Pav Bhaji for a good cause

Pav Bhaji known as a popular street food in Mumbai. I learnt and tasted once again after landing in US. When I lived in India, My mom absolutely denied all street foods (Like all mom, hygienic, not good, etc…) and in my place I never seen this kind of Pav Bhaji in street corner. Perhaps, I may find one nowadays, because North Indian snacks like pani puri, chaats, are spreading like wild fire everywhere like our Idli sambar! Ok, am I in mood of Pav Bhaji? Well not really, until Uma of Essence of Andra tagged me for a good cause. Usually I am not a prompt person to do all my tags (my regular readers know I guess)
BAKE BREAD – GIVE DOUGH – FEED AFRICA!
Breadline Africa is a registered charity in South Africa that is seeking to put an end to poverty in South Africa and further afield in Africa. Their aim is to break the cycle of poverty and help communities to achieve long term self-sustainability. Breadline Africa was founded in 1993 by social workers and communities in South Africa with minded colleagues in Europe, (who were well placed to source out donations). They are geared to help fund small ground level projects in Africa which are most likely to succeed with financial help. On Blog Action Day Breadline Africa launched their Worldwide Blogger Bake-Off campaign. The aim is to raise $1 million in funds for a project to convert shipping containers into locations for food production and distribution in Africa. It is hoped that these sustainable community kitchens will not only provide food such as bread and soup to those in need, but also opportunities for skills development within poor communities.

I accepted the tag gladly but not tagging anyone particularly. If you like to do for a good cause , pick up and bake one for the cause. I am an apprentice baker, the first bun I baked came out reasonably good. But from long time, I wanted to give a try for this pav, which are a square bun, buttery top and very spongy inside and not sweet like dinner roll. I looked for original recipe with No wheat flour , I am pretty sure in India they just use Maida. I got the recipe from here. It is good to watch how he rolls the buns. I made a slight modification according the review of readers who said the water quantity is too much and cut the recipe in off. The result is just amazing! For the Bhaji recipe, I followed the packet of MTR Pav bhaji masala. You have perfect delectable dinner.




Pav recipe


Ingredients
All purpose flour: 3 1/2 cup + (for dusting the surface or if the dough is sticky)
Sugar: 1/2 tsp 
Salt:1/2 tsp
Melted Butter: 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
Warm Water: 1 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp
Rapid yeast: 1/2 packet (1tsp+ 1/4 tsp)
Egg wash: 1 egg +1 tbsp milk (well beaten) or plain milk can be used. I used plain milk once the bun comes out of the oven i brushed with butter.


  Method: Dissolve the yeast, sugar in warm water. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Add salt and mix the wet ingredients into flour. When the flour is mixed (will be sticky the dough) add the melted butter little by little and knead well. The dough should be kneaded approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic. 
Grease a bowl put the dough and turn the grease surface on top and cover with plastic wrap or towel and let it double. (I kept in my microwave , the door was not fully closed so the light was "on", it doubled pretty fast about 45 minutes to hour ...
 Grease another baking tray and dust with flour. Once, the dough is risen, take out and punch down. Take a small dough and make a smooth surface using a circular motion. 
Place on greased tray and cover again with plastic wrap and let it rest another 45 minutes or 1 hour in warm place. 
Preheat the oven for 400 F , brush the top with "egg wash" or "milk". Place the tray in middle of the rack and bake 20 to 30 minutes. 
The top should turn golden brown and when you tapped with fingers you should hear hollow sound! Remove coat again with butter to get a nice shine and cool on wire rack!

Note: I did egg wash one my bun you can do milk wash but may be not the same effect of browning.
Another closer look Verdict:
I expected the bun spongy spongy but this one was spongy but not like the store bought dinner roll. May be if you have a bread machine u might get the professional result! But nothing beat the homemade bread !




Bhaji recipe


Vegetables:

Potato: 2 medium size (peeled and cubed)
Carrot: one peeled and diced
Frozen Peas: ½ cup 
Beans: 10 strings cut
Onion: 1 medium diced 
Tomato: 1 big diced 
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp
Pav Bhaji masala : 2 tsp
Paprika or Kashmiri chilli powder: 1 tsp
Hot chili powder: 1 tsp ( if u want spicy bhaji add it or u can omit)
Salt according ur taste
Butter: 2 or 4 tbsp ( yes use butter to get a better taste) 

  Method: Pressure cook all the vegetables listed above except onion and tomato with minimum water. Mash them well. Heat a pot with a tbsp of butter, add the onion and saute or few minutes, drop the tomato and fry until the butter ooze out. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry few second. Add the masala powders (pav bhaji, paprika and hot chili (if u want)) and mix well. Now drop the mashed veggie, with the help of potato masher, mash directly in the pan. When the gravy is little thick add little by little the butter. The bhaji is ready to be served after the raw masala smell goes away approximately 8 to 10 minutes in medium heat.


How to serve: Cut the pav, and toast with butter. Serve Bhaji with lemon wedge, minced onion and cilantro in the side and the toasted bun.

Comments

Usha said…
Very good cause Cham...the pav bhaji looks perfect, I have been wanting to bake pav that tastes like the one back in India for the longest time..but keep putting it off because of the all purpose flour, but your perfect pav is tempting me to try this soon...
Laavanya said…
The pav looks perfect Cham and you are right.. that does make a delectable dinner :)
CurryLeaf said…
Lovely Pav and nice cause.I am surprised that you said its not spongy as a dinner roll.It looks perfect.Well homemade is anyday better.Expecting more bread recipes from you ..
Unknown said…
Thats a superb pav you have prepared, its glossy look shows its crisp and fresh and very apt for pav bhaji:) Bhaji looks equally inviting :) I always end up eating the bhaji more than the pav ;-)
Cham said…
CL: As I said it is spongy and perfect (may be I am 75 % satisfied about the result) but does not meet my store bought roll expectation, so I will be keep trying :)
Uma said…
Thanks for taking up the tag dear! I appreciate your kind heart! The bread looks like store-bought! Very well done! And bhaji is just divine. Yummy in my tummy!
Cham said…
Uma We had a wonderful dinner because of ur tag!
Sujatha said…
Wow, you made the Pav! It looks so good Cham! Thats indeed a very good cause.. Bhaji looks excellent too.. I'm sure you had a great dinner.. :)
Unknown said…
Awesome looking buns.It is far better than the ones we get outside.Great work Cham.
Lakshmi said…
Good Cause Cham. I appreciate it. Thanks for the Paav recipe, I am going to try it for sure!
Unknown said…
baking pav is in my to do list..yours have come out fantastic..very encouraging for me to try out soon
Did you bake those buns? awesome girl.. looks very nice..
anudivya said…
Like Usha said, been wanting to make them, but have been putting it off. Will try them with whole wheat.
Vaishali said…
Cham, I'd love nothing more right now than to grab that plate and eat every last bit of that gorgeous pav bhaji! What a lovely job, dear. Kudos!
raaji said…
I really couldnt belive!!!!
How beautiful cham they look....
Love the recipe.so simple....
jayasree said…
Cham,appreciate ur effort to take the tag immdtly. You have baked like a pro. Good job.
Unknown said…
The buns looks perfectly rised and perfectly browned Cham! Wish I could ick one of those beauties!
Pavani said…
ooh..very good cause yaar...pav looks perfect nice click
ST said…
Amazing and Gorgeous looking pav cham..Looks perfect ...
Sunshinemom said…
Cham, Bravo!! This is exactly the way you get the ladi pav (the term that describes this kind of pav)!!
Priya Suresh said…
Wow..pav bhaji rolls looks really great...expecting more bread recipes from u...prefectly shaped buns..
Raks said…
I love home made bhaji,pav also...looks great!
Finla said…
Yumm this looks so yummmy.
Yeah my mom also didn't allow us to eat street food whe we were young and now it is my hubby who is not allowing, last time when i went to india i went 2 weeks ahead of him , so me any my sis had a fest and stomach full of street food ;-)
Recipeswap said…
Good cause Cham and perfect looking pav.
Anonymous said…
Pav bhaji looks perfect cham.
Rachel said…
You must be kidding when you say you are an apprentce at baking..they look all unformly done as well as in their size and shape..good entry Cham.
Medhaa said…
The Pav looks perfect.
Deepthi Shankar said…
wow .. you made pav too .. great gal .. I always buy ready-made ones ... looks yumm .. i just love pav-bhaji
kamala said…
Cham I too tried from that site..Too had a same feeling that it is not like store bought ones..But the pic is so tempting..Kindly share your ideas if u find a perfect ones!!!
Yasmeen said…
Never baked pav buns,looks perfectly done.Terrific combination with bhaji:)
Sum Raj said…
woo..its simply superb and perfect pav...gud job
Uj said…
Very good cause Cham.. Looks really yummy.. For me those looks perfect :)
Yasmeen said…
Cham,I'm requesting bloggers to share their opinion of plagiarism and ways to protect our content in the blogs.Your water marks look perfect,can you share your method of watermarking images
Vikis Kitchen said…
pav looks spongy perfect and cute dear.yummy pav bhaji and a very good mission.congrats!
Cham
Very well done! I appreciate your gesture and effort. The pav looks perfect.
vandana rajesh said…
Good cause cham...the pav bhaji looks mouthwatering indeed. I love pav bhajis and have been missing it after coming to vizag(lacks the typical Mumbai flavor here). This home baked pav and bhaji is a real treat.
Kayal said…
Nice to see such people doing something for others. Great work Cham. Keep going...your PAV looks so delicious.
ranji said…
OH WOW!!i love fresh pav..they are so much softer and tastier than store bought...urs is perfectly baked.Pav bhaji looks really inviting..I want that plate NOW!!!That one has indeed tickled my taste buds :)..good one.
Malar Gandhi said…
Thanks for the support and standing by me, dear. I will never forget your gesture.

Very good cause, dear. Keep up the work.
Namratha said…
A perfect platter Cham and those buns, gosh you are a pro baker!! :)
Arundathi said…
those buns look fantastic. great job. i made similar ones and posted yesterday - they were so soft and lovely! perfect for vada pav! mmm
ur watermarking post is very informative..another question Cham...can u help me with this--
how do I know who are my feed subscribers...for me it just shows the # . :(
Premyscakes said…
Cham they look perfect. I always prefer home made.
SS blogs here said…
Hey Cham.. I see now what you meant.. Nice post! And your pav have turned out so beautiful!! I have retained this link in my post now. Kind of collecting pav recipes there.. when I make in future I will find it easy to look up directly then. Your MTR Bhaji is looking hot and spicy! Thanks again! :)