Guacamole - Si! Hurra, Oh Si!

Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/guacamole-520-b.jpg

Guacamole, in my opinion, is the quintessential dip with lebanese bread, nachos, chips or crackers at any party, lazy evening, or just because ...

Traditionally from Mexico, this delightful side made with ripe avocados, lemon, <garlic>, <tomato>, <coriander> (<x> implies that x is optional) is refreshing, healthy, and tasty all at the same time unlike many Indian dishes :D

Ingredients (serves 3-4 as a dip before mains)

3 just a little ripe avocados (i don't like them too ripe, else you get a squishy smelly brown guacamole). the easiest way to check ripeness is a) color - bright green implies not ripe (but sometimes due to artifical ripening, even green ones can be ripe) and hence b) just press them a bit at the top and if they are soft like a fresh banana, they are ripe. they should NOT be tooooo soft like a banana turned black

1 clove of garlic

salt to taste

1 green chilli

1/2 lime

Optional:

1 tomato (not too ripe), diced fine
1/2 spanish onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander

crush the garlic (and if you are using, green chilli) really well in a mortar pestle to get the juices out. trust me, you don't want to have a conversation with anyone after you have chewed on one of those bad boys, especially if you have made it for a first date :D

if you are using them, dice the tomato and onion fairly finely

scoop out the avocados, mix all the ingredients, serve in a bowl with bread/ chips/ doritos, naan, etc.
My favorite bread with guacamole is lebanese

Pyaaz tamatar ka kachummar (Onion Tomato Salad)

Nice and simple stuff. Great on the side for many dishes like Pav Bhaj, Mutton Curry, Biryani, Palak Paneer, Pulao, Khichdi, and more!

Ingredients (for 4 people): Red Onion - 1 medium, Ripe Tomato (but not collapsing) - 2 medium, Coriander (to have 1 tablespoon chopped), Lime - 1/2, Sugar - 1.5 teaspoon, Salt to taste, Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon (or even lesser if you don't want it spicy). Slice the onions nice and thin. Dice the tomatoes into small pieces (not so small that they squish into puree :D), Mix all the ingredients together well with hand so that the juices all mix well. 

Last minute tip: Optionally, you can add a tablespoon of olive oil but if you want.

pav bhaji / paav bhaaji

Pav bhaji is probably the most coveted fast food in India. Though it is widely believed to have it's origin in bombay, millions of people relish this delicious dish everyday all over India.

Earlier today, I cooked Pav Bhaji for 200 people. I was very lucky to have Gunjan, Sagar and Tracy to help with the Bhaji. With their help, we finished cooking the bhaji in under two hours. At the event, we COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! Unfortunately we had to turn a few people away but at least there were 200 satisfied (hopefully) foodies. Here're some pictures from the event:

Source: Den Angelles

Ingredients: to serve 8

24 hamburger rolls (3 at least per person)
butter 300 grams
potatoes 400 grams
onions 200 grams
cauliflower 200 grams
eggplant 200 grams
peas 200 grams
tomatoes 200 grams
capsicum 200 grams
ginger garlic paste (make fresh preferably) 2 tablespoon
cumin seeds 1 heaped teaspoon (i wouldn't mind 1.5 actually)
badshah/ everest (i *know* these are good) pav bhaji masala 1 teaspoon for simple, 2 teaspoon for spicy
coriander for garnishing
lime - 1, cut into half and another cut into pieces for serving
Salt to taste

Heat 100 grams butter in a saucepan, add cumin seeds, and fry diced onions.

Dice all the veggies (except peas of course) and boil potatoes, cauli, peas, eggplant, capsicum together. The veggies should be soft in 20 minutes. Potatoes and Caulis take the most time so try and crush them and see if they aer soft.

By the time the veggies are 5 mins into boiling, add the ginger garlic paste and continue cooking it. By the time the veggies are 10 mins into boiling, onions should be soft and you can add pav bhaji masala and tomatoes. This masala should be done by the time the veggies boil (20 minutes time period). Add the boiled veggies, salt and another 100 grams butter to the onion tomato mix and mash, mash, mash and then mash again. Dilute just a little bit if it's very thick. Bhaji should have the consistency so that it can be flipped with a turner. Garnish with chopped coriander, squeeze one lime and mix. Give each person a small piece of lime if they want to add it later. You can also serve pyaaz (onion) and tamatar (tomato) kachummar with it - recipe coming soon :)

For the hamburger rolls, you can baste them with butter and fry them in a pan. I like the rolls pan fried but still a bit soft.