Pav Bhaji
A thick, mashed mixed-vegetable curry served with butter-toasted pav rolls — invented as a quick meal for Mumbai textile mill workers and now the city's defining street food.
Vegetarian
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes, boiled
- 1 cup cauliflower florets, boiled
- 1/2 cup green peas, boiled
- 1 carrot, boiled and chopped
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2-3 tbsp pav bhaji masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- Salt, to taste
- 8 pav (soft dinner rolls), sliced
- Chopped onion, cilantro, and lemon wedges, to serve
Steps
- Mash the boiled potatoes, cauliflower, peas, and carrot roughly with a potato masher. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the bell pepper, garlic, and ginger, and cook a few minutes more.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a soft, jammy base.
- Stir in the pav bhaji masala and chili powder, and cook briefly until fragrant.
- Add the mashed vegetables and a splash of water, mixing everything together and mashing further directly in the pan with the masher until well combined and slightly chunky.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes, mashing occasionally, until thick. Season with salt.
- Slit the pav rolls and toast them on a griddle with the remaining butter until golden and slightly crisp.
- Serve the bhaji hot, topped with a pat of butter, alongside the toasted pav, chopped onion, cilantro, and lemon wedges.