Did some batch cooking last weekend - made enough food for more than the week and avoided cooking through the whole week. Infact will be eating it today too - so enough food for 7 days.
Made two things
1) Pav Bhaji
2) Ammazing Chicken Tikka Masala
1) Pav Bhaji
What is Pav Bhaji? Literally translated - bread vegetable, it's a vegetable stew which you eat with bread. It's amazing street food that you get in Bombay and the rest of india. A sweaty guy sits over a large pan with this vegetable stew in the middle of the pan, it bubbles and he adds some water and a slab of butter to keep it cooking. When you give your order he slathers butter on the pan and lays on top this ammazing salty/yeasty slab of bread (slab of bread rolls).mmmm. Whenever I've had pav bhaji which is home made it's never hit the mark - always a bit on the sweeter side without the kick of the one I had in Mumbai... So my aim recreate the Pav Bhaji!
1) Start by acquiring the right bread - Go to Teeter and get an 'Italian Round/Italian Boule' - Perfect bread to slice and toast on butter in a pan.... almost nails the taste of the bread in India.
2) Next for the Bhaji - NO ONIONS! yes you can put some raw ones on top this is the tradition, but don't sautee onions and build the stew on top - I think this is what all home chef's do and it gives the bhaji a sweet flavor.
Process for making Pav Bhaji (credit for the recipe and the not using onions goes to: http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2005/04/bombay-street-food-pav-bhaji.html) I had to modify the recipe to use my own veges
Indgredients:
1/2 bag frozen cauliflower (thawed in microwave)
1/4 bag frozen peas (thawed in microwave with the cauliflower)
- after above two are thawed mash em together
1/2 liter vege stock (made at home prior week by boiling asparagus stems, left over onion bits, some carrot tops, the middle flesh/seeds of green peppers, 1 bay leaf) - No salt, no sugar, no pepper... (wife made stock)
4 Anahiem peppers (they were on sale) - cut very finely into little itty bitty pieces
4 medium sized white potatoes (not red, not idaho) - boil and mash
1/2 small cabbage - finely shred on mandolin
16 ounces Formanos crushed tomatoes (was almost a sauce - wasn't chunky)
2 tbsp ginger paste
2 tbsp garlic, chili (jalepeno) mince paste
1 teasp cilantro paste
1 tbsp butter & oil as needed
1 teasp turmeric
2 teasp chili powder
MDH Pav Bhaji masala (gotten at indian store) lots of this
Salt
Process:
Heat up butter till it bubbles in a large sautee pan (something with some depth), I mix some oil into the butter. Once hot add turmeric, and chili powder, lit it sit for a few sec after you smell it add 1/2 tbsp ginger paste 1 tbsp garlic&chili mince. Let it smell up - after it is incorporated into butter/oil and starts to smell add in cabbage. Cover and let cook for 10 min - or till cabbage is all wilted and doesn't smell too much like cabbage. It should shrink significantly.
Shove cabbage to edge of large pan and pour in some oil let it heat up add some more ginger, garlic, chili paste - after it smells add Anaheim peppers, stir everything after 5 min and add Cauliflower & pea mush, let it cook for 5 min and incorporate it into the cabbage. You might need to add some vege stock to keep it from not sticking to bottom.
Move aside everything after letting it cook for 5-10 min and repeat with oil and ginger, garlic, chili and add in cilantro paste too. This time add in 1/3 of the potato let it cook for a min and stir everything together, keep mixing and adding in slowly the rest of the potato.
Sprinkly MDH pav bhaji masala on top of everything (cover entire surface - if you want it very hot and spicy) - mustve been 1 1/2 tbsp masala I used. - stir and let it cook for 5 min
Make small area in middle - oil, left over ginger, garlic, chili - heat up and add in tomato paste - let it simmer for few min and stir everything together. Add some more vege stock - cover and let it cook for 15 min. - Keep stirring and adding stock as necessary every 5 min to keep from burning (I had heat just above medium).
By now 40 min has gone by - everything should be mushy - kind of like a brunswick stew (for those of you who've been to a southern Barbecue place). If you haven't see pic.
You're done!
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