Pav Bhaji - 'A Famous Street Food'

Pav Bhaji is a famous street food of Maharashtra, especially Mumbai. This dish, with its delicious bhaji made from a combination of several vegetables and boiled potatoes, served with butter-toasted pav (bread rolls), is so tasty that today it is not only popular here but also loved abroad as a popular snack. The bhaji, prepared from a combination of many types of healthy vegetables, is not only delicious to eat but also quite healthy. You can easily prepare street-style pav bhaji at home. Follow this recipe step-by-step to make pav bhaji at home.

Ingredients required for Pav Bhaji:

1. Fresh Pav – 4 pieces
2. Potatoes - 2 large, boiled
3. Peas - half a cup
4. Cauliflower - one small floret
5. Capsicum - one large
6. French Beans - 10 to 12
7. Beetroot - 1 small piece
8. Carrot - 1 medium size
9. Tomatoes - 3 large
10. Onions - 2 large
11. Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon
12. Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
13. Green chilies - 2 to 3, finely chopped
14. Green coriander - half a cup, finely chopped
15. Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - one teaspoon
16. Lemon - 2
17. Pav Bhaji Masala - 2 teaspoons
18. Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 teaspoon
19. Turmeric - 1 small teaspoon
20. Salt to taste
21. Butter - small 100-gram packet

Method

1. Except for tomatoes, capsicum, and onions, wash all vegetables thoroughly and cut them into small pieces.
2. Boil all the vegetables in a pressure cooker with half a cup of water on medium heat until 2 whistles.
3. Mash the boiled potatoes and add them to these vegetables, and mash the vegetables well with a masher or a ladle.
4. In a pan or wok, heat 2 teaspoons of refined oil and one tablespoon of butter. Sizzle cumin seeds in it, add ginger and garlic paste, and sauté for a minute. Then add chopped green chilies and finely chopped onions and sauté until the onions turn light pink.
5. Now add finely chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes start to soften, add a little water and the chopped capsicum and cook for a while.
6. When the capsicum is slightly soft, add salt along with all the spices and cook for a minute, stirring with a spoon.
7. Add the mashed vegetables to this prepared mixture, add half a cup of water, and cook on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, mashing and stirring with a spoon.
8. When the vegetables are well mashed and start to thicken a little, turn off the gas. Add the juice of one lemon, one tablespoon of butter, and finely chopped green coriander. Cover the bhaji and let it rest for a while.
9. Meanwhile, lightly heat a non-stick pan or tawa. Add half a teaspoon of butter, a pinch of pav bhaji masala, and a little finely chopped coriander. Place the pav, cut from the middle with a knife, on the tawa and toast it well, pressing lightly. When the pav is toasted from the bottom, flip it once and lightly toast it from the top as well, then immediately take it out onto a plate.
10. Put the prepared bhaji in a bowl, add a little butter and coriander on top, and serve hot with the toasted pav, sliced onion rings, and lemon.