Black Pav Bhaji or Kali Pav Bhaji is the newest trend in Mumbai, which is a sister version of the traditional, famous fast food dish - Pav Bhaji. The color, change in texture, and mouthwatering taste makes it different from traditional pav bhaji.
I am sure there is not a single person who has visited Mumbai and has not had the street-style Pav Bhaji.
Bhaji is a very versatile dish. But this black bhaji is totally different from what I have tried so far. The spiciness here comes from the black pepper and the taste and the nutty flavor of the roasted coconut. Black stone flower is typically used as an ingredient in this dish. But since it was not available where I live, I have substituted it with star anise. All other ingredients are almost the same as what goes into the traditional pav bhaji recipe.
Generally, the street side pav bhaji is made with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and green peas. If you are preparing it at home, you can add cauliflower, carrot, and capsicum. Depending on the veggies you add, the taste of the bhaji will vary accordingly.
Bhaji is served with dinner rolls or pav (Indian bread) which is toasted in butter, chopped onions, and lemon slices.
And if you have any leftover bhaji, store it in the refrigerator. I will share an interesting and simple coriander masala chaat prepared using leftover black bhaji.
How is Black Pav Bhaji or Kali Pav Bhaji made?
Black Masala
- Dry roast the spices like fennel seeds, cloves, cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, star anise (a substitute for black-stone flower), cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and bay leaf on medium flame until you get a nice aroma. Do not burn the spices. Transfer it to a grinder or blender jar along with black pepper powder.
- Dry roast the dry grated coconut on medium flame till it is lightly charred. The charred coconut gives the bhaji the dark color.
- Add this to the grinder and grind it along with other roasted spices to get a smooth powder. This is your Black Masala.
Other Ingredients
- To make your pav bhaji more tastier, make sure you saute ingredients in butter. Saute the chopped or crushed garlic (around 15 garlic cloves) till they develop light brown color. Add onions, ginger, green chile and saute till onions turn translucent. Add capsicum and tomatoes and saute till it becomes soft.
- Now add the black masala, coriander leaves, little water, and cook this for about 5 minutes. Finally, add mashed vegetables of your choice. I have mashed potatoes and green peas. Other vegetables that will make it tastier are cauliflower and carrots. Add water to get the consistency desired, salt, and amchur powder, and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes till all the flavors are well combined.
Detailed Recipe for Black Pav Bhaji or Kali Pav Bhaji
Recipe card
Black Pav Bhaji | Kali Pav Bhaji | Bombay Pav Bhaji
Ingredients
For the Black Masala
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds / Saunf
- 2 Cloves
- 2 Cardamom seeds
- ½ inch Cinnamon stick
- 1 Star Anise (or 2 Black stone flowers)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds (Dhania)
- 1 tablespoon Black pepper powder
- 1 cup Dry coconut , grated
Other Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Butter
- 15 cloves Garlic , finely chopped
- 1 Onion , finely chopped
- 1 Green chile , finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger , finely chopped
- 1 Capsicum , finely chopped
- 2 Tomatoes , finely chopped
- ¼ cup Cilantro or Coriander leaves, chopped
- 3 medium Potatoes , boiled
- 1 ½ cup Green peas , boiled
- 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala or ½ teaspoon Amchur powder
- Salt , to taste
Instructions
Step I
- In a pan on medium heat, dry roast bay leaf, fennel seeds, cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds till you get a nice aroma. Be careful not to burn the ingredients.1 Bay leaf, 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds, 2 Cloves, 2 Cardamom seeds, ½ inch Cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon Coriander seeds, 1 Star Anise
- Transfer this to a grinder along with black pepper powder.1 tablespoon Black pepper powder
- In the same pan, add the dry grated coconut and saute on medium flame till it turns dark brown (lightly charred).1 cup Dry coconut
- Add this coconut to the grinder and grind along with roasted spices to form smooth powder. Do not add any water.
Step II
- Add the boiled potatoes and green peas in a bowl, mash them together and keep it aside.3 medium Potatoes, 1 ½ cup Green peas
Step III
- In a pan, melt the butter. Add garlic cloves and saute till it becomes light brown.3 tablespoon Butter, 15 cloves Garlic
- Now add onion, ginger, green chile and saute till onion becomes translucent.1 Onion, 1 Green chile, 1 inch Ginger
- Add capsicum and tomatoes, salt and saute till tomatoes become soft.1 Capsicum, 2 Tomatoes
- Add coriander leaves, black masala powder prepared in Step I with very little water and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on medium flame.¼ cup Cilantro
- Add the mashed potatoes and peas, water for desired consistency, salt to taste, chaat masala, and mix well. Bring it to a nice boil.Salt, 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
- Simmer and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes.
- Black Pav Bhaji is ready. Serve it with pav toasted in butter, along with some chopped onions and lemon wedges. Garnish it with coriander leaves and dollops of butter.
Nutrition
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