Mumbai Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a popular snack from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, which is a mish mash of a variety of vegetables and spices served with a special bread called pav. This dish can be had for lunch, evening snack or dinner. I have a little secret that I got from a street pav bhaji vendor to make the best pav bhaji and you would definitely want to know it too. Here is how to make best Mumbai Style Pav Bhaji Recipe at home.

I am a sucker for Indian street food and no trip to Mumbai is complete without hogging on a plate of delicious Pav Bhaji, Kutchi Dabeli or Vada Pav. Juhu Beach Chowpatty is the place to go if you are looking to eat yummy roadside food which is not only delicious but is super easy on the pocket too.

When in Delhi, my fav place to go for clean and hygienic Indian Food is Haldiram.

But the best food from the long list of Indian Menu at the restaurants can be made at home and this home made food tastes much better because we use the best of ingredients, can be sure about the hygiene and it’s much economical to make it at home.

So let’s make this Restaurant Style Pavbhaji recipe at home. Also do check my collection of other snack and appetizer recipes here.

What is Pav Bhaji?

Pav refers to a special India bread which is like a soft dinner roll and bhaji refers to vegetable curry.

Popular snack from the street of Mumbai, this dish has become a favourite in almost all the parts of the country. A mish-mash of vegetables cooked with spicy pav bhaji masala makes Bombay Pav Bhaji a unique dish in many ways.

Served with Buttered Pav ( Soft Bread ) and lemon and onions on the sides, it’s more or less a meal in itself.  Mumbai Pav Bhaji is actually made on a huge tawa (Skillet) which is used in most of the street shops of Mumbai. It just tastes excellent with warm, fluffy pav.  

How was Pav Bhaji invented?

This dish was invented in 1850’s as an option to provide quick, filling meal to factory and mill  workers which was economical as well. Gradually, it has become a mass favourite and served on the streets on carts as well as in the posh hotels.

Pav Bhaji Recipe is a great option to be made for dinner or for small kitty parties. When I was a kid,  whenever my parents used to throw birthday parties for me,  Mumbai Pav Bhaji was definitely made!

I and my friends had an amazing time relishing piping hot Bhaji with the buttery pav. Super easy to make and awesome to eat, here’s my easy recipe for making spicy Bombay Pav Bhaji:

Tips to make best Pav Bhaji at home

Do not use too much potatoes in your bhaji. The combination of vegetables that I have used in this recipe makes the best tasting bhaji. You have to make it once to believe it.

Add some grated panner in your bhaji at the end and make it cheese Pav Bhaji. You can also add some grated processed cheese and make it really cheesy.

You can increase or decrease the amount of chillies in the recipe to suit your taste.

I used Pav Bhaji masala from Everest brand which is my favourite but you can use whichever masala you want.

The vegetables must be cooked until they are nicely softened. Otherwise you will have chunks of veggies in your bhaji.

Use a potato masher to mash the bhaji. No other equipment work as well as this simple masher.

Add 1/4 beetroot in your Pav Bhaji to give it a lovely red hue.

The road side vendors use dried green peas soaked in water to make the pav bhaj and that gives it a very distinct taste. You can try using them too.

Bhaji made in butter tastes the best and authentic. So do not replace it with oil.

Which vegetables can be used to make Pav Bhaji?

The choice of vegetables used to make bhaji defines it’s taste. Mostly Potato, peas, beans and capsicum are used to make bhaji but I have learned this secret technique to use cabbage in my bhaji from a street vendor in Mumbai.

Cabbage doesn’t have a very profound taste and takes up the taste of the masalas added to it. Moreover, it increases the quantity of the bhaji and is economical to use as well.

That is the reason, street vendors use a lot of cabbage to make the bhaji. It’s cheap to use and takes up the taste of the masala making the bhaji delicious.

But again as I said, there are no rules to make bhaji. Add whichever vegetable you feel like eating and experiment with various flavours.

Try to not use too much of carrots as they tend to make the bhaji sweeter. 

The measurements that I have given below works fine for me, so may be you can give it a try too.

Pav Bhaji Ingredients

To make Pav Bhaji, you need very basic ingredients. I have already talked about the veggies that you can use to make Pavbhaji.

Apart from that, you will need chopped onion, green chillies and tomatoes. Adjust the amount of chillies according to your taste.

Ginger and garlic paste add a nice flavour in this recipe of pav bhaji. You can use either fresh or canned.

Pav Bhaji masala and red chilli powder is added to this onion tomato masala. You can either use homemade masala or buy it.

Finally you will need lemon juice and fresh coriander.

Which Pav Bhaji Masala is the best?

The best pav Bhaji Masala is the one made at home, but if you wish to buy readymade masala, I have felt that Everest is the best. It gives a perfect taste to the bhaji and is not overly spicy.

Here is how to make homemade Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe

Ingredients

• Coriander seeds – 4 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds – 2 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds – 1 tbsp
• Cinnamon – 2 inch
• Cloves – 8-10
• Black cardamom – 2
• Bay Leaf – 2
• Blach Peppercorn – 2 tsp
• Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder – 2 tbsp
• Dry Mango Powder – 2 tsp

Method

• Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom, bay leaf and black peppercorn until they are fragrant and nicely browned.
• Remove the pan from heat and transfer them in blender along with Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder and dry mango powder.
• Grind to make a smooth powder.

How to make Jain Pav Bhaji?

To make Jain Pav Bhaji, skip adding onion, ginger and garlic in the recipe. Use the vegetables that are Jain friendly and you can make a delicious Jain Pav Bhai at home. You can replace potatoes with raw banana.

Can Pav Bhaji be frozen?

Like any other curry, Bhaji can be frozen quite well. Transfer it in a freezer safe container and freeze for 3-4 months. Thaw on counter for 2-3 hours and then microwave until hot. You can also give it a fresh tadka to make it taste absolutely fresh.

What goes with Pav Bhaji?

Serve chopped onion, chopped coriander, lemon wedges and butter with Pavbhaji. Do not forget to slightly toast the Pav with butter on a hot tava just before serving.

How to serve Pav Bhaji?

Once the bhaji is ready, you can serve this dish. To serve cut the pan into half horizontally. Heat a griddle and put a blob of butter on it. Keep the pav pieces on the hot griddle and toast from both the sides until browned. You can sprinkle a bit of pav bhaji masala over the pav.

Keep the buttered toasted pav on a serving plate. Keep bhaji on the side. Top the bhaji with another tsp of butter. Keep some finely chopped onion, lemon wedges and chopped coriander on the side and serve.

How to make Pav Bhaji in Instant Pot (Electric Pressure Cooker)?

You can pressure cook the vegetables in an instant pot instead of a regular pressure cooker. To do it, add the veggies in the Instant Pot along with water. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and press PRESSURE COOK.

Set the timer to 10 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the steam escape on it’s own. Open the lid of the pot and mash the veggies. Now you can use these cooked veggies to make Bhaji.

Pav Bhaji Calories

One serving of bhaji has approx 215 Kcal and one serving of pav has approximately 100 Kcal.

You might also like

Misal Pav

Golgappa

Achari Paneer Tikka

Tawa Pulao

Dal Makhani

How to make Pav Bhaji Step By Step

Wash the vegetables and add them in a pressure cooker along with water and pressure cook until done.

Heat butter in a pan.

Add onion, ginger paste and garlic paste and fry till onion turns translucent and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.

Add green chillies and tomatoes and ½ cup of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Now add red chilli powder and Pav bhaji masala and cook for a minute.

Add the cooked vegetables in the pan and mix well.

Mash the Pav Bhaji using a potato masher till it is all mushy and mixed very well.

Add paneer, lemon juice, salt and coriander and mix well.

Mumbai Pav Bhaji Recipe

4.43 from 7 votes

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Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a popular snack from Maharashtra which is a mish mash of a variety of vegetables and spices served with a special bread called pav.

Course Snacks

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 215 kcal

Author Neha Mathur

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cup Cauliflower Cut into small pieces
• 1 cup Cabbage Chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cup Capsicum Chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cup Carrot Chopped
• 1 cup Peas
• 1 cup Potato Peeled and chopped
• 6 tbsp Butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup Onion Chopped
• 2 tsp Ginger Paste
• 2 tsp Garlic Paste
• 2 cups Tomato Chopped
• 2 tsp Green Chilli Chopped
• 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 5 tbsp Pav Bhaji Masala
• 1/2 cup Paneer Grated
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Chopped

Instructions

1. Wash the vegetables and add them in a pressure cooker.

2. Add a cup of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle on high heat.

3. Simmer the heat and cook for another whistle.

4. Remove the pressure cooker from heat and let the pressure release and keep aside.

5. Heat butter in a pan.

6. Add onion, ginger paste and garlic paste and fry till onion turns translucent and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.

7. Add green chillies and tomatoes and ½ cup of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

8. Now add red chilli powder and Pav bhaji masala and cook for a minute.

9. Add the cooked vegetables in the pan and mix well.

10. Mash the Pav Bhaji using a potato masher till it is all mushy and mixed very well.

11. Keep adding little water if the Pav Bhaji thickens and cook for 10-12 minutes on medium low heat.

12. Add paneer, lemon juice, salt and coriander and mix well.

13. Garnish with fresh coriander and dollop of butter.

14. Serve hot with a dollop of butter, chopped onions and slightly toasted and buttered Pav.

Recipe Notes

I always use standard cups and spoon measures for measuring the ingredients. So please use them too for best result.

The proportion of the veggies used makes a lot of difference in the taste of the final dish. The proportions that I have used will give the best results. So please try to stick to them.

You can increase or decrease the amount of chillies in the recipe to suit your taste.

I used Pav Bhaji masala from Everest brand which is my favourite but you can use whichever masala you want.

The vegetables must be cooked until they are nicely softened. Otherwise you will have chunks of veggies in your bhaji.

Use a potato masher to mash the bhaji. No other equipment work as well as this simple masher.

Add 1/4 beetroot in your Pav Bhaji to give it a lovely red hue.

The road side vendors use dried green peas soaked in water to make the pav bhaj and that gives it a very distinct taste. You can try using them too.

Bhaji made in butter tastes the best and authentic. So do not replace it with oil.

Nutrition Facts

Pav Bhaji

Amount Per Serving

Calories 215 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Fat 16g25%

Saturated Fat 10g63%

Cholesterol 42mg14%

Sodium 142mg6%

Potassium 365mg10%

Carbohydrates 12g4%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 1240IU25%

Vitamin C 27.6mg33%

Calcium 126mg13%

Iron 1.8mg10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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