Instant Pot Pav Bhaji - Mumbai Street Food
Make this easy Instant Pot Pav Bhaji recipe for a cozy Indian dinner packed with vegetables and bold Mumbai street food flavors. This one-pot Pav Bhaji is rich, comforting, freezer-friendly, and perfect for weeknights. Serve it with buttery toasted pav, chopped onions, cilantro, and lemon for a satisfying homemade meal.
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 249kcal
Cost: $5
Equipment
Ingredients
To Make Bhaji
- 1 Tablespoon Butter I use plant based or use cooking oil
- 1 Tablespoon grated ginger and garlic
- 1½ Tablespoon pav bhaji masala add more for taste
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder adjust per taste
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups diced potatoes 3 big Or 5-6 medium size
- 2 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 cup green bell pepper
- ½ cup cut carrots
- ½ cup green peas
- 1 teaspoon sea salt adjust per taste
For Serving :
- 1-2 Tablespoon butter or oil
- 12 count Paav use Dinner rolls or hamburger buns if you don’t get Indian style laddi paav
For Garnish :
- 1 lemon or lime cut into quarters
- butter
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- cilantro leaves finely chopped
Instructions
How to Make Instant Pot Pav Bhaji
- Turn InstantPot on SAUTE mode. Add butter and let it melt. (if you use oil and let it warm up)
- Add onions, garlic and ginger. Sprinkle some salt. Sauté well and cook until onions are slightly brown. Add red chili powder, and pav bhaji masala and sauté till fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, and cook until mushy. (about 3 minutes) Add 1½ cup water. And DEGLAZE the pot by scraping the bottom with spatula. Add in all the veggies. Add salt to taste. Stir well. Cancel Sauté mode.
- Press MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK mode and select 6 mins high. Once it's done cooking, unplug the InstantPot. Do a natural pressure release NPR. Once the silver pin drops, open the lid.
- Once the steam clears, using a masher , mash the vegetables well. It should be soft and smooth paste like consistency.
- If you notice it too watery, press the SAUTE mode again and let it cook for 3-4 more minutes. Bhaji will absorb water and thicken some as it cools down.
For serving
- On a tawa or griddle, melt some butter. Put the paav buns on the sizzling tawa and let them grill for couple minutes on both sides. Carefully remove them from pan.
- Serve the prepared bhaji with chopped onions, cilantro and lemon wedges. You can add a dollop of butter on top and let it melt some. Serve the buttered paav on the side.
How to Make Mumbai Style Pav bhaji on Stovetop
- Steam cook all the vegetables and mash them.
- Heat butter or oil in a large pan or tawa and sauté onions, ginger, garlic, and bell peppers until soft and fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes, cooked mixed vegetables, salt, and pav bhaji masala, then cook until everything is very soft. Mash well with a potato masher, simmer to thicken, and finish with butter before serving hot with toasted pav.
Notes
How to make Homemade Pav Bhaji Masala: I always have Everest pav bhaji masala in my pantry. It's my preferred pav bhaji masala brand. If you prefer to make your own pav bhaji masala, combine 1 teaspoon chat masala, 1 teaspoon amchur (dry mango powder), 1 teaspoon coriander powder and 1 teaspoon garam masala. Mix well and use it instead.
To save time and for convenience, I often use frozen cauliflower, peas and chopped bell peppers. Since everything is mashed anyways, you can't tell the difference. I prefer to save efforts and time.
To make this preparation vegan, use vegan butter or quality oil.
It's very easy to sneak in some extra veggies into the pav bhaji.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 456mg | Fiber: 6g