Pav Bhajiપાંઉભાજી
Pav bhaji is the dinner that pleases everyone: mixed vegetables mashed into a buttery, spicy mash, served with pav toasted in butter, raw onion and lemon on the side.
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient to tick it off while you shop or measure.
- 3 potatoes, 1 cup cauliflower, ½ cup peas, 1 carrot, 1 capsicum
- 3 tomatoes, 2 onions
- 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala, 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 4 tbsp butter, salt
- 8 pav, lemon, coriander, chopped onion to serve
Method
- Pressure cook the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and peas, then mash them.
- Sauté the onion in butter, add ginger-garlic paste and capsicum.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until soft, then stir in the spices.
- Add the mashed vegetables and a little water and cook 15 minutes, mashing as you go.
- Toast the pav in butter and serve the bhaji with more butter, lemon, onion and coriander.
Tips
- Keep mashing; the smoother the bhaji, the better it tastes.
- Butter is the flavour here. Cutting it back changes the dish completely.
Storing and reheating
The bhaji keeps three days in the fridge and a month in the freezer, which is why many homes make a large pot and share it out. Reheat with a little water and butter. Do not refrigerate the pav — they dry out; freeze them instead and toast from frozen.
What you can swap
- No pav bhaji masala? Combine garam masala, coriander-cumin powder, red chilli and a pinch of dried mango powder.
- To cut the butter, cook in oil and finish with a small knob on top; the taste survives.
- Dislike capsicum? Leave it out and add more cauliflower, carrot or peas.
- Roti or sliced bread works in place of pav.
What to serve with it
Raw onion, lemon and a lump of butter on top — without those three it feels unfinished. Cold buttermilk or lassi beside it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Boiling and mashing the vegetables separately leaves the flavours apart; boil them together and mash in one pan.
- Roast the masala properly in oil. Raw masala makes the bhaji taste bitter.
- Do not make it too thin; it should cling to the pav.
- Toast the pav on a tawa smeared with some of the bhaji masala. That is the street-cart taste.
Questions people ask
Why doesn't home bhaji taste like the cart?
Three reasons: the cart uses far more butter, roasts the masala much longer, and mashes continuously. Do those three at home and the gap closes.
How do you get the deep red colour?
Kashmiri chilli, which colours without much heat. Plenty of tomato helps, and a small piece of beetroot deepens it further.
Why is pav bhaji good for a crowd?
The bhaji can be made ahead and simply reheated, while the pav are toasted to order. One person can serve fifty.
