I love Pav Bhaji ever since when I was a child, but nothing close to how much my little one loves it. I have to say my little one is crazy about Pav Bhaji and that is pretty much all he ate during our last trip to India. We would step into any restaurant and the first thing he would ask is for Pav Bhaji. The craze was so high that we had to leave a couple of restaurants because they did not have Pav Bhaji on their menu! Since, back in the US, we don’t have the comfort of eating it outside as much, I make Pav Bhaji at home quite often. I use my ever successful recipe to make the Homemade Pav Buns and pair it with this spicy Bhaji to make my son’s favorite. Usually, I use the store-bought Pav Bhaji Masala powder, but lately, I have been making my own Pav Bhaji Masala at home. I will post the recipe shortly for my masala powder. Using homemade Pav Bhaji Masala powder makes the dish very flavorful. I make just enough to make Pav Bhaji twice. This way the masala remains aromatic and flavorful. Talking about the flavor, the typical pav bhaji has potatoes and peas along with onions and tomatoes. We could any vegetable of our choice and this is a great way to hide a few vegetables if you have picky eaters. I add beets, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage along with the usual potato, carrot, and peas. I was thinking about at made my little one love this Pav Bhaji back in India and noticed it was the amount of butter that they use to make it. With that much butter, I could not eat past one bun. My son though loved this and to my surprise made me order one additional set of buns to eat. I could not bring myself to use that much butter, but I used all butter in the recipe instead of oil to bring a little bit of the street food flavor. Also cooking it on a large Tawa / griddle brings a different kind of flavor. Hopefully, I will be able to set up a backyard kitchen soon and use a large tawa to make the Pav Bhaji. The Pav Bhaji is very versatile and works great with roti or poori as well. Any leftovers, I use for lunch boxes with Paratha. This could also work well as a sandwich filling.
Ingredients to make Pav Bhaji
Potatoes - 3 (cubed)Carrot - 2 (cubed)Green peas - ½ cup (fresh or frozen)Green beans - ½ cup (finely chopped)Bell Pepper - 1 (finely chopped)Onion - 1 large (finely chopped)Tomatoes - 3 large (finely chopped)Ginger Garlic paste - 1 TBSPTurmeric powder - ½ tspRed chili powder - 2 teaspoon (adjust based on your preference)Pav Bhaji Masala - 3 TBSPSalt - to tasteCilantro - to garnishOil / Butter - 3 TBSP
To serve
Pav Buns - 8 (sliced across)Onions - finely choppedLemon - as neededButter - 2 tablespoon (to toast the buns)
Step by step process
Cube the potatoes and carrots and place it in a bowl along with green peas and beans. Add just enough water to cook the vegetables and cook it in a pressure cooker or Instant pot. I used my instant pot and set it at Manual for 12 minutes. You could also pressure cook them for 3 whistles.
Using a masher, mash the vegetables once they are done and keep aside.
In a wide pan, heat the butter or oil. I use a combination of oil and butter usually, but this time I used just butter for the flavor.
Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and saute them until translucent.Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute.
Now add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are mushy. Add the masala powder - turmeric powder, red chili powder and Pav Bhaji Masala and mix well.Fry it for couple of minutes until nice aroma releases.
Now add the cooked and mashed vegetables and mix well. Add water to adjust the consistency and mash the vegetables again to combine with the masala.
Let the Bhaji simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.
To serve the Pav Bhaji
Heat a griddle to toast the buns. Apply butter liberally on the sliced buns.
Place the sliced buns, butter side down and toast until golden brown.
Apply some butter on the side as well and toast.
Place the toasted buns on a plate and place the bhaji on the side. Top the bhaji with chopped onions and serve with a lemon slice.
Expert tips
We could use any vegetable of choice along with the potatoes and peas. I use cauliflower and cabbage and beets as well at times.
Using butter to make the bhaji makes it very authentic. When we see the street vendors prepare it, they use loads of butter. I have used all butter in the recipe, but not as much as a street vendor.
I used Homemade Pav Bhaji Masala for the recipe. Making fresh masala increases the flavor of the dish, We could use any store bought Pav Bhaji Masala as well.
I usually make my own Pav Buns, but this time used store bought Hamburger buns. We could use any bun of our choice.
Frequently asked questions
More street foods
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