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Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji

Abhipriya Raghav
A delicious blend of mashed vegetables along with the ever-flavorful Indian spices, served piping hot with a dollop of butter, a squeeze of fresh lime and some cilantro and raw onions to go with toasted buns.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

To pressure cook

  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup green peas, frozen or fresh
  • 1 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped
  • 3/4 cup cauliflower, cut into small pieces

To prepare the bhaji

  • 3+2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chili paste
  • 1/2 cup capsicum, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp pav bhaji masala
  • 1 tsp kasuri methi
  • handful of finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt, as per taste

To toast the buns

  • 4 pav buns
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • few finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp pav bhaji masala

To serve

  • handful of chopped raw onions
  • handful of chopped coriander leaves
  • a lemon wedge
  • a dollop of butter

Instructions
 

To pressure cook the vegetables

  • Peel and chop all the vegetables and add them to a pressure cooker with a cup of water and salt and cook them for 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
    Pav bhaji

To prepare the bhaji

  • In a kadai, add 3 tbsp butter along with the oil and let it heat on a medium flame.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add cumin seeds and let it splutter.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add chopped onions and fry them until they turn translucent.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the ginger-garlic-green chili paste and let it cook until raw smell disappears.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the chopped capsicum and saute them for a few minutes.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the spice powders (red chili powder, turmeric powder, kashmiri chili powder and coriander powder). Mix well and cook for less than a minute.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the boiled vegetables along with the chopped tomatoes and the required salt.
    Pav bhaji
  • Mash everything with a potato masher.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add 3/4 - 1 cup of water and mix well. Let it cook for 10 minutes with the lid-on. Uncover the kadai and mash everything once again.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the pav bhaji masala and mix well.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add the rest of the butter and crushed kasuri methi and mix everything well.
    Pav bhaji
  • Add lemon juice and some coriander leaves to garnish and turn off the heat.
    Pav bhaji

To toast the buns

  • In a pan or a tawa, add butter, coriander leaves and pav bhaji masala. Mix well.
    Pav bhaji
  • Slit the bun half-way horizontally and coat the insides generously with the buttered mixture. Coat the remaining sides too and toast the buns slightly.
    Pav bhaji
  • Serve the buttered and toasted buns with piping hot bhaji, a dollop of butter, raw onions, lemon wedge and some coriander leaves.
    Pav bhaji

Notes

  • Add any vegetables of your choice.
  • Try to maintain the same ratio of vegetables to get the perfect taste.
  • You can replace butter with oil too.
  • Make sure that the onions, tomatoes and capsicum is finely chopped.
  • If you are not able to find pav bhaji masala, then replace with garam masala, amchur powder, kashmiri chili powder in the ratio 2:2:1.
  • Add water according to the consistency of the gravy required.
  • Mash everything well to get the authentic taste of the pav bhaji.
  • You can avoid using pav bhaji masala while toasting the buns and just toast them with butter and coriander leaves.
Keyword bhaji, chaat, indian, laadi pav, pav, pav bhaji, snack