Pav bhaji

[koshfoodie]

Last year I spent some time in India. I indulged in a fair amount of street food and really loved a dish called pav (pau) bhaji. Does anyone know where is Vancouver I can find an authentic version?

Thanks!

[kinnickinnik]

I searched pav bhaji to see what it was. When searching the term with Vancouver, the first result was for this Gujarati restaurant:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/568123

I wonder if it's still there? I haven't had Gujarati food since Surat Sweet was around.

[fmed]

Prayag Raj is closed unfortunately. I haven't see pav bhaji here (not that I have been looking all that closely for it.)

[À la carte]

I haven't had a really authentic version here and now can't recall the names of the restaurants at which I've tried it. It is really hard to get "authentic" Indian street food in Vancouver -- even the places that carry different chats don't get the flavours right. If you're OK with something less than the real thing, and are willing to try it at home, most of the Indian groceries sell pav bhaji masala mixes.

[koshfoodie]

Thanks for the replies. It's hard to believe in such a diverse city that we are unable to find this dish.

@alacarte I actually brought back a stack of spice mixes but can't find the brand here that I like. Also, it is never the same....

[oiboy]

I haven't seen pav bhaji either. The prepackaged stuff from Trader Joe's comes very close though. Just add fresh red onions and butter. We used fresh pan de sal from Aling Mary's instead on pav.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pye6pnZpjfs&feature=related

Yum

Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe:
http://www.grouprecipes.com/9948/pav-...

[À la carte]

Yes, well, no matter what I do I can never fully recreate the street food taste (and the restaurants I've been to, whether in India, the U.K. or here, can't seem to do it either) -- maybe its the je ne sais quoi of the diesel or petrol fumes, or the canal (aka sewer) water....

[fmed]

Could be missing the karahi equivalent of 'wok hei'.

[À la carte]

Was just poking around some restaurant websites -- Mahek Chat House out in Surrey has it on their menu. I know you'd specified Vancouver, but just in case you're out in the area and wanted to check it out...