Pav bhaji
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pav bhaji or pao bhaji is a specialty Indian dish with origins in Mumbai and Gujarat.
In Marathi pav means bread and bhaji means a curry and vegetable mix. As it's cheap and filling, the pav bhaji can sometimes be a Mumbaikar's/Punekar's breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The pav bhaji consists of the bhaji and the pav (bread) garnished with coriander and chopped onions. The bhaji is usually potato-based. Potatoes are mashed or diced on a flat pan called a tava, and made into a thick gravy after adding diced tomatoes, green peas, carrots or other vegetables. A special blend of spices called the pav bhaji masala is added to this thick gravy. The gravy is then allowed to simmer on the pan for a few minutes and is served hot in a flat dish with a tablespoon of butter on top.
The pav (bread) is roasted on the same pan with an ample amount of butter and masala until golden brown, and garnished with diced onion and a slice of lemon and served with the bhaji.
The pav bhaji is mostly available on hand carts popularly known as Pav bhaji ki Gaadi, on the streets of Mumbai/Pune. It is also available in almost all hotels and eateries in Mumbai/Pune. Pav bhaji is to Mumbai what pasta is to Italy or the hamburger is to America.
The origin of this dish is traced to the heyday of the textile mills in Mumbai. The mill workers used to have a short break for lunch. A full lunch which was not rushed probably needed more time than what was available. A light lunch was also preferred given that physical work followed immediately. A vendor understood this and came up with this dish using items or parts of them available on the menu. The role of Indian bread or rice was taken up by pav and the curries that usually go with Indian bread or rice were amalgamated into just one spicy concoction-the 'bhaji'. Thus was born-- the celebrated pav-bhaji!
Initally, it remained as the food of the mill-workers. The dish was then patronized extensively by the upcoming Mumbai underworld. This resulted in the dish finding its way into restaurants and spreading over Central Mumbai and other areas. Sanjay Dutt played the role of a Pao Bhaji Vendor in 'Vasstav'.
Pav Bhaji is also know as 'Indian Sloppy Joes' in the western world. It is quite easy to prepare at home with most of the ingredients easily available everywhere.
