flour and add in the milk, ensuring that there are no lumps.

When the sauce starts to thicken to a thick soup-like consistency, add in the grated cheese, the salt, the black pepper powder. Mix well so that the cheese melts into the entire sauce and flavours it.

Finally, add in the steamed corn and mix it in well in the white sauce.

Fill about a tablespoon of the prepared mixture into the basket puri/ tart shells and serve immediately.

Tips:

Using a whisk while stirring can ensure that there are no lumps in the sauce.

Make sure the white sauce doesn’t get too thick on the flame, as even after the heat is turned off, the sauce will thicken in the residual heat. This will make the filling mixture very dense.

Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is probably the most famous street food of Mumbai. At every nook and corner you will see numerous stalls, carts and restaurants serving this dish. Typically these places have a huge cast iron tawa (girdle) with a mashed vegetable mixture ready around its edges and a place in the middle to prepare the dish on order.

This dish is made up of two components served together. The bhaji is a mixture of mashed vegetables cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes and specific spices for a long, long time in a kadhai or the thick iron tawa The best flavour of Pav bhaji is achieved by letting the pav bhaji simmer for a very long time so that the spices blend well with the vegetables and their aromas bloom. So though it is a street food, it is by no means a fast food. Pav, which is a special bread, is roasted on a girdle to golden brown perfection with a big dollop of butter just before serving, so that when you pick it up the butter just drips from it.

Mumbai Pav Bhaji

For those who are not aware of the origins of it, we owe the invention of pav bhaji to the American Civil War! During the American Civil War, America and Europe had a shortage of cotton, a commodity traded by Gujarati merchants on Dalal Street. Seeing an opportunity, Gujarati merchants started trading late into the night by taking orders at European and American hours. When they were hungry this late at night, street stalls flourished that would serve mashed vegetables (that day's leftovers) in a tomato gravy with buttery loaves: and thus was born pav bhaji.




Here is my recipe of this buttery, tomato-ey, spicy goodness.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients

3 tbsps oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 medium sized onions finely chopped
1 green capsicum finely chopped
3 medium sized tomatoes pureed
4 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed
50 gms cauliflower boiled and mashed
30 gms green peas boiled
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp chilly powder
2 tbsps pav bhaji masala
1 tbsp ghee
8-10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 green chilly cut into 5-6 pieces
15-20 fresh corriander leaves finely chopped
Salt to taste

6 pavs
3 tbsps salted butter

Corriander leaves, butter, wedge of lemon for serving

Method

Bhaji

In a kadhai, heat 2 tbsps oil and add in cumin seeds. When they splutter, lower the flame to medium high and add in the onions and fry till they start releasing the oil. Add the chopped green capsicum and fry till they also release the oil.

To this mixture, add the pureed tomatoes and keep stirring. Add in the turmeric powder, the chilly powder and the pav bhaji masala. Keep stirring and let it cook on a medium high flame till the tomatoes release the oil. Lower the flame to a simmer and let it keep cooking for another 8-10 minutes.

Keep the flame to a medium high and add the boiled and mashed potatoes and cauliflower. Use a pav bhaji masher to blend the tomato mixture and the vegetables together.

Once the mixture blends together, lower the flame and cover and cook on simmer for 10 mins. You can add water to adjust consistency of the mixture as you simmer it. When this is done, ad in the boiled peas and salt to taste.

In another small non-stick pan or tadka vessel, heat 1 tbsp oil and the ghee together. Add in the chopped garlic, the green chilly and the corriander leaves and fry for 30 seconds till the garlic releases its aroma. Pour this over the cooked vegetable mixture and stir it in.

Lower the flame and let the pav bhaji simmer for another 5 mins till the aromas of the second tadka seeps through the mixture.

The bhaji with butter melting on top of it

Serve with pavs roasted in the butter, a wedge of lemon and butter.

This dish is best enjoyed with your fingers - use both your hands to tear a bite-sized piece of the pav, scoop up some bhaji with it, gobble it up and then lick the rest of the bhaji and butter from the pav off your fingers. Every bite is this fun to eat!

Fresh Toor Kachori

Toor dal or yellow pigeon peas is our staple dal. The dal we make everyday at home as a part of our thaali is made from toor dal. Fresh toor,  however, is available only in the winter months from November to January. Gujarati food during winter months is a celebration of the availability of fresh toor. These green pearls are the basis of many a dish, especially undhiyu, the most famous winter dish that comes from Gujarati kitchens.

Fresh toor (Fresh pigeon peas)

One of the kitchen favourites at my place is the very Gujju sweet, sour, savoury and crispy kachori made from fresh toor. This recipe is straight from my maasi's kitchen who makes the best toor kachoris ever! Oh, and if you can't find toor you can always make them with green peas.

Fresh Toor Kachoris

Fresh Toor Kachori

Ingredients

For the filling

250 gms fresh toor green pigeon peas

1/2 inch ginger 

2 green chillies

2 tbsps oil

2 tsps white sesame seeds

1/2 tsp asafoetida powder 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp corriander-cumin powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsps sugar

Salt to taste

For the cover

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbps oil

1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method

Grind the deskinned fresh toor in a mixer-grinder with the ginger and chillies till they form a fine mince.

Knead a firm dough of the whole wheat flour with the oil, salt and water. Cover it and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Temper with the sesame seeds and asafoetida powder. 

Lower the flame to medium high and add in the toor minced mixture. Cook it with the tempering for 2 minutes and keep stirring so it doesn't stick.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook the mixture for about 5 minutes on a low simmer flame. The toor will cook fast as it is ground finely. 

Open the lid and add in the turmeric powder, the corriander-cumin powder, the lemon juice, the sugar and the salt. Keep stirring till the sugar melts and is blended well. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool.

To make the kachoris, make a ball of the dough about 1/2 inch in diameter and roll out a poori of 3 inches in diameter.  Take a tablespoon of the stuffing and place it in the center.

The poori with the stuffing for the kachori

Bring together all the sides of the poori to cover the stuffing and press gently with your fingers to make a potli.

The potli stage

Take the potli in the center of your palms and press gently till it flattens out on the top.

The final kachori

Heat oil in a deep pan. Deep fry the prepared kachoris till they're golden brown on both sides. Enjoy hot with some chutney or ketchup.

Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yoghurt Dip

Aubergines or brinjals are one of my favourite vegetables but no one at my home likes them really so they rarely come home. I have adapted and tried this dish from a recipe I read a few days back. It is a pretty simple dish with lovely complexities of flavours. I am now hoping that others at home like it too so that I can make aubergines more often at home! This will make for a great party dish too. It's simple, quick to cook and easy to eat!

Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yoghurt Dip

Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yoghurt Dip

Ingredients

For the Pan Seared Aubergines

1 large aubergine or brinjal

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

For the Dip

3 tbsps yoghurt

1 garlic clove crushed

10 fresh corriander leaves finely chopped

5 fresh mint leaves finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method

Pan Seared Aubergines

Pan Seared Aubergines

Cut the aubergines into half inch rounders.

Aubergine rounders

Rub each slice with olive oil and season with the salt. Heat a pan and cook these slices on both sides. 

Cooking the aubergine slices on the pan

The best way to know that these are cooked is to see the skin colour. If the aubergines are done, the skin will turn brownish throughout the width of the slice. If the middle is still purplish, let it cook for a bit more.

Yoghurt Dip

Yoghurt Dip

The yoghurt needs to be thick and creamy for this dip. You can either hang it for half an hour or use the trick I have recently learned that I used. Put the yoghurt on your everyday chhalni with a bowl under for the water to drip into.

Yoghurt-chhalni trick

Leave the yoghurt like this for about 15 minutes and voila! I collected about half a bowl of water from 3 tbsps of yoghurt using this trick. 

The water collected from the yoghurt

Whisk in the crushed garlic clove, the fresh herbs and salt till it becomes a nice creamy dip. 

Adding the garlic and fresh herbs to the yoghurt

There are two serving options. You can serve the aubergines with the dip on the side.

Pan Seared Aubergines with the Yoghurt Dip on the Side

You can also serve a dollop of the dip on each aubergine slice.

Pan Seared Aubergine with the Yoghurt Dip on the Top