Pao Bhaji

I used:

3 onions (chopped)

4-5 tomatoes (chopped)

1 medium sized cauliflower/ gobhi (roughly chopped)

2 carrots (peeled & roughly chopped)

3 big potatoes (peeled & roughly chopped)

½ cup frozen peas

2 green chillies (halved)

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp pao bhaji masala ( I used Everest, but MDH, Roopak etc are all good)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp butter

I heat the oil in a pressure cooker and fried the onions till pale.

I then added the tomatoes and cooked till they’re all mushed up. Next, I added the green chillies, ginger & garlic pastes and roasted for a minute.

I then added the masalas and roasted for another minute.

Next, the veggies. I added the gobhi, potatoes, carrots, peas and mixed them all up so the masala coats them nicely. They can be chopped roughly/ unevenly because they’re going to get mashed up anyway. I added 2 cups of water and closed the cooker lid, adding the weight, and cooked it on high until it gave out 3 whistles.

I allowed it to cool slightly and then opened the cooker lid (this is important because if you open a pressure cooker while it’s still hot & pressurised, it could literally explode in your face). Using a potato masher, I mashed up the veggies, poured them into a serving bowl and topped with the butter. Also, I sprinkled on some fresh chopped dhania/coriander.

Served with buttered and tawa-toasted pao, this is the most fulfilling “street food” made at home! The chaats and their like are never even close to the real thing at home, but this was pretty close!

PS – if you do not have a potato masher, mash the veggies with anything else – a fork, a big kadhchhi, the back of a katori held carefully with a tong/pakkad.