Instant Pot Pav Bhaji Recipe- Quick and Easy pressure cooked version of Mumabi Pao Bhaji.This Spicy Indian vegetable mash usually served with soft dinner rolls called Pavs and oodles of butter.
My one guilty pleasure! Every so often, in the middle of my calorie counting(yes I confess) I whip this up.It’s got everything I love in the world- potatoes, butter & bread!And as if to compensate..A lot of vegetables.
And I always make it at home especially because if I am indulging then I want the real stuff! Full bodied, high on flavour and low on that weird synthetic red chilli which most restaurants put in pav bhaji outside.Which totally ruins the taste and the pleasure of eating pav bhaji.
This my friends is the pav bhaji recipe you were looking for.Its’ essentially boiled veggies with Indian spices..and BUTTER.how can I forget butter..and Bread! The whiter the better..lol..
This pav bhaji recipe is PERFECT- it has the right hue of red– without using artificial color or insane amount of Kashmiri chilli powder and it has the just right balance of spices.
About the spices though- you could make a blend of this on your own at home or you could get a box from any indian store or order it online.It goes a long way.I usually keep it in the freezer in the box that it came in so that I forget what it is.
Here are my top 3 SECRETS of making the perfect pav bhaji– 1. Beetroot 2. A few tablespoons of tomato puree. 3. Lots of tomatoes.
Pav bhaji has to be served piping hot, with a dollop of butter, fresh onions, wedge of lime, lot’s of coriander and butter drenched pavs or dinner rolls.
How to make Pot Pav Bhaji in Instant Pot
Step 1:In the instant pot, Start the saute mode.Add butter.Once that melts, saute onions, garlic & green capsicum
Step 2:Add tomatoes and cook
Step 3:Add rest of the vegetables – potatoes, cauliflower, peas & beetroot along with salt and add 1 cup of water.Cancel the SAUTE setting .Close the lid and select PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL on HIGH for 6 minutes.(4,5)
Step 4:Open the Lid, Add the Pav Bhaji Spice Mix,Coriander Powder and tomato Puree.
Step 4: Using a potato masher or a large spoon or a hand grinder, grind the vegetables into a rough mash.Add a knob of butter and mix(7,8)
Step 6: Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chopped onions, coriander leaves ,a wedge of lime and toasted pavs.
Expert Tips on Pav Bhaji
- You can use a potato masher or a handheld grinder to get the consistency you want.I prefer the masher.
- Left overs- Eat the rest of pav bhaji- as a sandwich filling or make your version of baked eggs in pav bhaji.()Make pav bhaji dosa!
- Healthier version– Reduce the amount of potato and substitute with vegetables like bottle guard, zuchinni, eggplant, cauliflower and carrots.
- Also add the butter only on top of the bhaji while serving.That way you get the visual pleasure of seeing melting butter in your food and non of those hidden calories.Trust me, you dont need to add extra butter in the bhaji.
Here are some more Indian Instant Pot recipes for you!
Instant Pot Rajma
Instant Pot Channa Masala
Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Onion-200 gms Chopped
- 1 Green Capsicum Chopped
- 3 Tomato-300 gms roughly chopped
- 1 Cups Potato roughly chopped
- 1/2 Cup Cauliflower roughly chopped
- 1/4 Cup Peas
- 1/2 Cup Carrot roughly chopped
- 1/4 Cup Tomato Puree
- 2 tbsp Beetroot-Grated (Optional)
- 1 Cup Water
Spices
- 1 tbsp Pav Bhaji Masala
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder or Paprika
Instructions
- Switch on the SAUTE mode.Add butter and let it melt.
- Once it melts, Add onions and cook for 1 minute.Add capsicum and cook till soft.
- Add chopped Tomato and cook till mushy.
- To this, add all the vegetables- potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, peas and grated beetroot(if using).
- Add 1 Cup of water and salt.
- PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL on HIGH for 6 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid,Add the Spices- Coriander powder,Pav Bhaji Masala and Kashmiri Red Chilli
- Using a potato Masher Mash everything.
- Add tomato Puree and mix it all up.Check the seasoning and add lime as per taste.
- Garnish with coriander and a dollop of butter. Serve hot, with onions and toasted pavs.
I use a 6 qts instant pot and I love it! If you are in India and are looking to understand how I use it here, you should read my post on instant pot in India.
Here are a few quick pointers on the instant pot.
I use the 6 qts DUO Instant Pot and all my recipes are tested on the same.
Here are a few quick need to knows while using an Instant Pot.
Saute & Pressure Cook Setting – These are the most used settings on the instant pot. Pressure Cook setting can also be called Manual on your multicooker.
Minimum liquid– There is a minimum liquid requirement for most instant pots. For a 6 qts IP – 1 cup is the minimum liquid required as per the manufacturer.
Burn Message- If the food starts burning this notice pops up on the instant pot and cuts off any further cooking. This message can also come if you have used the SAUTE setting before and not deglazed the pan.or if you use a bigger 8 qts pot.The minimum requirement of the liquid changes and hence you could potentially get it while using it. To solve this, add about ¼ cup of more water than the recipe calls for.
While using certain sauces like tomato sauce or cheese sauces, you may get burn message because they are more viscous than water and burn easily.To solve this, again add ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the pot first, then add the sauce and proceed with the rest of the recipe. You could also use pot in pot method for these recipes.
Pressure Build Up
Most recipes only mention the time setting you need to use while cooking in the instant pot.In actual, the total time taken to cook is time taken for the pressure build up+ time taken for actual cooking + time taken for the steam to release.
Quick Release(QR) ,Natural Pressure Release(NPR) & 10 minute Natural Pressure Release(10NPR)
Quick release(QR)– when you release the pressure valve, as soon as the cooking time is up.This release hot steam, so make sure you are careful while doing this.
Natural Pressure Release(NPR)– You open the pot only after the pressure in the IP is released on its own. This could vary depending on the Pressure setting, amount of food, size of the pot.
10 Natural Pressure Release(10NPR)
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes after which you Quick Release the pressure.
What not to do in Instant Pot
-Use Instant Pot without any liquid in the pot.
-Open the lid without the releasing the pressure first.
-Keep the Instant pot on the stove- there have been a lot of instances where the instant pot has gotten burnt from the bottom on accident.
-Dump food in the instant pot without the inner pot.
-Fill the pressure cooker up till the brim.
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