“Soya Kheema- Chunks Vegetable Pav Bhaji” … pav bhaji is an irresistible street food in Mumbai and somehow we just don’t seem to get tired of relishing it … As aptly said, change is the necessity of life be it in lifestyle or in food as it makes it that much more exciting ... When you add variety into life, you experience new things which otherwise would be simply dull and boring … addition of soya kheema and chunks along with veggies makes it nutritious and higher in protein content … here is my version of this delicious dish that can be served with pav/ bread/ roti/ dosa or kori rotti too … Yummilicious ….
** Almost everybody is sure to have relished, if not at least heard of Mumbai’s (Maharashtra) famous and popular street food Pav Bhaji, a spicy tangy dish prepared by mashing vegetables, spiced with a special masala powder easily available in stores and to which loads of butter is added to bring out a aromatic and delicious tasty bhaji. The veggies usually added on are onion, potato, tomato, green peas, capsicum and cauliflower while these days due to revolution in food many changes have come about.
** As I mentioned on title it is my experience that one needs to keep changing with times to experience new joys and make life that much more exciting. We need to evolve our self as we grow older to get on a smooth track to make life peaceful and full of happiness. Food has always played a major role in our life, one cannot survive without it and many a times it does lift up our moods and is sort of a stress buster when you try out something new and the joy it brings when successful is simply beyond words.
** Coming to pav bhaji it is one of the best way to include all veggies into your diet especially with reluctant children and teenagers, they will never say no to this one, so just go one step ahead and make it more nutritious by adding on other veggies like palak, methi, soya chunks etc. I have included a few versions before in the blog too, but my sincere appeal to all is to think out of the box and go about creating you own fusion with whatever is available and that which will give you good crushed effect on mashing.
** I will keep adding new versions of my own, as we love to have it with hot freshly baked pav which is easily available in bakery almost in every corner/ street in Mumbai. Pav Bhaji as goes the name is the tastiest served with Mumbai Pav though you may serve with anything you desire if for some reason you can’t have it. Add on soya in any form as they are high in protein content and is very good for growing children as well as elders, after all protein is needed for body repairs within and we all do need it.
** I would just like to mention here that you can use soya chunks/ granules for this recipe as there is hardly any difference in final outcome of dish. I used chunks as I did not have granules and I was in no mood to go out an purchase. Both have to be soaked in hot water with a large pinch of salt for about 20 minutes for them to turn soft and double in size. Granules can be squeezed out well and added on soon while the chunks will have to be coarsely ground in mixer grinder to get the desired mashed consistency.
** I would like to mention that the recipe is same as that of normal pav bhaji prepared and posted earlier with no changes in method/ ingredients. The only change made here is addition of soya chunks and kheema, both together to the same recipe and trust me it turns out really fantastic and don’t worry it is not at all bitter, you just need to increase the spice level a little bit that’s all. I will share a common link to the pav bhaji shared earlier at the bottom of this recipe, do browse through, also includes one with eggs.
** Here is my recipe for “Soya Kheema- Chunks Vegetable Pav Bhaji” a variation of the world famous Mumbaikars street food … enjoy it served hot topped with butter, served along with some finely sliced/ chopped onions and a wedge of lemon … and yes, remember it tastes best with fresh ladi pav (soft bread roll) …..
** To Prepare Soya Chunks and Kheema : Each one follows their own method of preparing soya chunks and kheema. You can use either soya chunks or kheema, in case of chunks you will just need to run it in mixer grinder to get a coarsely ground texture, that’s all, you can use either. I had only chunks in both way, as chunks and as kheema prepared from chunks itself. You can use any one or both.
** For this recipe soak about 2 cups of soya chunks in boiling hot water about 3 inches above the level of the chunks in a bowl. Add in a large pinch of salt, mix well and rest covered aside for about 20 minutes. They will soften and double in size, drain and rinse under running water and then when cool enough squeeze it out properly to remove all the bitter water from within, it is now ready to be used in dishes.
** To prepare the kheema : Just put the required amount of squeezed out chunks into mixer grinder and using pulse mode crush it a few times and you will get coarse textured kheema. DO NOT ADD WATER or it will get ground. I kept aside a ¼ of the chunks and ground the rest to kheema as I have added on both to this bhaji.
** Peel and chop finely 3-4 large sized onions (kanda/ piyavu) and keep it aside ready.
** Wash, drain and then chop finely or grate about 200 gms of fresh cauliflower (phool gobi). Keep it aside ready.
** Wash, chop finely about 2 large sized capsicums (donne mirsanga/ simla mirchi) discarding inner seeds and keep it aside ready.
** Wash, chop to pieces about 5-6 large sized tomatoes and keep it aside ready.
** Shell, wash, drain, and keep aside ready about 2 cups of fresh green peas (vatana).
** Peel outer skin of 3-4 large sized potatoes (aloo/ batata), cut to small pieces and wash in plenty of water. Keep this aside ready soaked in water to avoid being browned.
** Peel the outer skin and chop finely about 10-12 garlic cloves (losun/ lehsun).
** Peel the outer skin and chop finely about 1/2 inch of ginger (adrak/ alle').
** In a pressure cooker pan first add spread in a layer the cut potatoes, top it with peas in a layer, followed topped with cauliflower, capsicums and lastly with tomatoes.
** Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook on medium heat till 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure drop on its own, open and allow cooling for about 15 minutes.
** Tilt the cooker and drain the cooked water into a vessel and keep it aside. Now with a potato masher, mash all cooked veggies together till they are mushy.
** In a mixer grinder add garlic, garlic, 1 tblsp of Kashmiri red chilly powder and 1 tblsp of any branded pav bhaji masala powder and grind to coarse mixture.
** In a large kadai, add in 3-4 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela), when hot add in the finely chopped onion, with a pinch of salt (namak/ meeta) and fry till translucent/ pinkish in color.
** Add in the ground ginger- garlic- powder mixture and continue frying on medium heat, until well done and you get a good aroma, say around 5-7 minutes.
** Now add in cooked and mashed veggies, salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, soya chunks and prepared soya kheema along with 2-3.5 tblsp of pav bhaji masala powder, 4-5 tblsp of kashmiri red chilly powder (mirsange pitti/ mirchi powder), 1 tsp of amchur (dried raw mango) powder (optional) and mix well.
** Add in cooked water kept aside earlier to the mixture in kadai, mix well and cook on medium to low heat stirring often till evenly well mashed and cooked well.
** When bubbles appear on surface of bhaji, lower the heat to minimum and simmer for about 5-10 minutes stirring often, keep mashing well with the masher.
** Lastly add ½ cup of finely chopped coriander leaves (dhania/ kothambari pallo) along with 2-3 tblsp of loni (butter) and mix well.
** Continue simmering for another 5-10 minutes adding in some more water if necessary only. This is a thick consistency bhaji, so add water accordingly.
** “Soya Kheema-Chunks Vegetable Pav Bhaji” is done and ready to be served. Serve hot topped with a dollop of Butter (loni) along with some finely chopped onion and a piece of lemon wedge. This bhaji is usually served with and tastes best too with soft ladi Pav a famous daily bread from Mumbai.
** The pav is tava/ pan fried with butter after slicing it in between and then served along with the bhaji. Pav, though is famous in Mumbai, is now available in most of the metro cities. In case it is not available in your vicinity, you can serve this with any bread slices.
** You can check out the picture of pav bhaji posted for the pav which is how Mumbai pav looks like. This is baked fresh and is available in almost all grocery shops throughout Mumbai and is served as misal pav, vada pav, usal pav, egg pav etc. etc. etc.
** Note : I have slightly increase both pav bhaji masala powder and chilly powder in this recipe from previous one as I have added on soya chunks and kheema, which pull in a lot of water content and spices. You may increase according to individual choice.
** Note : Sometimes the tomatoes are not sour enough and do not impart right desired taste of tartness to dishes (my observation being a tamarind taste addict). In that case you can always add in tsp or so of amchur (dried mango) powder to the bhaji to bring in taste.
** Note : You can add only prepared soya kheema to the pav bhaji too. You may either grind the chunks or use the granules or use them both as I have, it's individual choice, some may not like the chunks in pav bhaji while the kheema goes unnoticed, prepare accordinly.
** Note : Always increase or decrease spice level of the curry depending upon individual/ family preferences. This applies to addition of Pav Bhaji Masala Powder too. I have used easily available locally made masala powder, you can use any.
** Note : I always add a small amount of chilly powder and masala powders into the oil initially, you can leave it out if not desired. However, if done so you will get a better taste and aroma along with a lovely color to the dish, that is the very reason why I have ground them with garlic and add to the pav bhaji in this recipe.
** Note : Always add a little bit of salt while frying onions in oil be it to any dishes. This helps the onions to release water from within and fry out faster and crispier. I learned of this tip from world famous Chef. Sanjeev Kapoor in TV show about 3 decades back.
** Sharing a common link to “Pav Bhaji” dishes posted earlier in the Blog. They have some step by step pictures, which may be helpful if you are newbie, do browse through and try them if you find that your family would love them too, they are all tasty and tried in my home ….
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