Pav Bhaji.

I'm currently reading a food memoir called "Monsoon Diary" and reading about all the delicious indian foods made me crave this dish big time. I've always used this recipe every time I make pav bhaji. I substitute dairy free Earth Balance margarine for the butter. This always turns out mouthwateringly delicious.

Pav Bhaji.

Indian cravings call for a spicy mashed vegetable curry (bhaji) served with "buttered" bread (pav). Pav Bhaji is a popular street food in Mumbai which is a potato based curry that is mashed up with a variety of veggies, spices and tomato until it becomes thick and saucy. I like to leave some of the vegetables chunky in mine. The recipe I use calls for cauliflower as one of the ingredients but I didn't have any so I used a 1/2 bag of "mixed vegetables including lima beans" that I found in my freezer. Worked in a pinch with the potatoes and 1/2 bell pepper I had. The curry is eaten with buttered buns which I didn't have (shame!) so I made do with pita breads spread with Earth Balance vegan margarine. I served it with mango ginger chutney, chopped red onion and a squeeze of lemon. This was SO DELICIOUS. I have to remember next time not to wear a white shirt when eating this!

Here's a link to the recipe. Don't forget to sub Earth Balance for the butter!

Pav Bhaji + Hummus with Veggies

Some time has passed and I have recovered from the bug incident. I was ready to make Pav Bhaji again. This dish is beautiful. It's a spicy mashed vegetable curry that is served with buttered rolls. It's really delicious and filling! I used this recipe here. (I substituted vegan margarine for the butter!) I also made creamy garlicky lemony hummus and cut up assorted veggies for snacking. I had to buy a few produce items for all of this but I didn't spend more than 6 bucks.

Ingredients I already had:
garlic
potatoes
frozen green beans
frozen peas
pav bhaji masala spice mixture
tomato sauce
chickpeas
lemons
tahini

Ingredients I had to purchase:
cauliflower
red bell peppers
carrots
celery
wheat kaiser rolls


I find that eating raw vegetables is so much easier with a yummy dip!