Recipe- Street Style Black Pav Bhaji

Black Pav Bhaji is the newest trend in Mumbai, which is a sister version of the traditional, famous fast food dish – Pav Bhaji. The color, change in the texture, and mouthwatering taste makes it different from traditional pav bhaji.

Bhaji is a very versatile dish. But this black bhaji is totally different from what I have tried so far. The spiciness here comes from black pepper and the taste and the nutty flavor from the roasted coconut. Black stone flower is typically used as an ingredient in this dish. But since it was not available where I live, I have substituted it with star anise. All other ingredients are almost the same as what goes into the traditional pav bhaji recipe.

Ingredients

1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Fennel seeds / Saunf
2 Cloves
2 Cardamom seeds
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
1 Star Anise (or 2 Black stone flowers)
1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
1 tsp Coriander seeds (Dhania)
1 tbsp Black pepper powder
1 cup Dry coconut grated
3 tbsp Butter
1 Garlic bulb finely chopped around 15 cloves
1 Onion finely chopped
1 Green chile finely chopped
1 inch Ginger finely chopped
1 Capsicum finely chopped
2 Tomatoes finely chopped
1/4 cup Coriander leaves chopped
3 Medium sized potatoes boiled
1 1/2 cup Green peas, boiled
1 tsp Chaat Masala or ( 1/2 tsp Amchur powder)
Salt, to taste

Method

* In a pan on medium heat, dry roast bay leaf, fennel seeds, cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds till you get a nice aroma. Be careful not to burn the ingredients.

* Transfer this to a grinder along with black pepper powder.

* In the same pan, add the dry grated coconut and saute on medium flame till it turns dark brown (lightly charred).

* Add this coconut to the grinder and grind along with roasted spices to form smooth powder. Do not add any water.

* Add the boiled potatoes and green peas in a bowl, mash them together and keep it aside.

* In a pan, melt the butter. Add garlic cloves and saute till it becomes light brown.

* Now add onion, ginger, green chile and saute till onion becomes translucent.

* Add capsicum and tomatoes, salt and saute till tomatoes become soft.

* Add coriander leaves, black masala powder prepared in Step I with very little water and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on medium flame.

* Add the mashed potatoes and peas, water for desired consistency, salt to taste and mix well. Bring it to a nice boil.

* Simmer and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes.

* Black Pav Bhaji is ready. Serve it with pav toasted in butter, along with some chopped onions and lemon wedges. Garnish it with coriander leaves and dollops of butter.