Pav Bhaji Recipe

Pav bhaji is a fast food dish from Maharashtra, India, consisting of a thick vegetable curry (bhaji) fried and served with a soft bread roll (pav).

The dish originated in the 1850s as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Mumbai. Lucky guys. Pav bhaji has many variations in ingredients and garnishes but is essentially a spiced mixture of mashed vegetables in a thick gravy served hot with a soft white bread roll, usually cooked on a flat griddle (Tava).

Most famous street food. My love for chat items started from my school days, still continuing. I used to prepare pav bhaji with readymade masala powder. But from now onwards, my own homemade pav bhaji masala powder. Easy to make and when you want to eat healthy this is the better option.

Pav Bhaji Masala Powder: 

You can store this powder in an air-tight container. The measurement I have mentioned below can be used for preparing pav bhaji 3-4 times for serving for 2. 

Ingredients 

• Dry red chilli - 8 nos 
• Coriander seeds - 3 tsp 
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp 
• Fennels seeds - 1 tsp 
• Black peppercorns - 1/4 tsp 
• Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch 
• Green cardamom - 2 nos 
• Cloves - 4 nos 
• Dry mango powder - 2 tsp 
• Black Salt - 1/2 tsp 

For Powder 

1. Dry roast all the spice ingredients mentioned above in low flame except dry mango powder and black salt
2. After the spices roasted well, add dry mango powder and black salt 
   
3. Remove from heat (It's enough to roast 2 minutes after adding dry mango powder and black salt) 
4. Allow it to cool down 
   
5. In a mixer, add the roasted ingredients and grind into fine powder 
6. Store it in air-tight container 
   

Bhaji Recipe :

Ingrediants : 

• Chopped Ginger garlic - 2 tsp 
• Chopped onion - 1 no 
• Chopped tomato - 2 nos 
• Chopped capsicum - 1/4 cup 
• Boiled vegetables - 1/2 cup (Potato, carrot and peas) 
• Pav Bhaji Powder - 3 tsp 
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp 
• Butter - 2 tsp 
• Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tsp 
• Lemon slices 
• Salt for taste 

For Bhaji: 

1. In a flat pan or tawa, add butter and fry chopped ginger and garlic (If you don't like to add chopped ginger and garlic you can add ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp) 
2. Add chopped onion and cook soft 
   
3. Add chopped capsicum and cook for a while 
4. Add chopped tomatoes and close with a lid and cook for 10 minutes 
5. Tomato should mash completely 
   
6. Add boiled vegetables to the tomato mixture 
7. With a potato masher, mash all the vegetables 
8. Add pav bhaji masala powder 
   
9. Add red chilli powder just to get that bright red colour 
10. Add 1/4 cup of water and cook for 3-4 minutes 
    
11. Add salt required for the bhaji (While adding salt, remember there is black salt in the masala powder) 
    
12. Add coriander leaves and butter mix well 
13. Remove from heat 

Pav Bhaji Arrangement: 

• Slit the pav with one side intact and toast in pan with butter 
• In a plate, pour in hot bhaji masala 
• Serve with Chopped onion and coriander leaves topping 
• Butter slice on the top with a lime slice 

Squeeze lime over the bhaji, dip in the pav and enjoy Pav Bhaji !! 

Chana Masala

Chana masala also known as chole masala is a popular dish in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. The main ingredient is chickpeas, here I have soaked chickpeas in tea water. This technique I learnt from my friend from Rajasthan. This is a spicy curry with a sour citrus flavour.

Chana masala can be taken as a snack food, or with phulkas, naan or you can me them as chana bhature. Simply throw in some crushed poori over the curry (which we use in Pani poori recipe), add some chat masala and serve as a fantastic chat.

Ingredients 

• Chick peas - 1 cup 
• Butter - 1 tsp 
• Slit green chilly - 2 nos 
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp 
• Chopped onion - 1 no 
• Tomato puree - 1/2 cup 
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp 
• Garam masla - 1 tsp 
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp 
• Salt - for taste 
• Chopped Coriander leaves - 2 tsp 

For chickpeas 

1. Boil 3 cups of water, add 2 tsp of tea powder. 
2. Filter the tea water and pour this water into the chickpeas. 
3. Soak the chickpeas for at least 6-8 hours. 
4. Cook the chickpeas in cooker for 3 whistles 

For Chana Masala 

1. Heat a cooker, add butter and add slit chilly
2. Once the chilly starts to crack, add the onions and cook in low flame 
   
3. Add turmeric powder and salt for the onions to cook fast
4. Add ginger garlic paste 
5. Add garam masala and cook for 2 minutes 
   
6. Add tomato puree and add 1/4 cup of water
7. When the curry starts to boil add cooked chickpeas and check for salt. 
   
8. Close the cooker and cook for 2 whistles 
9. Before you serve, add lemon juice and coriander leaves.
   
    

Pav bhaji - Maharashtrian style

Pav bhaji is a fast food dish from Maharashtra, India. Pav means a soft bread roll and bhaji means a thick vegetable curry prepared in butter on a flat griddle tava. Most famous street food in India.

The dish originated in the 1850s as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Mumbai. Nowadays many restaurants are serving this recipe in India and abroad. This is easy to make and can be a complete meal. You can have this either as evening time snacks or night dinner. Most of the chat shops prepare different varieties of pav bhaji, but we are going to see the basic recipe.

 Ingredients

• Finely chopped onion - 2 nos 
  
• Finely chopped tomato - 1 no 
• Green chilly - 1 no 
• Chopped ginger - 2 tsp 
• Chopped garlic - 2 tsp 
• Boiled and mashed potato (big) - 1 
• Chopped vegetables (carrots and capsicum) - 1 cup 
• (You can also add cauliflower, peas,  and beans all together make one cup) 
• Coriander leaves - for garnishing 
• Lemon - 1 no 
• Pav bhaji masala - 2 tsp 
• Salt - for taste 
• Pav - 6 nos 
• Butter - 2 tsp 

For Bhaji 

1. Heat some butter on a flat pan or normal pan. 
2. Add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilly 
3. Add onions and cook till the onions are brown.
   
4. When the onions are cooked well add the tomatoes and cook well for 10-15 mins. 
5. Add  pav bhaji masala and salt 
6. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for 2-3 mins
   
7. Add the mashed potato and mash them well
8. Add a little water if you find the mixture thick. Mix it well again. Add coriander leaves to  the mixture.
   

For Pav 

Slit the pav, apply butter and warm them in the pan.

Serving 

Serving the pav bhaji is more important than your cooking. Places the pav on the plate, pour in the bhaji beside with a tsp of butter and chopped onions over the bhaji. Cut a slice of lemon and place it on the side, squeeze on the bhaji when you eat. Serve hot. Enjoy !!