Pav Bhaji Recipe (Street Style)
Pav Bhaji is a very popular Mumbai-style snack. It is a delicious blend of veggies cooked in a spicy masala, served with butter pav (dinner rolls). Learn to make the best Mumbai-style Pavbhaji at home with my easy recipe. I learned it from a street vendor, so it's as close to the real deal as possible. You can cook the veggies in an Instant Pot or a stovetop pressure cooker.
Servings: 6 people
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 stovetop pressure cooker with 1 cup water and mix well.
- Secure the lid of the pressure cooker, then 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.
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.
Pro tip: Slightly overcook the vegetables. You want them very soft so the bhaji mashes into a smooth, cohesive texture rather than a chunky one.
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 onions turn light brown and the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone. The slight caramelization of onions here is critical for the depth of flavor.
- Now, add green chili, tomatoes, and ½ cup of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Now is the time to add your spice powders. Add Kashmiri red chili powder and pavbhaji masala and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously with a ladle. This step, called bhunoin, releases the fat-soluble flavor compounds in the spices and removes raw bitterness.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the pan and mix well.
- Using a potato masher or the back of your spatula, mash everything aggressively into a thick, textured paste. Don’t aim for perfectly smooth; some texture is ideal.
- Reduce the heat of your stove to low and cook the bhaji for 10-12 minutes. Add more water if the bhaji looks thick. It should be thick but droppable.
- Add paneer, lime juice, salt, and cilantro and mix well.
- Check for salt and lime juice and add more if needed. Serve hot.
You can use a hand-held immersion blender to mash the veggies. Do not mash them until pasty; they should be coarsely mashed.
Video
Notes
Pav bhaji is a complete meal in itself. To serve this delicious street food, transfer the hot bhaji to a serving bowl. Top it with dollops 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, cut each one in half horizontally, slather them with butter, and toast them on a hot tawa or pan until they are slightly crispy on both sides. You can also sprinkle some pav bhaji masala over the pav while toasting.
You can now 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, white bread slices, kulcha, or buns instead. It also pairs well with steamed rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 654mg | Potassium: 612mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 6.175IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 2mg
