Easy Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji is a combo dish of Pav, which means bread and Bhaji meaning curried vegetables. It is the King of Indian street food but I am turning it into a weeknight dinner. Let’s just say I have simplified this recipe as much as I could and I think it tastes amazing. I also tried to stick to ingredients I already had in my pantry. There are a few steps involved but it isn’t enough to make you hate cooking. If you want it even less complicated you can use store bought bread rolls. I had time on my hands so I quickly made a batch of my famous dinner rolls which worked perfectly for this dish. I adapted this recipe from the blog carveyourcraving.com
How to make Pav Bhaji
Firstly you do need some Pav Bhaji masala. I haven’t seen it in the stores near me and I don’t think it’s as easily accessible here in SA. Unless of course you have loads of spice shops around you. However, it is not all that difficult to quickly roast some spices and use it for the dish. I know when you look at the list of ingredients you probably will get a fright but it is not as complicated as I thought it was. The potatoes are boiled until soft. You then cook a curry sauce as usual and add your veggies and allow it to cook. The veggies are then mashed up because it is a dish that consists of mashed veggies. As I said earlier you can use store bought bread rolls, these are then toasted. You add a dollop, or should I say more than a dollop, of butter into the bhaji. It is then served with the toasted bread rolls on the side with some crunchy onion and chopped coriander. Drizzle some lime juice and you’re in Pav Bhaji heaven. For us personally we are not accustomed to eating a whole load of spice in our food. Yes, we love spicy but even then there is a limit as to how much spice is acceptable. You will see from my recipe I have reduced the spice considerably. However, you can add more spice to your dish should you wish. There was some remaining spice and I will store that for the next time I make this Pav Bhaji. This dish is also supposed to be a deep red colour, if you wish you can add some tomato paste to achieve this.
Serving the Pav Bhaji
This is one of those dishes that requires a little extra butter. But here again please use your discretion. Although I am suggesting a certain amount of butter feel free to leave it out or use it all. If you are feeling indulgent and not eating this all the time it’s ok to add the extra butter. I must admit I did not end up using all the butter because I was being cautious. Although I must admit butter does make everything better. The one piece I did have with the extra butter was definitely better than the one without the butter. Just saying…don’t listen to me though!
Ingredient required for Pav Bhaji
I used onion, tomato passata, potatoes, pepper, cauliflower, peas and spices.
Please bare in mind that I have never been to India so I have not tasted the authentic version of this dish. I simply went with flavors that work for me so feel free to adjust according to your taste. I hope you enjoy this delicious street food. If you do try the recipe please drop me a comment and a star rating. More Vegetarian Recipes to try: Easy Green Bean Curry Gadra Barlotti Bean Curry Easy Pumpkin curry If you loved this, please share!
