Bhaji on the Street

Street food in India is a cuisine in itself. All over the country, hand carts, street-side kiosks, and hole-in-the-wall stores offer a mind-boggling variety of quick eats. Many of these street foods originated in major cities, reflecting local flavors -- the chaats of Delhi, idli-dosas of Chennai, egg rolls of Kolkata, and Pav Bhaji of Mumbai. However, over time, the most popular of these street food offerings have transcended regional boundaries and are now available all over the country with slight tweaks to appeal to the local palette.

Food historians trace the origin of Pav Bhaji to the streets of Mumbai in the 1850's where it served as a quick and cheap lunchtime meal for cotton mill workers. It is a poor man's meal -- toasted bread (Pav) with a mash of potatoes and vegetables (Bhaji) -- enough to keep you full for the rest of the day. The bread for Pav Bhaji, said to be a legacy of the Portugese, is baked in sections like Parker House or Hawaiian rolls. Pav is the Marathi term for one-fourth and it describes the portion of the bread that the dish is served with. Bhaji on the other hand is made with mashed potatoes and  vegetables (mix of carrots, beans, peas, cauliflower) cooked with onions and tomatoes. I imagine that a frugal 19th century Mumbai street food vendor had a lot of vegetables leftover from the previous night. Not one to waste his meagre supplies, he panfried the vegetables with a spicy mix of onions and tomatoes and served them up with a side of buttered buns. And so the world got Pav Bhaji.

The unique taste of Pav Bhaji comes from the spice mix which is available in Indian grocery stores, but could very well be concocted at home if you have all the necessary ingredients. Authentic Indian Pav buns which can also be found in Indian grocery stores, can be easily replaced with Hawaiian rolls. Using a pressure cooker or Instapot helps speed up the cooking process for the bhaji, but stovetop is also totally fine. If you don't mind carb-loading once in a while, Pav Bhaji makes for a fun, spicy meal.

What You Need:
5-6 medium red-skinned potatoes (peeled and cut into rough chunks)
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, corn)
11/2 cup onions (chopped)
11/2 cup tomatoes (chopped)
1 tsp turmeric
31/2 tbsp Pav Bhaji spice mix (or make your own)
2 tbsp neutral oil
3 tbsp butter
8 Pavs or Hawaiian Roll buns
Salt to taste
2 tbsp chopped onions (for garnish)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (for garnish)
Lemon wedges (for serving)

Directions:
Place potatoes and frozen vegetables in a pressure cooker or Instapot. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp turmeric and stir. Cover with enough water to barely cover the potatoes and vegetables. Cook in high pressure for 8 minutes in Instapot and 10 minutes in stovetop pressure cooker. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

Remove lid from pressure cooker or Instapot. The vegetables should be mushy. If there is excess water in the pot, carefully strain the excess water into a separate bowl.

Take a wooden spoon (or potato masher) and break down the vegetables. The resulting mash will be lumpier than mashed potatoes, but the individual vegetables will not stand out.

Heat oil over medium high heat in a big skillet. Add onions and fry till translucent (about 5-6 minutes). Add tomatoes and stir fry for another 5-6 minutes.

Add Pav Bhaji spice mix and cook for 2-3 minutes till fully incorporated into onion and tomato mixture.

Scoop vegetable mash into skillet and fold in the onion-tomato mixture. Keep stirring, adding a little bit of the reserved water from boiled vegetables, a little at a time, breaking down any lumps that may still be there. The resulting mash should neither be completely dry nor runny. Adjust salt. Remove from heat.

Break apart the buns and split them in half.

Heat enough butter in a pan to toast the buns. Add the sliced buns and gently toast each side.

To serve, place a couple of ladles of bhaji on plate. Garnish with a dollop of butter, chopped onions and cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges and a couple of toasted Pav buns on the side.

Squeeze some lemon juice on the bhaji. Break off chunks of bread and dip into the bhaji.

Pav Bhaji Masala:
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tbsp aamchur powder (dried green mango powder. Can be substituted with 1-2 tbsp lemon juice)
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder