This Pav Bhaji Recipe might be alien to some of you. Whenever I go to Little India, I make it a point to buy some pav bhaji, which is a popular street food in India. It is a combination of different vegetables cooked and mashed together with a mix of masala. Traditionally eaten with toasted buns slathered with some butter. So basically, the vegetables are the bhaji and the buns are the pav justifying the name Pav Bhaji.
You may add any vegetables of your choice and even skip the ones you don’t like. This dish is a clever way to make your kids eat more vegetables! All the ingredients are easily available at supermarkets. I bought all my ingredients from Redmart. This recipe uses Pav bhaji masala which is basically ingredients like star anise, fennel seeds, coriander, dried mango, peppercorns..etc all grounded to yield the masala. We are using store-bought pav bhaji masala for convenience. This recipe also uses kasuri methi which is dried fenugreek leaves. Although I managed to get those easily from the supermarket, feel free to omit them if it is not available for you.
If you have a glance at the Pav Bhaji Recipe below, you might feel a little daunted by the pretty long list of ingredients, but trust me the steps are really simple. Let me give you a quick summary of how the whole recipe comes together.
a) You start by boiling the vegetables with some water till it is tender. You then give these a rough mash.
2) Saute the onion, and chilies with some masalas. Add this to the mashed vegetables.
c) Toast the pav/dinner rolls.
d) Top the pav bhaji with some diced onion, cilantro, and lime wedges
e) ENJOY!!
Pretty easy right? Trust me, this is going to be SO worth it. Pav bhaji can be enjoyed at any time of the day, be it brunch, lunch, or even dinner! Of course, the toasted pav/dinner roll is a must and you HAVE to serve these with chopped onion and a good squeeze of lime! And if you are feeling decadent, add another tablespoon of butter to the bhaji and go wowza!!
- 2 + 1 tbsp salted butter
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 green chilies, sliced
- ¾ cup tomatoes, diced
- 1½ cups potatoes, cubed
- 1½ cups cauliflower florets
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- ½ cup carrot, sliced
- 1 green capsicum, diced
- ½ tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ tbsp pav bhaji masala
- ½ tbsp chili powder (can add more for heat)
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tbsp kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 12 pavs/dinner rolls (2 rolls per person)
- Butter
- 1 tsp pav bhaji masala
- Cilantro
- 1 large onion, diced
- More cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Butter (optional)
- Put the potatoes, cauliflower, peas, and carrots in a pot with 2.5 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt.
- Cook till vegetables are soft.
- In a frying pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter.
- Add chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent.
- Add green chili and saute for another minute.
- Mix in ginger garlic paste and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Add capsicum and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in pav bhaji masala, chili powder and turmeric powder. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes, dried fenugreek leaves and salt to season.
- Fry till tomatoes are soft.
- Add the cooked masala to the mashed vegetables.
- Add ½ to ¾ cups more water to bring it to thick curry consistency.
- Add another 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Mix well and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste test and add more salt if required.
- Turn off the flame, and add cilantro and juice of 1 lime.
- Slit the pav/dinner rolls horizontally leaving one edge intact.
- On a low flame, heat 1 teaspoon butter in a frying pan. Add a sprinkle of the pav bhaji masala and some cilantro.
- Place the pav on the butter and toast for 1 to 2 mins until slightly crisp. Toast the other side too.
- Plate some bhaji on a plate with 2 pav/dinner rolls per person.
- Garnish with cilantro, lime wedges and chopped onions.
- Top with more butter if preferred,
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