Instant Pot Pav Bhaji – A Quick & Flavorful Indian Street Food Classic. Look no further than this Instant Pot Pav Bhaji, a delicious and hearty vegetable mash served with soft butter-toasted buns. The best part? You can go from raw ingredients to a steaming hot plate in just 30 minutes flat—yes, including chopping veggies, pressure cooking, and simmering everything to perfection.
Traditionally, Pav Bhaji is a labor of love, often slow-cooked on a large griddle with constant stirring. But thanks to the Instant Pot, you can enjoy the same authentic taste in a fraction of the time. This one-pot recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or impromptu gatherings, delivering rich, spicy, and slightly tangy flavors with minimal fuss.
Simply sauté your aromatics, toss in your chopped vegetables and spices, pressure cook everything together, then mash and simmer to your desired consistency. Finish with a generous dollop of butter and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. Serve it piping hot with pav (soft dinner rolls), lightly toasted in butter—street-style perfection in your own kitchen. Whether you’re a Pav Bhaji veteran or trying it for the first time, this Instant Pot version guarantees mouthwatering results every single time. Quick, easy, and bursting with flavor—what’s not to love?

❤️ You’ll Love This Instant Pot Pav Bhaji
- It is much speedier to make compared to stovetop pav bhaji (bona fide version).
- Even in spite of the fact that making in moment pot, it tastes the same as Indian road merchant fashion.
- It is smooth, buttery, and magnificent tasty. And tastes indeed way better with butter toasted delicate ladi pav (buns).
- A fast feast on active days (As it were, 30 mins required).
- Perfect for a swarm or get-together. This pav bhaji recipe can be multiplied or tripled to suit an expansive bunch of people.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
Here are the fixings you require to make pav bhaji in an moment pot. It looks numerous but believe me they are effectively accessible in the grocery store (Indian) and it is exceptionally simple to make with straightforward steps.

- Butter: I cannot envision my pav bhaji is made/served without butter. To get the best taste (when we conversation approximately the bona fide taste), butter is an fundamental fixing. Bhaji is cooked in butter, and it is topped with a spot of butter sometimes recently serving. But if you are wellbeing cognizant at that point, you can diminish the sum or substitute with oil.
- Pav bhaji masala: It is the moment fundamental fixing here, so it has to be great in quality and taste. I prescribe utilizing the Everest brand. MDH comes after that. I have a truly awful encounter with Badshah. Or if you have time, you can make it at domestic by taking after this pav bhaji masala powder recipe.
- Potatoes: It is the fundamental fixing to make the base of thick, creamy bhaji. So, do not skip or decrease the sum of potatoes here.
- Veggies: The combination of cauliflower, carrot, peas, and potatoes is the standard veggie combo for bona fide tasting bhaji. Do not have new ones in the fridge, you can utilize solidified vegetable blend (which contains carrot, peas, corn, and beans). But I would include, beyond any doubt include potatoes.
👩🍳 How To Make Pav Bhaji In Instant Pot?
1) Take the chopped onion, chime pepper, and garlic cloves in a nourishment processor jar.
2) Beat it to make it finely chopped.
3) Turn on the moment pot on saute mode. Once hot, include 1 tablespoon of butter and cumin seeds. Let the seeds sizzle a bit.
4) At that point, include the arranged onion blend. Sprinkle salt, blend, and let it cook.

5) In the interim, the onion blend is cooking, include tomatoes to the same nourishment processor jostle.
6) Make it chunky puree. It does not require a smooth puree.
7) Presently onion blend is cooked, you can see onions ended up delicate and translucent.
8) Include pureed tomatoes.

9) Include red chili powder and remaining salt.
10) Blend well.
11) Include all the veggies (cauliflower, carrot, peas, potatoes).
12) Include water and blend well.

13) Cover with a cover, keep the vent to fixing. Cancel the saute mode. Weight cook on manual (tall weight) for 6 minutes. You can let NPR (common weight discharge). If in surge QPR (fast weight discharge) after 5-10 minutes. Once the stick drops open the lid.
14) Include pav bhaji masala.
15) Utilizing the potato masher, begin squashing and blending. On the other hand you can utilize a hand blender. But be cautious not to make pale smooth puree. It has to be somewhat chunky.
16) Presently turn the saute mode back on and stew for 2-3 minutes. This stewing time may change depending on how watery your bhaji is.
17) Whereas it is stewing include remaining butter and lemon juice. Blend well.
18) In conclusion, embellish with chopped cilantro.

👩🍳 Toasting Ladi Pav
1) Start by Preheating the Pan Place a flat- bottomed skillet or tawa on the cookstove and heat it over medium warmth. While the visage is warming up, take your pav buns and gently slice them horizontally, icing not to cut all the way through. The thing is to produce a hinge so the pav stays connected — think of it like an open book. This helps in hotting both sides unevenly while keeping the structure complete.
2) inoculate the Adulation with Flavor Once the visage is unevenly hotted drop in a small quantum of adulation — just enough to cover the face where the pav will sit. incontinently sprinkle some pav bhaji masala over the melting adulation. Using a spatula or the reverse of a ladle, mix the adulation and masala together, creating a rich, sweet spread. Let this admixture swish slightly to release the spices’ aroma.
3) Heat the Base of the Pav Now place the pav buns flat onto the visage, cut side down. This allows the inside of the bun — the soft part — to soak up all that scrumptious masala adulation. While the bottom is hotting, gently spread a bit more adulation on the top face( the external part of the pav), so both sides end up golden and succulent.
4) Flip and Finish Once the nethermost side turns a lovely light golden- brown and slightly crisp, precisely flip the pav using a spatula. Heat the top side now, letting it absorb some of the remaining adulation and spices on the visage. Be gentle so the buns do n’t separate.

🍽 How To Serve Pav Bhaji?
Transfer the piping hot bhaji into a generously sized serving bowl. Add a small dollop of butter on top and gently stir it in to enhance the richness and flavor. Next, sprinkle a generous amount of finely chopped onions over the surface to add a bit of crunch and freshness. Serve this delicious bhaji alongside soft, golden-brown ladi pav—buns that have been lightly toasted in butter until crisp on the edges and warm inside.
Additionally, place a bowl of fresh lemon wedges on the side, allowing guests to squeeze a dash of tangy lemon juice over their bhaji if they wish to brighten up the dish with a burst of citrus. This thoughtful touch adds both visual appeal and a layer of customization to the traditional serving style.
💭 Expert Tips For BEST Pav Bhaji Recipe
- Be liberal on butter whereas making pav bhaji. It tastes superior with butter.
- Use the great tasting pav bhaji masala. I lean toward Everest or MDH brand.
- This recipe makes a medium-hot tasting bhaji. For more hot taste, increment the sum of red chili powder.
- Do not over-squash the bhaji. We do not need a smooth puree kind surface. It ought to have a grainy texture.
- I incline toward to squash the bhaji utilizing potato masher as it were. It takes a few time but gives the best result. To make it fast, utilize a hand blender like beat mode so it does not gotten to be a smooth puree.
FAQs
What Other Vegetables Can Be Used in Bhaji?
Pav bhaji is a highly adaptable dish, allowing you to use a variety of vegetables based on your personal preferences or whatever is available in your refrigerator. While the traditional version primarily includes ingredients like potatoes, tomatoes, peas, and bell peppers, there’s no harm in experimenting with other veggies to enhance nutrition and flavor.
Some great alternatives you can try include finely chopped broccoli, green beans, sweet corn, eggplant, cabbage, zucchini, bottle gourd, and even beetroot (used in moderation to avoid overpowering the dish). However, it’s important to remember that potatoes are essential — they form the creamy base of the bhaji and help bind all the flavors together. Skipping potatoes may alter the texture significantly, so they are strongly recommended for the authentic experience.
What Can I Use Instead of Ladi Pav?
Ladi pav, the soft, fluffy bread rolls traditionally served with pav bhaji, may not always be readily available everywhere. Fortunately, you can easily substitute them with other types of bread. Some good alternatives include burger buns, potato rolls, dinner rolls, or even regular sandwich bread slices. To replicate the classic flavor, toast these alternatives with butter until golden and crisp on the outside before serving.
Can Pav Bhaji Be Made Without Butter?
Yes, you can prepare pav bhaji without butter if you’re looking for a healthier or dairy-free option. However, do keep in mind that butter plays a key role in giving pav bhaji its signature rich flavor and silky texture. Without butter, the dish might lack some of the indulgent taste that makes it so comforting and popular. That said, you can still enjoy a delicious version using oil or vegan butter — just adjust the spices to balance the flavors as needed.
