To begin making the Pav Bhaji Recipe, we will first cook the potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and cabbage using 1/2 a cup of water in a pressure cooker until very soft and mushy.
You can also cook the vegetables in a saucepan. Once the vegetables for the pav bhaji are cooked, mash the vegetables well into it all looks almost smooth and creamy.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pan; add onions, capsicum, garlic, ginger and sauté until tender on low heat. Add in the tomatoes and sauté until the soft. This will take about 5 minutes.
Next add in the pav bhaji masala, chaat masala and garam masala and sauté for a few minutes until you get a roasted aroma.
Finally add in the mashed vegetables for pav bhaji, salt, butter and lemon juice. Stir pav bhaji until well combined. Take care while adding salt as all the masala’s contain some amount of salt in them.
Turn the heat to low, add the two tablespoons of butter and simmer the pav bhaji masala for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Turn of the heat and stir in the chopped coriander leaves and the steamed peas. Check the spices and adjust to suit your taste.
Toast the pav buns on a skillet with butter and serve.
Serve the Pav Bhaji along with a Dahi Vada or a Papdi Chaat for a weeknight dinner or a chaat party at home. Your friends and family are sure to love this dish.
*Alternative Tasty Tip
This Pav bhaji can be used as a spread on a wheat bread and make a healthy and delicious school snack for children or packed work lunch
Stuff the bhaji in crisp puri’s (the ones used for pani puris); sprinkle some sev and onions and serve as a starter/appetizer