A simple yet amazing Indian street food, Pav Bhaji is so good and easy to make. Spicy, tangy and full of flavors from so many veggies, this recipe is going to be your favorite.
Pav Bhaji is an Indian street food of Maharashtra State, a special delicacy of Mumbai now traveling across the world because of its scrumptious taste.
Although I love Pav Bhaji from the street itself (my favorite is Haldiram's), since it's loved by all in the family, I make this at home on several occasions. If you are looking for ways to use up different veggies lying in the refrigerator, this is the best possible snack!
Over the years, I have made it using different vegetables. My suggestion is not to use bell peppers, as they completely overpower the flavor of other veggies. In the ingredients section, I have shared the best veggies that can be used to make bhaji.
For those who don't know, Bhaji is assorted veggies that are cooked in a pressure cooker and mashed to make a thick paste, slowly simmered in a tomato onion gravy.
Temper with chopped onion and tomato sautéed in ghee with Pav Bhaji Masala, top with fresh lemon juice, onions and cilantro/ coriander leaves and serve with dinner rolls (pav) .
Find More Indian Recipes: Onion Pakoda, Hara Bhara Kabab, Rice Fritters, Sweet Potato Tikki/ Fritters.
Ingredients
For Bhaji
- Vegetables-I have used mixed vegetables like potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. Feel free to use any local veggies of the season - cauliflower, eggplant, green beans, peas, bottle gourd. I avoid adding capsicum as it dominates the original flavor of bhaji. When using gourd family vegetables, make sure to sieve the boiled veggies, as the seeds won't taste good in bhaji.
- Ghee and Butter- Ghee for tempering the boiled vegetables and butter for garnishing bhaji and toasting pav.
- Pav Bhaji Masala- I use a local brand- GM Foods Pav Bhaji Masala.
- Indian Spices- Turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin seeds (jeera) and raw mango powder (dry amchur), dried red chili, green chillies. GM Pav Bhaji Masala.
- Garlic
- Onion
- Tomato
- Lemon Juice & Cilantro Leaves- Garnishing
For Pav, any good brand of rolls works well.
How To Make Pav Bhaji
Step 1 Boil veggies
In a large pressure cooker, add potatoes (no need to peel), carrots (peel and roughly chop), zucchini (peel and roughly chop), with water.
Pressure cook for 2 whistles on full flame and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Step 2 Prep Tempering
In a large wok or kadai, add ghee, chopped onions, garlic, and green chilies. Cook for a min or till onions are light brown. Add chopped tomatoes with all spices and salt, and cook till tomatoes are softened.
Add the boiled veggies (you may remove excess water from boiled veggies). and mash them gradually with a potato masher or using the back of spatula.
Keep cooking on simmer till the bhaji is a one complete lump.
Step 3 Serve With Pav
Warm Pav on a flat pan or tawa with butter. Serve with fresh and delicious Bhaji topped with butter, chopped onions, cilantro, and lemon juice.
Expert Tips
- The boiled veggies would be super hot to mash, especially during the summer and would splutter. I suggest boiling veggies the first thing in the morning.
- You may remove the water of boiled veggies so that they can be easily mashed. Use this water to add later for making a smooth gravy of bhaji (to adjust consistency) or to knead a dough.
- The outside vendors add artificial food color, so this bhaji would taste far better as it is made in a simple, homemade way and won't be too red in color.
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Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a comment below and let me know what sides you served it with! If you loved it, feel free to share this post with your friends who love simple Indian cooking.
Pav Bhaji Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker for boiling vegetables
- 1 heavy wok for tempering bhaji
- 1 flat iron tawa or pan toasting pav
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ghee for making bhaji
- 5 medium Potato
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 large onions chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garlic grated
- 2 large Tomato chopped
- 1 small Green Chiili
- 1.5 teaspoon Haldi
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2.5 teaspoon Pav Bhaji masala GM Foods brand
- 1.5 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala optional
- 1 teaspoon Amchur can replace with lemon juice
- 1 pack Amul Butter can use any brand 100 gm
- 1 pack Pav I have used harvest gold 6 pieces
- 1-2 cups Water
- salt as per taste
- 4 teaspoon lemon juice garnishing
- 1 twig cilantro leaves garnishing
Instructions
- In a large pressure cooker, add potato (no need to peel), roughly chopped zucchini and carrots, etc and with water.Pressure cook for 2 whistles on full flame and simmer for 10 minutes.
- In a large wok or kadai, add ghee, chopped onions, garlic, green chiliies. Cook for a min or so. Add chopped tomatoes with all spices and cook till tomatoes are softened.Add the boiled veggies (you may remove excess water from the boiled veggies). and mash them gradually with a potato masher or using the back of a spatula.Keep cooking on a simmer till the bhaji is a one complete lump.
- Warm Pav on a flat pan or tawa with butter. Serve with fresh and delicious Bhaji topped with butter, chopped onions, cilantro and lemon juice.
Notes
- The boiled veggies would be super hot to mash, especially during the summer and would splutter. I suggest boiling veggies a day before or the first thing in the morning.
- You may remove the water of boiled veggies so that they can be easily mashed. Use this water to add later for making a smooth gravy of bhaji (if you like it that way) or to knead a dough.
- The outside vendors add artificial food color so this bhaji would taste far better as it is made in a healthy homemade way and won't be too red in color.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 katori of Bhaji | |
| Servings: 6 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 156 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 2.2g | 3% |
| Saturated Fat 1.3g | 6% |
| Cholesterol 5mg | 2% |
| Sodium 39mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 30.5g | 11% |
| Dietary Fiber 4.9g | 18% |
| Total Sugars 3.6g | |
| Protein 4.4g | |
| Vitamin D 1mcg | 7% |
| Calcium 31mg | 2% |
| Iron 2mg | 9% |
| Potassium 731mg | 16% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
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