Kheema pav

Here's a recipe for another of Mumbai's delicious street food 'Kheema Pav'. My father would often take me to eat at 'Olympia Coffee House' located at Colaba, Mumbai. whenever I went with him to his workplace. I still go there with him sometimes just because its irresistible! (You also get a really delicious caramel custard you'd want to try if you decide to go to visit Olympia Coffee House, which I advice you should, because they serve delicious food, TRUST ME!). Anyway Kheema pav was also a breakfast favourite in our house after all you are supposed to have breakfast like a king. So here's the recipe, I have added dill to this recipe just for a little fresh twist to the flavour. 

Ingredients:

Mutton kheema (minced meat) (1/4 kg)
Shepu bhaji (Dill leaves) (1 bowl)
Onion (1 big) (diced)
Tomato (1 big) (diced)
Green chilli (4) (centrally slit) 
Coriander 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste (1 tbsp)
Garam masala powder (1/2 tsp)
Turmeric powder (1/4 tsp)
Red chilli powder (1 tbsp) (you may add more or less according to how spicy you want it)
Water 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil (1 big spoon or 5 tbsp) 
Pav (6)

Method:

1. Wash the minced meat well and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok and add onion and sauté till the onion turns a nice brown colour.
3. Add the tomato paste, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder and mix well.
4. Cook well for 2 mins. Add red chilli powder, garam masala powder, green chillies, coriander and salt.
5. Cook well till the oil starts separating and the raw smell of the masala's goes away.
6. Add the minced meat to this and mix well.
7. Add half a cup of water and give it a nice stir again.
8. Cover the lid and cook well for 10 mins or until the meat is almost cooked.
9. At this point add the dill leaves (shepu bhaji) and mix well. Cover the lid again and cook for another 5 mins. 
10. Before you turn off the flame make sure to check that both the meat and dill leaves are thoroughly cooked, if not than cook until its done.
11. To serve, Make a central slit in a pav and fill the kheema in along with some onion rings. Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice and ta-da!! enjoy:)

Kachori (Stuffed Puff pastry)

Kachori or Kachodi is a popular Indian snack, often served with different chutneys and curd. A crisp and flaky pastry filled with moong daal (golden gram) and spice mixture. There is a little bit of hard work involved here, i won't lie but the end result is worth it completely, i assure. As to this particular recipe, there is this small yet beautiful village in Satara, Maharashtra called Phaltan, that is where my mother was born and brought up. Also where I spent almost all my summer vacations while i was in school, the one thing I never miss eating while I am in Phaltan is this amazing 'kachori'. This man, the second or third generation of the family making these amazing puff pastries, works alone to keep the recipe a secret! Every time I have been there I have had to wait at least for an hour because of the constant rush of people and the fact that he works alone and prepares every order to the perfection, which is irritating sometimes when you are drooling because of the fragrances but the moment you put the kachori into your mouth, you are in another world completely! I have had kachori's from a lot of places but this one is out of the world, so I had to get the recipe but even after trying all my contacts and every way to persuade him to let out the recipe, the man did not budge:( so i decided to do a dissection of the kachori and find out what goes into its making, and to the content of my heart i have almost nailed it!! i have eaten atleast 7 of these and can't move anymore, So here it is for you guys to enjoy too:)

Ingredients for the dough:

Maida (plain flour) (1 and 1/2 cup)

Roasted rawa (semolina) (1/4 cup)

Ghee (2 tsp)

salt (1/4 tsp)

water (as needed)

Oil (for frying)

Ingredients for the filling:

Moong daal (golden gram) (1 cup) (soaked in water for 2 hours)

Green chili (3)

Coriander (1 tbsp)

Ginger (1 inch piece)

Red chili powder (1 tsp)

Saunf (fennel seeds) (1/2 tsp)

Zeera (cumin) (1 tsp)

Garam Masala (1/2 tsp)

Coriander powder (1 tsp)

Hing (asafetida) (a pinch)

Salt (to taste)

Oil (2 tbsp)

Ingredients for imli chutney:

Imli (tamrind) (3 tbsp)

Gud (jaggery) (3 tbsp)

water (1 cup)

Ingredients for green ragda:

White vatana (yellow peas) (2  cups) (soaked in water overnight)

Turmeric powder (1 tsp)

Green chili (4)

Coriander (1/2 cup)

Chaat masala (2 tspn)

Pani puri masala (2 tspn)

water 

Salt

 Moong daal before and after cooking. That's how you want it to look once its cooked.

Roll out small portions of dough into a small circle, the size shown in the picture.Place one spoon full of the moong daal filling in the center. Bring together all the sides and seal tightly.

Roll the filled portion again into a circle, but ensure that the filling does not spill out. Fry these in hot oil on medium flame until golden brown from both sides, and you are good to go.

Method for the dough:

1. Mix the flour, semolina and salt together in a deep bowl.
2. Heat the ghee for 1 min and pour it over the flour. Rub the flour with both your hands to form a bread crumb like texture.
3. Add the water and knead into a soft but firm dough.
4. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Method for the filling:

1. Drain the moong daal and grind it coarsely in a mixture.
2. Remove from the mixture jar and keep aside. In the same jar grind the rest of the ingredients for the filling except for the asafedita, salt and oil. 
3. Heat oil in a deep bottomed non-stick pan and add the chilli mixture to it and add the asafedita and mix well.
4. Saute for 2 mins and add the moong daal to it.
5. Mix well and add 1/2 cup of water to it. Continue to cook on medium flame while stirring in  between.
6. Cook till the daal is soft.
7. Switch off the flame and let the filling cool.

Method for green ragda:

1. Pressure cook the white vatana along with turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of salt, till the vatana is completely cooked.
2. Grind the chili and coriander.
3. Mix the chili and coriander in the ragda along with the rest of the ingredients and keep aside.

Method for imli chutney:

1. Soak the tamrind and Jaggery in the water for an hour.
2. Squeeze the tamrind and remove from water, the jaggery must have dissolved in the water by now.
3. Mix well and keep aside. 

Method for making the kachori:

1. Divide the dough into 12-15 equal portions and keep aside.
2. Roll out each portion of the dough into a small circle.Place one spoon full of the moong daal filling in the center.
3. Bring together all the sides, seal it tightly.
4. Roll the filled portion again into a circle, but ensure that the filling does not spill out.
5. Make the rest of the kachori’s in the same way.
6. Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. And fry 2 kachori's at one time till nicely golden brown on both sides.
7. Serve immediately, make a hole in the kachori fill it with both the chutneys and serve. Enjoy:)