Who said you have to skip on iconic street foods like pav bhaji just because you follow a Jain diet? With some smart alterations, you can literally transport yourself to the streets of Mumbai with this Jain-friendly recipe of pav bhaji. To master it, don’t forget to scroll through the tips and some of the most common queries.
Pav bhaji. Just the mention of the rather popular street food is enough to imagine the lanes of Mumbai, sizzling tawas with simmering bhaji, and hands toasting buttery pavs. It’s one of the most beloved foods and is a staple not just in Southern India but also in the entire world. While most street food carts or restaurants serve pav bhaji with a side of chopped onion topped with a squeeze of lemon, you can customise the recipe, keeping in mind the Jain diet and restrictions.
But you might wonder if it’s possible to replicate the thick and creamy bhaji without the addition of ingredients like onion, garlic, or potatoes. The good news is, yes, you can. Without compromising the taste, you can substitute some ingredients with Jain-friendly ingredients and make your own version of the Mumbai-special street food.
All you need is a clever combination of spices, vegetables, and some ingenious substitutions. For example, instead of onion, you can make the most of naturally
Read MorePeel and chop the raw bananas and vegetables like carrot, bottle gourd, and cauliflower. Keep the tomatoes and capsicum aside for later use.
Take some water in a pressure cooker and add chopped bananas, cauliflower, bottle gourd, and carrot.
Add in a pinch of salt and pressure cook for about 3-4 whistles or till the vegetables are soft. Mash all the ingredients together and set aside.
Finely chop capsicum and tomatoes. Take a pan, heat some butter, and add the chopped tomatoes and capsicum. Cook till the veggies are soft and pulpy.
In the same pan, mix in pav bhaji masala, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Cook till aromatic.
Add the mixture of mashed vegetables to the pan. Pour about half a cup of water, mix well, and let the bhaji simmer for about ten minutes. Stir after every 2-3 minutes to avoid the bhaji from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Once you get the desired consistency, mix in a tablespoon of butter. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Slice the pav buns, spread a light layer of butter on both sides, and toast them on a tawa.
Once the pav buns are hot and a little crispy, transfer them to a plate, add bhaji and add a side of a wedge of lemon and some more coriander leaves. Serve the classic street food hot and pair it with a hot cup of chai.
#1 For a Jain-friendly meal, it’s important to check the labels of masala boxes. While picking out pav bhaji masala, make sure it has no onion or garlic powder.
#2 Use a potato masher to mash the vegetables properly. Even though the recipe does not contain any potatoes, the masher will help you get a velvety texture and a thicker consistency.
#3 To make pav bhaji just like the street food vendors, don’t skimp on butter. Use it generously in both the bhaji as well as to toast the pav buns.
#4 The addition of raw bananas helps to make the bhaji creamier, and the bottle gourd keeps the meal light. It’s important to use both ingredients to get the perfect balance.
#5 The bhaji will taste even better the next day. So, you can store it in an air-tight container, reheat, and enjoy it with toasted pav buns for a few more days.
To make the recipe Jain-friendly, potatoes have been replaced with raw bananas. They help add starch content, thus making the bhaji thicker and creamier.
There are some bakeries that might add eggs to make pav buns. It’s recommended that you go through the ingredients list or check with the bakery staff before buying the pavs.
Yes, all you need to do to make this recipe vegan is replace butter with oil or use a plant or nut-based butter. The flavour would change slightly, but it’ll still be lip-smacking.
While it is recommended that you use pav bhaji masala from any brand of your preference, you can replace it with a mix of coriander, cumin, fennel, and chilli powders. Note that perfecting the pav bhaji masala from scratch can take certain iterations.
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