Pav Bhaji is a popular street food in India. It is basically a spicy, tangy vegetable mix and is served with buttered rolls popularly known as Pav. I have cut down the butter in this recipe to make it healthy. The whole bunch of mashed vegetables along with the rolls is sure to please anyone’s palette. Even thinking about it is making me drool right now .. there is some magic for sure. I have been hooked to it ever since I tasted it a few years ago and I am sure you will too. Let’s get started.I have used the non-stick ceramic pan from LocknLock which I have totally begun to love. Its non-stick capability is the best. Pav Bread can be made at home following this link.

Ingredients
4-5 medium potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup green peas
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion
2 cups cauliflower chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1 can tomatoes pureed (can also use tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes)
2 tbsp Shan pav bhaji masala (any brand can be used)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
Turmeric
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the potatoes, peas and garlic cloves. I normally pressure cook them.

When the potatoes are cooked coarsely mash it.

Let us get the other vegetables together.

Heat the oil and butter. Season with cumin seeds. Add onions and when the onions are cooked add the cauliflower and bell pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Next we get the tomatoes ready. I pureed a can of diced tomatoes in a food processor. Fresh tomatoes can also be pureed and used.

When the vegetables are cooked add the tomato puree. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes until vegetables are cooked.

Next add the mashed potatoes, peas and garlic. Add the pav bhaji masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt. This is a gravy dish, so add water to bring it to the desired consistency. We don’t want it to be watery though. Remember it has to go on the bread.

Simmer and let the spices work its magic for 10 minutes. Do you get that nice aroma floating around?

Get the buns ready for toasting. Here again more the butter the merrier. I will leave it to you to decide on how much butter to use. I even toast it without butter and let the vegetable mix dictate the taste.

Are you ready to devour this spicy and tangy pav bhaji? The crunch from the cauliflower, the tanginess from the tomatoes and mix of spices make this dish a sure winner.

It is normally served with lemon wedges and some raw onion on the side.

Enjoy!

Tips

1. Onion can be omitted.
2. Play around with vegetables. Omit or add vegetables based on availability.
3. No time to make the pav bread .. no worries.  I feel the closest bread to the Indian Pav is the dinner roll.
4. We have it for dinner for the most part, but it can also be used as a side or a snack in the evening.