Pav bhaji ( Marathi : पाव भाजी) is a

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

dish from India consisting of a thick vegetable curry (''bhaji'') served with a soft bread roll (''pav''). Its origins are in the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

History

The dish originated as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. 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.

Preparation

Pav Bhaji 2.jpg, Pav bhaji being prepared on an iron

tava A tava(h) / tawa(h) (mainly on the Indian subcontinent), saj (in Arabic), sac (in Turkish) and other variations and combinations thereof, is a metal-made cooking utensil. The tawa is round and can be flat, but more commonly has a curved prof ...

A Pav Bhaji stand at Chandni Chowk, Delhi.jpg, A pav bhaji stand at

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was b ...

, Delhi Pav bhaji is a spiced mixture of mashed vegetables in a thick gravy served with bread. Vegetables in the curry may commonly include potatoes, onions, carrots, chillies, peas, bell peppers and tomatoes. Street sellers usually cook the curry on a flat griddle (

) and serve the dish hot. A soft white bread roll is the usual accompaniment to the curry, but this does not preclude the use of other bread varieties such as

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rotli'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', (in East Africa) ''chapo'', (in Marathi) ''poli'', and (in the Maldives) ...

, roti or brown bread.

Variants

Variations on pav bhaji include: * Cheese pav bhaji, with cheese on top of the bhaji * Fried pav bhaji, with the pav tossed in the bhaji * Paneer pav bhaji, with

paneer Paneer (), also known as ponir () is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting sof ...

cheese in the bhaji * Mushroom pav bhaji, with mushrooms in the bhaji * Khada pav bhaji, with vegetable chunks in the bhaji *

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

pav bhaji, without onions and garlic and with plantains instead of potatoes *

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

i pav bhaji, using a spice mix common in Kolhapur

References

{{Street food Street food Indian fast food Maharashtrian cuisine Curry dishes Spicy foods Chili pepper dishes Indian cuisine