Recipe Studio's Mumbai-Inspired Pav Bhaji

By @chef1
A flavorful and satisfying Mumbai street food dish made with spiced mashed vegetables and served with buttered, toasted bread rolls. This recipe uses readily available ingredients for an easy and delicious experience.
Recipe Rating
Not yet rated by chefs
Ingredients
- ●1 tbsp olive oil
- ●1/2, finely chopped onion
- ●1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- ●1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- ●1 tsp red chili powder
- ●1 tsp coriander powder
- ●1/2 tsp cumin powder
- ●1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
- ●1 cup peas
- ●1/2 cup water
- ●1/2, juiced lemon
- ●to taste salt
- ●2 demi-pretzel baguettes
- ●2 tbsp, softened butter
- ●to garnish, chopped fresh cilantro
- ●1/4, finely chopped red onion
- ●to garnish lemon wedges
Instructions
- 1Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for another minute until fragrant.
- 2Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder to the pan. Sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the spices release their aroma.
- 3Add crushed tomatoes, peas, and water to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and easily mashed.
- 4Use a potato masher or the back of a spoon to mash the vegetables to your desired consistency. Season with salt and lemon juice.
- 5While the bhaji is simmering, slice the demi-pretzel baguettes in half horizontally. Spread softened butter on both sides of the bread. Heat a griddle or pan over medium heat and toast the bread until golden brown and crispy.
- 6Place a generous serving of bhaji on a plate. Serve with toasted pretzel baguette, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, and a lemon wedge.
Recipe details
- Cuisine
- Indian-inspired
- Category
- Main course
- Preparation
- 49 minutes
- Cooking
- 52 minutes
Estimated total: 101 minutes. Planning estimate: stated duration ranges use their midpoint; standard preparation, heating and handling allowances are included. Overlapping tasks are counted once. Resting/chilling is included in total time.
How these estimates were calculated
- Setup: 5 min planning allowance (setup)
- Vegetable Prep (Onions, Cilantro, Lemon): 10 min planning allowance (vegetable_prep)
- Measure Spices: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Pan Preheat (Bhaji): 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- Sauté Onion: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Sauté Ginger-Garlic Paste: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Add Tomatoes, Peas, Water & Simmer Start: 10 min planning allowance (boil_heat)
- Mash Vegetables: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Season Bhaji: 3 min planning allowance (mix)
- Slice Baguettes: 5 min planning allowance (simple_prep)
- Spread Butter: 5 min planning allowance (assemble)
- Griddle Preheat: 3 min planning allowance (pan_preheat)
- Toast Bread: 8 min planning allowance (saute)
- Assemble Serving: 5 min planning allowance (assemble)
- Garnish: 2 min planning allowance (garnish)
- assuming one batch
- olive oil: USDA tablespoon portion weight
- onion: USDA medium (2-1/2" dia) portion weight
- Assumed 1/2 medium raw onion.
- ginger-garlic paste: USDA FoodData Central Branded: DEEP, published 2021-07-29; product-label estimate, formulation and label rounding may vary (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1898214/nutrients)
- ginger-garlic paste: USDA FoodData Central Branded: DEEP, published 2021-07-29; product-label estimate, formulation and label rounding may vary (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1898214/nutrients)
- Deep ginger-garlic paste label as a standard prepared-paste reference; salt and formulation vary.
- turmeric powder: USDA tsp portion weight
- red chili powder: USDA tsp portion weight
- coriander powder: USDA tsp portion weight
- Assumed coriander powder refers to ground coriander seed.
- cumin powder: USDA tsp, whole portion weight
- Assumed cumin powder refers to ground cumin seed.
- crushed tomatoes: USDA cup portion weight
- peas: USDA cup portion weight
- Assumed green peas are frozen, unprepared.
- water: USDA fl oz portion weight
- Used generic tap water.
- lemon: USDA lemon yields portion weight
- Assumed 1/2 lemon yields 24g of juice.
- Unweighed salt: only documented zero nutrients included
- demi-pretzel baguettes: La Brea manufacturer label accessed 2026-10-22: 1/3 baguette (57 g), 160 kcal, 4 g fat, 27 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 6 g protein, 300 mg sodium. Whole baguette estimate 171 g; no optional salt packet included. Product called pretzel demi baguette in La Brea’s dipping-board recipe. Chosen brand/size; others vary. (https://www.labreabakery.com/sites/default/files/2025-02/pretzelbaguette-nutrition-facts_0.png)
- demi-pretzel baguettes: USDA demi baguette portion weight
- La Brea Bakery pretzel demi baguette: chosen 171 g whole product, manufacturer nutrients without optional salt packet; brand/size vary.
- butter: USDA tbsp portion weight
- Excludes optional fresh cilantro
- red onion: USDA medium (2-1/2" dia) portion weight
- Quarter of a standard USDA medium onion, 27.5 g; not a cup portion.
- Excludes optional lemon wedges
- demi-pretzel baguettes: original amount “2”; interpreted as “2”. La Brea Bakery pretzel demi baguette: chosen 171 g whole product, manufacturer nutrients without optional salt packet; brand/size vary.
- olive oil: 13.5 g · USDA reference 171413
- onion: 55 g · USDA reference 170000
- ginger-garlic paste: 5.33 g · Food reference
- turmeric powder: 1.5 g · USDA reference 172231
- red chili powder: 2.7 g · USDA reference 171319
- coriander powder: 1.8 g · USDA reference 170922
- cumin powder: 1.05 g · USDA reference 170923
- crushed tomatoes: 121 g · USDA reference 170501
- peas: 134 g · USDA reference 170016
- water: 118.4 g · USDA reference 173647
- lemon: 24 g · USDA reference 167747
- salt: documented zero nutrients only · USDA reference 173468
- demi-pretzel baguettes: 342 g · Food reference
- butter: 28.4 g · USDA reference 173410
- fresh cilantro: optional ingredient excluded
- red onion: 27.5 g · USDA reference 170000
- lemon wedges: optional ingredient excluded
pav bhaji · mashed vegetables · spices · bread rolls
Estimated nutrition per serving
745 calories · 23.7 g protein · 101.8 g carbohydrate · 31.3 g fat · 18 g fiber
Source and basis: USDA FoodData Central and reviewed product references; ingredient-based calculation per serving. Documented USDA or manufacturer portion weights; all listed ingredient mass included before cooking losses. Excludes optional fresh cilantro; Excludes optional lemon wedges Nutrients with incomplete inputs omitted. Full ingredient matches and assumptions below.
Recipe Context
This recipe was created with the following context in mind: