Pav Bhaaji

A medley of vegetables in a spicy and buttery sauce served  with bread. 

"Pav" or "Pao"  means bread and "bhaaji" means vegetable. 

One of the favorite fast foods in Bombay is "Pav Bhaaji". Visit Bombay and you will find "Pav Bhaaji" served up hot anywhere from road-side stalls to the most elegant of restaurants. This spicy and buttery flavor of this dish is an eternal favorite. Easy to prepare and fun to eat for a Sunday afternoon meal, it is a meal in itself. It does have a lot of butter and therefore is not heart healthy. Reduce the butter as desired. 

1 cup coarsely chopped cauliflower - 1/2 inch

1/2 cup carrots cubed - 1/4 th inch
1/2 cup chopped Green beans - 1/4 th inch
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup finely chopped Green bell peppers
3 Medium potatoes
4 medium tomatoes 
2 medium finely chopped onions
4 teaspoons Pav bhaaji masala - found as a Ready Spice Mixture in any Indian Grocery Store
1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
2 teaspoons Garlic paste
1 teaspoon Ginger paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 -5 Tablespoons chopped coriander / cilantro leaves
Salt to taste
Dinner Rolls 
6 tablespoons of salted butter plus butter to butter the dinner rolls

To Garnish : 1/2 cup finely chopped onions and lemon juice.

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Preparing the "Bhaaji" or vegetable

Boil potatoes and coarsely mash them. Boil all the other  chopped vegetables till fully cooked, drain and keep aside. Mash the boiled vegetables to form a coarse pulp. Purée the tomatoes.

In a pan melt 2 tablespoons of  butter. Add cumin seeds, garlic and ginger paste and chopped onions. Sauté till the onions are a light golden brown.  Add the Pav bhaaji masala and chili powder. Sauté till the spices start to give out a wonderful aroma.

Add the tomato puree. Add 4 more tablespoons of butter. Sauté till the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.  Now add the boiled vegetables and coarsely mashed potatoes and sauté for a 5 to 7 minutes .  Cook till the mixture gets little thick and the mixture again starts to leave the sides of the pan. Add more butter if needed. Season with salt. Mix well.  Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and dot with a few dots of butter.

To prepare the "Pav" or Dinner rolls. 

Slit the buns into two keeping the base intact. On a flat frying pan, melt some butter. Arrange all the buns on the pan. Roast both the sides as well as the inner surfaces of buns on the butter.

Serve the "Pav" or rolls with the "bhaaji" or vegetable.  Garnish with chopped onions and a dash of lemon juice.

To eat break off pieces of the bread and scoop up a little bit of the vegetable and ENJOY!