Pav bhaji is a popular Indian dish made with plenty of vegetables and served with fluffy buttery bread (pav). It is pretty much as flavorful as veggies can get and so comforting! If you’re trying to get more veggies in, ditch your salad for a night and try this instead.
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Ahh…pav bhaji. Before I say anything more, I just wanted to clarify that there is no “pav” in these photos, but that’s because I like eating it with sourdough. Please don’t come at me for it. I know it’s not “correct” but whatever. Eat what floats your boat. The bhaji is usually served with soft buttery dinner rolls called pav!
Pav bhaji is just one dish but I swear every time I’ve had it, it was a little different from the last time. That’s because everyone has a different way of making it and this is my mom’s way, also known as my favorite way. Pav bhaji is a famous Indian street food and it’s one of those things I eat pretty often, but had no idea how to make until recently. Perks of having your mom make your favorites I guess. It features a gravy of spiced mashed vegetables, with those vegetables being potatoes, cauliflower, peas, carrot, tomatoes, onion, and bell pepper. It has just as many vegetables as your salad, but it’s like 100x more flavorful than your salad. And I love a good salad, so that statement means something.
Tips for Making Pav Bhaji
Pressure cook your veggies. This is way easier than patiently waiting for them to boil in a pot. I did the potatoes separately because they have a different boiling time than the others, but you could just cut up the potatoes and boil them at the same time if you want.
Pick the veggies you want. Anything that is easily mashable when boiled is fair game. And if you don’t have some of the veggies listed in this recipe, it’s no big deal. (Except for potatoes. You need potatoes.)
Use pav bhaji masala. I usually consider the accessibility of certain ingredients when I develop my recipes, so I’ve stayed away from boxed masalas in the past because I know not everyone has a drawer full of Shan and MDH at home. But using a boxed masala makes this SO much easier. I didn’t have the patience to make my own spice mix, but you certainly could. Just google “pav bhaji masala” and pick a recipe you like. Alternatively, buy some good old MDH online or at your local Indian grocery store.
Cook things well. Apparently I cook too fast, so my mom made me slow down and really let things cook. That advice might have changed my life honestly. I know people are usually looking for quick recipes, but the question arises…quick at what cost? So instead of answering that question, slow down a little! Cook your onions a few minutes longer! Let your tomato juice reaaaaally evaporate. It doesn’t take more effort, but it may take more willpower…willpower to not take it off the stove and gobble it up with bread.
Pav Bhaji
Ingredients
- 4-5 small potatoes
- ½ large cauliflower
- 1 carrot
- ½ cup peas
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (5 garlic cloves, 2 inches of ginger)
- 3 medium tomatoes (processed into a paste)
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 tsp pav bhaji masala *see note
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri lal *optional, mainly for color
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot, and peas any way you'd like. I use my pressure cooker because it's quick. When the vegetables are soft, don't drain the water and mash the vegetables with a potato masher.
- Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp avocado oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. The longer the better, so I’d recommend continuing to cook for a few minutes after they turn translucent, for a total of 6-8 minutes.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and continue stirring for a couple of minutes. Now add the bell pepper and let it cook well, for at least 6-7 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and let the juices fully evaporate. This could take up to 10 minutes depending on the content of the tomatoes you used for the paste.
- Add the spices. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the spices release their oils.
- Add the mashed veggies and continue to mash with a potato masher as they cook so the consistency is as smooth as possible. Mix in a little water at a time, using about 1 cup of water total. Continue to cook until it comes together. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Add more salt and lemon juice to taste.
Notes
