Pav Bhaji is a fast food dish from Maharashtra, India. Pav means a small loaf of bread and bhaji means a vegetable dish in Marathi. This dish is a simple buttery potato – based thick curry served with baked pav.
Now for a little history of this dish. This dish became popular when there were textile mills in Mumbai , Maharashtra. These mill workers had strenuous physical labor to perform and they had short lunch breaks. So they preferred light lunches and returned back to work fast. Pav Bhaji recipe was then born when a vendor prepared this dish.
Rice or rotis which are usually served during meal times was replaced with pav and a single spicy curry, the bhaji was prepared to go with it. This dish was popular among the mill workers but later it was prepared in Udipi restaurants through which this recipe spread to other parts of the city.
This dish is now popular not only in Maharashtra but is enjoyed in the whole of India. It is also served in Indian restaurants in other parts of the world. This street food from Mumbai can be had for breakfast, dinner or can be served as a snack. You can see the vendors preparing the bhaji on a flat griddle / tava.
Various other versions of this simple dish can be prepared like mushroom pav bhaji. cheese pav bhaji, paneer pav bhaji. There is also a Jain pav bhaji where onions, garlic and potatoes are not added. Now to the recipe!
Pav Bhaji Recipe
Pav Bhaji
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 2 medium sized potatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped green beans
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 3 medium sized tomatoes
- 1 tsp ginger – garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp pav bhaji masala
- Lemon for garnishing
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Pressure cook the vegetables till they turn soft, remove excess water and mash with a potato masher.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and fry till the onions turn light brown.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes along with salt, sugar, red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala.
- Fry till the raw smell of tomatoes goes and they turn soft.
- Add the mashed vegetables mixture. Keep stirring this mixture. You could add a little water if needed.
- Add a little butter and stir fry for a few minutes.
- Remove from the stove and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
- For assembling this dish, toast the halves of the pav bun in butter , on a tava / skillet , till they are golden brown.
- Serve this bun with the bhaji and lemon wedges.
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