Pav Bhaji is a yummy Indian street food. It’s like a tasty mash-up of spicy veggies served with soft buns and a bit of butter on top. It’s the best street food ever!
This recipe is really tasty and a bit spicy. You can make it vegan by using vegan butter instead of regular butter. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re really missing out!
I love Indian street food the most. I could eat it every day and never get tired of it, seriously! Even though I usually can’t handle a lot of spice, my tolerance magically goes up when I’m in India eating from street vendors. Especially when it comes to dishes like aloo tikki or samosa chaat.
Since forever, I’ve been a huge fan of it. You can find it all over India.
I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like pav bhaji. If I do, I’ll be really surprised. It’s so delicious and tasty, how could you not love it?
Table of Contents
What is Pav Bhaji?
Pav Bhaji is a tasty Indian street food that started in Mumbai. It’s basically spicy mashed veggies served with soft bread rolls. “Pav” is the bread, and “bhaji” is the veggies.
To make it flavorful, a special spice mix called pav bhaji masala is used, and it’s topped with lots of butter and cilantro!
This dish was created in the 1800s for workers in cotton mills who had long work hours and would miss meals. It was a quick and easy meal to feed them.
There are different types of pav bhaji. The Jain version doesn’t have onion and garlic. Kathiyawadi Pav Bhaji uses local spices and is popular in Gujarat’s Kathiawar region. Khada (Straight) Pav bhaji has whole vegetables instead of mashed ones.
Ingredients
Onion: Chop up small pieces of onion to add a nice texture and taste to pav bhaji. You can use red onions or Bombay white onions.
Tomatoes: I like using ripe red tomatoes, but you can also use canned diced or crushed tomatoes. Tomatoes are the main ingredient that gives pav bhaji its tangy flavor.
Ginger garlic: These are important for the pav bhaji masala. They make the dish flavorful, deep, and aromatic. It’s best to use fresh ginger and garlic for the best taste.
Chilli: Use green chillies and Kashmiri red chillies to balance the heat and flavor. Green chillies add a fresh heat, while Kashmiri red chillies give a rich, deep red color without being too spicy.
Vegetables: I prefer using the usual set of vegetables in pav bhaji – potatoes, green bell pepper, cauliflower, carrots, and green peas. Boil and mash these vegetables together to make the bhaji (gravy) for the pav.
Butter: Add plenty of salted butter to pav bhaji; it’s what makes the dish rich and flavorful. I like Amul butter, but if you don’t have it, you can use Lurpak butter or any other brand of salted butter.
Fresh coriander: Sprinkle chopped fresh coriander for a burst of fresh flavors in the dish. Use it as a garnish on top of the pav bhaji.
Lemon: Lemon juice adds a tangy kick to the dish. Put a small amount of lemon juice in the bhaji while it’s cooking, and add more on top of the dish when serving.
How to Make Pav Bhaji Masala (Homemade Masala)
You can find this spice mix easily in Indian stores. It’s a mix of spices like coriander, cumin seeds, fennel, cinnamon, dried mango powder, and more. I like the Everest brand for pav bhaji spice, but you can use any brand you prefer!
To make pav bhaji spice, you’ll need:
Masala Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds (20 grams)
- 2 tablespoon cumin seeds (18 grams)
- 5 dried red chilies (3-4 grams), adjust to taste
- 8 cloves
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (9 grams)
- 3 black cardamom
- 1 cinnamon stick, around 2 inches
- 1.5 teaspoon turmeric powder (6 grams)
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper (6 grams)
- 1.5 tablespoon amchur (18 grams)
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (1 gram)
- 2 teaspoon black salt (12 grams)
Method
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chilies, cloves, fennel seeds, black cardamom and cinnamon stick in a pan on medium heat until fragrant, around 3 to 4 minutes.
Let it cool and then transfer spices to a spice grinder. Stir turmeric powder, ground black pepper, amchur, ground ginger and black salt.
Grind until powdered and well combined. Store pav bhaji masala in an airtight container at room temperature and use as required.
This makes around 100 grams of masala.
How to Make Pav Bhaji – Step by Step
1- Boil the veggies first and keep them ready.
2- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and oil in a large pot on medium heat. Once the butter melts and oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
3- Add the chopped onions and mix. I like to use my food processor to chop them really fine.
4- Cook the onions for around 4 minutes until golden brown in color. Add the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chili. Again, I used my food processor to chop them really fine.
Cook the ginger-garlic-green chili for 1 minute.
Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook for 2 minutes.
6- Add tomato puree, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover the pan and let the tomato cook for 6 minutes until softened and completely cooked.
7- Add the pav bhaji masala, Kashmiri red chili powder, red chili powder and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. You may also add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar here (optional).
8- Mix well and then add in 2 teaspoons of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
9- Mix the boiled veggies into the mixture.
10- Mash the veggies with a potato masher until they blend well with the spices.
11- Add the remaining 3/4 – 1 cup water and mix. You can use a blender to make it into a paste if you want, but it’s not necessary.
12- Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
13- Open the pot and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.
14- Put a lot of chopped cilantro into the mix.
15- Next, squeeze the juice from one big lemon and add it. Let the bhaji cook for an extra 2 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
16- For the pav, melt butter in a pan. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on the butter and put the buns on the pan.
17- Press and toast the buns until they are crispy and golden brown on both sides.
HOW TO SERVE ?
To make Pav Bhaji, scoop two spoonfuls of the bhaji onto a plate and add some salted butter on top. To get the real taste of Mumbai-style Pav Bhaji, serve it with buttered dinner rolls, red onions, lemon wedges, and fresh coriander.
TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST PAV BHAJI
- Avoid using artificial colour and follow the technique mentioned above instead.
- Use fresh ingredients for best results.
- Put lots of tasty salted butter in your Pav Bhaji.
- Serve the bhaji with buttery ladi pav, chopped onions, a lemon wedge, and more butter.
- Toast the ladi pav or eggless dinner rolls with butter before serving.
- You can also add pav bhaji masala to the pav bun, but it’s your choice.
- Don’t replace curry powder or garam masala; it won’t give the same taste as Pav Bhaji
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can you make Pav Bhaji Vegan?
Yes, just replace the butter with vegan butter.
Which is the best Pav bhaji masala?
I love Everest masala personally but there are several others like MDH, Badshah etc. You can use the one you like!
Nutrition
- Calories: 241kcal |
- Carbohydrates: 29.3g |
- Fat: 13.9g |
- Saturated Fat: 6.7g |
- Cholesterol: 25mg |
- Sodium: 1563mg |
- Potassium: 647mg |
- Fiber: 8.3g |
- Sugar: 8.3g |
- Vitamin D: 7µg |
- Calcium: 47mg |
- Iron: 1mg
