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Pav bhaji

Pav Bhaji

Alternative names	Bhaji-pav
Course	native staple food
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Bread, mixed vegetables
Variations	Red Pav Bhaji Black Pav Bhaji Green Pav Bhaji Khada Pav Bhaji
Media: Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji, Paw bhajiorPao bhaji (Marathi : पाव भाजी pāʋ bhājī) is a main course staple food of Mumbai, India consisting of a thick spicy vegetable curry (bhaji) served with a soft buttered bread roll (pav). It originated in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra.^[1][2]

The dish originated as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Mumbai.^[3][4] Pav bhaji was later served at restaurants throughout the city.^[4][5] Pav bhaji is now offered at outlets from simple hand carts to formal restaurants in India and abroad.^[6][7]

• 
  Pav bhaji being prepared on an iron tava
• 
  A pav bhaji stand at Victoria Memorial, Kolkata

Pav bhaji is a spiced mixture of mashed vegetables in a thick gravy served with bread. Vegetables in the curry may commonly include potatoes, onions, carrots, chillies, peas, bell peppers and tomatoes. Street sellers usually cook the curry on a flat griddle (tava) and serve the dish hot. A soft white bread roll is the usual accompaniment to the curry, but this does not preclude the use of other bread varieties such as chapati, roti or brown bread.

Variations on pav bhaji include:

• Cheese pav bhaji, with cheese on top of the bhaji
• Fried pav bhaji, with the pav tossed in the bhaji
• Paneer pav bhaji, with paneer cheese in the bhaji
• Mushroom pav bhaji, with mushrooms in the bhaji
• Khada pav bhaji, in which vegetables are in chunks rather than mashed
• Jain pav bhaji, without onions and garlic^[8] and with plantains instead of potatoes^[9]
• Kolhapuri pav bhaji, using a spice mix common in Kolhapur
• Masala pav bhaji, with garam masala in the bhaji