Pav Bhaji (Bun Bread With vegetable)

Bhaji for Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji with butter and salad

Pav Bhaji is a special preparation of Maharashtra, India. It can be taken for lunch, dinner or even as evening snack. The aroma of Bhaji is heavenly and Pav (unleavened small bread) heated with butter along with reddish color Bhaji tastes yum and requires great will power to resist. My husband treated me to Pav Bhaji when I reached Pune after marriage, since then I am hooked to Pav Bhaji, and when I like something I have to learn how to cook it. One thing I learnt that when you make anything at home you can experiment and do lots of variations. I share my recipe with you all. Learn how to make and make your own variations and enjoy the delicious Pav Bhaji.

Preparation Time: 30min.

Cooking Time: 60min.

Servings: 5-6 large servings of Bhaji

Ingredients required for Making Bhaji:

• 100 gm. Cauliflower

• 50 gm. Cabbage

• 10 – 20 gm. Carrot (One small size carrot)

• 50 gm. Capsicum (Two medium size capsicums)

• 25 gm. Red bell pepper (Lal Shimla mirchi, one medium size)                                                                                                                                                                                       

• 150 gm. Onions

• 200 gm. Potatoes (5-6 Medium size potatoes)

• 200 – 250 gm. Tomatoes

• 50 gm. Garlic – Ginger paste

• 100 gm. Pav Bhaji masala

• 10-15 gm. Red Kashmiri Mirch powder

• Red chili powder to taste

• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder

• Salt to taste

• 100gm. Butter

• 8- 10 Sprigs of green coriander leaves.

• 5 - 6 Kadi patta( curry leaves)

Directions for Making Bhaji:

• Boil the potatoes.

• Peel the boil potatoes.

• Mash the boiled and peeled potatoes and keep them aside.

Boiled mashed Potatoes

• Cut finely cauliflower, cabbage, and carrot after washing.

Finely cut vegetables

• Cut finely capsicum and red bell pepper and keep them aside.

• Cut finely tomatoes and keep them aside.

• Cut onions very fine and keep them aside.

• Wash, drain green coriander leaves and cut them finely.

• In a cooker take finely cut cauliflower, cabbage, carrot and half of finely cut capsicum and red bell pepper.

Mixture of vegetables ready for boiling in the cooker

• Add 1/2 Tea spoon of salt and one cup of water, put the lid of cooker and keep for boiling on high flame.

• When pressure builds in the cooker lower the flame and cook for 10 min.

• Remove the cooker from gas and allow it to cool.

• Keep a thick bottom wok on gas on high flame.

• Put 100 gm. butter in the hot wok.

Butter being melted

• When the butter melts add kadi patta in it.

Kadi patta in melted butter

• When kadi patta become brownish in color and the fragrance of kadi patta starts coming out add finely cut onions in it.

Onions being cooked with the seasoning of kadi patta

• Lower the flame and cook the onions till they just start turning brown.

• Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a min. or so.

Stage of cooked onions with ginger - garlic paste when Tomato should be added

• Add finely cut tomatoes and cook toll the mixture leaves the edge of wok.

• Add boiled potatoes and mix thoroughly.

Mashed Potatoes added to the mixture of cooked onions and tomatoes

•  Cook with regular stirring till the mixture leaves the edge of wok.

 Mixture of cooked potatoes,onion,and tomatoes

• Add boiled vegetables with all liquid in the cooker and mix nicely.

Boiled Vegetables added to cooked onion, potato, tomato mixture

•  Cook with stirring and mashing.

• Keep on adding little amount of water in between.

• Add finely cut capsicum and red bell pepper, mix and cook with regular stirring and mashing.

• When the mixture becomes homogenous add salt to taste red chili powder, Kashmiri mirchi powder and turmeric powder and mix thoroughly.

Turmeric powder, salt, chili powder added to the mashed mix of boiled vegetable

• Cook for a min. or two, and then add Pav bhaji masala.

Pav bhaji powder added to the mixture of mashed vegetables

• Mix thoroughly then add 100 ml. of water and cook for 5 min. with regular stirring.

• Bhaji should look like a paste; no vegetable pieces should be seen in the bhaji.

• Cover and remove from heat.

• Add 3-4 tea spoons of cut coriander leaves and mix.

• Beautiful red color bhaji with a wonderful flavor is ready.

Bhaji ready for Pav Bhaji

• Take the bhaji bowl/plate put a blob of butter on it, decorate it with coriander/ strawberry/cherry/ringlets of onion and tomato as per your liking.

Bhaji for Pav bhaji ready to be served

Bhaji for Pav Bhaji

•   Serve hot bhaji with Pav, and salad and a piece of lemon.

Directions for heating Pav:

• Heat a tawa/pan on high flame.

• Cut Pav into two halves from the sides.

• Put butter on the hot tawa and when the butter melts put the Pav from the exposed side on it and press with a spatula till it becomes of brownish pink color.

melted butter and Pav being heated

• Repeat the same with all Pav.

Direction to make salad for Pav bhaji:

• Take finely cut onions, coriander leaves, Green chilies mix them and serve.

Salad for Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji with salad lemon and a dollop of butter

Tips:

• Bhaji should be neither too thick nor watery in consistency.

• Except for some red and green pieces of capsicum and red bell pepper rest of the vegetables should be homogenous paste in bhaji.

• More the butter used better the taste of bhaji.

• Never grind the boiled vegetables and boiled potatoes in mixture to make paste.

• More the vegetables are cooked with regular mashing tastier the Bhaji becomes.

• Keep on adding little amounts of water when the Bhaji is being cooked so as to maintain proper thickness of Bhaji.

Suggested Variations:

• One tea spoon of amchur powder (dry raw mango powder) can be added to increase tangy taste.

• French beans, beetroot can be also added to the mixture of vegetables while boiling.

• Boiled Peas can be added to the bhaji before adding Pav bhaji masala but they should not be mashed.

• Pieces of cottage cheese can be added to the bhaji before adding Pav bhaji masala cheese pieces should not be mashed.

• Homemade unsalted butter can be taken for making bhaji.

• For those who do not eat onions and garlic amount of potatoes can be increased and along with kadi patta cumin seeds can be added followed by ginger paste.