I still remember when the trend of Paav Bhaaji came to my town. I was in Elementary school and I loved the flavors and so did everyone in the family. The funny thing was that all of a sudden Paav Bhaaji became a favorite dish for all. Now I have never been to the roadside stalls to eat Paav Bhaaji, though I somewhere always wanted to, but the small town I belonged wasn’t very apt with women standing on roadside eateries during those days. While writing this, I feel as if it was centuries ago, but honestly it was just a few decades ago and the amazing thing is that my small town has changed so much in the last few years that it’s exciting as well as scary. See, small cities have their own magic. People are friendlier, have more time in hand and almost everyone knows everyone. From that time where I would meet 50 people in a radius of one mile to now meeting almost the same number, but with the warmth missing.
Anyways, coming back to Paav Bhaaji. So, my father would always bring it home as a take away and we would all love it to the core. Slowly, my mom started getting Pav bhaaji masala and we would enjoy home made Paav bhaaji. So, my home made Paav bhaaji masala is my mother’s recipe.
I had tried my hands at Paav Bhaaji multiple times and always loved every bite of it. Though my mother used so many different veggies like cauliflower and carrots for her Paav Bhaaji, I only stick to Potato and Bell pepper, making it closer to the original flavors.
The Paav are also homemade. They are pretty easy as well. If you follow the recipe properly, you will be able to make these pillow soft amazing buns at home. You can serve the buns with anything, but as Paav with Bhaaji, they just seem to taste super amazing. To make them taste more delicious, split the buns, spread some butter and sprinkle some Paav Bhaaji masala on them and toast them on the Tava/ Pan.
Click and make your own Paav at home
Homemade Buns / Paav – Haala’s Dastarkhaan
The value of eating vegetables is something most of us realize after getting older, specially after having kids. This is the time you understand why your mom took all those strict routes of making you eat Bhindi, turai and patta gobhi. In my case, I always threw a fit when my mom made cabbage or patta gobhi but, since I wasn’t a big fan of Okra/ lady finger/Bhindi either, I had to pick my battle and would normally give in with cabbage.
It was my teen age when I actually started enjoying cabbage and I remember that my mom started adding grated carrot and peas to the cabbage which changed the taste from the tradtional cabbage curry and added a lot more flavor to the dish.
This cabbage curry is my mom’s recipe. There is no onion or garlic added to it. My boys love it and its one of the few ways to serve the greens in a delicious way.
Bisibelebath is a traditional south Indian breakfast. Growing up in Northern India, I realize that I never knew this dish existed. To me Masala Dosa, Rava Dosa, Idli and Sambhar were South Indian food and my knowledge never went beyond that. After I got married, I discovered the food heaven that South India offered. I was not just amazed but, also surprised that the food had the never ending variety.
Bisibelebath is one of Mr. Parveez’s favorite dishes. I would always see him order and relish the dish at our favorite restaurant in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, we do not find the dish as commonly in restaurants in United States, and some restaurants that do serve, do not make it correctly. Therefore, I started cooking my own. The best compliment is when I don’t see Mr. Parveez enjoying the restaurant cooked Bisibelebath as much as he enjoys mine…LOLzzz. As much as he hates it when I tell him that [you know wives have the “wife sense”..LOLzzz] .
Mr. Parveez believes that no matter what I make at home, when he eats the same dish outside, he expects me to completely ignore the fact that its something I can cook and stay away from asking any questions related to the dish. So, now all I do is take a bite and be thankful, that I can make better.
This dish is basically Rice and Toovar daal cooked together and then mixed with boiled veggies and the Bissibhelebhaath powder, along with a little jaggery and Tamarind. Fimally tempered with South Indian tempering of cumin seeds, Mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and a few cashews. Serve hot/ warm with something crunchy.
