Walk through Mumbai in the evening and you will hear pav bhaji before you see it: the steady clack of a masher on a huge, hot iron griddle. On it, a bright red mash of potato, tomato, peas and pepper bubbles away, while soft bread rolls toast in butter at the edge. Pav bhaji may be the city’s best-loved street food – and its story reaches surprisingly far, all the way to the American Civil War.
At a glance
- Name: pav bhaji, from Marathi pav = bread roll and bhaji = vegetable dish; sometimes called “bhaji pav”
- Origin: Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Maharashtra, western India, 1860s
- Flavour: savoury, buttery, lightly tangy, with anything from gentle to serious heat
- Key ingredients: potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peas, peppers, pav bhaji masala, butter, soft rolls
- Eat it with: raw onion, lemon, fresh coriander, a glass of cool spiced buttermilk
Cotton, telegrams and a quick bite
Around 1860, a war on the other side of the world changed life in Bombay. The American Civil War cut off cotton from the southern states, and suddenly Indian cotton was in demand everywhere. The city’s mills ran flat out, and the cotton exchange stayed busy deep into the night, as traders waited for the latest New York prices to arrive by telegram late in the evening and early in the morning.
Waiting up for prices is hungry work. The food stalls around the exchange came up with something fast: whatever vegetables they had, fried on the hot griddle with plenty of spice, mashed into a thick stew and served with buttered rolls. That, at least, is how the story is usually told – no single inventor has come down to us.
The dish really took off with the textile workers. Their lunch breaks were short, and afterwards it was straight back to the machines. They needed something cheap and filling that arrived quickly and did not sit heavily. Pav bhaji ticked every box – and became the everyday food of a whole working city.
A dish born of waiting for cotton prices – and raised in the lunch break of Bombay’s mills.
The roll came from Portugal
The pav itself is older than the dish. Soft, yeasted bread was long unusual in India, where flatbreads such as roti and poori ruled. Leavened baking arrived on the west coast with the Portuguese, first in Goa. Goan bakers later carried their craft to Bombay and supplied the city with small, pillowy rolls baked side by side in a slab and pulled apart. The name is often traced back to the Portuguese pão, meaning bread.
Straight off the griddle: how pav bhaji is made
The heart of every pav bhaji kitchen is the tawa, a large, flat iron griddle. On Mumbai’s streets it can be as wide as a table: the bhaji simmers in the middle while the rolls toast around the rim.
1. The vegetables
Potatoes are boiled, usually along with peas and often cauliflower or carrots. They give the dish its thick, spoonable body, because they will be mashed later on.
2. The base on the tawa
A generous knob of butter melts on the griddle. Finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green pepper go in first, followed by plenty of tomatoes, which cook down until they are soft and almost a sauce.
3. Masala and masher
Next comes pav bhaji masala, a dedicated spice blend that typically includes coriander, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, cloves and dried mango powder, plus chilli for colour and heat. Then the cooked vegetables join the tomatoes – and the cook reaches for the masher. For minutes everything is pressed, turned and pressed again until it becomes a thick, even mash. That rhythmic clatter is the soundtrack of Mumbai’s street kitchens.
4. The roll
Finally the rolls are split horizontally and toasted cut side down in butter on the tawa, often with a pinch of masala. Crisp outside, soft inside – ready to soak up the bhaji.
What does pav bhaji taste like?
Above all, pav bhaji tastes of tomato and butter, carried by the warm, slightly sweet notes of the masala. Dried mango and a squeeze of lemon add a bright tang, the chilli a pleasant glow. The texture sits somewhere between mashed potato and a thick stew – creamy, with small pieces of vegetable still in it. The magic lies in contrast: hot, spiced bhaji, soft buttery bread and the crunch of raw onion scattered on top.
You eat it with your hands. Tear off a piece of roll, use it to scoop up some bhaji and eat the two together – no cutlery needed.
One dish, many versions
Like any beloved street food, pav bhaji comes in countless styles:
- Khada pav bhaji: khada means “whole” – the vegetables are left in pieces rather than mashed.
- Cheese and paneer pav bhaji: topped with grated cheese or cubes of Indian fresh cheese.
- Jain pav bhaji: made without onion, garlic or potatoes to follow Jain dietary rules, with plantain taking the place of potato.
- Kolhapuri pav bhaji: noticeably hotter, in the style of Kolhapur in southern Maharashtra, a city famous for fiery food.
- And more: versions with mushrooms, beetroot or sprouted mung beans – even an Indo-Chinese take.
Pav bhaji, vada pav or misal pav?
In Mumbai the humble roll turns up everywhere, so these three are easy to mix up:
- Pav bhaji is a spiced vegetable mash with buttered rolls – a small meal in itself.
- Vada pav is Mumbai’s answer to a burger: a fried, spiced potato dumpling in a roll with chutney.
- Misal pav is a fiery curry of sprouted pulses, topped with crunchy fried savoury mix.
What to eat with pav bhaji
Pav bhaji is a complete meal, so it needs little else. In Mumbai it nearly always comes with finely chopped raw onion, a wedge of lemon and fresh coriander, and many people add another knob of butter to the hot bhaji. To drink, reach for something cool and a little sour – spiced buttermilk, or a yoghurt dip to soften the heat.
From Mumbai to the world
The mill workers’ lunch has long since become a classic across India. You will find it at hand carts on Chowpatty beach and in restaurants, at wedding buffets and in school canteens. Gujarat, Punjab and the rest of Maharashtra each put their own stamp on it. With the Indian diaspora it travelled on to Britain, North America and the Gulf – and everywhere it is recognised by the same picture: red bhaji, golden rolls and a little heap of onions.
Pav bhaji at Masalas
In our kitchen in Berlin-Köpenick we serve pav bhaji the way it is meant to be: the spiced vegetable bhaji with soft pav bread on the side. Order it for delivery or pick it up – and, as with everything we make, it is cooked without alcohol.
And you choose the heat. If you want it the way it is eaten in India, with real Indian spice, just tell us in the order note. Many of our guests in Germany prefer it mild – that works too.
Pav Bhaji
Spiced vegetable bhaji served with pav bread.
Allergens: gluten, milk
Your heat: mild, or real Indian spicy – just add it in the note when you order.
Order nowGoes well with it
Pav bhaji FAQ
What does pav bhaji mean?
Pav is the soft bread roll and bhaji the vegetable dish – so pav bhaji simply means “rolls with vegetables”.
Is pav bhaji spicy?
Traditionally it has a noticeable but friendly heat. At Masalas you can order it mild or with real Indian spice – whatever you prefer.
What allergens does pav bhaji contain?
Our pav bhaji contains gluten, mainly from the bread roll. If you have an allergy, please call us before ordering: 030 66068017.
