Bao Bhaji

According to the responses I got from my Instagram story yesterday, a lot of people dream about food. I’m not the only one who dreams up new recipes and dishes late at night! I like to keep a running list of all the crazy things I’ve come up with in my dreams. Things like a thandai tres leches hybrid cake covered in boondi or a shrikhand creme brulee pop into my head and I keep thinking about them until I make it! Last week I had a dream about a fluffy steam bao bun filled with spicy pav bhaji top with crunchy sev and lemon-y onions. Yesterday, I made that dream come true. 

Pav bhaji is an Indian street food that consists of mashed vegetables (bhaji) with a spicy masala and butter all tucked in between a soft buttered bun (pav). For my bao bhaji I substituted the pav for bao buns! I loved this idea, especially since its a cute little pun!

I picked up my bao from my local Asian grocery store from the freezer section, but feel free to make yours at home. Just a warning, it will add an extra hour to your cook time! I ain’t got time for that so I opted for the store-bought stuff since Elara only naps for 2 hours!

For the bhaji, I used chopped tomatoes instead of purée so that my final mix would be nice and thick. I wanted to make sure the bhaji stayed on the bao without running all over the place!

Let me tell you these bao bhajis ended up being amazing! If you’re a texture fiend, this is for you! The texture of the soft bun with the crunchy onions and the pops from the peas was soooo good! I honestly think bao is better than pav! These would be a great addition to your lunch box or your dinner table!

Bao Bhaji (Pav Bhaji Baos)

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• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 12 bao bhajis (depending on the size of your baos) 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 medium eggplant, cubed
• 1 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1/3 large red onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced (optional)
• 1 tsp red pepper powder (or to your taste)
• 1 tbsp Pav Bhaji Masala (I used Badshah)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/2 cup peas (I used frozen)
• 12 bao buns (frozen or homemade)
• chopped cilantro (optional)
• sev (optional
• lime wedges

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Instructions

1. Add the cubed eggplant, potatoes, and carrots to a large pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Add about 1/2 tbsp of salt and mix. Put this on medium high heat for about 20 minutes, or 3 whistles worth if you have an old school pressure cooker like me! **
2. In a large saucepan, heat up your oil. Once the oil is hot add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once they start popping add the onions and stir. Bring the stove down to medium-low and add the garlic and ginger. Stir this around for about 1-2 minutes, or until it’s fragrant. Add the red pepper powder and stir for another minute. Now add your Pav Bhaji Masala and stir. It’ll create a pasty like mixture- but make sure to continue stirring so the spices don’t burn. You’ll start smelling all the spices heating up and your house will officially start smelling like India at this point. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir. Cover and let this simmer for about 10 minutes, mixing oevery few minutes.
3. Take your cooked vegetables from the pressure cooker and add it to the tomato mixture in the large saucepan. I used a giant wooden spoon to smash all the vegetables down into a mush. Add your frozen peas now and stir well. Add salt to taste. Let this simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Add the butter and mix until it’s melted in.
4. Grease a steaming basket with oil. Place your frozen bao buns in the steamer and steam for 7 minutes. When it’s done, spoon a couple tablespoons of the pav bhaji into the bun, top with sev, cilantro, a squeeze of lime and some additional slices of onion. Enjoy while hot!

Notes

**If you don’t have a pressure cooker, add the potato and carrots to a big pot of boiling water and cook until they are very tender and drain. Set aside. Add the eggplant (make sure they are cut into 1 inch cubes so they cook faster!) in when you add the tomatoes in the recipe and cook for 15 minutes instead of 10!

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes

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