Pav Bhaji/Bread With Mashed Masala Vegetables

Most popular and commonly found street food in India and now served in upscale restaurants as well . I was pregnant with Manasi and had huge cravings for Pav Bhaji in my 1st trimester :) It so happened that our flat in Pune was walking distance from this popular eating joint called,"Kinara" this place was very popular for its Pav Bhaji and I refused to cook anything at home then,every time I was hungry I would ask Mahir to take me to Kinara :) No wonder Manasi loves pav Bhaji,that reminds me-maybe I should take her to Kinara this time when I visit Pune,let me see what she thinks of the Pav Bhaji which she practically grew up on those first three months inside the tummy:)

I love the fact that this fun food is so simple to put together and tastes absolutely fantastic,I have yet to figure out how to prepare the pav bhaji masala at home right from scratch but meanwhile the store bought shall serve the purpose.

Here goes:
Boiled Potato: 2 medium boiled and mashed
Carrots: 2 medium sized boiled and mashed
Green peas: 1 cup boiled and mashed
tomato's: 4 medium boiled skinned and pureed
Ginger paste: 1 tsp
garlic: 1 tsp
pav bhaji Masala: 3 tbsp or to your taste
salt: 1 tsp
green chilli: 2 chopped very fine
Cilantro: 2 tbsp chopped for garnishing
onion: 2 medium sized chopped (some chopped very fine for garnishing)
Oil: 4 tbsp
Lime juice: 3 tbsp

Method:

Take a big kadai and heat oil,drop the  chopped onions in  the oil along with ginger & garlic when it turns hot ( save little for garnishing) saute the onions till they turn a nice golden color

To this add the boiled and mashed potato's and green peas and carrots.Mash these well and add the tomato puree and add the pav bhaji masala along with chopped green chillis and continue to mash this with the back of the spoon. There should be no big pieces of carrots or potatos. Cook for some more time and add salt,when ready to serve garnish with cilantro and very fine chopped onions and squeeze some lemon juice. You can also serve it with a pat of butter for lunch,dinner or even as an evening snack.

For the Pav:

Take the pav and brush some butter on the griddle , when hot heat the pav on both sides and let these turn a little brown on the edges. Serve with bhaji :)