Pav means burger bread or bun (without sugar) and bhaji means vegetables. This is one of the most popular street food dishes from Mumbai, people queue at Juhu beach at all hours of the day and enjoy their favorite place. When you taste this, you might understand why you don't have to eat meat in India and how vegetarian food can be so tasty.
The taste is different from many of the Indian dishes you know. You can imagine a vegetable stew, but much more flavorful. The hamburger bun split in half and fry in a little butter before serving. How burger bread got together with it is something I really wonder about, but I haven't found anyone who can answer it yet. I'll definitely try to find out on my next trip to India . I assume that since Mumbai is a central port for import and export, some Western sailors introduced the taste. During the colonial era, locals worked as cooks and waiters on the boats and in the mansions. It's very funny to see how completely different tastes or dishes can be found outside the country of origin.
Well, here's the recipe. You can use any kind of vegetable here. I've used carrot, peas and cauliflower mixture in small pieces. The same is done with broad beans. Boiled potatoes are the main ingredient, so it also works as a leftover stew. In India you can buy ready-ground pav bhaji masala, because it is a mixture of several spices that are ground together, such as garam masala. I've just added several of the ones in the recipe here.
PAV BHAJI
4 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter
100 g onion cubes
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 medium boiled potatoes
200g vegetables
30 g broad beans
200 g crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp dried mango powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 teaspoon dried mint
3-4 dl water
3 tablespoons fresh coriander
2 tablespoons butter
Lime boats for serving
Procedure:
- Heat oil and butter, add diced onion. When the onion has browned a little, add grated garlic and ginger. Continue with tomatoes and tomato paste. Let everything cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix well, add boiled potatoes, diced vegetables and all spices. Mash everything well until it resembles a stew.
- Add water and continue cooking until it has a mashed potato-like consistency.
- Finish with a dollop of butter and fresh coriander.
Serve with a couple of lime wedges and 1 teaspoon of diced red onion on top along with pav.
You absolutely don't need anything else, neither raita, chutney, etc.