Onion Pakora/Bhajji

old and rainy days… perfect for pakodas or bhajjis (fritters) is what people say. For me each and every day is perfect for some hot crispy pakodas. I am notorious in my family for my love of these fritters. Most people like them hot and crispy, I on the other hand would even eat them ice-cold right out of the refrigerator lol  :D They are easy to make, taste awesome and did I mention they are deep fried which is the best part - what more you want. But like most other things in life the irony is that hubby is not a big fan so I don't make it very often (but whenever I do he says they are the best he has had). Also I know they are not always considered the best things to eat for health reasons because they are deep fried but it is okay to indulge sometimes. When you feel like it, just make yourself some garma-garam pakoras... sit back with your favorite chutneys, a cuppa tea or coffee on the side if you want and enjoy the the crunchy savory goodness of these beauties... and yes, the sound of rain most definitely makes it a whole another experience... seems almost like nirvana!

Read more »

Paneer Pav Bhaji with homemade Pav Buns

umbai is famous around the world as the center of Indian cinema "Bollywood", what some do not know that it is also famous for its array of mouth watering street foods especially the chaats available at every street corner. Juhu beach, especially is the most famous hub - a very crowded place where you often find yourself wading through a sea of people with the sound of the waves crashing in the background often looking for the next yummy food stall that gets your attention among the numerous street food vendors lined up. No trip to this beach is complete without having those delectable chaats they serve there and possibly a healthy dose of pani poories, vada pav, batata, bhel. Watching the vendors mix up the ingredients and cook up your snack to order with sheer abandon - without a care in the world, while keeping a keen eye for anyone who needs that extra little chutney, is a pleasure by itself. These street foods have crossed boundries of the city (and even the country) and are found practically everywhere there is Indian food sold.
Pav Bhaji is another such road-side delicacy. It is a very easy and a kind of street food that is a wholesome meal in itself and relatively healthier (if you minus all the amul butter of course). It is basically kind of a stew a mix of different vegetables in a spicy tomato gravy with loads of butter and eaten with butter soaked pav bread which is used scoop up the bhaji--yum :) This is even served at fancy restaurants and even top chefs boast of having this in their repertoire. A great one pot meal especially with the overload of vegetables in it. Fussy eaters like it and eat up all the veggies mixed in the yummy bhaji.
Usually paneer is not used as an ingredient in the bhaji. I decided to try it out with it. After-all if you saw my Paneer Tawa Masala, when you can mix pav bhaji masala in paneer, why not mix paneer in pav bhaji - makes sense, right? It did to me and it made an already awesome dish abso'freaking'lutely fanstastic. If it was any proof for me, hubby said this is how pav bhaji was gonna be made in this household henceforth, with paneer!

Here's the recipe for my homemade Pav buns.The traditional pav bread as it is called ladi pav in India is a yeasty crusty bread with a soft texture inside. You can use the store bought dinner rolls but I prefer this homemade one.

Read more »

Paneer Tawa Masala

ot starting with my usual gaga about my fascination with paneer everytime I post a paneer dish, let me cut straight to the chase. The idea occurred to me when I was making my Tawa Pulao dish that I posted a few days ago. Why not make paneer with the same masala combination! This gives the dish the sophistication of paneer yet the charm of street food, making it taste like paneer bhaji chaat (drooling yet?) and equally suitable as a snack as it would for dinner. The other cool thing about this dish is that it is ridiculously easy to make, literally fifteen minutes from start to finish if you had all the ingredients. The fact that you can whip up this flavorful dish in a jiffy makes it a very suitable roadside street food. If you walk the streets in India, you would find road side food vendors with huge iron griddles on open flame cooking this away with reckless abandon for a queue of hungry people that have their eyes fixated on the sheer skill with which the chef tosses the dish around on the griddle while they talk about the movie they just came out of. So without further ado, here goes.

Read more »

Aloo Bhaji/bhunjiya and Ajwain Paratha

After a dash of the exotic, its time to have something that is closer to home and to the heart... and when you talk about close to home you often think of simple things that mom made that you enjoyed growing up.

You may find this a little unusual but the thought of this dish puts me on a train with my family... the train speeding through the country and I find myself sitting on the lower berth (after of course having fought with my brother for the window seat) with my gaze fixed outside staring at the lush green crop fields that race past us and the warm yet cool breeze rushing in as we wait for the train to take us to our destination... then you are suddenly pulled out of the trance by the loud sound of your name... thats mom demanding we get together as it was lunch time... and there it is... she opens her tote bag and pulls out a couple of boxes. Wrapped in tinfoil in those boxes are these wonderful flat breads and the awesome dry potato curry. The already beautiful breeze is now filled with the wonderful aroma of the roasted fennel and carom seeds from the bread and the potatoes.

Mom almost always made these as lunch and as dinner when we traveled. She claimed they stayed nice and fresh even after being packed for several hours... and fresh they were... gone in minutes. Of course I didn't think much of it those days... after all that was mom and this is what she always made, right? ... aah... the things we take for granted...

Read more »

Tawa Pulao

umbai is world famous for its array of mouth watering street foods especially the chaats available at every street corner. Juhu beach, especially is the most famous hub... a very crowded place where you often find yourself wading through a sea of people with the sound of the waves crashing in the background often looking for the next yummy food stall that gets your attention among the numerous street food vendors lined up. No trip to this beach is complete without having those delectable chaats that they serve there and possibly a healthy dose of pani poories, vada pav, batata, bhel.

Tawa pulao is another such road-side delicacy. It is a very easy and different kind of a pulao recipe. You wouldn't think of rice with veggies as ingredients for your typical street food but this pulao might just give your idea of street food a complete makeover. Kudos to those vendors that come up with ideas like these.
I like the crunchiness of the vegetables and the pav bhaji masala adds a distinct flavor to the rice. It is made on a tawa or griddle hence the name. These chaat wallas are so good with fusion cooking and so innovative. This rice is now also served at fancy restuarants and even top chefs boast of having this in their repertoire.

Read more »