Pav Bhaji Recipe

5 from 21 votes

Pav Bhaji is an Indian Street Food where spicy mashed veggies curry is paired with dinner rolls/bread rolls. It is served alongside diced onions, chopped cilantro, a good squeeze of lemon and lots of butter!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: People

Calories: 435kcal

Author: Neha

Equipment

1 Large Pan
1 Pot/Pressure Cooker (To boil veggies)

Ingredients

2 large Potatoes (Boiled)
½ Cup French Beans (Boiled)
1-2 medium Carrots (Boiled)
½ Cup Peas (Boiled)
¼ head of a small Cauliflower (Boiled)
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 large Onion (finely chopped)
1 inch Ginger (grated)
4-5 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
3 Large Tomatoes
2 large Green Peppers (finely chopped)
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (or ½ cup tomato puree)
1 and ½ teaspoons Salt (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
3 Tablespoons Pav Bhaji Masala (or adjust to taste)
¼ cup Beet Root
1 and ½ cups Water (or as needed to thin out bhaji)

To Toast Pav (Bread Rolls)

10-12 Pav
some Butter (for toasting pavs)
1 Tablespoon Pav Bhaji Masala (to season Pav, optional but yum!)

To Serve Pav Bhaji

1 medium Red Onion (finely chopped)
a few Lemon Wedges
a huge handful of Cilantro (chopped)
few Butter Cubes (to dunk in hot bhaji)

Instructions

Pre Prepping the Veggies:

Chop the veggies- Onions, garlic, tomatoes. Grate Ginger. Also chop carrots, cauliflower and French beans (if using fresh). Peel and chop potatoes. Finely chop green Peppers. Grate beetroot and set it aside.

Boiling the Veggies:

Soften all the veggies like potatoes, cauliflower, peas, French beans and carrots in a pot covered with lid in some water for 7-10 mins. Alternatively you can pressure cook the veggies and boil them. Allow the veggies to cool down a bit and then mash them using a potato masher.
I don't like to boil green pepper, we will chop and cook it in the veggies instead. You can boil green peppers too, if you wish to.
Also, you don't need to boil beetroot. Simply grate it over veggies while they are cooking and it will soften there.

Making the Bhaji (Thick Veggie Curry)

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large pot/pan. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Next add in chopped onions and cook for a minute or two over medium-high heat.
Then add ginger and garlic in too. Give it all a mix and cook till onions become translucent and get a light golden color on them.
Next add in chopped tomatoes and cook for a minute or two. Then add and mix all the spices. Turmeric powder, kashmiri chili powder, pav bhaji masala and salt to taste.
Adding spices at this point allow them to mix better with masala and develop a lot of flavor.
Now go in chopped green peppers and along with that add tomato paste/puree. Mix everything well and cook them for 5-6 minutes till tomatoes soften and the peppers are almost cooked.
Stir in boiled veggies and the grated beetroot. Mix them all together and mash the veggies a bit more with potato masher. You can also make use of an immersion blender at this point to kind of make the veggies come together like a puree, I did not.
Add around a cup of water to veggies. Mix and cook them covered at low-medium heat for about 15 -20 minutes. Or until the bhaji isn't chunky anymore. Add more water as needed in between and use that masher to bring the bhaji together.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Simmer for a minute or two and serve with a squeeze of lime/lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Toast the Pav:

Heat butter on a griddle/tawa/pan. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on butter and immediately place pav halves on tawa. Allow them to toast for a minute or so.
Apply butter on the other side of pavs and flip them to toast on the other side too. Flip and toast till they get slightly crispy and are heated through.

Serving Pav Bhaji:

Serve Hot bhaji topped with some chopped onion, chopped cilantro, lemon juice and a few butter cubes along side toasted warm pavs (dinner rolls).

Notes

Storing and Re-heating Instructions:

Leftover bhaji stays good in the refrigerator covered tightly for up to 3 days.

For longer storage bhaji can also be frozen, kept in freezer safe containers/bags for up to 2 months.

Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on counter top for a few hours before re-heating.

Tips for Recipe Success:

Green Peppers: I don't boil green peppers with all other veggies. Chop them and cook in onion-tomato masala before adding the boiled veggies. This way bhaji tastes even more flavorful. You can also use 1 green pepper and one red pepper, instead of using 2 green peppers in this recipe.
Beetroots: Beetroots provide a natural red color to the bhaji. One-fourth cup of beetroots won't make your bhaji sweet! No need to boil them either.
Carrots and Peas: Some people find carrots and peas make the bhaji sweet. If you are that person, add both these veggies in less quantity. Or avoid them altogether. Add ½ head of cauliflower instead of ¼ head used in this recipe to make up for carrots and peas addition. Also use 1 extra boiled potato and avoid adding carrots and peas.
Up to 2 teaspoons of Crushed Kasuri Methi can be added along with other spices to the bhaji.
Always finish the bhaji off with more butter. Butter adds so much flavor here. Don't skimp on it. Add some more while serving too. ;)
Red Kashmiri Chili Powder: This chili powder adds to the beautiful red color of bhaji. It won't make your dish spicy. If you prefer a spicier bhaji, add 1-2 green chilies. Or add up to 1 teaspoon more of Kashmiri red chili powder.
Pav Bhaji Masala: It is readily available in every Indian grocery store. MDH, Everest and Badshah are some of the good brands that I like.

Nutrition