Colonization of India has impacted us in many ways. One very significant influence that is evident is that of food. Several food fusions and introductions have been documented by food historians. After the Pav Bhaji Saturday I decided to share the history of this leavened flat bread.
’PAV’ the famous street food of Mumbai is the result of the advent of Portuguese in the western coast of India. They controlled the Goan region for a long time and their staple food of bread, butter and potatoes became popular. The Portuguese preferred a type of yeast leavened bread called “pão”.The paucity of yeast created a need for an effective substitute and thus toddy fermented breads came into existence and the” pav” and other Goan breads were born. The movement of these flat breads to the city of Mumbai happened around 1960 along with the migrant workers. These workers carried along with them the skill of baking ‘pav” breads which later became a signature staple of the Mumbai street food.
Today I tried my hand at baking these soft ladi pavs as they are commonly referred by the people of Mumbai.My search for a recipe yielded several results but I finally zeroed in on the recipe by CookingShooking Eggless ladi pav. I sprinkled some caraway and sesame seeds before popping them into the oven and the baked pavs were super soft and delicious. I decided to serve these warm buns with cheese and cucumber slices .Microgreens added to the colour and nutrition of the plate. A good dinner baked and plates wiped clean in no time by my family.
For the recipe refer CookingShooking Ladi pav Bread buns recipe
