My mother taught me to respect vegetables. I mean truly respect them. Never drown a vegetable in a sauce or spice that takes away its own flavour, she used to say to me. On a visit to Canada more than a decade ago, I watched her deft touch, rings on her dainty fingers, as she cooked a delicious bhaaji in my kitchen in Burnaby, B.C. — and it changed my life.
Also, and I’m probably going to date myself horribly here, when I think of a bhaaji I always remember a British movie in the early 1990s called Bhaji on the Beach. It is a delightful story of solidarity amongst a group of women of South Asian origin in the UK. I cant’t find it on Amazon Prime Canada, alas, but if you can get hold of it, watch it while you have this bhaaji for dinner tonight!
If you’re struggling with how to say the word, bhaaji, I’ll tackle that in a moment. First I’m sure you’re wondering, so what’s a bhaaji? A bhaaji is vegetables cooked in a special way, sort of sautéd and stir-cooked, with very little oil and a discerning selection of spices. I don’t like to call this process stir-frying because it isn’t on high heat all the time and there’s less frying in oil involved, and it’s not what we do when we make a saalan or curry, by browning or bhoon-na. In other words, it’s partly sautéd and partly stir-cooked. The end product has the flavours of a light curry and it’s dry. I’ve changed the process a bit, following one of my favourite cooking blogs, and what I do is first roast the vegetables because that not only gives the dish an incredible, smoky flavour, but also, it’s efficient in terms of time.
About the word: the origin of bhaaji is ancient Sanskrit, from the word bharjita (full disclosure: I googled it) which evidently means to fry or roast, not in an oven I imagine, but on a hob, possibly on a thick griddle. I do know that in many parts of South Asia, it’s also called a bhujia. The word and dish appear around the world, wherever South Asians have travelled, wherever they’ve eaten vegetables — in places as far away from South Asia as the Caribbean and in the land where I grew up, Bangladesh. In Bangla, the word bhaajo is the verb, to fry; and bhaaja is the adjective. Fried fish for instance, is maach bhaaja.
How do you say it though? Bhaaji may be tough on your tongue if you don’t speak a South Asian language. True, there are words in English that begin with bh – bhang (country liquor), or bhangra (dance form) but they originate in South Asian languages. I searched and could find one word, abhorrent in English that combines bh, but it doesn’t quite capture the essence of the bh sound in Urdu, Bangla, Hindi and Punjabi, and many other languages too I imagine. So try to combine b and h and think of Bhaaji as rhymes with Darcy! Okay. I’ll stop talking about words before the wordsmith in me bores you to tears!
What I love about a bhaaji is that it’s incredibly versatile in the sense that you can serve it as a side, with a range of main dishes but for vegetarians in particular, it serves as an excellent main. Across Bangladesh, a bhaaji is often the main course for working class folks, a starter for the more affluent, eaten with plain boiled rice and also, with hot flat breads like chappati or naan. And it is distinct from a vegetable saalan or curry, which has a sauce. I am going to be a snob here, (forgive me) but a bhaaji is also different from a sabzi — the name that is imaginatively given to all vegetable dishes by some northern South Asians. Sabzi means yes, you guessed it, vegetables. Rather like calling everything green on your table, uh..greens.
Bhaaji has to be light, aromatic and al dente. You ought to be able to taste individual pieces while also feeling the unity of the dish. It cannot be soggy or mushy. If your andaaz is off and your vegetables become too tender and soft (this can happen, my earlier bhaaji experiments, trust me, have produced pudding-like results!) there is a way out: you add water and make it into a Bangladeshi niramish, a vegetable stew. I’m going to post a wonderful and easy recipe about my niramish adventures very soon!
Likely questions:
1) Can you skip the first step? Yes. You can go straight to step two and stir-cook this bhaaji, but in that case add the spices for the roast (garlic paste and turmeric) and oil to the mix in your wok (2 tbsp cooking oil; I use olive oil only when roasting because it has a low smoke point);
2) Do you have to use all the spices listed in this recipe? For best results, yes, please use the spices I’ve listed. Panch Phoron or Five Spice Mix is a combination of: whole cumin, fennel, mustard, fenugreek and nigella seeds. If you can’t get the mix, try cumin instead, with any one of the other seeds. I wouldn’t play around with the mix because it wouldn’t have the desired flavour. Oh yes, my friend P told me the other day that her husband is allergic to onions and garlic — well, if you have similar issues, try tomatoes instead of onions, and ginger instead of garlic. Or better still, drop me a line and I’ll suggest alternatives.
3) Where do you get the Bangladeshi Five Spice Mix? I make mine at home but South Asian stores usually have it. I’ve given you a brief description in case you want to make it yourself.
4) Can you make a bhaaji with other vegetables? Yes, for sure. You can make a bhaaji out of virtually anything, including your ex. I’m going to be posting other recipes soon!
Enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
To Roast
- 1 head cauliflower, fairly large
- 1 pound French beans
- 2 tsp. garlic paste
- ½ tsp salt
- a dash turmeric (haldi) powder
- 2 tbsp olive oil (because it doesn’t burn)
To Stir Fry
- 6 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 2 dried red chillies with seeds taken out (or 2 tsp red chilly flakes)
- 1 tsp panch phoron (Five Spice Mix)
- ½ cup finely sliced onions
- ½ tsp turmeric (haldi)
- ¼ cup Canola oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
Roast vegetables:
- Heat oven to 475 degrees F.
- Wash and chop cauliflower into uniform sized smallish pieces, approximately 2 cm across and 3 cm in length. I use the whole vegetable, stalk and leaves included.
- Wash and chop French beans into about the same 3 cm pieces. Toss in a bowl with garlic paste, salt, turmeric and olive oil. Arrange on a baking tray or dish.
- Bake on upper rack for 15 minutes.
Stir Fry:
- While your vegetables are roasting, break the whole red chillies in half and empty out the seeds — this ensures you get a lovely flavour but not the kind of heat that will blow your head off!
- In your wok or skillet (I recommend a wok) heat Canola oil on medium heat, and fry the red chillies and panch phoron (five spice mix) for about a minute or so, until the spices release their flavours.
- Add diced garlic and fry for less than a minute; don’t let them burn.
- Add onions, and salt and cook on low heat until onions are soft and light beige in colour. This should take about 8 – 10 minutes.
- Add the roasted vegetables.
- Add turmeric.
- Cook on medium heat for 10 – 12 minutes, turning regularly, until they are tender but not mushy. Serve.
Yummy I must try this! Your blog is making me very hungry!
Also great pictures to go with the recipes. Keep it up!
Dear Abeer,
Lovely to hear from you! Thank you for writing to me.
Almas
Enjoyed reading the background to Bhaji as much as I am sure I will enjoy the actual dish. . Very simple step by step directions. Thank you for starting this blog, I look forward to reading future posts.
Dear Suburban Foodie,
Thank you for writing and I hope you will enjoy the bhaaji! Also, love your name!
Almas
At the moment my repertoire of cooking vegetables is very limited. This looks like a great start. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment Ashfaque Azad! I do have other meat and chicken recipes on my blog though. I will send you the links right now!
Almas
Here they are
https://talkingoffood.ca/2020/06/20/succulent-chicken-karhai/
https://talkingoffood.ca/2020/05/29/dry-ground-beef-curry/
Hi Almas
Congratulations! Your blog looks great. I will be sharing with several people but in particular, Janan who will want to try the first recipe for sure. It will be perfect for Terry and maybe she will even make it for me when I can go there for dinner again.
Love, Jacquie
Hi Jacquie,
Wonderful to hear from you and thank you for sharing my blog! I can see Janan and Terry enjoying the vegetable dish for sure.
Almas
This is amazing! I couldn’t stop reading and will definitely try this – didn’t know anything about the word bhaji so thank you for that education too!!
Thank you Ayla!! Glad you like it. There are other recipes too — meat and chicken — on the blog and I’m going to be posting more soon!
Dear Almas
Really enjoyed reading the history! And can’t wait to try all the recipes!
Dear Naveen,
Thank you! I hope to post more recipes and stories every week!
This recipe sounds delicious yet easy to do… I will most definitely try it and let you know how it goes!
Thank you Kamil!
Love the story with the recipe. The pictures with your clear instructions have me feeling a lot more confident about attempting South Asian cooking, thank you!!
Hi Ameera,
Thank you so much for your comment! Keep logging in for more recipes!
Can’t wait to try thid
Thank you Dhahnaz!
I don’t know which I enjoyed more….the lead up to the recipe or the recipe itself. I just LOVED it and am waiting for more recipes. This I will make tomorrow. Cannot wait. Congratulations Almas. This is just a fabulous blog and I cannot wait to keep reading. Will get Panch Phoron as well.
This is a good read with a recipe to boot. Will wait anxiously for more.
Thank you Nazli! I hope you enjoy making the bhaaji. And yes, I intend to keep posting more recipes. Your comments are always welcome!
I made it, I made it, I made it, and it was finger licking good.Timmy and the girls just loved it. So full of flavour and scrumptious.
Will try the Karahi chicken next.
Thank you for such easy and delicious recipes with the added enjoyment of all the wit , humour, and history in the narration.
Thank you! It is great to know that you and your family enjoyed this dish! Your message really encourages me to keep on writing and cooking.
Awesome! Such a great read!
Thank you Madiha!
Very interesting! I agree with all the positive comments posted here. Looking forward to more.
Thank you for your interest! Please let me know how it goes when you try out my recipes.
Congratulations on your blog !
It was a great read ! Loved the personal touch to the story. Will try the recipe soon. In Shaa Allah.
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The roasting of the vegetables for the bhaaji is a brilliant idea, ( this avoids the mushy vegetable if boiled) Thank you
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Love it 😋
Remember Aunty s food, wonderful description and recipes
Thank you! I remember her too. I hope you will subscribe to my blog for updates when there is a new post. It is free to subscribe!
Almas, great intro to this vegetable dish. I love the idea of the panch phoron, just need some fenugreek seeds and I will try this vegetable dish — with some chicken on the side. Love the photos and the information. I might even learn to cook some desi foods.
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Looking forward to trying them out. All the best
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Congratulations, Almas! The site is great. Enjoyed reading all about Bhaji and have been trying to think of another word in English that has the bh sound! Love the memory about your mother – she was so elegant and you depicted that so well of your description of her in your kitchen. Good luck with the blog!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it; please do let me know if you can think of a word in English that begins with the bh sound.
I hope you will subscribe to my blog for updates when there is a new post. It is free to subscribe!
Dear Cuz! Congrats on your blog! Now I’ll be able to learn to cook bhaji as it is meant to be cooked! Ammi would have loved it!
Dear Fawzia, Wonderful to hear from you! Yes, I know my mother also loved Bhaaji. Happy cooking!
Absolutely great blog Almas. I am not a good cook at all but with your mouth watering recipes I hope to produce some great meals.
Keep it up and many congratulations wish you all the success
Thank you for your appreciation! I hope you will continue to enjoy the posts!