Pav Bhaji Recipe, How to make Mumbai Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is a flavorsome and hearty meal that has a delicious blend of spicy mixed vegetables, served alongside soft butter toasted dinner rolls, crunchy onions and lemon wedges. This homemade Mumbai pav bhaji tastes absolutely phenomenal! It’s the easiest and a great dinner option for the busy weeknights. A total crowd-pleaser with bold flavors! Make the best pav bhaji at home with my simple recipe instructions for stovetop and instant pot (or traditional pressure cooker).

It’s no secret that there a lot of delicious Indian street foods like aloo tikki, dahi vada, bhel puri, vada pav and batata vada, but pav bhaji is particularly unique for its intoxicating aroma. Probably, it’s hard for a lot of Indians to cross a pav bhaji place without surrendering to the temptation. Undeniably, it is the most loved street foods from India!!

If you are new to Indian cuisine and wondering

What is Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is an Indian fast food consisting of a spicy vegetable gravy served with soft dinner rolls. In Hindi and Marathi, the word ‘Pav’ means ‘Bread roll’ and ‘bhaji’ means ‘a vegetable dish’. Since these are served together as a meal, it is known as pav bhaji.

Originated in Mumbai as a light and quick meal option for the textile workers, this Mumbai’s most iconic street food became hugely popular across India. (Source: Wikipedia)

You will find this everywhere right from upscale restaurants to school/ college canteens & street side push carts in India.

About Pav Bhaji Recipe

My homemade version is easier than you think & it tastes incredibly delicious! Except for the preparation, you won’t need to put much effort. Though an all-time favorite, this isn’t the perfect starter instead it is ideal for a meal. Because no one wants to stop with 1 to 2 servings of pav bhaji.

Bhaji has a mélange of vegetables cooked with butter and pav bhaji masala, a special spice blend which creates a magic. The piping hot bhaji is topped with a generous amount of butter and garnished with coriander leaves.

It is then served alongside butter toasted pav, chopped onions and lemon wedges. Then you are ready to dip the pav in the bhaji and relish it.

In this post I show 2 ways to make it. The first method in the most common one where the veggies are cooked first separately and then later simmered with the onion tomato masala and pav bhaji masala.

The second method is a one pot recipe where you make the masala first and then add the raw veggies. This is pressure cooked with the spice powders. This second method can be followed if you have a pressure cooker, either the stovetop Indian cooker or the instant pot.

Street style Vs Home style

Usually the street side bhaji is made with more potatoes & onions. Veggies like cauliflower, capsicum & peas are used in little quantities or even skipped.

Street stalls selling Mumbai pav bhaji often avoid cauliflower as it turns out to be expensive for them. But while making it at home, it is good to use it as the flavor of bhaji turns out excellent.

Make Pav Bhaji Masala

There are many pav bhaji masala powders available in the market which can be used instantly. Each one differs in the flavor and taste. But the basic ingredients almost remain the same. Only the quantity of ingredients change. So you can chose the one you like.

I like my homemade masala powders so I make my own pav bhaji masala powder at home. You can find the link in the recipe card below. I have shared it here in brief.

You can also make pav bhaji masala powder by dry roasting the following ingredients. Powder them in a spice grinder and use as needed in this recipe.
2 tbsps coriander seeds
1 black cardamom
2 green cardamoms
1 tbsp cumin or jeera
1 tsp pepper corn
1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
3 red chilies
1 inch cinnamon
3 to 4 cloves
1/2 tbsp amchur

For more street foods check
Sandwich recipes
Pakora recipes
Papdi chaat
Gobi manchurian

How to Make Pav Bhaji (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

Rinse, peel and cube 3 medium or 2 larger potatoes (about 300 grams). Mine were about 1½ to 2 cups when measured. Clean 1 cup cauliflower florets (optional). Rinse ½ to ¾ cups green peas. If you want you can also use 1 medium carrot (Half cup chopped).

For making masala, chop 1 medium onion (¾ to 1 cup chopped) , 2 medium tomatoes (¾ to 1 cup chopped), half bell pepper (½ cup chopped) and 1 green chilli. Also make 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. Keep all of these aside.

1. Add potatoes, cauliflower, peas & carrots (optional) to a pressure cooker or a pot. Pour 1½ cups water, it should be just enough to cover them partially.

2. Pressure cook for 1 to 2 whistles on a medium flame. I pressure cook for only 1 whistle.

3. When the pressure releases open the lid. Veggies should be soft cooked. Mash them well.

Preparing Masala

4. Heat 1 tablespoon butter & 1 tablespoon oil in a pan.

5. Add ¾ to 1 cup chopped onions. Saute till they turn translucent.

6. Add 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste and 1 green chilli. Fry until it smells good. Take care not to burn.

7. Add half cup chopped bell pepper. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

8. Add ¾ to 1 cup chopped tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Fry till tomatoes turn mushy, soft and pulpy.

9. Add 1 teaspoon chilli powder and 1 to 1½ tablespoon paav bhaji masala powder. If making for kids, skip the chilli powder but it will affect the color.

10. Mix well and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

11. Add the boiled & mashed veggies. Add ½ to ¾ cups more water to bring it to a consistency.

12. Mix well and simmer for a while to bring out the flavor of masala. Taste test and add more salt if you want. You can also add more chili powder at this stage for brighter color. Also for more flavor you may add more pav bhaji masala if you want.

13. Add ¾ tablespoon kasuri methi. When it reaches the desired consistency, add chopped coriander leaves. switch off. Slightly cool down and add some lemon juice before serving.

Toasting Pav

14. Slit the pav horizontally leaving one edge intact. On a low flame, heat 1 teaspoon butter on a tawa. Add little masala powder over it.

15. Place the pav on the butter and toast for 1 to 2 mins until slightly crisp. Do not over do it as the spice powder will burn. You can do the same on the other side as well by adding more butter on the pan.

Garnish with coriander leaves, lemon wedges and chopped onions. Top with more butter on hot bhaji. Serve pav bhaji with some butter topped and onion.

How to make Instant Pot Pav Bhaji

This recipe has been tried and tested in a 6 qts Instant pot. It works very well even with homemade pavbhaji masala which I shared in the Intro of this post.

For Bhaji you will need
1 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cup onions fine chopped – 125 grams – 1 medium or 2 small
¾ cup tomatoes fine chopped – 125 grams – 2 medium
1½ cups potatoes – 300 grams – 3 medium or 2 large
½ cup green peas – 75 grams
½ cup carrots (1 medium, 75 grams)
1 cup cauliflower florets (or substitute with half cup potatoes)
½ cup bell pepper chopped – 65 grams – 1 small capsicum
1 tablespoon ginger garlic fine chopped or paste
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 to 1½ tbsp pav bhaji masala
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (can add more for heat)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon kasuri methi
2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped

For serving
6 to 8 pavs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons chopped onions
2 tablespoons coriander leaves fine chopped

Instructions

1. Press SAUTE button on the instant pot. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil to the steel insert. I also added half teaspoon cumin seeds here which I have not mentioned in the recipe. These are optional and can be skipped.

2. Add onions and green chilli. Saute until transparent.

3. Spread them in a single layer so they fry quickly.

4. Then stir in ginger garlic and fry for 30 seconds.

5. Add the tomatoes, capsicum and sprinkle salt.

6. Saute until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Then add in pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and turmeric.

7. Mix well and add all the veggies – potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and peas.

8. Pour 2 cups water and deglaze the pot by scrubbing the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula.

9. Press CANCEL button and press PRESSURE COOK button with high pressure setting. Set the timer to 5 mins and position the steam release handle to sealing. When the IP beeps, wait for 5 mins for natural pressure release. Gently release the rest of the pressure manually.

10. With a spatula or masher, mash all the veggies well.

11. Press SAUTE button. Taste test. If needed add more salt, red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala. I set aside my kids’ portion and then added more spice powders. Also add kasuri methi.

12. Let the bhaji simmer for 3 to 4 mins. It will thicken.

13. Transfer to serving bowls. Top with butter & coriander leaves.

Slit each bun to 2 horizontally. Heat a pan. Smear some butter and sprinkle pav bhaji masala over the butter. (check images above) Toast the pavs until lightly crisp.

Serve pav with hot bhaji, chopped onions and lemon wedges on the side.

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Recipe Card

Pav Bhaji Recipe is from the Archives. First published in October 2014. Updated and republished in November 2021.