Shumaila Chauhan upgrades popular Indian street food Kheema Pav with walnuts and boiled eggs.
Instead of serving the mince and bread separately, she gives the dish a makeover and serves the kheema inside the pav.
Photograph: California Walnuts
Kheema Stuffed Pav
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
- 400 gm minced mutton or chicken kheema
- Water
- 2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
- ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 4 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 4-6 pods garlic, minced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Handful fresh green dhania or coriander or cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
For the pav buns
- 8 pav buns
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp milk
- Pinch salt
- Pinch black pepper powder
To serve
- Finely sliced onion
- 2-3 lemons, cut into wedges
Method
- In a saucepan, heat the ghee.
Cook the minced meat with the coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt.
Keeping adding a few tsp of water until all of the water has evaporated and the kheema is cooked.
Keep aside.
In the same pan, heat the oil.
Saute the onions till translucent.
Add the green chillies, garlic, ginger paste and fry till fragrant.
Add the minced meat, garam masala, walnuts.
Stir till the masala is dry.
Garnish with cilantro.
Take off heat.
- Using a knife, cut out a round or square piece from the bottom of the pavs.
Keep the cut pieces aside.
Remove some crumbs from the inner section without breaking the bun.
Repeat with the remaining buns.
- Stuff a bun with 1½ tbsp of kheema masala, but depending on the size of the pav, adjust the filling.
Place a slice of boiled egg on top of the filling.
Top again with 1-2 tbsp of the kheema masala.
Cover with a small piece of the cut pav and crumbs.
Press gently.
- Repeat for the other buns.
Make sure the buns are properly filled, but take care that you do not break the buns while filling.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with the milk, salt, pepper.
Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp of ghee/butter over medium heat.
Dip the bun in the beaten egg covering all sides with the egg batter.
Place the buns bottom side first in the pan.
This will help seal it.
Shallow fry for 1-2 minutes per side.
Serve warm.
Note: In case a part of the bun breaks, use the crumbs that were removed to patch up the open part.
Once you coat it with egg and cook, the crumbs will also cook and the breaks will be fixed.
For a healthier alternative use whole wheat buns and keep oil and ghee to the minimum.
Dining with vegans or vegetarians? Serve them Reshma Aslam's Paneer Pav Bhaji.
Most bread or rolls or pav may have a higher sodium content. Opt to make your own pav or rolls from scratch using Georgina Umdor's Bread Roll/Pav [external link] recipe: Mix 450 gm maida or all-purpose flour, 7 gm instant yeast, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 350 ml lukewarm water and knead for 5-7 minutes into a smooth dough.
Cover and allow it to rise for an hour.
Knead again till smooth and divide into 8 round pieces.
Place, spaced out, on a baking sheet to rise for a further 30 minutes. Brush with a little beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at 220 ° C for 10-15 minutes or till golden brown.
Shumaila Chauhan is the creator of the food blog Novice Housewife.
