Pav Bhaji recipe is a popular street food from Mumbai made with a spicy, buttery, mashed vegetable curry (bhaji), served with soft bread rolls (pav) with butter, finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, and a squeeze of lime. This version is easily made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker, making it easy for busy weeknights. It's healthy, vegan, gluten-free, and so flavorful.
Pav Bhaji is one of the very first dishes I learned to cook during my student days, along with favorites like gobi manchurian and onion pakoda.
In the traditional method of making Pav Bhaji, the vegetables are first pressure-cooked and then mashed before being simmered with spices and butter. Today, I am sharing a very simple one-pot recipe made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. This recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner or when you have sudden guests at home.
Dont have an Instant Pot? Dont worry, I have shared the recipe for the stovetop pressure cooker below.
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What is Pav Bhaji?
Pav Bhaji is a Maharashtrian-style classic Indian dish. Bhaji, a curry made with various vegetables, onions, chilies, potatoes, and pav used to soak up the flavorful curry, makes up its two key components. Add some butter on the top, and you're ready to go.
How to Make Pav Bhaji in an Instant Pot
Firstly, press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in the ginger-garlic paste, onions, and diced bell peppers. Sauté until onions turn light brown.
Next, add the finely chopped tomatoes. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes till the tomatoes are soft.
Then add potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, green peas, salt, and water. Mix well.
Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, wait for NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR).
Mash the bhaji with a potato masher or use an immersion blender and coarsely grind the ingredients.
Turn on the SAUTE again and add the red chili powder, pav bhaji masala, Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), lemon juice, salt, and butter (optional but recommended). Let the bhaji boil for 2 minutes.
Serve bhaji with pav or bread rolls (Apply some butter and toast bread on a tawa/skillet before serving). Garnish pav bhaji with butter, finely chopped onions, and coriander leaves.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method
- Follow the same steps as the Instant Pot. Cover the cooker with a lid and cook for two whistles or about 12-15 minutes (if on a stovetop pot) on medium heat. All other steps remain the same.
Variations of Mumbai Pav Bhaji
There are a lot of variations to make this pav bhaji.
- Jain Pav Bhaji – No Onion, Garlic, or underground vegetables like potatoes are used for making this dish.
- Cheese Pav Bhaji – A lot of Mozzarella or processed cheese is added just before serving the Pav Bhaji.
- Keto Pav Bhaji – Is made with the core ingredient cauliflower along with bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic, butter, and pav bhaji masala. Will be sharing the recipe soon.
- Vegan Pav Bhaji – Use vegan butter or oil to make Vegan Pav Bhaji.
Tips to make the best Pav Bhaji
- Add a generous amount of butter while making this dish, this is one of the secrets to making delicious pav bhaji. Use Amul Butter to get an authentic Mumbai pav bhaji flavor.
- Many street vendors use artificial colors to make pav bhaji red. Use Kashmiri red chili powder to get that rich red color. Also, you can use red bell pepper instead of green bell pepper. Another tip is to use red vine tomatoes for this recipe.
- Toast the Pav/dinner rolls with butter before serving.
What can you do with Leftover Pav Bhaji?
I usually prepare a larger quantity and use the leftovers to make either
- Pav Bhaji Dosa
- Pav Bhaji Paratha
- Tawa Pulao
- Masala Pav
Recipe FAQs
Leftovers can also be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days and up to 3 months in the freezer in freezer-safe containers. Just thaw the bhaji overnight in the refrigerator and serve with the pav or dinner rolls.
The flavor of the pav bhaji mainly depends on this special masala powder called Pav Bhaji Masala. This powder is always available in my pantry, so I’ve never had to prepare this spice blend from scratch. There are many brands selling pav bhaji masala, but I highly recommend using the Everest Pav Bhaji Masala, which is easily available in Indian grocery stores or on Amazon.
More Indian Street Food Recipes
Instant Pot Mumbai Pav Bhaji
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2+2 tablespoons butter (or oil)
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 4 medium tomatoes finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 medium potatoes peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 medium carrot diced
- 8 cauliflower florets (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup green peas I used frozen peas
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons pav bhaji masala
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Pav:
- 12 pav (or dinner rolls)
- ¼ cup butter
For Garnish
- ¼ cup onion chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons coriander leaves to garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Firstly, press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Add in the ginger-garlic paste, onions, and chopped capsicum/bell pepper. Saute until onions turn light brown.
- Next, add in the finely chopped tomatoes. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes till the tomatoes are soft.
- Then add potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, green peas, salt and water. Mix well.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
- Once the pot beeps, wait for NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE (NPR).
- Open and mash the Bhaji with a potato masher or use an immersion blender and coarsely grind the ingredients.
- urn on the SAUTE again and add the red chili powder, pav bhaji masala, Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), lemon juice, salt, and butter (optional but recommended). Let the bhaji boil for 2 minutes.
- Serve Bhaji with pav or bread rolls ( Apply some butter and toast bread before serving). Garnish Pressure cooker Pav bhaji with butter, chopped onions and cilantro.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:
- Follow the same steps as the Instant Pot. Cover the cooker with a lid and cook for two whistles or about 12-15 minutes (if on a stovetop pot) on medium heat. All other steps remain the same.
Notes
Variations
There are a lot of variations to make this pav bhaji.- Jain Pav Bhaji – No Onion, Garlic, or underground vegetables like potatoes are used for making this dish.
- Cheese Pav Bhaji – A lot of Mozzarella or processed Cheese is added just before serving the Pav Bhaji.
- Keto Pav Bhaji – Is made with the core ingredient cauliflower along with bell pepper, onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic, butter, and pav bhaji masala. Will be sharing the recipe soon.
- Vegan Pav Bhaji – Use Vegan Butter or Oil to make Vegan Pav Bhaji.
Tips
- Add a generous amount of butter while making this dish, this is one of the secrets to making delicious pav bhaji. Use Amul Butter to get authentic Mumbai pav bhaji flavor.
- A lot of street vendors use artificial colors to make pav bhaji red. Use Kashmiri red chili powder to get that rich red color. Also, you can use red bell pepper instead of green bell pepper. Another tip is to use vine red tomatoes for this recipe.
- Toast the Pav/dinner rolls with butter before serving.
Nutrition
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Anita Sharma
Thank you for sharing this receipt! excellent!!! Everyone loved it!
Bhavana Patil
Thank you, Anita. I am glad to hear that you folks loved it 😊 Have a nice day 😊
Kavya
Super easy way to make instant pot pav bhaji! Loved the recipe!
Bhavana Patil
Hi Kavya, Thank you so much for sharing your feedback, means a lot. Happy Cooking!