This lip-smacking spicy mixed-vegetable curry served along with dinner rolls, also known as pav, is a perfect party pleaser recipe and perfect for a weekday brunch, lunch, or dinner. Pav Bhaji is one of our favorite recipes. We love it for any meal. Actually, we can have chaat dishes for brunch, lunch, or dinner. When I made the masala puri, I served it for our dinner.
What is Pav Bhaji?
As mentioned before, pav bhaji is a popular Indian street food famous in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Pav means dinner rolls, and bhaji is nothing but a spicy mixed-vegetable curry where the vegetables are mashed thoroughly. We usually serve the piping hot bhaji topped with a dollop of butter along with pav buns or the dinner rolls. Pav and bhaji are inseparable, and it is always known as pav bhaji.
Pav bhaji masala
For this recipe, I went with the MDH masala. As kiddo can handle spicy food, I started increasing the spice level a bit. Here I have used 1.5 tbsp bhaji masala and 1 tbsp of red chili powder. It is slightly on the spicier side. You can always adjust it according to your preference. You can add a small jaggery piece, which balances out the flavor even though I haven’t added jaggery for this recipe.
Veggies used for the bhaji
And coming to vegetables, apart from onions and tomatoes, I usually add some carrots, peas, potatoes, and cauliflower along with bell peppers. I always love to add colored bell peppers to make the dish more colorful. Coming to potatoes and cauliflower, I have tried using equal measures of potatoes and cauliflower. I have also tried using more potatoes than cauliflower. Do not overload your bhaji with veggies, though.
Tips for making perfect restaurant-style pav bhaji
I love that bright red-colored pav bhaji, and I add some tomato paste and Kashmiri red chili powder for the same. I have included 1 tbsp of store-bought tomato paste and ½ tbsp Kashmiri red chill powder in this recipe. The tomato paste is entirely optional. Don’t skimp on the butter. Use a generous amount while toasting the pav buns and also while serving the bhaji.As always, fresh ingredients adds its magic. I always use fresh ginger and garlic instead of the ginger-garlic paste. Trust me, folks, it makes a huge difference. You cannot find a pav bhaji plate without a lime/lemon wedge and some onions. Don’t miss them. Add some butter and lemon/lime juice just before serving. Along with onions, I love to include some bell peppers as it adds a nice crunch. I use my hand-blender or the immersion blender to mash the veggies. No, I don’t puree my veggies. I blend them coarsely. Do not add more than 1 cup of water while making the curry. Mashing the veggies helps to thicken the gravy but don’t add more than the required amount of water.
Serving suggestions
Usually, bhaji is served hot with a dollop of butter and some lime wedges, diced/sliced onions, and the toasted pav buns. You can use store-bought pav buns, or you can make it at home as well. I have the wheat pav buns recipe on my blog. You can find eggless pav buns in Indian Stores, or you can buy the dinner rolls from a bakery. Pav bhaji is more like Indian sloppy Joes, the vegetarian version of the sloppy joes. Now let’s see the pav bhaji recipe.
How to Make Pav Bhaji (Instant Pot Method)
Set the Instant Pot in saute mode, and after 30 seconds, add the oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Let the butter melt and when the oil is hot, add the finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
Mix 1 tbsp of tomato paste with ⅓cup of water without any lumps. Add this tomato paste water, chopped tomatoes, pav bhaji masala, salt, and red chili powder.
Mix well and cook this mixture for 5 minutes.
Now add all the veggies – potatoes, peas, cauliflower, carrots, and bell peppers.
Add the remaining ⅔ cup of water and mix well.
Turn off the Instant Pot. Close the Instant Pot. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 5-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally. Carefully open the lid after releasing the pressure, and here is how the bhaji looks. It might be a little watery, and that’s ok. As we blend and cook, it will thicken.
Using a hand blender, blend the bhaji coarsely.
Mix well and set the Instant Pot back in saute mode. Let it cook for two to three minutes. Then add the chopped cilantro and more butter. Mix well and turn off the Instant Pot.
How to prepare the bhaji in the stove-top pressure cooker?
Heat a pressure pan or cooker and heat the oil and butter in the cooker. When it is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix 1 tbsp of tomato paste with ⅓cup of water without any lumps. Add this tomato paste water, chopped tomatoes, pav bhaji masala, salt, and red chili powder. Mix well and cook this mixture for 5 minutes.Now add all the veggies – potatoes, peas, cauliflower, carrots, and bell peppers. Add the remaining ⅔ cup of water and mix well. Pressure cook for three whistles and let the pressure release naturally. Using a hand blender, blend the bhaji coarsely. You can also use a potato masher and mash the veggies. Mix well and let it cook for two to three minutes.Now add the chopped cilantro and more butter. Mix well and turn off the heat.
Cook the pav buns
Heat the tawa or griddle and add little butter. Cut the pav buns horizontally and open the buns. You can leave the edges intact or cut them into two halves. Toast the pav buns on both sides. Pav buns are now ready.
Serving the pav bhaji
Plate the toasted pav buns with the prepared bhaji. Add some extra butter to the bhaji and garnish it with finely chopped cilantro. Serve it along with some lemon/lime wedges (or drizzle some lemon juice) and with chopped onion-bell pepper mix.
Recipe Notes
You can adjust the veggies according to your preference and what you have in your refrigerator. The tomato paste is entirely optional. It adds a slightly tangy flavor and also helps with the bright red color. Adjust the veggies as per your preference. Do not overload your bhaji with veggies, though. Adjust the salt and pav bhaji masala and the red chili powder as per your preference. I did not use any turmeric powder or Kasuri methi in this recipe. Some recipes call for Kasuri methi, but I have always tried without it. Also, I don’t add garam masala or any cumin seeds. (
More recipes with pav buns
PS: If you try this pav bhaji, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it A.S.A.P. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2015 but now updated with new pics, the Instant Pot method of making pav bhaji, more tips, and recipe cards with nutrition.
