Pav Bhaji

Some relationships and things remain the same no matter where you are,irrespective of culture,language and traditional practices.On a lighter note,like how you scare kids by telling them that the Police are on their way or how every kid from every generation will always open a cream biscuit and lick the cream from inside,before eating it :).Coming to relationships ,some of them are mostly tricky,like the ones with your in-laws(did u know a funny anagram of the word Mother-in-law - you'll find it at the end of this post:)), or like the one that I'm going to ramble about,the relationship between a Tenant and the Landlord. Due to its proximity to my School we stayed in a Rented house for a real long time,so I have my fair share of experience with dealing with Landlords.I see extremes when it comes to Landlords.mostly there are the nosy types who can get on your nerves,with their overbearing nature,their surprise visits to make sure that you're taking good care of their house or their unsolicited advice on everything pertaining to the house.On the other hand there are people who treat you almost like family just because you stay in their house.I kind of understand the behaviour of the nosy Landlords,especially when they have to rent out their houses to families with kids.It's very similar to the in-law problem,they just can't easily part with their house/kid and strongly believe that only they know what's good for their house or kid .We stayed for almost 10 years in Germany in an apartment where the landlords stayed on the floor just beneath us.They were an elderly couple who lived alone and my landlady was one of the most wonderful person I've ever met. I've never seen her frown at anything, despite both my kids being owls who kept running around even after midnight.She remembered all our birthdays and always made it a point to leave a thoughtful present at our doorstep.There was always something at our doorstep on every occasion,be it Christmas,Easter,Saint Nicholas day or  my daughter's first day at school.She was our Santa.She was the one who used to give me a pat on my back and asked me to Hang-on,during the days when I used to walk around like a zombie, tired and sleepless after taking care of my little ones .I still remember one particular incident.My Landlady was a very industrious person,she was 64 years old,close to retirement from a good job,her garden was well maintained and the whole building was always spic-and-span.She had a nice collection of paintings which she had hung all around her house and the stair case walls.One day when the kids & I were as usual late for school and we were hurrying, I somehow managed to knock a painting down and shatter it's glass frame and damage the painting.I was really scared to tell her that I had damaged the painting,I still remembered how my mother used to hesitate before knocking on our landlord's house when we children had broken something or how she used to dread her visits to our house.But I had to set an example to my children about doing the right thing,so I hesitantly knocked on the door to apologise.She opened it with her usual smile and I hardly let her speak and started with my Sorry and Excuses for damaging her painting.She listened to me as always ,her expression didn't change a bit, she just said:

'Reni ,nicht schlimm ,Das Schlimmste ist den Krieg'

(Not bad at all,the worst thing that can happen is war)

That was all that happened of that incident.The next week she had replaced the painting and never mentioned it ever again.I still remember her wise words.Guess she's one of those people ,thanks to whom we still believe in humanity and the goodness in people.We moved away from her house before sometime.She almost cried when we told her that we were leaving.We have so many fond and beautiful memories of the house which will stay with us forever.Have you ever noticed how our surroundings,like our home,the people we meet everyday and the memories almost become like a part of us and stays with us.Sometimes I just pray that I remain lucky and meet more beautiful souls !

Coming to the recipe,as you would've guessed,I was supposed to post this along with my previous two posts :) This is one of my favourite dishes,it can be whipped up very quickly and has some many veggies in it.We eat it with just some white Bread toasted in Ghee on days when I don't have Pav Buns around. In fact it even pairs up well with Dosa or Chapati.So off to the recipe !!

Recipe adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor

Serves 4 - 6

You'll Need:

Potato -  2 Large (Boiled,peeled,grated or mashed)

Tomato - 2 Big (finely chopped)

Onion - 2 (finely chopped)

Capsicum - 1 (finely chopped)

Green Peas - 3 - 4 tbsp ( boiled)

Cauliflower - 3 big florets (grated)

Green Chillies - 1 - 2 (finely chopped)

Ginger Garlic paste - 2 - 3 tsp

Pav Bhaji Masala Powder - 1.5 Tbsp

salt to taste

Oil/Butter/Ghee - 1 -2 tbsp
Butter - 1 Tbsp

Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp (finely chopped)

Lemon -1
Pav Buns / Dinner Rolls

Method:
-Heat the oil in the pan ,when it heats up add the Onion (save a little for garnishing in the end)and a pinch of salt and saute until it turns translucent. Then add the green chilli and ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes.
-Add 3/4 th of the chopped tomatoes and saute until it turns soft.Add a little water if needed and cover and cook on the low flame until the mixture starts oozing out oil.
-Then add the vegetables and about a cup of water,check for salt and add the required amount.Simmer for around 10 minutes.Then mash all the vegetables with the back of the spoon until all of them are well mashed.
-Add the Pav bhaji masala powder and mix well.Add the tomatoes and let the mixture cook on medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes.Take it off the stove.
To serve:
-Toast the Pav buns(split into two) with butter.
-To the bhaji add the Coriander leaves,the saved onion slices,the butter and squeeze a bit of the lemon.

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And if you are still looking for that funny Anagram of the word Mother-in-law it is Woman Hitler :p

Thanks for Stopping by ! Have a lovely day !