Pav Bhaji is truly the soulful street food of Mumbai. And this recipe is as authentic as it can get. A good Pav Bhaji, tastes great with Thums up (Indian soda) and Amul Butter 🙂
A good Pav Bhaji, tastes great with Thums up (Indian soda) and Amul Butter 🙂
This authentic Bhaiya ji wali Pav Bhaji is one of the best pav bhaji recipes which I stumbled upon a while back, and am so lucky to have found it. All credits for this recipe to the Juhu Pav Bhaji stall waaley Bhaiya ji Murari ji, as well as the person who recorded and uploaded the video Vikas Kumar.
When talking about Indian Street Foods, Pav Bhaji invariably tops the list. It’s in fact one of the healthier street foods compared to many. Moms are known to sneak veggies in this Pav Bhaji – the ones that we don’t tend to eat much – my Mom does that too! In fact, I always feel Pav Bhaji is a Mom’s conspiracy to make the family eat more veggies. And it works 🙂
I had blogged about a different – easier and quicker – version of Bombay Pav Bhaji a few years back – and you can find that recipe here.
The Pav Bhaji making process in the video is being shown by none other than a Bhaiya ji at a Pav Bhaji stall in Juhu, Mumbai. Even if you follow my text recipe – don’t miss to watch the video – it’s fun watching it. I love this technique and the Pav bhaji made using this technique comes very close to the ones available on the streets of Mumbai.
Don’t let the picture deceive you – it doesn’t do justice to how good this pav bhaji tastes. Also, when I clicked this picture, which was the following day on which I had made it, it had soaked/evaporated some water. Generally the consistency of this pav bhaji is more on the liquid side. The video doesn’t mention the quantities of the ingredients, so I used it per my guess work. You may try variations of the quantity based on what suits you.
Click here for the Video Link:
I love butter, and that’s why I have used it, but you can also make this zero butter/oil recipe.
Pav is the bread which accompanies the bhaji. You may either buy it readymade or make it at home. I had blogged the recipe of Pav a few years ago – you may find it here. Over here, I have given the recipe for Masala Pav, which goes great with Bhaji.
Update: A lot of you have asked me where I bought this warmer utensil or angithi. I bought it from a store in New Jersey. But if you want to buy it online, you can check out these vendors: US/Europe and India.
Bombay Pav Bhaji | The Soulful Streetfood of Mumbai
Pav Bhaji is truly the soulful street food of Mumbai. And this recipe is as authentic as it can get. Pav Bhaji is a medley of selected mixed vegetables, simmered in butter and aromatic spices. It is accompanied by a special bread called Pav, which is bread bun.
Print Pin RecipeServings (slide to adjust): 6
Ingredients
Ingredients for Bhaji:
- 1 ½ Capsicum, diced
- 1 cup Tomato sauce (or 2 large tomaties, chopped)
- 2 Potatoes, medium sized, boiled, skinned, and mashed
- ¾ cup Green Peas, boiled for 3-5 mins in microwave
- 1 Onion, medium sized, finely chopped
- 3 pods Garlic, finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger, grated
- ½ teaspoon Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 2-3 tablespoons Butter (or more if you like – I like it with lots of butter)
- ½ – ¾ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- a pinch Turmeric Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala
- 1 pinch Asafetida
- 1-2 tablespoons Lemon juice
- a few sprigs Coriander leaves, chopped
- Salt – to taste
- 4-5 cups Water Will be using little by little throughout the process
Ingredients for Masla Pav:
- 6 – 12 Pav
- 1-2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Pav bhaji masala
Instructions
Bhaji:
- Heat a broad bottomed tawa (pan), place diced capsicum in it and add some water. Saute’
- Add tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes), green peas, mashed potatoes, red chili powder, ginger and garlic, turmeric powder. Add some more water to make the vegetables tender, as also to avoid sticking the vegetables to the pan. Add some butter, stir for a while.
- Start mashing the vegetables with a masher, till the mixture turns mushy. Add some more water and bring it to a boil. Sprinkle pav bhaji masala, salt, chopped coriander leaves and some more water. Keep mashing and stirring till the bhaji thickens and the oil separates.
- Now heat butter (I like lots, you may add per your preference), in the same or separate pan, to it add some chopped onions, ginger, garlic, red chili powder, pav bhaji masala, dried fenugreek leaves, asafetida , coriander leaves, lemon juice. [I generally tend to make space in the middle in the same pan and continue this process – you may choose to do so in the same or separate pan]
Can add color to get that red tinge. - Now fold in the bhaji, mix it, mash it, and keep stirring until it thickens and no ingredients are recognizable. Bhaji is ready!
Masala Pav:
- Heat butter, add coriander leaves, red chili powder, pav bhaji masala.
- Split the pav from middle such that at one end, it’s still intact. Roast these on each side in the masala you just added, till these become tender.
- Serve the Pav Bhaji on a plate, garnished with chopped coriander leaves, chopped onion, a lemon wedge, and a blob of butter! It tastes best with Thumps Up (Indian Soda) on the side!Enjoy!
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♥ Did you like or try this recipe? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more delicious posts and recipes. ♥
♥ Did you like or try this recipe? If so, I would love to hear from you. Please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more delicious posts and recipes. ♥
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CulinaryExcursions
awesome!