Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s vegan Pav Bhaji recipe is close to the real thing, except that it is not real. See, the problem is, Pav Bhaji only tastes good if it is made using butter.
Using a substitute such as a vegetable cooking oil does not work. One must use butter. If not dairy, it can be vegan butter.
Learning to make a traditional recipe from a professional chef helps because you get to see some of the important details that an amateur will miss. In this Pav Bhaji recipe, you will see a paste made using soaked red chilies and garlic.
Then you will see water being added to the almost cooked curry before mashing it vigorously with a potato masher. Someone who has seen Pav Bhaji being cooked in Mumbai’s restaurants’ open kitchens will know this.
The vegetables used in the recipe – onions, capsicum, tomato, cauliflower, green peas, and potatoes are all necessary. Carrots you can avoid. Actually, I’m not too fond of carrots in Pav Bhaji, so I don’t suggest them for you.
As you can see in the video, the most important spice in this recipe is Pav Bhaji Masala – a spice mix that you can buy in a store. It would be best if you used it.
Add a lot of vegan butter to the curry and apply melted butter on the pav (slider buns) as well.
Video credit: The recipe is presented by ‘Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana’ YouTube channel.