One of the most popular Indian Street Food - Pav Bhaji has a medley of spicy mashed veggies topped with lots of butter, cilantro, lemon juice and served with eggless dinner rolls!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 5
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian Street Food

Ingredients

For the Bhaji

  • 2 large potatoes ([adjustable] 385 grams [/adjustable], boiled)
  • ½ head cauliflower ([adjustable] 215 grams [/adjustable], boiled)
  • ½ of a large green pepper ([adjustable] 135 grams [/adjustable], boiled)
  • ½ cup frozen green peas (boiled)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter (unsalted, divided)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 medium red onion ([adjustable] 230 grams [/adjustable], finely chopped)
  • 2 inch ginger ([adjustable] 24 grams [/adjustable], finely chopped)
  • 7 cloves garlic ([adjustable] 20 grams [/adjustable], finely chopped)
  • 2 green chilies (finely chopped, adjust to taste)
  • 3 large tomatoes ([adjustable] 425 grams [/adjustable], finely chopped)
  • ⅓ cup tomato puree (store bought)
  • 1&¼ teaspoon salt (divided)
  • 1&¼ cups water (divided)
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala (or to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder (not hot, used mainly for color)
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (also known as dried fenugreek leaves)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • juice of 1 large lemon

For the Pav

  • 12-14 pav (eggless dinner rolls)
  • butter (to toast the pav)
  • pav bhaji masala (to sprinkle)

Method

Make the Bhaji

  1. The first thing you need to do is cook your vegetables and keep them ready. I used 2 large potatoes (385 grams), ½ head of a small cauliflower (215 grams), ½ green pepper (135 grams), and ½ cup green peas (frozen). I used my pressure cooker to boil them until they were soft and tender, you can also steam the vegetables using a steamer.
  2. Now, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot on medium heat. Once the butter melts and oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
  3. Add 2 medium red onions (chopped) and mix. I like to use my food processor to chop them fine. Cook the onions for around 4 minutes until golden they are golden brown in color.
  4. Then add 2-inch ginger (finely chopped), 7 large garlic cloves (finely chopped) and 2 green chilies (finely chopped). Again, I used my food processor to chop them fine. Cook the ginger-garlic-green chili for 1 minute.
  5. Now, add 3 large tomatoes (chopped) and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook for 2 minutes. Add ⅓ cup tomato puree (store bought), ¼ cup water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook for 6 minutes until softened and completely cooked.
  6. Add 1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala, 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. You may also add ½ teaspoon of sugar here (optional).
  7. Mix well and then add in 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
  8. Stir in the boiled veggies and mix. Using a potato masher, mash the veggies until they are completely mixed with the masala. Add the remaining ¾ - 1 cup water and mix. I used an immersion blender to blend the veggies to a paste like consistency at this point but this is optional. You may keep them as such.
  9. Cover the pot and set heat to low. Let the bhaji simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Then open the pot and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons cilantro (chopped).
  10. Finally add in juice of 1 large lemon. Let the bhaji simmer for 2 more minutes and then remove pan from heat.

Toast the Pav

  1. To toast the pav, melt butter on a pan on medium heat (around 1 teaspoon butter for each pav). Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on top of the butter and then place the buns on the pan. Press to toast the pav until crisp and golden brown from both sides.

Serve the Pav Bhaji

  1. To serve the pav bhaji, place ladle full of bhaji in a plate. Top the bhaji with a dollop of butter. Serve with 2 pavs and a side of chopped onions and a lemon wedge.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.