Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is one of the most popular Mumbai street foods. Pav means bread and Bhaji means vegetable dish in Marathi. Pav bhaji consists of bhaji (a thick potato-based curry) garnished with coriander, chopped onion, and a dash of lemon and lightly toasted pav. The pav is usually buttered on all sides. Pav Bhaji is so wholesome that you can have it as an evening snack or as a meal in itself. Many road side hand carts, kiosks all across the country serve this dish. It is also available in hotels and eateries serving fast food. If your kids at home don't like veggies, Pav Bhaji is a great way to get them eat veggies.

The recipe varies greatly as it is essentially a fast food dish which is prepared quickly. Many restaurants these days have come up with more varieties of Pav Bhaji like Paneer/Mushroom Pav Bhaji, Cheese Pav Bhaji etc. In this post, I am going to share my own recipe.


Cooking Time:  45 mins                                                                             Servings: 6
Preparation Time:  15 mins                                                                       Category:  Main-course/Snack, Veg


Ingredients:
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Pav Bhaji

Potatoes,boiled and mashed - 5
Carrot, chopped - 2
Tomatoes,chopped - 4 
Onions,finely chopped - 3
Green Bell peppers (capsicum), chopped & remove the seeds - 2
Cauliflower, cut into small pieces - 2 cups
Green peas - 1 cup
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 1/2 Tbsp
Red chillies paste - 3/4 cup
Badshah Pav bhaji masala - 3 Tbsps
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Butter - 8 Tbsps
Bombay Pav - 12
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Lemons,cut into wedges - 2




Preparation Method:
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• Boil carrot, green peas, cauliflower until they are soft. Drain out the excess water and keep the boiled vegetables aside.
• Heat 5 Tbsp of butter in a pan or kadai and add the onions. Saute them for a minute and add green bell peppers. Mix well and saute for another 2 mins.
• Now add ginger garlic paste, red chillies' paste and saute till onions & capsicum softens.
• Add turmeric powder, Badshah Pav Bhaji masala, tomatoes, salt. Mix well and cook for about 3-5 mins.
• Now add the mashed potatoes and boiled vegetables. Mash all the vegetables thoroughly using a masher. Keep adding small cups of water during the process until the entire dish's consistency becomes semi-solid. Let it simmer for 2 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat little butter in another pan and slice each Pav horizontally into 2.Cook these sliced Pavs on both sides till they turn lightly brown in color. Repeat this for all the remaining Pavs.
• Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on the insides of these slices else spread little red chillies' paste.
• Serve these hot pavs along with hot bhaji & lemon wedges in a plate. Garnish the bhaji with chopped coriander and onions

PS: Badshah Pav Bhaji masala is readily available in may grocery stores and is the best one among all other brands which sell this masala