Paneer Pav Bhaji / How to prepare Paneer Pav Bhaji at home
Paneer Pav Bhaji is a popular street food prepared from various vegetables which are boiled, mashed and then cooked with spices. It is served with Pav Buns toasted in butter. Butter is also added to bhaji.
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Snacks, Street Food
Cuisine Maharashtrian, North Indian, Punjabi, |Gujarati
Diet Vegetarian
Keyword Paneer Pav Bhaji
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Passive Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 50 minutesminutes
Servings 4servings
Calories
Author Recipe by Chits
Equipment
Pressure Cooker
Vegetable Masher
Tawa
Kadai
Ingredients
For Pressure Cooking Vegetables:
2mediumChopped Potatoes
1/2CupChopped French Beans
1/2CupChopped Carrot
1/2CupChopped Cauliflower
1/2CupChopped Capsicum
1/2CupGreen Peas(Fresh or Frozen)
Water as required
For Bhaji:
1/2cupPaneer Cubes(Small cubes)
3mediumChopped Tomatoes
3/4cupChopped Onion
2mediumChopped Green Chilli
1teaspoonCumin Seeds
1tablespoonGinger Garlic Paste
2teaspoonPav Bhaji Masala(Readymade)
1/4teaspoonTurmeric Powder
2teaspoonKashmiri Lal Mirch
1teaspoonCoriander Powder
2tablespoonOil
Salt to taste
For Garnishing:
1teaspoonLemon Juice
4tablespoonButter
1/4cupGrated Paneer
2tablespoonFinely Chopped Coriander Leaves
For Toasting Pav:
8piecesPav Buns
Butter as required
Instructions
Pressure Cooking of Vegetables:
Take the vegetables like Potatoes, French Beans, Carrot, Cauliflower, Capsicum and Green Peas. First wash all the vegetables properly and then chop them finely.
Transfer the chopped vegetables in a pressure cooker. Add Water to just cover the vegetables.
Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook the vegetables for about 3-4 whistles on medium heat.
After 3-4 whistles, turn off the flame and let the pressure release by itself. After the pressure is completely released, open the cooker lid and mash the vegetables with a masher or with the back side of the spoon. Keep it aside. If the vegetables are not cooked properly, pressure cook it again for 1-2 whistles or as required.
Preparation of Paneer Bhaji:
Heat 2 tablespoon of Oil in a kadai over medium heat. Once hot add Cumin Seeds and let it sizzle.
Next add Chopped Chilies, Chopped Onion and Ginger Garlic paste. Cook till the Onion becomes light golden brown in colour.
Add Chopped Tomatoes and salt to it. Cook it till the Tomatoes become soft and mushy.
Once the Tomatoes become soft and mushy, add Turmeric Powder, Kashmiri Lal Mirch, Coriander Powder and Pav Bhaji Masala.
Mix all the spices and saute them for 2-3 minutes till the spices are cooked properly.
Now add the mashed veggies to the spices and mix it well.
Simmer the vegetables for about 5 minutes by stirring it at regular intervals. Add water as per your liking for the consistency. If the gravy becomes little dry you can add extra water to the bhaji.
After 5 minutes, add the Paneer Cubes and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Switch off the flame and add Butter and Lemon Juice to the bhaji. Mix them properly. Add Butter as per your requirement since it adds extra taste to the bhaji.
Paneer Bhaji is ready. Garnish the Bhaji with Chopped Coriander Leaves, Grated Paneer and a cube of Butter.
For Buns:
Slice all the Pav buns in two halves. Heat the tawa and add butter to it. As the butter melts toast the buns from both the sides till it becomes light golden brown. Toast all the buns in similar way.
Paneer Pav Bhaji is ready to serve. Serve the Pav with the Bhaji along with Chopped Onions and Lemon wedges.
Notes
Bhaji is prepared using different vegetables. You can choose as per your choice. Here we have used veggies such as Potatoes, French Beans, Carrot, Cauliflower, Capsicum and Green Peas. You can skip any of these if you want. However, potatoes are must. It’s the main ingredient of bhaji.
Cook the vegetables for about 3-4 whistles. If the veggies are cooked properly and gets easily mashed, it’s fine. If it does not get mashed easily, cook it further for few more whistles.
If you love to have spiciness in your food, you can add red chilli powder to the vegetables while cooking.
Here we have simply added Paneer Cubes to the bhaji and cooked it. You can also fry it in butter before adding it to bhaji.
Butter adds extra taste to the bhaji. Add adequate amount of it.