“NO Onion-Garlic Vegetable Pav-Bhaji” … one of Mumbaikar's most sought after street food that no one can so "NO" to … each bite of this flavourful thick spicy vegetable gravy relished with equally famous mumbai pav (soft dinner rolls) is always a delight to munch on … here is a delicious version of pav-bhaji I prepared without the inclusion of onion- garlic and it tastes wonderful without losing out on any taste … go ahead, try and enjoy it with family and friends … Yummilicious …
** Pav Bhaji is a famous Mumbai fast food that is great to relish with Mumbai pav/ bread/ dinner rolls. The dish has not only made a prominent place in Mumbaikar’s heart but across all nations. There are a few dishes that must be relished when one visits Mumbai; they are Pav- Bhaji, Pani- Poori, Vada- Pav to name a few prominent ones, though there many more. I have already shared the street style Pav Bhaji that is freely available in Mumbai along with a few more of my own adaptations. I am sharing a common link at the bottom of this recipe wherein you can browse through and check them out.
** Once again this Pav- Bhaji too is a NO Onion-No Garlic dish prepared to serve as a satvik food on certain days. I served it with Mumbai Pav easily available in every bakery, however, if you want to avoid serving Pav, considering it not fit, as it is outsourced, then you can pair it with plain roti too, exclusively individual choice. Here neither onion nor garlic is added, as is in the case of traditional pav bhaji recipe. Again, I have added a medium sized beetroot, which is not added on in original recipes, however it does impart a lovely color and flavor, just go on with your own instincts, after all food is to be enjoyed.
** We all sometimes wonder what to cook on days we need adhere to eating dishes prepared without addition of onion- garlic- rice, in one word satvik meal. It becomes that much more difficult when they fall on continuous days at a stretch and you need to have more choices while keeping in mind the taste for both tummy and mind satisfaction. I tried making another version of my own mix and match ingredients for pav bhaji and in all I would say it was a fantastic. No one can say ‘NO’ to a pav- bhaji meal, can we?? I will be sharing more options with both veg and non. Veg variations, so stay tuned in.
** Here is my method of preparing "NO Onion-Garlic Vegetable Pav-Bhaji” … My Style, try it, tastes wonderful …
** Ingredients (Veggies) :
Beetroot : 1 large sized
Carrot/ Gajar : 1 large sized
Green Peas/ Vatana : 1 cup
Potatoes/ Batata/ Aloo : 3 large sized.
Capsicum/ Simla Mirchi/ Donne Mirsanga : 2 large sized
Cauliflower/ Pool Gobhi : 250 gms florets
Tomatoes : 6-7 large sized.
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : ¼ cup + Handful for garnishing finely chopped.
** Other Ingredients required :
Ghee/ Toop : 3-4 tblsp
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti : 2-3 tblsp
Pav Bhaji Masala Powder : 3-4 tblsp
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : 1 tsp
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : ½ inch piece
Kala Namak/ Black Salt : to taste.
Butter/ Loni : 50 gms
Lemon Wedges : As required while serving.
** Shell, wash, drain, and keep ready green peas if using fresh ones, in all you should 1 cup shelled peas. Wash and finely chop the cauliflower florets. Peel the skin of potatoes, wash, and cut them into pieces. Wash, wipe dry and then cut capsicum into small pieces, discarding the inner seeds and stem portion. Peel the skin of beetroot and carrot and cut them also into small sized pieces. Wash the tomatoes, cut them also into small sized pieces, and keep it aside. All veggies need to be prepared and kept ready before we begin to cook as we are going to pressure cook them all in one go.
** In a pressure cooker pan add all cut and kept ready veggies ie beetroot, cauliflower, potato, capsicum, green peas, carrot and tomatoes. Add about 1 cup of water and pressure cook on medium heat to one whistle, lower the heat to minimum, let cook for 5 minutes, then once again raise the heat and let cook to 2 whistles. Remove and keep it aside for the pressure in the cooker to let fall on itself. Once able to open the lid do so and allow the cooked veggies to cool for 2-3 minutes. Then with the help of potato masher, mash all the ingredients together to a thick consistency and keep it ready.
** Note : This is a short cut method of pressure cooking all veggies together that cuts down on time, however the taste does not deter. I have been using this method to prepare pav-bhaji for a long time now and have always got best result. Just remember to not add more than a cup of water to veggies while cooking as most of the veggies especially tomatoes have enough water content in them which is sufficient and any excess addition will make the final result thinner texture which is not what we want.
** Meanwhile Chop ginger and grind to a fine paste with little bit of water and keep it aside separately. In a small bowl, soak tamarind with half cup of water, let rest aside for 10 minutes, then mash it well and squeeze out the paste and keep ready. You can use readily available ginger paste and tamarind paste too. You can add amchur powder instead of tamarind paste too, which is what I usually add, but if the tomatoes are not sour enough then I add a little bit of tamarind to balance the tangy taste.
** In a large thick bottomed kadai add ghee, when hot lower the heat, add ginger paste and fry for a few minutes, then add kashmiri red chilly powder, fry for a minute, add hadli powder followed by pav bhaji masala powder (any brand available in the market, I used Everest), fry all together for 1-2 minutes taking care not to burn masala powder. Now add in cooked and mashed veggies little by little, mixing well to prevent the mixture from spluttering. Check consistency and add water only if required.
** Cook all ingredients together on medium to low heat for 5-8 minutes stirring often until you see bubbles appearing on surface of the bhaji. Add tamarind paste (or amchur powder), kala namak to taste and mix well. Addition of kala namak is optional, you can add ordinary table salt too, however kala namak flavors the dish, so I add the same. Mix all together and further cook for another 10-15 minutes. This is a well mashed veggies to thick textured curry, which you might have witnessed when street side vendors prepare on large sized tavas, so do be careful with addition of excess water.
** Once the bhaji has cooked well add coriander leaves keeping aside some for garnishing along with butter/ loni and mix well. At this point check (by tasting) and add in salt or chilly powder if required and mix well. I have kept the spice level to medium as it is a matter of individual choice and these days I do not prefer spicy dishes. Again, if you have young children at home, then be careful in addition of chilly powder, you may increase or decrease depending upon your family requirement/ preference. Remove and keep it aside covered to rest for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to be infused.
** "NO Onion-Garlic Vegetable Pav-Bhaji” is done and ready to be served. Always serve it piping hot with a generous blob of fresh homemade butter (or any other of your choice) with some lemon wedges along with Pav (Bread). Pav- Bhaji as goes its name is always served with Pav (Dinner roll bread pieces) and is one of the best combinations to be relished. However, you may serve it with any other bread or roti of your choice too if preferred. I must confess that though the addition of onions and garlic enhances the taste of pav-bhaji totally to another level, there are times when we need to forgo them and trust me this one tastes equally good too.
** Again, you can also cut down on the amount of addition of ghee or butter portions, but that is exactly what gives pav bhaji the added taste and I recommend addition of the same, though if you want to avoid it for health reasons you may do so. You can leave out addition of butter to the main dish and add it only while serving to avoid excess, if desired. Children however love the addition taste of butter or cheese when topped on dishes, so you follow any other method desired in your home accordingly.
** Again, I repeat the spice level is required and does not turn out too spicy, I myself keep it medium spiced. I have added Kashmiri chilly powder, for both color and it is less spicy, if you are adding in any other chilly powder, please use your own judgment on spice level and do so lest the bhaji turns too spicy after which nothing can be done. So, before adding extra it is always advisable to taste the dishes.
** Usually beetroot is not added in pav bhaji, but I have added and it has not only brought in a slight tinge of sweetness but also that beautiful shade of color. I repeat there is no rule as such while coming to addition of veggies, and one can always experiment with dishes adding their own preferences. I will be trying out more non vegetarian options though I have already tried with eggs, so stay tuned in for more. And plz. try them out and enjoy with your family and friends and remember to give me feedback.
** Sharing a common link below to all “Pav- Bhaji” recipes shared in the blog ….
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