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Pav Bhaji

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Swati Leave a Comment on Pav Bhaji

A popular Indian street food. A spicy mix of mashed vegetables (bhaji) cooked in a special blend of spices and served with butter toasted buns (pav)

This is traditionally cooked on a large tava (griddle pan), mine is however a simple version where I pressure cook the vegetables and then make an onion tomato gravy with the pav bhaji spices. I use a ready spice mix, which is available at most Indian stores as ‘pav bhaji masala’ or you can even make it yourself. Once the gravy is ready I add the pressure cooked vegetables and let everything cook for till the flavours are merged.

Pav Bhaji is usually served with tava toasted butter pavs, a generous amount of butter topped with chopped red onions and lemon juice.

Every time I have Pav Bhaji it takes me back to my days in Mumbai!

Overview

  • Serves: 4-6 people
  • Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • 250g diced potatoes
  • 500g chopped mixed vegetables chopped (frozen or a mix of carrots, peas, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
  • 2 to 3 finely chopped onions –
  • 2 heaped tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies
  • 3 to 4 finely chopped tomatoes (or a can of chopped tomatoes)
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 to 2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
  • 2 tbsp dry mango powder (amchur)
  • 2-3 tbsp ready ‘Pav Bhaji masala’ or make your own
  • Salt to taste
  • 150g butter (or more if you prefer)
  • Two lemons
  • handful of chopped coriander – for garnish
  • One chopped red onion – for garnish

Method

Bhaji

  • Pressure cook the potatoes and mixed vegetables with a little water, salt and turmeric
  • Add butter to a large saucepan and temper the cumin seeds
  • Add onions, green chillies and ginger garlic paste and cook till the onions start to brown
  • Add the chilli powder and pav bhaji masala and fry for a minute
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes
  • Drain the water from the pressure cooked vegetables and keep aside (stock). You may need to use a bit of that stock if the ‘bhaji’ is too dry else it’s vegetable stock which can stay refrigerated for a few days to be used later in soups or curries.
  • Add the pressure cooked vegetables to the onion tomato mix and cook for 5-10 minutes till all the flavours are well combined
  • Add the dry mango powder
  • Taste and add more salt and pav bhaji masala if required
  • Turn off the heat and roughly mash the ‘bhaji’ using a potato masher. Some like to mash it completely, however I prefer to leave it a bit chunky
  • Finish off with crushed kasturi methi and lemon and another dollop of butter

Getting the pav buns ready

  • Slit the pav buns horizontally, add butter to a hot pan.
  • Optional – sprinkle a bit of pav bhaji masala over the hot butter
  • Place the pav buns and toast on both sides for a few minutes till lightly browned.

Serve

  • Put the bhaji on a plate
  • Garnish with chopped onions and chopped coriander
  • Serve with the pan toasted pav with a side of chopped onions and lemon

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Related

Posted in Home Cooking Tagged indian street food, indian vegetarian, mumbai street food, pavbhaji

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Author: Swati

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Hi, I’m Swati!

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