PavBhaji Pasta

It just felt as if chaat and other forms of Mumbai street food have been haunting me all week long (Mind you that is not exactly a bad thing!!!). Wifey loves pani-puri so we basically had a chaat party at home. I call up my parents in India who were enjoying their weekend with homemade dosas. I go for lunch with my co-workers and we end up eating all sorts of street food. So no prizes for guessing that this same street food turned out to be the inspiration for this recipe. All I did was to take the iconic PAV-BHAJI recipe and use it as a sauce to make this sumptuous PAVBHAJI PASTA!!!!

Street food especially a dish like pavbhaji is so woven into the fabric of life in Mumbai that it has become a part of life of pretty much everyone who has grown up in Mumbai. You will be hard pressed to find a kid who hasn’t spent time building sandcastles on the beach, getting tired and then having a huge bowl of spicy, gooey pavbhaji. This dish usually stays a part of the kid’s life when he grows up because the same roadside pavbhaji stalls become the place where he hangs out with his buddies…

Growing up I was no different and now I am at a point where I believe that I am not going to have anybody in my life who says “meri pavbhaji teekhi kam banana” (please make my pavbhaji less spicy) OR “meri pavbhaji main butter kam dalna” (add less butter to my pavbhaji).. Please don’t think am joking!!! I am dead serious (WINKS!!!). The symphony of flavors in this dish as well as its consistency was naturally going to make it the perfect sauce for PASTA which is how this PAVBHAJI PASTA dish came up..

PavBhaji is basically a bunch of veggies mashed with potatoes cooked with tomatoes and onions. However it is the unique spice blend that basically brings this dish together. The smell will draw you in from about a mile away (LAUGHS!!!!). I better start making it or else I might begin drooling just talking about it.

First cook the potatoes along with your choice of veggies (I used bell peppers & carrots) in a pressure cooker until soft. After the veggies cool down, mash them completely using a potato masher.

TIP: This is a great way for parents to hide the veggies the kids don’t like. The aroma and the flavor of this dish are so good your kids will absolutely gobble them up.. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add  garlic, onion and  sauté for few minutes till they start changing color. Mix in the tomato puree, red chili powder and pay bhaji masala (I used store bought masala). Mix well and cook till the oil separates from the gravy. Now add all the veggies and cook for 7-10 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice for extra flavor. Season with salt and garnish with cilantro. 

Now that the sauce is ready it was time to make the pasta. I have a chunky sauce so the best pasta was going to be the one on which the sauce was going to stick. That meant penne pasta was going to be my best option. I did not have the right equipment to make it so this is basically penne pasta without the ridges.

Mix flour and salt on a flat surface. Make a well in the centre and crack an egg in it. Use the fork to beat the egg and incorporate the flour little by little into the eggs. Once you get a crumbly texture and the flour is fully incorporated, knead it with your hands by folding and pushing with the heel of your palm until it forms a soft dough. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into half. Cover one half and roll the other half with rolling pin to the approximate width of the pasta machine. Set the pasta machine to thickest setting (mine was 7). Pass the dough through the machine and roll. Fold the pasta sheet and repeat this process again till you get a smooth dough. Lower the setting by 1 and pass the pasta sheet again through the machine. Dust with flour to avoid sticking. Repeat this process till you get a thin sheet of pasta (I stopped at setting of 3).  Incase you don’t have a pasta machine. Roll the dough with a rolling pin into a very thin sheet.

Keep a pot of boiling water and a bowl of beaten egg ready before you start the next step. Cut the pasta with a sharp knife or pasta cutter to form rectangular strips. Finally cut these strips into equal squares. Place a chopstick/skewer on one corner of an individual square and apply a little egg on the opposite corner. Now roll the square into a tube making sure to apply a little pressure at the end to seal. Slide the pasta off the skewer. Roll the other squares similarly. Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks really fast in 3 minutes and rises to the surface. Drain the water.

Melt the butter in another saucepan over medium heat.  Ladle in the pavbhaji sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.  Add pasta and cook till the sauce coats the pasta. Of course you need cheese for ooey, gooey goodness!!! Season with salt.

Transfer the pasta to a serving dish. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot !!! My mouth is stuffed full of pasta right now so I cannot tell you how good the dish turned out (CHUCKLES!!!)

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PavBhaji Pasta

Mumbai’s favorite spicy PavBhaji used as a sauce to make this delectable PavBhaji Pasta.

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Course Rahul

Ingredients

  

Pav Bhaji Sauce

• 3 tbsp Butter
• 5 Potatoes Cubed
• 1 Capsicum Cubed
• 3 Carrots Cubed
• 1 cup Frozen Peas
• ½ cup Frozen Corn
• 3 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Onion Chopped
• 1½ cup Tomato Puree
• 2½ tsp Red Chili Powder
• 4 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
• 4 tsp Lemon Juice
• Cilantro
• Salt as per taste

Pasta

• ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Egg Yolk
• Salt

Instructions

 

Pavbhaji Sauce

• Cook potatoes, capsicum and carrots in a pressure cooker till soft and tender. Cool and mash the mixture with a potato masher
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions and sauté for few minutes till they start changing color.
• Mix in the tomato puree, red chili powder and pay bhaji masala. Mix well and cook till the oil separates from the gravy.
• Now add all the veggies and cook for 7-10minutes.
• Drizzle in the lemon juice. Season with salt and garnish with cilantro.

Pasta

• Mix flour and salt on a flat surface. Make a well in the centre and crack an egg in it. Use the fork to beat the egg and incorporate the flour little by little into the egg mixture.
• Once you get a crumbly texture and the flour is fully incorporated knead it with your hands by folding and pushing with the heel of your palm until it forms a smooth dough. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Cut the dough into half. Cover one half and roll the other half with rolling pin to the approximate width of the pasta machine.
• Set the pasta machine to thickest setting (mine was 7). Pass the dough through the machine and roll. Fold the pasta sheet and repeat this process again till you get a smooth dough. Lower the setting by 1 and pass the pasta sheet again through the machine. Dust with flour to avoid sticking. Repeat this process till you get a thin sheet of pasta (I stopped at setting of 3).
• Incase you don’t have a pasta machine. Roll the dough with a rolling pin into a very thin sheet.
• Keep a pot of boiling water and a bowl of beaten egg ready before you start the next step.
• Cut the pasta with a sharp knife or pasta cutter to form rectangular strips. Cut these strips into equal squares.
• Place a chopstick/skewer on one corner of an individual square and apply a little egg on the opposite corner. Now roll the square into a tube making sure to apply a little pressure at the end to seal. Slide the pasta off the skewer. Repeat with the other squares.
• Drop the pasta in the boiling water. Fresh pasta cooks really fast in 3 minutes and rises to the surface. Drain the water.

Assembly

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Ladle in the pavbhaji sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.
• Add the pasta and cook till the sauce coats the pasta. Season with salt.
• Transfer the pasta to a serving dish. Garnish with cilantro. Sprinkle with your choice cheese.
• Serve hot !!!

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