1 inch piece fresh ginger or1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
2 lemons
some chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 -3 teaspoons chili powder
1 -2 tablespoon oil any except olive or others that have strong flavour
1 1/4 teaspoons turmeric powder
20 soft buns as needed
25 g butter i use amul plus as much as you want to put on the pav salted is preferred
2 tablespoons pav bhaji masala or
50 g dry red chili
50 g coriander seeds
25 g cumin seeds
25 g black pepper
25 g cinnamon
25 g cloves
4 -5 black cardamom pods
25 g mango powder
10 g fennel seeds
1 star anise if available
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder also called 'hing'
Steps:
For the masala
Roast for about 1 minute all the spices separately One after the other in same pan is okIts just to dry them out fully and bring out their flavours Cool these completely
Grind them together This may make more quantity of masala than needed for this recipe Use 2-3 tbsp for this recipe
Store in air tight dry containers
For the gravy Bhaji
Just blanch together peas cauliflowercarrots
Mash the potatoes Finely chop and de-seed tomatoes Finely chop capsicum
Make a paste of ginger and garlic
In a large thick bottomed deep pan heat oil Add cumin seeds Let them pop a little
Add the ginger garlic paste sautee for a minute Add chopped onions
Add turmeric asefoteda and chilli powder Also add half of the pav bhaji masala 1 -1 1/5 tbsp
Sautee till the onion turns translucent Stir continuously to avoid sticking and burning it
Drop in the blanched vegetables tomatoes and potatoes and capsicum
With a hand masher or the back of a big ladle mash up all the vegetables inside the pan Add 1 cup water from the blanching Mash well
Add some more water if needed to create a thick gravy consistency Mash to bring it all together
Add salt and remaining masala Also add a dash of black pepper powder if you want more heat
Check for seasoning
Let it cook for 10 minutes approximately Stir occasionally
Put chopped coriander leaves and some butter Cover to keep its flavours
Heat a flat pan Slit the buns horizontally But not completely keeping the two sides hinged to each other Generously butter the buns on all sides if you wish
Place them on the hot pan till slightly golden changing to toast all the surfaces in turn It is a must to do this just before serving the dish as these do not taste as good if re-heated
To serve
Put some bhaji garnish it with some more coriander if you like butter and squeeze some lemon juice on top place 2 pavs with it and some chopped onion to go with
