Have you ever crossed a Pav Bhaji stall without succumbing to the temptation?? Definitely, not me!! When it comes to Mumbai’s street fare, Pav Bhaji is one of the most popular local favourites served in every street corner. Apart from the numerous street stalls, it now graces the kitchens of fine dining restaurants. I’m here today to share Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe, an utterly butterly delicious treat…. very hard to resist!!
A universally popular snack Pav bhaji, is a fast food dish that originated in Marathi cuisine. Pav in Marathi means a small loaf of bread & Bhaji means vegetable dish. Pav bhaji consists of bhaji (a thick potato-based curry with seasonal veggies) garnished with coriander, chopped onion and a dash of lemon and served with baked pav buttered on all sides. A mish-mash of vegetables cooked with spicy masala makes Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe a unique dish in many ways.
Pav bhaji is more than a mere snack! It’s a great option to be made for dinner as it’s more or less a meal in itself or for small kitty parties. I have already rambled so much about Pav Bhaji in my previous posts on Pav Bhaji Masala Powder, Pav Recipe and Bhaji Recipe. If you have missed out, do click on the respective links to view the recipe.
The key to perfect Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe, is the Pav Bhaji Masala Powder. It’s a rather laborious job to make this Pav Bhaji masala from Scratch, but once you make it, it does last for a while and you are good to go!! You can definitely use the store bought Pav Bhaji Masala and then add in the spices that you think are lacking in it.
I do try my best to bake my Pavs. But, if you are not a bread baker, no worries, just buy yourself some good quality pav bread. If you do plan to bake, check out my recipe for super soft Eggless Ladi Pav !!
Last but not the least, click here for the Bhaji recipe. This is for the ones who like a little spice in their lives!!
Let’s now see how to assemble the individual components!!
Easy Steps to make Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe:
You will first need the following to proceed with the recipe. I’m not explaining the individual components in this post. Please click on each link to have the recipes.
- Click here for Pav Recipe.
- Click here for Pav Bhaji Masala Powder for the bhaji.
- And click Bhaji Recipe for Bhaji Recipe.
Let’s assemble Pav Bhaji:
- Take Pav bread and slice it in the centre keeping one end joint intact.
- Slather some butter on the pav or directly on the tawa.
- Place the pav bread on the tawa. Slightly roast the pav breads from both the sides till golden brown.
- Transfer the roasted pav to a plate.
- Similarly, roast few more pav breads. Pav breads are now ready to serve.
How to Serve pav Bhaji?
Once your Pav is toasted to perfection with oodles of butter, it’s now time to bring them all together and serve.
There are two ways to serve:
- Stuffing the bhaji inside the pav (like sandwich), garnishing and eating it.
- Or breaking off a part of the pav and taking bhaji into it in a pincer move.
- Serve Pav in a plate with steaming hot Bhaji topped with finely chopped raw onions, coriander leaves and squeeze a dash of lemon on the bhaji and get ready to drool!
A spoonful of the piping hot bhaji with just a bite of the soft & fluffy Pav will tell you what the sight leaves untold. The intricate and balanced mix of spices in the slightly lumpy gravy, the dollop of butter trickling down it and the tang from the lime wedge served with it is a heavenly experience. Just wait for the lemon to make its tangy impression on your tongue and then feel the explosion of flavours in your mouth.
That’s it. You’ve had your Pav!!
And you will want more 🙂
A Quick Summary:
Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe | How to make Pav Bhaji at home | Pav Bhaji Street Food
Ingredients
Serving the Pav Bhaji:
For garnish:
- 1/4 Cup Onions finely chopped
- 2-3 Tablespoons Finely chopped Coriander
- Few Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Take Pav bread and slice it in the centre keeping one end joint intact.
- Slather some butter on the pav or directly on the tawa.
- Place the pav bread on the tawa. Slightly roast the pav breads from both the sides till golden brown.
- Transfer the roasted pav to a plate.
- Similarly, roast few more pav breads. Pav breads are now ready to serve.
- Serve Pav in a plate with steaming hot Bhaji topped with finely chopped raw onions, coriander leaves and squeeze a dash of lemon on the bhaji.
My Notes:
- You can also toast the pav in the following way for an extra kick. In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Add a little chilli powder and pav bhaji masala to it. Add the sliced Pav Bread (sliced side down) to the pan, toast it and serve with bhaji.
- Do not make the bhaji very thick as it thickens on cooling.
- You can add veggies of choice, best is to use seasonal vegetables along with potato.
- Adjust butter quantity as per your preference, be it in the bhaji or for toasting Pavs.
- Click here and here for more tips for Pav & Bhaji respectively.
.
.
Check out other CHAAT RECIPES & RECIPES FROM MAHARASHTRA CUISINE & QUICK BITES from blog!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
Hungry for more? Never miss a recipe!!…Subscribe to MasalaKorb and have posts delivered straight to your inbox! And connect with me on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.
Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
.
.
