Pav bhaji is probably one of my favorite Indian street foods. It is spicy, tangy and addictive. So hard to put down. It is typically a mixture of vegetables (mostly potato), cooked on a tawa or skillet, in a spicy, tangy tomato gravy laden with butter. Butter is an key ingredient to the dish’s flavor. It is also served with potato rolls (pav), again coated in butter, to sop up the goodness.
When I was 16, our family friend Sameera aunty, a native of Bombay invited me over to her house to teach me how to make pav bhaji. This changed my entire approach to cooking pav bhaji and it may have just changed my life! Instead of using mostly potato, I use 1 full head of cauliflower, and only 1 idaho or 2 red potatoes, and a half a cup of peas. Sometimes I’ll 1-2 carrots if I have them on hand. The main difference, is that I use only about 2 tbsp vegan butter to saute the veggies, and then 1 tbsp on top at the end to add flavor.
I serve it with whole wheat burger buns toasted on a skillet that is lightly greased with vegan butter, but feel free to toast them in an oven. It is topped with some chopped red onion, the more the better! And some lime wedges on the side! Pav bhaji without raw onions is not pav bhaji!
Why the Fat?
Fats in moderation won’t kill you. They add a significant amount of flavor and richness to a dish. But moderation is key! The brand of butter I typically use is Earth Balance. It is vegan and cholesterol free and lower in saturated fat. If you are trying to avoid oil all together, the dish would still be tasty cooked in water, but it won’t necessarily taste traditional.
Pav Bhaji Masala
The trick to pav bhaji’s taste lies in its masala, which is a blend of spices that is slightly tangy due to the dried mango. I typically use MDH brand pav bhaji masala, which is available in all Indian grocery stores, but you can experiment with creating your own masala blend. The key ingredients are : Coriander seeds, red chilies, dried mango, cumin, salt, fennel seeds, cassia, dried ginger, black pepper, cardamom amomum, cloves, star anise, nutmeg, mace.
Guilt-Free Vegan Pav Bhaji
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower cut into pieces
- 2 small-med red potatoes (or 1 idaho potato)
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2-3 tbsp pav bhaji masala
- 2 Indian green chilies
- 2-3 tbsp vegan butter
- sunflower oil or mild oil of choice
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes chopped
Serve with
- 1 Red onions chopped finely
- 2 limes cut into small wedges
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Whole wheat buns
Instructions
Parboil the veggies
- Peel and cut the potato and carrot, and chop the cauliflower. Rinse well.
- Add them to a pot of water, with 1 tbsp salt
- Bring the pot to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- In a skillet, heat 1-2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp oil.
- Add chopped onions and green chillies and saute until the onions become translucent
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Allow the tomatoes to break down until it is almost a gravy.
- Add 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala (Or 3 if you like it extra spicy), and salt to taste.
- Add the parboiled vegetables and a cup of water.
- Allow the vegetables to cook down on medium-high. Mashing them with a spatula as much as you can. While some people like to puree their pav bhaji, I prefer mine a little chunky. Keep adding water a little at a time if you find it is getting too thick or catching ta the bottom of the pan.
- Keep stirring and mashing the pav bhaji until the veggies are nicely cooked down, combined with the gravy and easy to sop up with bread. It should resemble almost a sloppy joe consistency.
- Squeeze some lime or lemon on top for extra tanginess and add some chopped cilantro
- Serve with chopped onions, lime and bread!
Notes
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