Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is one of the popular street foods in North India and roughly translates to bread (Pav) and vegetables (bhaji). This past weekend I went to visit some friends and I was really inspired to recreate this treat that friends mom made for us. 

It's a delicious way to use up any leftover vegetables. I used whole wheat burger buns so that's a bit more healthier ;) 

Ingredients:
Any veggies that you have. I used the following:
Potatoes (boiled and mashed) abt 5 small
Tomatoes (boil with potato and then remove and purée) - abt 4 medium
Carrots (grated and pressed to remove excess water) - 3 skinny ones 
Green peppers -1
Green beans - couple 
Frozen peas - 1/2 to 1 cup
Onions -1 medium or half of large
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - 1 to 1.5 inches
Pav Bhaji Masala (found in Indian stores) - 2-4 tbsp 
Whole wheat burger buns
Butter 
Oil for cooking
Salt to taste

Note: I can see cauliflower or broccoli also being great in this!

Preparation:

Prep all the veggies and chop beans, pepper, onions into small pieces. 

In some evoo sauté peppers, beans and carrots until they are no longer raw. Take them out and add some oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 2 mins. Add the Pav bhaji masala and cook for a few mins. Add some water if it looks too try. 

Then add mashed potatoes and add some puréed tomatoes. Add peas and the carrot/pepper mixture that we sautéed before. Keep mashing the potatoes and add tomato purée and about an inch or so of grated ginger. Let it cook until the spices and veggies mix together and its almost the consistency of mashed potatoes. Keep adding water if as necessary. Top with cilantro. 

To serve:
- Butter the buns and toast in a pan (you ban skip the butter and use oil or even dry roast)
- Serve both and top the hot bhaji (veggies) with a pat of butter
- Can also cut up some red onions and wedge of lime/lemon and serve it on the side. 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Crepes


Although I have been cooking a lot lately, my laziness has stopped me from writing it down. This past weekend, I wanted crepes. Badly. Although I have not yet mastered the art of dosas (Indian version of crepes usually savory)... I am glad to say French dosa works forme. Every time. And if I have Nutella with some sort of fruit (usually strawberry or banana) for me, that works out beautifully. And oh don't forget the coffee.  

So here is the basic recipe which I hardly changed. I just used amaretto instead of brandy and it came out yummy as always. Also, I don't have a crepe pan and probably never going to but a non stick works best for me rather than thick cast iron skillet. 

www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/breakfast-crepes-108134