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Pav Bhaji
Mashed vegetable curry with butter-toasted bread - Mumbai's most iconic street food.
20 mins
35 mins
4 people
Mumbai Street Food
Potatoes
Boiled and mashed
4 medium
Cauliflower
Boiled and mashed
1 cup
Green peas
Boiled
100g
Capsicum
Finely chopped
1
Onions
Finely chopped
2 large
Tomatoes
Finely chopped
3 medium
Pav bhaji masala
3 tbsp
Butter
Yes, that much
8 tbsp
Pav bread
8 pieces
Lemon
2
🍽️ Pav bhaji masala
→ Garam masala + extra chili + amchur
Approximation if specialty masala unavailable
Boil potatoes, cauliflower, peas together. Drain and mash roughly.
💡 Pro Tip: Don't make it too smooth - some texture is good
Heat 4 tbsp butter on a flat tawa. Cook onions until soft. Add capsicum.
💡 Pro Tip: Flat tawa/griddle is ideal - wide surface for mashing
Add tomatoes and cook until completely broken down.
💡 Pro Tip: Tomatoes should dissolve into the mixture
Add pav bhaji masala, turmeric, chili powder. Cook 2 minutes.
💡 Pro Tip: Be generous with pav bhaji masala - it's the star
Add mashed vegetables. Mash everything together on the tawa with a potato masher.
💡 Pro Tip: The more you mash and mix on the tawa, the better it gets
Add remaining butter. Keep mashing and cooking for 10 minutes.
💡 Pro Tip: Restaurants use obscene amounts of butter - don't be shy
Toast pav with butter on the same tawa until golden and crisp.
💡 Pro Tip: Pav should be crispy golden on the inside, soft on outside
- ✓Use a flat tawa/griddle for authentic cooking
- ✓Don't skimp on butter - it's essential
- ✓Mash and cook simultaneously on the tawa
- ✓Pav must be generously butter-toasted
- ✓Serve with raw onion, cilantro, and lemon
- ✓Be generous with pav bhaji masala
- →With butter-toasted pav and raw onion
- →Topped with extra butter and lemon
- →With chopped cilantro