As a born and bred Mumbaikar who has enjoyed pav bhaji countless times, I'd like to share a few thoughts, simply offering my perspective as someone who has grown up with this dish. i am sure your version taste great as well. 1: The bhaji (vegetable mash) could benefit from being redder (some venders even go as far as adding red food colouring), perhaps with a touch more tomato and red chilli powder. Kashmiri red chilli powder tends to add more colour and less heat. 2: While I appreciate the current consistency and understand why it is so, for us, it tends to be a bit more runny yet slightly thicker than gazpacho. 3: The bhaji is typically mashed so thoroughly that the vegetables are indistinguishable, resulting in a thick yet runny mixture. 4: The pav (bread) is traditionally not browned. Instead, a generous amount of butter is heated in a pan, mixed with a quarter teaspoon of bhaji or masala (you used MTR), and then the pav is placed split-side down for 10 seconds, flipped for another 5 seconds, all of this just to soak up the butter and warm the pav. (also our pavs are soft and glutinous) 5: If your husband is a Mumbaikar like myself, he'll recognize that the bread absolutely must be what we call "Laadi Pav" (pronounced La-Thee - thee as in Shakespearean "thee" and "thou," TH having the 'D' sound.). Watch him get nostalgic. In fact, my uncle, who lives in Singapore, insists on having Laadi Pav every time we visit him. It's quintessentially Mumbai. Forget about Little India; even the rest of India doesn't have it, apart from Mumbai. 6: Lastly, It's personal preferences, we typically eat the bhaji more akin to roti, chapati, or naan, with gravy dishes. No chillies, just onions and lemon. And yes, lots and lots of butter. lol
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I like the way you prepare and presented looks perfect and delicious
As a born and bred Mumbaikar who has enjoyed pav bhaji countless times, I'd like to share a few thoughts, simply offering my perspective as someone who has grown up with this dish. i am sure your version taste great as well.
1: The bhaji (vegetable mash) could benefit from being redder (some venders even go as far as adding red food colouring), perhaps with a touch more tomato and red chilli powder. Kashmiri red chilli powder tends to add more colour and less heat.
2: While I appreciate the current consistency and understand why it is so, for us, it tends to be a bit more runny yet slightly thicker than gazpacho.
3: The bhaji is typically mashed so thoroughly that the vegetables are indistinguishable, resulting in a thick yet runny mixture.
4: The pav (bread) is traditionally not browned. Instead, a generous amount of butter is heated in a pan, mixed with a quarter teaspoon of bhaji or masala (you used MTR), and then the pav is placed split-side down for 10 seconds, flipped for another 5 seconds, all of this just to soak up the butter and warm the pav. (also our pavs are soft and glutinous)
5: If your husband is a Mumbaikar like myself, he'll recognize that the bread absolutely must be what we call "Laadi Pav" (pronounced La-Thee - thee as in Shakespearean "thee" and "thou," TH having the 'D' sound.). Watch him get nostalgic. In fact, my uncle, who lives in Singapore, insists on having Laadi Pav every time we visit him. It's quintessentially Mumbai. Forget about Little India; even the rest of India doesn't have it, apart from Mumbai.
6: Lastly, It's personal preferences, we typically eat the bhaji more akin to roti, chapati, or naan, with gravy dishes. No chillies, just onions and lemon.
And yes, lots and lots of butter. lol
I love your inputs! My husband said you are right and especially on point 4 I should try it next time. Keep the comments coming!