Mumbai's Pav Bhaji Recipe | How to make Mumbai street style Pav Bhaji.
Pav Bhaji, is a delicious medley of vegetables that we serve with pillowy soft Indian bread Pav. A crowd pleaser, world famous Indian street food, the best recipe for Pav Bhaji to make at home with my simple and easy to follow instructions.
About the Recipe
Pav Bhaji one of the most loved street food from the streets of Mumbai...Pav is the Indian Dinner Rolls and Bhaji is a spicy buttery potato based curry of mixed vegetables.
Pav or the dinner rolls are smeared in butter, toast pavs on griddle and serve with buttery and spicy Bhaji. Top with chopped onions and lemon wedges. It's a spicy buttery filling meal on it's own.
A brief history of Pav Bhaji
What started as the quick meal for Mumbai Mills workers around 1850s (source Wikipedia and locals from Mumbai), got started served at the restaurants and local vendors, is now popular throughout India among all the Indians of all age groups. The taste of Pav Bhaji that you get from Mumbai local restaurants and cart vendors is something that you can't get elsewhere in India and the same for the Pav.
It is a regular in my house as my kids love Pav Bhaji and for me also it is one of the best ways to feed mixed veggies like carrots and peas to kids in a yummy way.
Pro-tips to make perfect street style Pav Bhaji
Sharing here few tips and tricks to make Mumbai Street Style Bhaji.
- Butter, Butter, Butter!!! the more the better and yummier!! If there are no dietary restrictions use butter open-heartedly.. the real taste comes with butter. But yes if you are following fat-free diet regime or avoiding fats in your food then use less of butter but do add.
- More of tomatoes and less of onion while making the curry. Use fresh tomatoes and the more the tomatoes the more the yummier!! Whenever making for special occasions or guests use store-bought tomato pure along with fresh tomato puree. It enhances the taste and color of Bhaji.
- You can also blend about half beet root or 1 small red capsicum or 1-2 dry red chillies(take out the seeds to reduce the heat) to get vibrant red color.
- Don't skip capsicum and don't boil it with other veggies, fry it with onions before adding the tomato puree.
- Don't blend the boiled veggies too smooth in the blender, just mash nicely with a potato masher.
- Add some lemon juice, chopped onions and fresh coriander when you serve with hot buttery Pav.
- And the most important and essential is Pav Bhaji Masala. This special spice blend of around 12-15 Indian spices gives the characteristic flavor to Bhaji. You can also use it to make Tawa Pulao or fried rice. It is available at Indian grocery stores if you are not living in India.
- Badshah and Everest Brand are best masala brands for me. Use whichever is available to you.
For the detailed post on how to make Pav, click here->Pav(Indian Dinner Rolls)
If you love baking you will surely love to try this Bhaji Stuffed Pav recipe
How to make Bhaji
For making Bhaji you can use any mix of veggies along with potatoes as Bhaji is potato based curry. Many people who don't eat potatoes( many members of Jain religion) use yam/sweet potatoes or even raw banana instead of potatoes. I have never used yam in bhaji so can't comment on the quantity used.
I use basic veggies potatoes, carrots, peas for making bhaji curry in onion-tomato masala gravy flavored with ginger and garlic. Half beetroot or red bell pepper or as per the quantity adds bright red color to bhaji.
You can also add zucchini, green pumpkin, cauliflower as per your preference.
For no-onion no-garlic version skip onions and garlic in the recipe
Steps to make Street Style Bhaji
You can use store-bought pavs or any dinner rolls/burgers if pav bread is not available. For homemade Pav, recipe click on the here.
Serve hot and Bhaji garnished with fresh coriander leaves and onions with a dash of lemon with hot buttery Pav!!
Bhaji Variations
Try giving it some twist to your usual Bhaji.. grate some cheese in hot Bhaji or add some small Paneer cubes(Indian Cottage Cheese)or Queso Cheese into the bhaji and there you have the other famous version of Bhaji.
Pav Bhaji Fondue is another yumm way of serving especially for parties and get togethers.(will soon upload the recipe)
Cheese or Paneer Pav Bhaji. Bhaji is gluten-free and if you skip butter, it is perfect for vegans too.
With the convenience of Instant Pot you can now make Pav Bhaji as One pot recipe in your Instant Pot or any electric Pressure Cooker.
Checkout my detailed post Instant Pot Pav Bhaji Recipe.
Recipe Card for Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker(Indian Style)
- Pan
- Knife
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 3 medium Potatoes
- 1-2 Carrots
- Peas- 1/2 Cup
- Capsicum- 1/2 or 1 small
- Onion- 1 small
- Tomatoes(Pureed)- 3
- Store-bought Tomato Puree- 1/2 cup
- Ginger- 1" piece
- Garlic cloves- 4-5
- Green Chillies- 1-2
- Cumin Seeds-1 Tsp
- Red Chilli Powder-1/2 Tsp(depending on spice level)
- Pav Bhaji Masala- 2-3 Tsp
- Finely Chopped Onions for garnish
- Fresh Coriander for Garnish
- Butter- 3-4 Tbsp
- Oil- 1 Tsp
Instructions
- Finely chop onions, make ginger, garlic and green chili paste.Onion- 1 small, Ginger- 1" piece, Garlic cloves- 4-5, Green Chillies- 1-2
- Puree the tomatoes.Tomatoes(Pureed)- 3
- Chop potatoes, carrots, beetroot(if using) and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles to cook on medium flame. Add about 1 cup water. You can add 1 tbsp butter while pressure cooking the veggies.3 medium Potatoes, 1-2 Carrots, Peas- 1/2 Cup, Capsicum- 1/2 or 1 small, Butter- 3-4 Tbsp
- In a pan take 1 Tbsp of butter and a tsp of oil, let the butter melt and sizzle.Butter- 3-4 Tbsp, Oil- 1 Tsp
- Add cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute till onions start turning pink.Cumin Seeds-1 Tsp
- Add finely chopped capsicum and saute for another 2-3 minutes till capsicum becomes soft.
- Add tomato puree and store-bought tomato puree(optional) and cook for 2-3 mins or till it starts to thicken or leave oil.Tomatoes(Pureed)- 3, Store-bought Tomato Puree- 1/2 cup
- Add Pav Bhaji Masala, red chilli powder and sugar, mix nicely and saute for a min.Red Chilli Powder-1/2 Tsp(depending on spice level), Pav Bhaji Masala- 2-3 Tsp
- Add the boiled veggies and Pav Bhaji Masala, mix well everything. Mash the veggies nicely with a potato masher or wooden spoon.Pav Bhaji Masala- 2-3 Tsp
- If you want very smooth texture of gravy you can blend bhaji with a hand blender. We like little coarse texture of Bhaji.
- Add some water to adjust the consistency of gravy and cook till you get the desired consistency. Bhaji should not runny.
To Serve Bhaji
- To serve pav bhaji, on a griddle add a tbsp butter, ¼ tsp bhaji masala or a tbsp bhaji, toast the pav nicely from both the sides.(Check the attached video- to be uploaded soon)Pav Bhaji Masala- 2-3 Tsp
- Serve bhaji in bowl, top it with some butter, chopped onions, and serve with pav along with lemon wedges. Squeeze lemon add chopped onions mix, and enjoy the spicy buttery Pav Bhaji.Finely Chopped Onions for garnish, Fresh Coriander for Garnish
Notes
Check Out my detailed post Instant Pot Pav Bhaji Recipe.
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