Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is one of the most popular street foods of Bombay. You can call it vegetarian sloppy joe. It is mélange of vegetables cooked with special spices and loads of butter, and served with a special bun called ladi pav. I made pav bhaji for dinner last night in the Instant Pot. It can be slow cooked on stove top as well. 

Ingredients for 4 servings:

1 onion, chopped

2 green chili, slit (optional)

1 small green bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste (optional)

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

5-6 green beans, chopped

1 Cup cauliflower florets

1 tomato, diced

1 teaspoon coriander-cumin powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder)

1 teaspoon rock salt (kala namak)

1-2 teaspoons pav bhaji masala (adjust to taste)

salt to taste

For Garnish:

Finely diced onion

finely chopped cilantro

lemon juice

Method:

1. Set Instant Pot to sauté mode.

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil or butter. When the pot is hot, add onion and green chili.  Cook for a couple minutes. Add green pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.

                                                              

3. Add ginger-garlic paste if you are using. Give a quick stir. Then, add the chopped vegetables.

                                                                                                                                                      

4. Add the spices. Stir well. 

                                                                         

5. Add tomato. Mix well.

                                                              

6. Next, add pav bhaji masala. Add salt. Mix well.

                                                                   

7. Pour 1 cup of water, vegetables should be just below the surface of water. Check for salt and spice. Add if required.

                                                                   

8. Turn the Instant Pot off. Close the pot with the lid to seal position. Pressure cook for 13 minutes.

                                                                   

9. Open the lid upon natural pressure release (NPR). Turn the stove back to sauté mode. Add 1 to 2 Tablespoons butter. Mash the vegetables well with a potato masher. Turn the IP off.

10. Butter the rolls or pav and toast to golden on a skillet.  Place 2 buns on a plate. Add a cup of bhaji to the plate. Garnish with lemon juice, diced onion and cilantro before serving.

                                                         

Notes:

Bhaji can be made in a pan on the stove or a pressure cooker, instead of Instant Pot. 

I like using my Instant Pot, because it saves me time. I don't have to stand by and check the dish. 

I did not use ginger-garlic paste in this recipe. 

I always use Badshah masala. I have made the masala a few times when I did not have the store bought one. 

Pav bhaji is served with lots of butter. I used limited amount in this recipe.

Vegetable "Omelet"

                                                    

In India, we make pancakes with many different flour, not just with all purpose flour (maida). These pancakes are savory and has no eggs. A popular pancake in Maharashtra is called besan ka chila, made with chickpea flour. My mom calls it vegetable "omelet". She adds onion, tomato, grated carrot etc. to the pancake batter. I made this pancake for breakfast today, inspired by a post on a Facebook group. I used chickpea flour and powdered oats to make the batter. It was a tasty and nutritious breakfast indeed.

Ingredients for 6 pancakes :

1/2 Cup chickpea flour (besan)

1/2 Cup powdered oats

1 Cup water (adjust)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (paprika)

1 teaspoon ajwain seeds (carom)

1 pinch asafoetida

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 green chili, chopped

salt to taste

2 Tablespoons grated carrot.

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

Method:

1. Take besan and oats in a medium bowl.

2. Add turmeric, chili powder, ajwain, asafoetida, grated ginger, and green chili to the bowl.

3. Pour 1 cup of water and whisk to a batter, without any lumps.

                                            

4. Add chopped vegetables and cilantro to the batter. Mix well. The batter should not be too thin or thick. Check for salt and add if required.

                                        

4. Pour half cup of batter on a hot skillet. Drizzle oil around the edges.

5. Cook on both sides until golden brown.

6. Serve hot as is or with chutney.

Notes:

1. I added only carrots, onion, and tomato to the batter. You can add a variety of vegetables to the batter.

 

Creamy Rotini with Mushroom

                                               

Pasta is my daughter's favorite. Thursdays used to be pasta days when my kids were growing up. Even now, when my daughter comes home, she expects to have pasta on Thursdays. My friend keeps telling me how quick it is to make pasta in Instant Pot. Last week my sister, who just bought her IP said the same thing. Now, I really have to use it to make pasta. I prefer creamy pasta to red sauce. I found a recipe on one of the Facebook groups I follow and modified it. I wouldn't say it was quick, but it was a one pot dish, and I didn't have to drain the pasta. It was easy to make. This recipe is for my daughter, though she doesn't like mushrooms, she can substitute it with other vegetables. The recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

8 oz. rotini pasta

2 Tablespoons olive oil or butter

8 oz. mushroom

1 Cup diced onion

2 pods garlic, diced

2 Cups vegetable broth or water

1/2 Cup heavy cream

1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 Cup Gruyere cheese, grated

salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

crushed red chili flakes, to taste

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

1. Clean and slice mushrooms.

 

                                                   

2. Turn the instant pot to saute mode. Add 1 Tablespoon oil or butter. Add mushrooms and saute till moisture leaves, about 2-3 minutes. Turn IP off. Remove from IP and set aside.

                                                           

3. Add 1 Tablespoon oil or butter to the pot. You do not have to clean the pot. Turn it back on saute mode. Add diced onion and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Turn the Instant Pot off.

4. Add two cups of broth or water and  deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom.

5. Add rotini so it is completely covered with broth.  Close with lid with the vent, on sealing position.

6. Pressure cook pasta on high pressure for 5 minutes. As soon as the pressure cooker beeps, turn the pot off, and quick release pressure manually.

7. Open the lid. Add heavy cream and cheese to the pasta.

8. Stir until cheese melts.

9. Gently fold in mushroom. Turn the pot on to saute mode. Stir to combine. Check for salt. Add if required. Add crushed red pepper and ground peppercorn. Turn the IP off. Stir in lemon juice.

10. You can garnish with Parmesan before serving. 

Notes:

I used baby Bella mushrooms in this recipe. 

I used rotini pasta. You can use any kind of pasta for this recipe.

You can use just Parmesan cheese. I used Gruyere because I had it, and it is a great melting cheese.

Mushroom can be substituted with other vegetables like broccoli and peas.

The rule of thumb for cooking pasta in Instant Pot is to cook 1 minute less than half the time given on the box.

It is really great not to have to drain water from the pasta. 

 

Pachai Morkuzhambu

 Morkuzhambu is a yogurt based soup or curry that is popular in South India. Another name for this in the other parts of India is Khadi. Morkuzhambu is fresh ground spices and coconut cooked in yogurt. Khadi is a mixture of chickpea flour and yogurt cooked to a sauce or soup. Morkuzhambu can be cooked in more than one way. One method is grinding chili, coconut and spices (raw) and mixing it with yogurt and bringing it to a boil. The other method is to roast spices, grind them to paste and mixing it into yogurt. In this method, yogurt is not cooked, hence the name pachai or raw. I learned about this dish from my mother-in-law. She always pairs this with parippu usili.

Ingredients:

1/2  teaspoon black peppercorn

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon urad dal

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

2 dried red chili (adjust to taste)

1 Tablespoon grated coconut

2 Cups yogurt (beaten)

3/4 Cup diced okra (1 inch)

salt to taste

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon urad dal

2-3 fresh curry leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

1. Dry roast urad dal, coriander seeds, peppercorn, fenugreek seeds, and red chili. Turn the stove off, and add coconut. Allow to cool.

                                                                

2. Grind the roasted spices in a blender.

                                                                 

3. Take yogurt in a medium bowl. Transfer spice mixture to yogurt. Gently mix well. Keep aside.

                                              

4. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Saute okra until cooked. Add salt. Remove from the stove.

                                                                

5. Fold in yogurt mixture to the okra in the saucepan. Check for salt. Add if required.

                                                                

6. Heat 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a small saucepan. Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Pour it over the morkuzhambu. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

                                                                   

Serve with steamed rice.

Rasgulla

                                                       

Rasgulla is one of the most favorite sweet from West Bengal. They are made from home made cheese called paneer or chenna, that is kneaded into soft balls, and cooked in boiling sugar syrup until they swell up to spongy balls. It has been years since I made these yummy balls. I made them today for my birthday (that's tomorrow).

Ingredients:

For making chenna:

2 liter whole milk (8 cups)

4-5 Tablespoons lemon juice

few ice cubes

For Sugar Syrup:

2 1/2 Cups granulated sugar

8 Cups water

4 pods cardamom

1 teaspoon rose water (optional)

few strands of saffron to garnish

Method:

To make paneer or chenna:

1. Boil milk in a large heavy bottom pot.

2. Reduce heat to low. Stir in lemon juice until milk curdles. When milk curdles completely, you will see thin whey underneath the paneer.

3. Turn the stove off. Add ice cubes to the whey. This makes paneer soft. 

4. Allow to cool. Drain paneer from the water onto a cheese cloth or a muslin cloth. Tie the paneer in the muslin and hang it to drain all the water from it. 

                                                               

5. Once the water is drained, place chenna on a flat surface or bowl.

                                                              

 6. Knead for 5-9 minutes to a soft ball and is not sticky.

7. Divide chenna into small equal sized balls. I got 24 balls from the paneer. Cover with the moist cloth.

                                                                    

Method to make sugar syrup:

1. Place 8 cups of water in a broad sauce pan or pressure pan on medium heat. Be sure to have a pan that is broad enough to have room for the paneer balls to swell and not crush each other. Add  pods of cardamom.

2. Stir in 2 1/2 cups sugar.

                                                 

3. Bring sugar syrup to a rolling boil. Add rose water if you choose to. 

                                                                

5. Remove cardamom pods. Gently drop the chenna balls into the sugar syrup.

                                                               

6. Close the pressure pan immediately with the lid. Cook at constant heat for 10 minutes.

                                                              

7.Open the lid in between after 5 minutes. Gently stir syrup with a skewer, without disturbing rasgullas. Promptly cover with the lid and cook for 5 more minutes. By now the rasgullas should have swelled in size.

8. Turn the stove off and remove the pan from the stove. Do not disturb the pan for 20 minutes. Do not open the lid. This would prevent the rasgullas from shrinking.

9. Cool rasgullas in the pan. Transfer them to an air tight container. Refrigerate before serving. Garnish with saffron strands before serving.

10. Once cooled, taste syrup for sweetness. You can make more syrup.

Additional syrup:

1. Take 1/4 cup sugar in a small pan. 

2. Gently ladle out 3/4 syrup to the pan. 

3. Bring it to a boil to make syrup. 

4. Allow it to cool completely. Gently pour it over the rasgullas.

                                     

Notes:

1. You can add 1 teaspoon all purpose flour to the paneer before kneading for soft dough, that is very essential for a good texture of rasgullas.

2. Over cooking can result in rubbery rasgullas. 

3. Sugar syrup must be boiling at all times at constant heat, while cooking the balls.