Pav Bhaji – Vegetarian Sloppy Joe
Pav Bhaji, Very popular Indian street food is made out of 2 words. Pav means bread and bhaji is thick vegetable curry cooked in dry spices . It is served with a soft bread roll. Its origins are in the state of Maharashtra. It is full of good nutrients as it includes so many vegetables. It is one of the yummiest way to get veggies into your belly! Specially for the kids!
The dish originated in the 1850s as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Mumbai. Pav bhaji was later served at restaurants throughout the city. Pav bhaji is now offered at outlets from simple hand carts to formal restaurants in India and abroad.
Veggies are cooked with spices and oil/butter for long time to get all the flavor out and then boiled veggies are added to it and cooked more to complete the dish. It is served with soft savory bread rolls. You can use the left over bhaji as pasta sauce as well. It tastes so good that way!
While Me and my husband were eating pav bhaji, he said that it was like vegan/vegetarian sloppy joe. I never thought about that before he mentioned it. It is literally vegan/vegetarian sloppy joe!!
Before we had kids, it was just me and my husband. So getting cauliflower for pav bhaji thats just enough for 2 was little too much as cauliflowers are huge in America! So I would just get the biggest one, get bunch of potatoes and lots of peas. I would boil them, mush them and make 4-5 containers out of it which I would frizz. Every time I would want to make pav bhaji, I would just take one container out of the frizzer and use it with freshly cooked veggies along with the spices as I mentioned in the recipe.
This is one our family favorite dish and I make it at-least twice a month! This is one of those dishes that I am very very good at making! So you definitely want to give it a try! I am sure, it will be one of your goto dishes just like my family!
There are many instant pot pav bhaji recipes out there. In all the respect to those recipes, hands down they are all time saving. But I like to cook my spices long enough and then add boiled veggies to it. I personally think there is a difference in taste when you boil away your sautéed spices. It is just a personal preference.
Hope you and your family enjoy it!! Happy Eating!!
Pav Bhaji – Vegan Sloppy Joe
Ingredients
- 2 cup Cauliflower
- 1 Big Potato
- 1 cup Green Peas
- 1 cup Chopped Onions
- 1 cup Cabbage optional
- 1 cup Red or Green Bell Pepper
- 2 cup Chopped Tomatoes
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 3 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 3 tsp Salt or to taste
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tbsp Pav Bhaji Masala
- 2 tsp Garam Masala 1 tsp if it is too strong
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 4 tbsp Peanut Oil Any oil with high smoke point works, or butter for better flavors
- 2 tbsp Butter Optional
- 1 tbsp Lime Juice
Instructions
- Boil cauliflower, potato and green peas. Check the water once the veggies are boiled. Take some out and keep it a side if there is too much water. The left over water can be used as vegetable broth or can be added to the bhaji at the end to get a right consistency. Mush all the boiled veggies, but do not make a paste. Keep it aside.
- Take oil and butter (butter is optional) in a big pan. Once it heats up, saute chopped onions until translucent. Stirring frequently.
- Add minced garlic to the translucent onions and saute for few more minutes until the raw smell of garlic is gone.
- Add chopped cabbage and saute for 5-7 minutes stirring frequently. Adding cabbage to bhaji is optional.
- Add chopped bell pepper and saute for another 5-7 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add chopped tomatoes and saute for another 5-7 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add red chilli powder, garam masala, pav bhaji masala, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt to the sauted veggies and mix it well. Keep sautéing veggies with the spices for 5-7 minutes or until most of the moisture from the veggies burns off and the oil starts to separate.
- Add boiled mushed veggies to sauted spice and veggie mixture. Mix it very well, making sure the spices are mixed evenly. Cook the bhaji for 10-12 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add lime juice, chopped cilantro and more butter (butter is optional). Mix it well and taste it, add more salt if needed. Its ready to be served with some soft savory bread rolls!