Pav Bhaji
Learn to make Mumbai street style Pav Bhaji at home using my easy recipe. I am so sure you will love it.
Here are some more Indian street food recipes that you must try – Ragda Pattice, Bhel Puri, Aloo Tikki, Vada Pav, Samosa Chaat, and Kutchi Dabeli.
Over the last several years, hundreds of people have told me that this Mumbai-style Pav Bhaji recipe is one of the best they have made at home. The reason is straightforward. I learned it from a street food vendor and then perfected it for home cooking.
My recipe is different as it uses a lot of cabbage as compared to other recipes on the internet where potatoes fill up a large chunk. Using cabbage makes so much difference in the taste and texture of the final dish, and you would just love it.
There is another reason to use cabbage. Cabbage is one of the cheapest veggies, and to make their dish economical, all the street vendors use a lot of it to bulk up their recipes. This street vendor I talked to shared this trick with me, and I am forever grateful to him, as my bhaji has been coming out perfect since then.
In this post, I am sharing the recipe to make the best Pav Bhaji at home. Do try!
About Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji is a spicy mashed vegetable dish where “Pav” is the bread; a soft dinner roll that you would find at all bakeries across India and “Bhaji” is the spicy, mish-mashed vegetable curry that is served along with buttered Pav. Together, they bring out this amazing taste that you just can’t forget.
Our beloved Mumbai has given us several street foods, and Pav Bhaji is undeniably the most popular.
This dish is so simple to make that even a novice cook can make it perfectly. Although you can easily order it from restaurants, but when you can make a restaurant-quality pav bhaji at home so easily, then why order it? Making it at home is not only economical but also ensures that you have all the hygiene in place, which could be a challenge in some of the street shops.
There is an interesting story about the invention of pav bhaji. You can read it here.
Ingredients
Vegetables – Veggies are the main ingredient of the bhaji. The choice and quantity of vegetables makes a big difference in how your bhaji will taste. I suggest following my recipe, at least for the first time. If you feel something is missing, only then make changes and also let me know what changes you made so I can also try them out.
I used vegetables which are easily available in the market including cauliflower, cabbage, potatoes, green bell peppers (capsicum), carrots, and green peas.
You will also need red onions, green chilies, and tomatoes. Adjust the chilies according to your taste.
You will need to chop the veggies to make this paav bhaji recipe. I used my Mueller vegetable chopper to chop them but you can cut them finely on your cutting board using a sharp knife.
Pav Bhaji Masala – The main taste of this dish comes from a special spice blend called Pav Bhaji masala powder. I make mine at home, but you can also get it from Indian grocery stores. If you want to follow the home-made recipe, here is how to make Pav Bhaji Masala.
Butter makes this dish rich and delicious, and you will need lots of butter to make it taste just like street food vendors. I always use Amul butter, but you can use any brand.
Others Ingredients – You will also need a few more basic pantry essentials like ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri red chilli powder, paneer, lime juice (lemon juice), salt, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) to make this Mumbai style pav bhaji recipe. You can also add a little turmeric powder for a nice pop of color.
How To Make Mumbai Pav Bhaji
Cook The Vegetables
We will start by cooking the cut vegetables. Add the following veggies to your pressure cooker with 1 cup water and mix well.
- 1 and ½ cups cauliflower florets
- 1 and ½ cups chopped cabbage
- 1 and ½ cups chopped green bell pepper (capsicum)
- 1 and ½ cups chopped carrots
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 3 whistles over high heat.
Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
Open the lid of the cooker. Keep the boiled veggies aside.
Note – If you planning to use your instant pot, add your veggies to the pot with ½ cup water. Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 3 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
Make The Bhaji
Heat 6 tablespoon of regular salted butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
Now add 1 and ½ cups of chopped red onions and cook until they turn translucent, stirring frequently with your ladle.
Add 4 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste and cook until the onions turn light brown and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.
Now, add 2 teaspoon chopped green chilies, 2 cups of chopped tomatoes, and ½ cup of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Now is the turn to add your spice powders. Add 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and 5 tablespoon pav bhaji masala and cook for a minute, stirring continuously with a ladle.
Add the cooked vegetables to the pan and mix everything well with the ladle.
Now mash the bhaji using a potato masher until it is mushy.
Tip – If you have a hand-held immersion blender, you can use it to mash the veggies. Do not mash them until pasty; they should be coarsely mashed.
Reduce the heat of your stove to low and cook the bhaji for 10-12 minutes. Add more water if you feel that the bhaji looks thick. It should be of pourable consistency.
Finally, add ½ cup grated paneer, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro to your bhaji and mix well.
Check for salt and lime juice and add more to your taste if needed.
Serve the bhaji hot with freshly buttered and toasted pav.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make the pav bhaji vegan, replace butter with oil or vegan butter and skip adding the paneer. The rest of the ingredients in this recipe are vegan-friendly.
Many street carts add red food coloring to their bhaji to make it look red but at home, I refrain from using any artificial color.
Serving Suggestions
Pav bhaji is a complete meal in itself. To serve this delicious Pav Bhaji, transfer the hot bhaji to a serving bowl. Top it with a dollop of butter and sprinkle some chopped cilantro to make it look good.
Keep some chopped onions, lime wedges, butter cubes, and chopped cilantro in small bowls along with the bhaji.
Take your pavs and cut each one of them into half horizontally, slather them with butter, and toast them on a hot tawa or pan until they are slightly crispy from both sides.
You can serve bhaji on your plates and top it with crunchy onions, a squeeze of lime juice, cilantro, and butter. Then scoop the bhaji with hot crispy pav and enjoy that authentic Mumbai taste.
If pav are not readily available, then you can use dinner rolls or buns instead.
Storage Suggestions
Bhaji can easily last for 2-3 days in your refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. To serve it again, reheat it in a pan or the microwave and serve.
Bhaji can also be frozen. If you have made a large batch and want to keep it for a longer time, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
To serve it again, thaw it on your kitchen counter for 2-3 hours and then microwave it until hot or heat it in your pan. To make it taste fresh, you can add a fresh tempering of butter.
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Pav Bhaji Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups cauliflower florets
- 1 and ½ cups chopped cabbage
- 1 and ½ cups chopped green bell pepper (capsicum)
- 1 and ½ cups chopped carrots
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup peeled and cubed potatoes
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 and ½ cups chopped red onions
- 4 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons chopped green chilies
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 5 tablespoons pav bhaji masala
- ½ cup grated paneer
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Cook The Vegetables
- Add the vegetables to a pressure cooker with 1 cup water and mix well.
- Pressure cook for 3 whistles on high heat.
- Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid.
- Note – To cook the veggies in an instant pot, add them to the pot with ½ cup water. Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 3 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid./2 cup
Make The Bhaji
- Heat butter in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add onions and cook until they turn translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook until the onion turns light brown and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.
- Now, add green chili, tomatoes, and ½ cup of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add red chili powder and pav bhaji masala and cook for a minute.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the pan and mix well.
- Mash the bhaji using a potato masher until it is mushy. Mashing the veggies will require some muscle work.
- Tip – You can use a hand-held immersion blender to mash the veggies. Do not mash them until pasty; they should be coarsely mashed.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes. Add more water if the bhaji looks thick. It should be pourable.
- Add paneer, lime juice, salt, and cilantro and mix well.
- Check for salt and lime juice and add more if needed. Serve hot.
For how much time bhaji has to be simmered?
For 10-12 minutes Manu.
Excellently presented looking delicious.
Thnx a lot 🙂
wow this is very good most you know I love pav bhaji but i don,t know how to make pav bhaji
but when I read your article now I make it at my home and enjoy this.
and please write one more article on masala dosa.
Sure. Thnx
The best Pav Bhajji I ever had, even beats the restaurant pav bhajji(s) that we have!
Thnx a lot for trying and leaving your feedback 🙂
Looks yummy yummy!! Beautiful presentation
Thnx Kushi
Delicious!! Loved the recipe, easy to follow and turned out great!!
Thanks