Mumbai Street Style Pavbhaji – Flavorsofmykitchen

Pav Bhaji is the king of Mumbai Street Food. If you love Indian street food, you will not miss this popular street food of Mumbai city.

An easy one-pot recipe for the most popular Indian street food, Pav Bhaji in Instant Pot. It is a spiced mashed vegetable curry topped with chopped onions, cilantro, lime and enjoyed with dinner rolls. 

Pav Bhaji is a popular Indian street food. Pav Bhaji is made with potatoes and vegetables cooked in a tomato base, and enjoyed with pav or dinner rolls. We will make it in both Instant Pot and Stovetop Pressure Cooker. Try this one-pot Pav Bhaji recipe in the pressure cooker and you will not make it any other way again!

Pav Bhaji is not only popular in Mumbai only now. It is popular in world wide. I still remember the popular Bhaji in our Surat city.

What are Pav Bhaji Ingredients?

Pav – This is dinner rolls. In India, they are eggless rolls which can be easily found at an indian grocery store. However you can choose to use any diner rolls or burger buns for pav bhaji. We used to even enjoy it with sliced bread.

Bhaji – It is made from potatoes and vegetables cooked in a tomato base. The main vegetables to use for pav bhaji are – cauliflower, green peas, carrots, bell pepper (or capsicum).

Traditionally, Bhaji is prepared as a two step process. The vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, beet/carrot, peas) are boiled until very soft in a pot or stovetop pressure cooker. Then separately in a fry pan, masala with onions and tomatoes is prepared and the boiled mashed vegetables are added to the masala.

Pav Bhaji Masala

One of the special ingredient used in this recipe is Pav Bhaji Masala. Pav bhaji is famous enough to have it’s own special spice blend. I recommend to use Bharat Masala or Everest brand masala.

Butter

When you cook the spices and vegetables in butter, it imparts a lovely flavor and makes the bhaji buttery and melt-in-mouth. So, please do not skip it.

Of course, you need not use tons of it, but I would recommend at least 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter if you want the right taste. You can, of course, add more if you like, makes the bhaji much more delicious and richer!

KASHMIRI RED CHILI POWDER-

You can use either Kashmiri or Byadagi red chili powder, they both impart a bright red color with less heat. This is what we are looking for in the bhaji.

In case you do not have them both, you can use the spicy red chili powder, but reduce the quantity than mentioned in the recipe.

You can also use paprika powder if you do not find Kashmiri red chili powder.

GINGER AND GARLIC-

I recommend using fresh ginger garlic paste, or grated ginger and garlic. It hardly takes a minute to grate them. You can also pound them in a mortar and pestle.

Store-bought ginger garlic paste will also work, but I personally dislike using it in my cooking since it is not fresh and is with preservatives.

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LEMON JUICE-

Lemon juice is added twice. Once while making the bhaji, and the second time before serving.

It makes a lot of difference in the taste and balances all the flavors perfectly. So, do not skip this.

KASURI METHI AND CILANTRO (CORIANDER)–

Kasuri Methi is dried fenugreek leaves. You can find this in grocery stores (or in Indian stores, if you are living outside India).

I prefer adding these directly to melted butter, as it releases a great flavor. In case you don’t find this, you can skip.

Cilantro can be added to the end after making the bhaji and/or while serving the bhaji. More the merrier!

VEGETABLES-

The pav bhaji you get outside on the street will mostly be made of only potato, peas, green bell pepper (capsicum), onion, and tomato. They form the base.

Additionally, you can add vegetables like carrot, cauliflower, beetroot.

I use only half a green bell pepper and personally don’t like adding cauliflower at all in my pav bhaji. I feel adding cauliflower and too much bell pepper dominates and alters the flavors of the bhaji.

The reason why I add beetroot is because of the color it imparts. I love the deep reddish-orange color in the bhaji, and beetroot really helps with that, without altering the taste.

I agree adding carrot makes the bhaji a little sweet and which is why you will need to use more of the spice powders.

So you can choose to use whichever veggies you like from the above list, but vegetables like beans, cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, radish, etc are not appropriate for this dish.

I recommend using fresh ginger garlic paste, or grated ginger and garlic. It hardly takes a minute to grate them. You can also pound them in a mortar and pestle.

Store-bought ginger garlic paste will also work, but I personally dislike using it in my cooking since it is not fresh and is with preservatives.

TIPS TO MAKE THE REDDISH-ORANGE COLOR BHAJI (PAV BHAJI)

If you are new to this, you might be wondering what is it with the color!

If you have seen or tasted the street style Pav Bhaji, you would have noticed that it will be reddish-orange in color. That is because they use artificial food color and use too much oil too.

Here are a few tips to do that-

BEETROOT-

Beetroot is the secret key ingredient which gives bhaji a beautiful red color. You can add beetroot while cook the vegetables. If you want red color, skip carrots and use only beetroot.

KASHMIRI RED CHILI POWDER-

The stage at which you add the Kashmiri or Byadagi red chili powder makes the difference here. Add it directly to the melted butter rather than adding it later along with veggies. This way it helps release the lovely color.

TOMATOES-

Make sure to use well-ripened, red, juicy tomatoes. Cooking them well along with the Kashmiri red chili powder enhances the color of the pav bhaji. If you like, you can use store-bought tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes.

DRY KASHMIRI RED CHILIES–

Soak 2 or 3 Kashmiri or Byadagi red chilies in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and blend them into a smooth paste. Add this paste along with tomatoes and cook well.

FOR THE BEST TASTING PAV BHAJI–

After cooking the bhaji, I highly recommend resting it for at least 30 minutes before serving. The spices will all come together very well with time and the flavor of the bhaji enhances.

Follow these tips and tell me if you noticed a difference in color and taste.

PREPARATION TO BE DONE TO MAKE PAV BHAJI-

1- Peel and chop 4 medium-sized potatoes and 2 small carrots into small cubes.

Peel and chop 1 small beetroot as finely as possible. As beetroot is a little hard, chopping it finely helps it to cook well and to easily mash later. (telling this based on my own mistake)

If you do not have fresh or frozen peas, soak 1/4 cup dried green peas in hot water for 3 hours.

2- Finely chop or grate 2 medium-sized red onions, and 2 large tomatoes. Use the round (country) variety of tomato that is red and well-ripened.

Grate 1/2 inch ginger and 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves. Grate them all using the side of the grater with small holes.

Finely chop half a green bell pepper (capsicum).

Mumbai Street Style Pavbhaji – Flavorsofmykitchen

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Shruti Naik Course: MainCuisine: Indian

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

Pav Bhaji is popular Indian street food from Mumbai in which dinner rolls (pav/buns) are served with spiced mashed vegetable curry along with butter. Here is a detailed step by step recipe to easily make the perfect street style Pav Bhaji at home.

Ingredients

• To Pressure Cook

• 4 medium sized potatoes

• 1 cup cauliflower

• 1 small sized beetroot

• 3/4 cup fresh or frozen peas – or soak 1/4 cup dried peas in water for 5 hours

• 1 teaspoon salt – optional

• 1.75 cups water – or as required

• To make the Bhaji (Curry)

• 2 +1 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon oil

• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder

• a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

• 2 teaspoons Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

• 2 medium sized red onion – finely chopped or grated

• 1 large garlic clove (or 2 small) – grated or crushed

• 1/2 inch fresh ginger – grated or crushed

• 2 medium sized ripened tomatoes (round country variety) – finely chopped or grated

• 1/2 large green bell pepper (capscium) – finely chopped

• 1.5 tablespoons Pavbhaji masala

• 2 teaspoons salt – or as per taste

• 1 small lemon – or half a big lemon

• 4 sprigs cilantro (coriander leaves) – finely chopped

• 3/4 to 1 cup water – or as required

• o Serve

• 10 to 12 numbers dinner rolls (pav)

• 2 tablespoons butter – can use more or less as per choice

• 2 teaspoons Pavbhaji masala

• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder – optional

• 1 medium sized onion – finely chopped

• 6 stalks cilantro – finely chopped

• 1 to 2 small lemon – cut into wedges (pieces)

Directions

• In Pressure cooker add cauliflower, potatoes, peas and beetroot. Add salt and water and pressure cook this veggies for 3 whistles.
• In a pan add some butter and oil. Add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute this until they leave the raw taste. Add finely chopped green pepper and saute for few minutes.
• Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook this. You can add little salt to cook tomatoes.
• Add Kashmiri red chili powder, pavbhaji masala, cumin coriander powder, turmeric. Cook this spices until you see oil separated.
• Finely add cooked and mashed vegetables. Add salt only if needed. Mix it well and add lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro and topped with onions.
• Serve this Bhaji with Dinner rolls.
• Instant Pot Pavbhaji:
• Start the pressure cooker in sauté mode (high flame for stovetop pressure cooker) and heat 2 tbsp butter/oil in it. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes.
• Add bell pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, pav bhaji masala and salt. Add the ground chili paste. If anything is stuck to the bottom of the pot, scrape it with a spatula.
• Add cauliflower, potatoes, beetroot and peas.
• Instant Pot Method
• Press cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position. Change the setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 8 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, release the pressure naturally.
• Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
• Close the lid, turn the heat on high flame and pressure cook it until your hear two whistles. Now reduce the flame to medium and pressure cook it for another 6 minutes. Turn off heat. Let the pressure release naturally.
• Mash and Garnish Bhaji
• Open the pressure cooker and use an immersion blender to coarsely grind the ingredients. You can also use a potato masher to mash the bhaji to the desired consistency.
• Change to sauté mode and let the bhaji boil for a minute. Mix in the lime juice. Bhaji is ready to be served.
• Preparing Pav
• Slice each pav or dinner rolls in two halves.
• Heat butter on a pan and place the sliced pav on it. Lightly toast on one side and then turn to toast on the other side.
• Pav are ready to be served with bhaji.
• Serving Pav Bhaji
• Take 1-2 ladles of bhaji in a plate. Add a dollop of butter. Sprinkle some chopped onions and cilantro on the top. Sprinkle some lime juice on the top if you like a tangier taste. Serve with two buttered pav’s on the side.

Recipe Video

Notes

• IF you like red color in your pavbhaji, use beetroot and kashmiri red chili powder.
• You can make in pressure cooker or as an one pot meal in Instant pot.