Pav Bhaji Recipe (Super Delicious Mumbai Pav Bhaji)

Want a meal that’s hearty, satisfying and delightful too? Here’s it – mashed spiced vegetables; served with a side of cotton-like soft, buttery dinner rolls, crunchy onions, herby fresh coriander and tangy lemon. To sum up, the Pav Bhaji – a famous street food from the ‘city of dreams,’ Mumbai.

This Pav Bhaji Recipe is going to be create fireworks on your palate! Check out my step-by-step picture guide and video of making this delicious street style dish in 2 ways – one, traditionally and two, as a quick Instant Pot recipe.

More On Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is an iconic dish from Mumbai, which is also hugely popular as street food all over India. It first came into picture in Mumbai as a quick lunch option for textile mill workersGradually, over the years, the dish became widespread. Today, you can find it as a common street food and a special in restaurants in Mumbai and the rest of India.

Just to give you the literal meaning: in Marathi, ‘pav’ means bread rolls and ‘bhaji’ refers to vegetables or a dry/gravy style mixed veggie dish. Since this particular combination has both these being served together, the dish is well-known under the sobriquet Pav Bhaji.

So, you must be thinking as to what really brings in the uniqueness in the bhaji or the mix of tangy, spiced vegetables in the Pav Bhaji Recipe? It is the special spice blend called the Pav Bhaji Masala that makes the difference.

It is a typical Maharashtrian spice powder which is easily available in Indian stores and online. But, with the above linked recipe, it can be easily made at home.

This masala powder is an absolutely essential ingredient in the Pav Bhaji Recipe as you can only achieve the most authentic and perfect flavor by using the pav bhaji masala in it.

Memories of my Pav Bhaji Recipe go back to the times when I was a teenager. At home, I would often make this lovely dish for my family, especially my sister who absolutely loved to have this meal.

It was also a ritual for us to gorge on this delicious snack whenever we planned an outing to Juhu Beach in Mumbai.

The most typical way to have it was to order plates of it, with a generous quantity of bhaji and 2 pavs at a time. And then to finish the bhaji, we would keep on ordering for more pavs until there was no more bhaji left!.

While I was growing up, it was almost a celebratory occasion to savor Pav Bhaji and other Mumbai style street dishes especially at the Juhu Beach. That time with the most delectable food, wind in our hair and the sound of the gushing waves – I can never forget these!

More so, because it was the place from where I have picked up the fine tips, tricks and nuances of making this yummy recipe with a lineage of its own!

PrePare Mumbai Pav Bhaji Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Bhaji:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1 large tomato, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced

• 2 tablespoons Pav Bhaji Masala

• 1 teaspoon red chili powder

• 2 cups cooked mashed potatoes

• 1 cup cooked mixed vegetables, such as peas, carrots, and beans

• 1/2 cup cooked green peas

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons butter

• Salt, to taste

For the Pav:

• 4 pav bread buns

• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato, garlic, and ginger and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add Pav Bhaji Masala, red chili powder, potatoes, mixed vegetables, green peas, cilantro, butter, and salt. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Mash the mixture with a potato masher or back of a spoon until desired consistency is reached.
5. To prepare the pav, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and toast pav bread buns until golden brown.

Serve the bhaji with toasted pav bread buns. Enjoy!