The first thing that comes to our mind while cooking for a large batch of guests is this “Bhaji”. It is another Maharashtrian Street food, that is loved by all generally. Bhaji means vegetables, and it is because of its variety and possibilities that nearly anyone , even an amateur can cook this curry with ease.

I have learnt this long back in my childhood ,but prepared first time for my in-laws and relatives after marriage. To my disbelief, everyone liked it ,even though I myself didn’t like 😉 at that time. But over the years, with efforts and trials ,finally I can replicate the total Mumbaiian taste in my Bhaji now. 🙂

As I always say, there are no do’s and don’ts in a recipe. But sometimes it becomes necessary to preserve the flavor of the recipe. So be creative,but with a limit ! 😀

INGREDIENTS:
1. Carrots peeled and chopped coarsely (in large chunks) – 2
2. Russets Potatoes peeled and chopped – 1 large or 2 medium
3. Cauliflower florets washed and cut – 5-6
4. Capsicum or Bell pepper cut in pieces – 1
5. Peas – ¹⁄₄ cup (I used small peas)
6. Brinjal (baigan) peeled and cut in large pieces – 1 medium (optional)
7. Pumpkin (Kaddu /petha)peeled and cut in large pieces – ¹⁄₄ cup (optional)
8. Green french beans ( falliyan) cut in an inch pieces – ¹⁄₈ cup (optional)
9. Raddish /Beetroot / cabbage washed and cut – ¹⁄₈ cup(optional)
10. Red Onions chopped finely or pureed – ¹⁄₂ cup
11. Roma Tomatoes pureed – ¹⁄₂ cup
12. Fresh Garlic Cloves peeled and pureed – 3
13. Ginger crushed – an inch piece
14. Pav Bhaji curry powder (masala) – 4 tsp
15. Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
16. Butter – 2 tbsp
17. Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
18. Cumin seeds(jeera) – a tsp
19. Mustard seeds( rai)- ¹⁄₂ tsp
20. Asafoetida (hing)- a pinch or 2
21. Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp
22. Turmeric (haldi)- ¹⁄₄ tsp
23. Coriander powder (dhaniya) – 1 tsp
24. Green chillies (hari mirch) chopped – 2 tsp
25. Cilantro/Coriander leaves (dhaniya patte)- for garnishing
26. Lemon juice – 2 tsp (optional)
27. Bottle gourd/ Oplong (Lauki) – ¹⁄₄ cup

[P.S : The ingredients listed above are just the possible items you may add. Those which are marked with optional are not used in my recipe. ]

METHOD:
| Preparation time : 20 mins | Cooking time : 20 mins | Serves 6-8 persons at a time|

1. Take oil in a cooker. Heat it. Alternately you may boil the veggies separately and then add it to the onion-tomato-ginger-garlic seasoning(tadka) later on.

2. Add jeera, hing, rai to it(wok) . Let them sputter and sizzle.
   

3. Now add the onion paste, ginger-garlic paste,peas and roast them well.
   

4. Next add the tomato puree and stir them well . Add all the remaining vegetables.
   

5. Add in all the dry spices like salt, red pepper, coriander powder, turmeric etc. I don’t add the pav-bhaji masala now.
   

6. Add half a cup of water and close the lid of the pressure cooker. You may make Bhaji in slow cooker too. But it would take 3-4 hrs. The plus point is you don’t need to stir the veggies in between and you don’t need a masher too.
   Since I boiled veggies separately in pressure cooker, hence this pic.

7. Let it cook on high for the first whistle and then lower the heat to 2 or medium for the 2nd whistle.

8. Turn off the heat. Let it cool down to room temperature or let it release the pressure.
   

9. Now open the cooker and add some butter on top. Turn on the heat.
   

10. Add the Readymade Badshah curry powder or home-made garam masala now and mash all the veggies with a ladle or a Masher.

1. Be careful ,while mashing the hot Bhaji. In the end add the peas and let it cook till it reaches the consistency desired. It should not be very thick or very runny.Too many potatoes could thicken the curry. Hence I usually avoid them or add just 1 big enough potato. Moreover, if you like a spicy ,tangy bhaji ,then add lemon juice , whole dried red chillies too. This is the flexibility with this dish, we can alter its taste, texture, color or spice level at any stage of this dish. 🙂

2. Garnish it with cilantro , grated paneer or small cubed paneer and serve hot with Pav

This is my daughter’s favorite dish and this way she gets to eat all kind of veggies without raising eye-brows. I hope this would sort some of your problem too while feeding kids! 😀