Mumbai’s street food pav bhaji recipe

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Mumbai’s street food pav bhaji recipe

Pav bhaji has been a staple in Mumbai since the 1850s, when textile mill workers would pack up a lunch of thick, vegetable curry (bhaji) with buttery, toasted buns (pav) to scoop it up with.

Now a street food favourite in the city and beyond, the Indian classic can be found in varieties from paneer to mushroom. It's wonderfully simple to make at home, too.

Take this recipe, featured in Sanjay Aggarwal’s debut cookbook, Spice Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes and Spice Blends for the Home Cook. The release comes on the back of Sanjay's successful spice blend business, Spice Kitchen, which he runs with his mother, Shashi. Every page celebrates his Indian heritage, sharing recipes he grew up with – passed down by Shashi – and revealing the secrets to using spice for the most beautiful results.

Things to note:

Feel free to get creative and add as many toppings as you wish. Sanjay’s suggestions include crispy fried onions, mint and coriander (cilantro) chutney, finely diced red onion, Bombay mix or some freshly chopped green chillies to amp the heat.

If you can’t get Sri Lankan curry powder, substitute with Indian or Madras curry powder.

For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select ‘Cups’.

Ingredients

For the ginger-garlic paste:
  • 125 g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 125 g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
  • 4.4 oz fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4.4 oz garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
  • 4.4 oz fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4.4 oz garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 vegetable, sunflower or canola oil
For the bhaji:
  • 1 potato, peeled
  • 0.5 sweet potato, peeled
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 4 cauliflower florets
  • 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder
  • 50 g frozen petit pois
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 potato, peeled
  • 0.5 sweet potato, peeled
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 4 cauliflower florets
  • 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder
  • 1.8 oz frozen petit pois
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 potato, peeled
  • 0.5 sweet potato, peeled
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 4 cauliflower florets
  • 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or canola oil
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder
  • 1.8 oz frozen petit pois
  • 1 tbsp butter
For serving:
  • 2 soft white bread rolls
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 lime, for squeezing
  • 1 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped, to garnish
  • 2 soft white bread rolls
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 lime, for squeezing
  • 1 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped, to garnish
  • 2 soft white bread rolls
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 lime, for squeezing
  • 1 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped, to garnish

Details

  • Cuisine: Indian
  • Recipe Type: Vegetarian
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Preparation Time: 30 mins
  • Cooking Time: 40 mins
  • Serves: 4

Step-by-step

For the ginger-garlic paste:

  1. Add the chopped ginger, garlic, salt and oil to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
  2. Scoop the paste into a clean jar and store it in the fridge for 3-7 days. The garlic may turn slightly green – this happens when crushed garlic reacts with the air and oxidises – but don’t worry, it’s still fine to use. Alternatively, freeze the paste using an ice cube tray. Once frozen, pop the cubes into a freezer bag. The frozen paste will last a few months.

For the pav bhaji:

  1. Chop the potato, sweet potato, carrots, and cauliflower into similarly sized chunks. Bring a medium pan of water to the boil. Add the potato and sweet potato chunks and simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Add the carrots and the cauliflower to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and then mash until smooth.
  3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes, then add the ginger-garlic paste.
  4. Cook for a minute, stirring regularly, then add the diced tomatoes, salt and Sri Lankan curry powder. Stir thoroughly and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes to allow the flavours to combine.
  5. Add your veggie mash and petit pois and stir. Continue to fry for 10 minutes until the mixture looks like a dry paste.
  6. Meanwhile, slice the bread rolls in half. Heat another frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and add 1 tsp of butter.
  7. Once melted, fry the rolls in the butter for a minute or so on each side, until lightly toasted but not burned.
  8. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the vegetable mash, stir and then serve piled onto the warm buttery buns with a squeeze of lime juice, a sprinkling of fresh coriander (cilantro) and your choice of toppings.

Recipe adapted from Spice Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes and Spice Blends for the Home Cook by Sanjay Aggarwal. (Quadrille, £22) Photography by: Dan Jones.

 

Spice Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes and Spice Blends for the Home Cook by Sanjay Aggarwal
Spice Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes and Spice Blends for the Home Cook by Sanjay Aggarwal

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