More on Pav Bhaji Masala
Speak of Mumbai and you cannot let go without mentioning the most popular Pav Bhaji served on the streets here. It is basically a buttery, spiced mashed vegetable mix cooked with a typical spice powder called the Pav Bhaji Masala, and served with butter toasted pavs or dinner rolls. Delicious from the word go! This strong and fragrant homemade Pav Bhaji Masala recipe is going to make it all the more easier for you to prepare the pav bhaji, just like the ones available outside. It ain’t no secret to rustle up that perfect pav bhaji anymore. This spice mix will definitely make it better. Moreover my recipe does not give you a spicy or pungent masala like the packaged ones. I make this Pav Bhaji Masala by altering the proportions of the garam masala and adding a few more ingredients to it. The end result is a masala which is not spicy or pungent and so amazing and powerful that it takes the flavors of the pav bhaji (or whatever it is added to) notches high. Phenomenal is the word! The recipe card in this post has all the quantities (in grams, cups, tablespoons) of spices to be used for this Pav Bhaji Masala recipe. Once prepared, besides using it obviously for pav bhaji, you can add a dash of this spice mix in your veggie stir fries or sautéed vegetables, Masala Rice, Tawa Pulao and Masala Pav.
Tips Before You Begin
This Pav Bhaji Masala recipe is fairly simple and requires not much efforts. These following suggestions are going to help you further:
Drying The spices
You will have to dry the spices used in this Pav Bhaji Masala recipe either in the sun or by roasting them in a pan or oven. Whichever way is feasible for you. I usually sun dry spices when making other spice blends like Garam Masala or Sambar Powder as well. For this Pav Bhaji Masala, you can sundry the spices for 2 to 3 days. Next, use a dry grinder to grind the dried spices to a fine powder. Then, bottle and store. For times when there’s a dearth of sunlight, roasting the spices is a good idea. Do it one by one in the pan till aromatic. Set aside to cool and then grind to a fine texture. Or in the oven: Set the temperature of your oven to the lowest (range is anywhere between 50 degrees C/122 degrees F to 80 degrees C/194 F). Depending on this range, drying will require about 6 hours to 15 hours.
How to make Pav Bhaji Masala
Prep and Sun Dryin Spices
- First, take all the whole spices, and not the powdered ones on a plate or tray. Keep in the sun for 2 to 3 days. The spice list is:
¼ cup cumin seeds – 26 grams 2 tablespoons fennel seeds (saunf) – 15 grams 2 tablespoons coriander seeds – 11 grams 1 tablespoon mace – 3 grams 1 tablespoon cloves – 6 grams 1 tablespoon black pepper – 10 grams 2 black cardamoms – 5 to 6 grams 3 star anise – 2 grams 1 small nutmeg – 5 grams 5 cinnamon sticks – 4 grams 5 to 6 dried red chilies, seeds removed – (4 grams)
- Cover with a fine wired mesh lid or a muslin or loosely woven cotton napkin, so that dust does not fall on the spices when they are being sun-dried. During the day, I would keep the spices out to sun dry. At night, I would keep the plate inside with a loose lid covering it.
- The below picture shows the spices after being sun-dried for 2 days. After getting sun dried, whatever moisture the spices may have is not there and they also become slightly crisp.
Make Pav Bhaji Masala
- Before you begin grinding the sun dried whole spices, take the small nutmeg in a mortar-pestle and crush it coarsely. Keep aside.
- Now, add all the whole spices in the dry grinder jar. You can also use a coffee grinder. Add according to the capacity of the jar.
- Then, add the coarsely crushed nutmeg powder.
- Grind to a smooth and fine powder. Tiny grits of the spices are fine in the masala.
- Then, add 1 tablespoon dried ginger powder (saunth).
- Next, add 2 tablespoons dried mango powder (amchur powder).
- Next, add 2 teaspoons black salt. If you do not have black salt, then you can add edible rock salt or regular salt. You can even skip adding salt.
- Lastly, add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder. Turmeric powder is optional and you can skip it too.
- Again grind just to mix everything well.
- If you want, you can sieve the powder and grind the tiny bits left on the sieve. Let the powder cool down. You can spread it on a plate or allow it to cool in the jar itself. Then, spoon the masala powder in a clean glass jar.
- Cover tightly and keep in a cool dry place. You can also keep the Pav Bhaji Masala Powder in the refrigerator or freezer. This recipe yields about 100 grams. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Garam Masala Recipe | Homemade Garam Masala Powder Sambar Powder Recipe (Sambar Masala Spice Blend) Rasam Powder Recipe | Homemade Rasam Podi Idli Podi Recipe This Pav Bhaji Masala recipe from the archives first published in June 2016 has been republished and updated on 10 June 2022.
title: “Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe Easy Homemade " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-28” author: “Johnnie Moon”
More on Pav Bhaji Masala
Speak of Mumbai and you cannot let go without mentioning the most popular Pav Bhaji served on the streets here. It is basically a buttery, spiced mashed vegetable mix cooked with a typical spice powder called the Pav Bhaji Masala, and served with butter toasted pavs or dinner rolls. Delicious from the word go! This strong and fragrant homemade Pav Bhaji Masala recipe is going to make it all the more easier for you to prepare the pav bhaji, just like the ones available outside. It ain’t no secret to rustle up that perfect pav bhaji anymore. This spice mix will definitely make it better. Moreover my recipe does not give you a spicy or pungent masala like the packaged ones. I make this Pav Bhaji Masala by altering the proportions of the garam masala and adding a few more ingredients to it. The end result is a masala which is not spicy or pungent and so amazing and powerful that it takes the flavors of the pav bhaji (or whatever it is added to) notches high. Phenomenal is the word! The recipe card in this post has all the quantities (in grams, cups, tablespoons) of spices to be used for this Pav Bhaji Masala recipe. Once prepared, besides using it obviously for pav bhaji, you can add a dash of this spice mix in your veggie stir fries or sautéed vegetables, Masala Rice, Tawa Pulao and Masala Pav.
Tips Before You Begin
This Pav Bhaji Masala recipe is fairly simple and requires not much efforts. These following suggestions are going to help you further:
Drying The spices
You will have to dry the spices used in this Pav Bhaji Masala recipe either in the sun or by roasting them in a pan or oven. Whichever way is feasible for you. I usually sun dry spices when making other spice blends like Garam Masala or Sambar Powder as well. For this Pav Bhaji Masala, you can sundry the spices for 2 to 3 days. Next, use a dry grinder to grind the dried spices to a fine powder. Then, bottle and store. For times when there’s a dearth of sunlight, roasting the spices is a good idea. Do it one by one in the pan till aromatic. Set aside to cool and then grind to a fine texture. Or in the oven: Set the temperature of your oven to the lowest (range is anywhere between 50 degrees C/122 degrees F to 80 degrees C/194 F). Depending on this range, drying will require about 6 hours to 15 hours.
How to make Pav Bhaji Masala
Prep and Sun Dryin Spices
- First, take all the whole spices, and not the powdered ones on a plate or tray. Keep in the sun for 2 to 3 days. The spice list is:
¼ cup cumin seeds – 26 grams 2 tablespoons fennel seeds (saunf) – 15 grams 2 tablespoons coriander seeds – 11 grams 1 tablespoon mace – 3 grams 1 tablespoon cloves – 6 grams 1 tablespoon black pepper – 10 grams 2 black cardamoms – 5 to 6 grams 3 star anise – 2 grams 1 small nutmeg – 5 grams 5 cinnamon sticks – 4 grams 5 to 6 dried red chilies, seeds removed – (4 grams)
- Cover with a fine wired mesh lid or a muslin or loosely woven cotton napkin, so that dust does not fall on the spices when they are being sun-dried. During the day, I would keep the spices out to sun dry. At night, I would keep the plate inside with a loose lid covering it.
- The below picture shows the spices after being sun-dried for 2 days. After getting sun dried, whatever moisture the spices may have is not there and they also become slightly crisp.
Make Pav Bhaji Masala
- Before you begin grinding the sun dried whole spices, take the small nutmeg in a mortar-pestle and crush it coarsely. Keep aside.
- Now, add all the whole spices in the dry grinder jar. You can also use a coffee grinder. Add according to the capacity of the jar.
- Then, add the coarsely crushed nutmeg powder.
- Grind to a smooth and fine powder. Tiny grits of the spices are fine in the masala.
- Then, add 1 tablespoon dried ginger powder (saunth).
- Next, add 2 tablespoons dried mango powder (amchur powder).
- Next, add 2 teaspoons black salt. If you do not have black salt, then you can add edible rock salt or regular salt. You can even skip adding salt.
- Lastly, add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder. Turmeric powder is optional and you can skip it too.
- Again grind just to mix everything well.
- If you want, you can sieve the powder and grind the tiny bits left on the sieve. Let the powder cool down. You can spread it on a plate or allow it to cool in the jar itself. Then, spoon the masala powder in a clean glass jar.
- Cover tightly and keep in a cool dry place. You can also keep the Pav Bhaji Masala Powder in the refrigerator or freezer. This recipe yields about 100 grams. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Garam Masala Recipe | Homemade Garam Masala Powder Sambar Powder Recipe (Sambar Masala Spice Blend) Rasam Powder Recipe | Homemade Rasam Podi Idli Podi Recipe This Pav Bhaji Masala recipe from the archives first published in June 2016 has been republished and updated on 10 June 2022.
