Sloppy Joes - Veggie Style!

Pav Bhaji (pow bah jee) is one of the most famous Mumbai street foods one can find. You have not tasted Mumbai until you have had the Pav Bhaji at Juhu beach at one of many stalls in the food court. What is it you ask? I had a friend come over for dinner last night and asked me this question, and the best way I could explain it to them is that it is a vegetarian sloppy joe. Essentially, it's a really tasty, spicy vegetable mush that you slap in between two buttered, toasted white buns (I guess you could use multigrain bread and olive oil to super healthify the dish, but then it would lose its authenticity). Incredibly healthy, very little fat, super satisfying. One down side to this dish is that you cannot make a little of it. You have to make a whole pot of it. So if you are planning to feed a vegetarian army, this is a great dish. Also great for potlucks too!!
The picture on the right is one of the pav bhaji stands at Juhu beach in Mumbai. You can see the warm buns on the left side of the large pan, and the red, spicy pav bhaji on the right.

Ingredients

1 medium sized head of cauliflower, chopped somewhat finely
1.5 cups of peas, fresh or frozen
2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 green pepper, diced
any other vegetables that you need to get rid of, diced.
salt to your taste
1 small can of tomato paste
2 tbsp coriander powder
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp mango powder (if you dont have this, don't worry, just add extra lemon at the end)
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil (not olive or other easy burning oil)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, diced
2 green chillies, finely chopped (if you dont have this, add 2 tsp cayenne pepper to the vegetable mix)
lemon
cilantro, chopped
sweet purple onion, finely diced
toasted, buttered buns

Directions

1. In a large pot, add about 1 cup of boiling water, and add all vegetables except for the onion and green chillies. Let this cook on medium high heat for about 20 minutes, until all vegetables are quite tender.
2. Using a hand blender, roughly blend all ingredients right in the pot.
3. Stir in can of tomato paste. If the blend is too thick, add a little water.
4. Add all coriander power, cumin powder, garam masala and mango powder and mix well. Reduce heat to low, and allow the mixture to simmer. Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat oil on high heat, add cumin seeds.
5. Once seeds begin to pop, add the chillies and onion with a p inch of salt. Reduce heat to medium, and stir for 2-3 minutes, until onions are softened.
6. Add this mixture to the large pot of vegetable mush and stir in well.
7. Turn heat off, and add chopped cilantro.
8. Serve with fresh squeezed lemon, some freshly diced purple onion, and toasted buns and enjoy!