Instant Pot Pav Bhaji is a quick and easy way to enjoy delicious Indian street food and it can be made in less than 45 minutes.
It is made using a variety of vegetables, pav bhaji masala, and lots of butter. This one-pot dish is a dump-and-cook type of recipe!
Served with lemon wedges, chopped-up onions, and garnished with cilantro, you grab a hot, buttered piece of pav (dinner rolls), dunk it in the bhaji, and enjoy!
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Pav bhaji is a popular Indian street food dish originally from Mumbai. If you've never heard of this dish - "pav" just means bread and "bhaji" is a thick mashed vegetable curry.
I have shared a very detailed post on the Authentic Pav Bhaji recipe last year. As promised in that post, I am here with the Instant pot version pav bhaji.
The great thing about making bhaji in the instant pot is that it's SO simple. You put ALL of the ingredients in a pot and cook. That's it!
Why do I Love making pav bhaji in the instant pot?
- It is much faster to make compared to stovetop pav bhaji (authentic version).
- Even though made in the instant pot, it tastes similar to the stovetop version.
- Perfect for a crowd or get-to-gather. This pav bhaji recipe can be doubled or tripled.
Ingredients required
- Butter: I cannot imagine my pav bhaji is made/served without butter. Butter is an essential ingredient. But if you are vegan substitute with oil.
- Pav bhaji masala is the second essential ingredient here, so it has to be good in quality and taste. I recommend using the Everest or Badshah brand. You can use homemade pav bhaji masala powder too.
- Potatoes: It is the essential ingredient to make creamy bhaji. So do not skip or reduce the number of potatoes here.
- Veggies: I have used cauliflower, peas, bell pepper, and beetroot. Beetroot is added to give color to the bhaji.
- Aromatics: You will need lots of onion, tomatoes, and garlic.
- Other spices: Other than pav bhaji masala, I have also added turmeric powder, salt, and Kashmiri red chili powder.
- For serving, you will need finely chopped onion, lime wedge, cilantro, some butter, and Pav bread.
Step-by-step process
- Turn on the sauté button of the instant pot.
- Heat oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in the inner pot of the instant pot.
- Once hot, add garlic and onion. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add 1 tablespoon Pav bhaji masala, salt, and turmeric powder. Saute for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Then add bell pepper and tomatoes. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add remaining vegetables - potato, beetroot, cauliflower, and green peas - 1 cup of water. Mix everything very well.
- Now close the instant pot with its locking lid, set the vent valve in the sealing position, and turn off the instant pot from the sauté button.
- Now press the pressure/manual button and set the time for 15 minutes under high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the pot. Select the normal Sauté setting and mash all the veggies with a potato masher.
- Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon pav bhaji masala, Kashmiri red chili powder, and 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix well.
- Cover the pot with a glass lid (or another non-locking lid that fits), as the bhaji will start to splatter, and cook until heated through about 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pav bhaji masala, and chili powder if needed.
- Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Sprinkle with the cilantro.
- Instant Pot Pav Bhaji is ready.
Toast the Pav
- To toast the pav, melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala and some cilantro on top of the butter halves the bun (pav) from the middle, and then place the buns on the pan.
- Press to toast the pav until crisp and golden brown from both sides.
Serve the Pav Bhaji
- To serve the pav bhaji, place a spoon full of hot bhaji on a plate. Sprinkle onion, and cilantro and add a dollop of butter. Serve with toasted pavs and a side of a lemon wedge. Enjoy.
Notes, pro tips, and quick FAQs
- To make this recipe, proportion is everything. The ratio of tomatoes and onions to other vegetables is very important.
- A generous squeeze of lemon juice is just before serving.
- Use fresh garlic and fresh tomatoes.
- If you want the pav bhaji to taste just like Mumbai street style or fast food restaurant then do not compromise on the amount of butter used.
- Don't forget lots of cilantro and chopped onions while serving the pav bhaji!
- Toast the pav in an ample amount of butter and serve immediately.
You can use your choice of veggies or what you have in your refrigerator. Keep in mind that taste purely depends on what veggies you are using. A few options are green beans, cabbage, zucchini, bottle gourd, plantain, etc. But make sure not to skip the potatoes because it makes the base of the bhaji. Potatoes are a must.
Instead of ladi pav, you can use burger buns, potato rolls, dinner rolls, ciabatta bread, any sandwich bread slices, plain paratha, or even khakhra.
Definitely! It tastes the best the next day. The flavors mingle and deepen the next day. You can also do some prep work like boiling vegetables and green peas a day in advance and making the bhaji the next day.
Store leftover bhaji in the fridge in an air-tight container. It will stay good for about 3 to 4 days.
More Indian Street food recipes
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Instant pot pav bhaji
Ingredients
- 2 cups around 250 grams Potatoes Peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 cup around 120 grams - Cauliflower florets
- 2 cups Finely chopped Tomatoes
- 1 cup Finely chopped Onion
- 1 cup Finely chopped capsicum / bell pepper
- ½ cup green peas
- ½ cup grated beetroot
- 7 cloves Garlic Big around 30 grams
- 1 tablespoon Red kashmiri chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon Pav bhaji masala divided
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon Butter I have used salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Oil
Method
- Turn on the sauté button of the instant pot.
- Heat oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in the inner pot of the instant pot.
- Once hot, add garlic and onion. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add 1 tablespoon Pav bhaji masala, salt, and turmeric powder. Saute for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Then add bell pepper and tomatoes. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add remaining vegetables - potato, beetroot, cauliflower, and green peas - 1 cup of water. Mix everything very well.
- Now close the instant pot with its locking lid, set the vent valve in the sealing position, and turn off the instant pot from the sauté button.
- Now press the pressure/manual button and set the time for 15 minutes under high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the pot. Select the normal Sauté setting and mash all the veggies with a potato masher.
- Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon pav bhaji masala, Kashmiri red chili powder, and 1 tablespoons of butter. Mix well.
- Cover the pot with a glass lid (or another non-locking lid that fits), as the bhaji will start to splatter, and cook until heated through about 5 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pav bhaji masala, and chili powder if needed.
- Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Sprinkle with the cilantro.
- Instant Pot Pav Bhaji is ready.
- To toast the pav, melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala and some cilantro on top of the butter halves the bun (pav) from the middle, and then place the buns on the pan.
- Press to toast the pav until crisp and golden brown from both sides.
- To serve the pav bhaji, place a spoon full of hot bhaji on a plate. Sprinkle onion, and cilantro and add a dollop of butter. Serve with toasted pavs and a side of a lemon wedge. Enjoy.
Nutrition
Notes
- To make this recipe, proportion is everything. The ratio of tomatoes and onions to other vegetables is very important.
- A generous squeeze of lemon juice is just before serving.
- Use fresh garlic and fresh tomatoes.
- If you want the pav bhaji to taste just like Mumbai street style or fast food restaurant then do not compromise on the amount of butter used.
- Don't forget lots of cilantro and chopped onions while serving the pav bhaji!
- Toast the pav in an ample amount of butter and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm regards,
Dhwani.
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