Pav Bhaji — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A rich, buttery mash of mixed vegetables cooked with a special spice blend, served with soft toasted bread rolls. Born on the streets of Mumbai, this iconic dish transforms humble vegetables into something extraordinarily delicious.

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 cup cauliflower, finely chopped
1 cup green peas
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, pureed
3 tablespoons pav bhaji masala
4 tablespoons butter
8 pav (soft bread rolls)
1 capsicum (bell pepper), finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Salt to taste

Instructions

1 Boil potatoes, cauliflower, and peas together until soft. Drain and roughly mash everything together with a potato masher, keeping the texture slightly chunky for better mouth feel.
2 Heat two tablespoons of butter in a heavy pan on medium heat. Add chopped onions and capsicum, sauteing until the onions turn translucent and soft, about six to eight minutes.
3 Add the tomato puree to the onion mixture and cook for eight minutes until the raw smell disappears and the oil begins to separate from the masala around the edges of the pan.
4 Stir in the pav bhaji masala and salt, cooking for two minutes until the spices are fragrant. Add the mashed vegetable mixture and combine thoroughly with the spiced tomato base.
5 Add half a cup of water and continue mashing and stirring on medium heat for ten minutes until everything is well combined into a smooth, thick, richly colored mash with a glossy finish.
6 Slit the pav rolls and toast them on a hot griddle with generous amounts of butter until golden and crispy. Serve the bhaji topped with a knob of butter, squeezed lemon, and chopped cilantro.

Did You Know?

Pav bhaji was invented in the 1850s as a late-night meal for Mumbai textile mill workers. The vendors would mash together leftover vegetables and serve them with bread rolls, creating what became the city's most iconic street food. Some famous stalls on Juhu Beach serve over two thousand plates nightly.