Pav Bhaji is a famous street food from the Indian City, Mumbai. Pav Bhaji is a combo dish and it has pav (soft buns) and bhaji( mashed & spiced vegetables).
Bhaji is the marathi word used to refer to vegetable based dishes. Hence the word Pav Bhaji refers to the curried vegetables served along with pav bread and as well as the combo in terms of the context.
All the north Indian street foods were introduced to me when i was in chennai for work. Before that I never knew about pav bhaji back in my hometown, Tirunelveli. Initially I thought that the combination of bread with some vegetable curry is a weird combo, all those thoughts were gone, when i had first tasted this. The slight sweetness from the bread goes very well with the spicy masala, surely it's my kind of food.
After marriage, I started to make pav bhaji frequently at home ,at least twice in a month. One time, during my parent visit to our home in Bangalore, I made pav bhaji for dinner. To my surprise, even Appa liked it very much although he didn't like many of the famous north Indian dishes like Naan, roti or any kind of paneer dishes.
After that he kept on insisting me to make this whenever he visits me or me visits my parents house. Honestly I feel elated when people start to like certain dishes because of my cooking. Anyone with me?
Ok, Now coming back to the recipe, there are so many different ways you can prepare the pav bhaji, some prefer to grate the vegetable instead of chopping and saute till it becomes mushy. But i've been making pav bhaji using pressure cooking vegetables for years now and it tastes so awesome.
Although I never tried any other way of making pav bhaji, I can assure that this is the one of the tastiest pav bhaji that can be made in very less time.
Is Pav Bhaji masala / Spice mix is essential to make the pav bhaji?
No, Not at all. I have made the pav bhaji so many times with garam masala for flavor and never felt any difference in the taste. So, if you're not making pav bhaji at home frequently, then no need to buy a pack of pav bhaji masala. Garam masala works well equally.
Check out the video recipe for making Pav Bhaji
What vegetables can be added in Pav Bhaji ?
Personally, I like to add more vegetables in my pav Bhaji. Potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, peas & capsicum are the most common vegetables used in the street food carts.
Depending on the amount of vegetables added in the pav bhaji, the taste and the color differ mildly. I would highly recommend adding capsicum for pav bhaji because of its flavor.
And, to get bright red color, instead of using kashmiri chili powder, i like to add a small piece of beetroot. But don't add too much that will affect the flavor.
Ok, now let's check out on how to make this famous street food, Pav Bhaji.
Pav Bhaji
Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 3
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Potato - 2
Carrot - 1
Peas - 1/4 cup
Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
Capsicum - 1
Cabbage - 1/2 cup(sliced)
Tomato - 2
Beetroot - 1(small)
Red chili powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala/Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Butter - 2 tbsp
Onion & lemon - for serving
Butter - 1 tsp(serving)
Potato - 2
Carrot - 1
Peas - 1/4 cup
Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
Capsicum - 1
Cabbage - 1/2 cup(sliced)
Tomato - 2
Beetroot - 1(small)
Red chili powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala/Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Butter - 2 tbsp
Onion & lemon - for serving
Butter - 1 tsp(serving)
Wash and cut all the vegetables(Potato,Carrot,Peas,Cauliflower, Capsicum,Cabbage,Beetroot) & tomato in to small pieces.Put all the vegetables & tomato into the pressure cooker with enough water(1 cup approx),put on lid and weight and cook for 3 whistle or until all the veggies are cooked softly.
Once the pressure from the cooker automatically released, open the lid, remove the vegetable stock from the vegetables(don't discard it, gonna use it later).Mash the vegetables with masher well.
Now keep it in flame & add the vegetable stock(if needed add more water) and all the spices(turmeric,red chili,coriander, garam masala powder).
Add enough salt and mix well. Bring the masala to boil and add the butter 1/2 tbsp at a time, once it melts and incorporate with masala, add another 1/2 tbsp.Same way add all the butter.
Once all the butter is incorporated,keep the flame in medium and cook for 8-10 mins, after that the masala becomes thick , finally garnish with coriander leaves & switch off the flame.
Serve it along with butter toasted pav bread ,onions & lemon wedges.
Notes:
- Usually i use all the vegetables mentioned in the ingredients list.
- If you're not having all vegetables , still you can make it with the available vegetables in your pantry.Potatoes, peas & capsicum are the must.
- I love to add beetroot especially for the color.
- It's a bit difficult to mash the beetroot with masher even after cooking too, instead you can pulse the beetroot alone once and add with remaining veggies.
- Mash the vegetables more or less as per your preference texture.
- I used garam masala powder here.
- Instead of butter, you can use oil too, but butter gives richness to the masala & i highly recommend it.
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