Pav Bhaji vendor on the streets Chandni Chawk, New Delhi.
But that is not what you
see here! Oh no sir! This here, is street food, sold on the streets of New
Delhi, India. This street delicacy is called Pav Bhaji, simply
translated in English it would mean bread and vegetables.
The big round tava or
flat pan is propped up on a makeshift stove that burns a huge flame. Surrounded
by the pav, the bhaji in the center is being stirred vigorously
by man dressed in a striped shirt and dull beige pants. Behind the other tava
we see another man wearing brown pants, a shirt and sweater open at the front,
roasting bread with his right hand, probably about to put it in the plate he is
holding in his other hand, ready to be served to a customer. Between the two
men we see an aluminum pan holding stacks of butter, some still wrapped in
butter paper and the one on top open to be used to sear the bread. A couple of bricks
seem to hold everything in place on the makeshift stove while the men cook and
serve food to customers, most likely all evening, if not all day. To
serve this street delicacy the street vendors plate the vegetable curry, the
bread, chopped onions, a slice of lemon and garnish it with freshly chopped
cilantro and a blob of butter floating in the center of the bhaji.
Quite the anticlimax of a
gourmet dinner I suppose. But, you will be surprised when you hear me say that
this food can beat even the most expensive dinner you have had. Let me explain
what this food is first of all. The Bhaji is boiled and mashed
vegetables – mainly potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and green peas- cooked in a
very spicy tomato-onion base, green bell peppers and lots and lots of garlic.
Over here, when we talk about spices, I have to say that the combination of
spices used are intense – powdered red chilies, cinnamon, cumin, coriander
seeds, turmeric, cloves, bay leaf, and I am probably missing some but you get
the gist. Like I said, quite intense!
Each bite of the bread
dipped in the bhaji is a burst of flavorful fire and the familiarity
takes you to the recesses of your mind where some of the most wonderful
memories are stored. The hominess of this food makes the exquisiteness of foi
gras very pale and flavorless. The profound flavors of this dish has the power
to make your mouth and eyes water at the same time! But in this picture,
besides the stove, we see part of a tin signboard painted in yellow and red,
which states the name of an establishment and some of the items on their menu –
sweets sold either chilled or frozen- set up right next to our pavbhajiwala (or
pav bhaji seller) for obvious reasons!
The millions of street food
vendors all over the world, selling cheap, quick and amazingly tasty food are
usually so humble and yet so very proud of the food they make and sell to men
and women in every walk of life. And they should be too! By making the same
food day in and day out, they have mastered the art of cooking it to perfection
and talented or not, they are simply unbeatable at that particular art.
As Geoffrey Colvin says,
“The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted
level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will.” The vendor in this
picture was not born with some uncanny talent in cooking street food. He has
not attended any culinary school or had the privilege of any formal training.
Yet he makes pavbhaji that is not just perfect, but it sells, and sells
enough to make a profit. His aim is to be better than the competition. These
street vendors are real examples for any of us who are aspiring to achieve
expertise in any field. I could not agree more with Colvin that we do not need
to depend on our talent to make us successful or excellent. We can become great
just because we want to.
References:
Agarwal, Harsh. “A Street
Vendor, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi.” Photograph. Denharsh.com, 11 January
2011. Web. 21 April 2013.
Colvin, Geofferey. “What it
takes to be great.”CNNMoney. Fortune Magazine., 19 Oct. 2006. Web. 21
April 2013.
