snacks

pav Bhaji



BeveragesPav Bhaji Recipe with step by step photos – Pav Bhaji is one of the most popular mumbai street food. I have been making pav bhaji since my teens and even today I make pav bhaji often at home.

Pav Bhaji was one Mumbai Street Food that i missed a lot when i left Mumbai. I have lived in almost all major Indian cities, but never ever had a really good Pav Bhaji anywhere. Since I know how to make Pav Bhaji it was not difficult to miss this awesome street snack. But the only issue would be the dearth of good quality pavs.

When we lived in Delhi we used to get not so good pavs. So, then I would make Pav Bhaji but end up serving them with bread. Atleast the bread were softer than the pav and would soak up the bhaji.

I have fond memories of having Pav Bhaji at Juhu beach since my childhood in Mumbai. I would carefully see the way the pav bhaji vendor would prepare the bhaji on his huge huge heavy tava with lots of Amul butter.




Those days… I so fondly remember them. My evenings especially during vacations would be spent at Juhu Beach, making sand castles, playing in the sea, having pani poori, sev poori, in fact all kinds of chat, seeing the sun set and returning home late in the evening with my parents.

 mumbai pav bhaji recipe

While making Pav Bhaji, I personally prefer to use the Amul brand of butter, but you could use any brand or even white butter.

The pav in the pics are homemade and much much better in terms of softness, lightness and cleanliness. Here is the recipe link of a vegan healthy pav made from Whole Wheat flour. – Indian Pav Recipe. Nothing better than some homemade bhaji with homemade pav. You can also check the recipes of Bombay Pav and Ladi Pav Recipe in Pressure Cooker.

Few other variations of pav bhaji recipes in the blog are paneer pav bhaji, kada pav bhaji and no onion no garlic pav bhaji version.

 mumbai pav bhaji

The vegetables that are usually added to pav bhaji are cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, peas, capsicum and french beans. Depending on the quantity of these vegetables, the final taste of the pav bhaji will be different. e.g, if you add more carrots, the pav bhaji will have a mild sweeter taste. You can also just make the bhaji with any of these veggie combination. However, addition of capsicum (green bell pepper) is a must.

I always add fresh green peas to the bhaji. But in the pav bhaji stalls and restaurants, they add dried green peas to the bhaji. Hence the consistency of the pav bhaji is mushy and smooth. You can also add dried green peas. You have to soak them overnight and then cook them thoroughly.

Note: I have garnished the Pav Bhaji with chopped mint leaves as I did not have coriander leaves. Just to add some color in the photopraphs, I have used mint leaves. Pav Bhaji is always garnished with coriander leaves. Also the sprouts that you see with the chopped onions are Alfalfa sprouts. Also have updated the post with step by step pics, excluding the final pics of the dish. In the step by step pics carrots are not added. But the final pics of the pav bhaji, carrots were added.

Lets Start Step by Step Pav Bhaji Recipe:

1. Steam or cook all the vegetables except onions, tomatoes and capsicum (green bell pepper) in a pressure cooker or microwave oven or a steamer. The vegetables have be to cooked completely.

 veggies for pav bhaji recipe

2. Peel the potatoes. Roughly chop all the veggies except peas. Mash the vegetables and keep aside. Just lightly mash with a potato masher or with a spoon. Don’t make a puree.

 mashed veggies for pav bhaji recipe

3. In a pan, melt butter.

 melt butter - making pav bhaji recipe

4. Add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the chopped onions.

 add cumin - making pav bhaji recipe

5. Fry the onions till they become translucent.

 fry onions - making pav bhaji recipe

6. Now add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic paste disappears.

 ginger garlic paste - making pav bhaji recipe

7. Add chopped green chilies and saute for a half a minute.

 add chillies - making pav bhaji recipe

8. Add the tomatoes.

 add tomatoes - making pav bhaji recipe

9. Stir and mix the tomatoes with the rest of the mixture.

 mix tomatoes - making pav bhaji recipe

10. Saute till the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you see the fat from the sides. About 6 to 7 minutes on a low to medium flame.

 saute tomatoes - making pav bhaji recipe

11. Add the chopped capsicum (green bell pepper). Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

 add capsicum - making pav bhaji recipe

12. Then add the chilly powder, turmeric powder and pav bhaji masala.

 add pav bhaji masala

13. Stir and saute for a 1 to 2 minutes till the chopped capsicum softens a bit. You don’t need to cook the capsicum till very soft. A little crunch is alright.

 sauting capsium - making pav bhaji recipe

14. Now add the mashed vegetables.

 add vegetables - making pav bhaji recipe

15. Add water and combine everything well.

 add water - making pav bhaji recipe

16. Season with salt.

 add salt to pav bhaji

17. With a potato masher, mash the veggies directly in the pan.

 mash the veggies in pav bhaji

18. Keep on stirring occasionally and let the bhaji simmer for 12-15 minutes. If the bhaji becomes dry and then add some more water. The consistency is neither very thick nor thin.

 simmer pav bhaji

19. When the pav bhaji simmers to the desired consistency, check the taste. Add salt, pav bhaji masala, red chili powder or butter if required.

 simmer pav bhaji

20. Serve pav bhaji hot garnished with coriander leaves and a few cubes of butter. You can add more butter, if you like it. In fact, with more butter, the pav bhaji tastes very good. Along side serve finely chopped onions and lime slices. The lime juice has to be squeezed on the bhaji and topped with chopped onions. Also serve buttered and lightly pan fried pav along with the bhaji.

pav bhaji recipe