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Pav Bhaji Recipe (Mumbai Style)

Pav Bhaji is Mumbai's beloved street-side sizzle: a buttery, brick-red mash of potatoes, peas, capsicum and tomatoes cooked on a huge tawa, scooped up with soft, butter-toasted pav.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Maharashtrian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the bhaji
  • 3 medium potatoes about 400 g, boiled and peeled
  • 1 cup cauliflower florets
  • 1/2 cup green peas fresh or frozen
  • 1 medium capsicum green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons butter plus more to serve
  • 1 tablespoon oil keeps the butter from burning
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 large onions finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 large tomatoes finely chopped or pureed (about 1.5 cups)
  • 2 green chillies finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons pav bhaji masala
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder for the street-style colour
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves chopped
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the pav and serving
  • 8 pav soft bread rolls
  • Butter for toasting
  • Chopped onion lemon wedges and extra coriander, to serve

Method
 

  1. Boil the cauliflower and peas until soft (the potatoes are already boiled). Mash everything together roughly with a potato masher, keeping a little texture — set aside with about a cup of the hot vegetable water.
  2. Heat the butter and oil in a wide tawa or kadhai. Let the cumin seeds crackle, then add the onions and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until soft and light golden.
  3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies; cook for a minute.
  4. Add the capsicum and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it softens but still has a little bite.
  5. Add the tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, mashing with the back of the spoon as you go, until the mixture is pulpy and the butter separates.
  6. Lower the heat and add the pav bhaji masala and Kashmiri chilli powder. Stir for a minute so the spices cook without burning.
  7. Add the mashed vegetables with their hot water. Mash everything together right in the pan — the bhaji should be soft and scoopable, not a fine puree and not dry.
  8. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, mashing and stirring, adding splashes of hot water to keep it loose and glossy. Taste and fix the salt and tang.
  9. Finish with lemon juice, coriander and a generous knob of butter on top.
  10. For the pav: split the rolls, spread butter on the cut sides (a pinch of pav bhaji masala and a spoon of bhaji mashed onto the tawa is the street trick), and toast on the same tawa until golden and crisp at the edges.
  11. Serve the bhaji piping hot in the centre of the plate with buttered pav, chopped onion, lemon wedges and extra butter on the bhaji.

Notes

Pav bhaji masala is not interchangeable with garam masala — it is tangier and warmer; if yours is mild, add a pinch of amchur at the end.
Kashmiri chilli powder is for colour more than heat; it is how the street bhaji gets its deep red without becoming fiery.
The bhaji thickens as it stands; loosen with hot water, never cold, and re-butter before serving.
Leftover bhaji makes a fine toast topping or a filling for grilled sandwiches the next day.