Masala Pav
Jul 25, 2016, Updated Jan 02, 2018
Masala Pav is popular street food from Mumbai! Toasted buns are topped with a spicy masala, these are best enjoyed with chai!
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Masala Pav – Mumbai’s popular street food. Eggless dinner rolls (pav) is toasted and topped with a spicy masala. All you need is a chai to enjoy this delicious Indian street food!
Eating Indian street food in India is an experience. It can’t be expressed or explained in words. No matter how much I try, I will never be able to explain how delicious it is or how much joy we get in eating all that spicy food from street vendors. I also won’t be able to explain that why such unhygienic food is so worth it! The bottom line is who cares when the food is that delicious! And you can never take the spicy street food out of an Indian. We can live on that, we really can. And most of our famous street food is vegan, if you omit the butter it’s all vegan.
The interesting thing is that every part of the country will have some unique street food but there will always be one common factor in all – they will all be spicy! Whether it’s aloo tikki chaat, pav bhaji or this masala pav. They are all super delicious and super spicy of course. Whenever I go back home, I try to eat as much chaat (chaat is common term for street food in northern India) as I can during my stay. Aloo tikki chaat, golgappe, bhel puri, you name it! If you guys have noticed, I eat very less spicy food. If you compare my spice levels to most Indians, it will be super low. But somehow if you present to me a super spicy plate of aloo chaat or samosa chaat, I would happily gulp it down even if it means tears flowing from my eyes constantly. It’s this strange thing which quite honestly surprises me. I don’t know from where I get all this tolerance to spicy food in the world when it comes to chaat and my Indian street food. Well like I said, Indians and their love for street food is inseparable.
The city of Mumbai is home to some delicious street food like pav bhaji, tawa pulao, vada pav and also this masala pav. Masala means spicy mixture and pav is an eggless dinner roll. So a lot of street food in Mumbai involves these dinner rolls and I even have a recipe for homemade pav on the blog. Masala pav is basically dinner rolls topped with a spicy masala. I made this for lunch the other day when I had some leftover buns from grilling over the weekend. This comes together really quickly. So those days, when you want to make something quick and have buns at home, make this masala pav. I am sure you guys would love it as much as we did!
You need pav bhaji masala for this recipe which in a special blend of spices and you can find it any Indian grocery store. I have used 2 teaspoons of the pav bhaji masala here, which definitely made it spicy, you can cut down on it to reduce the heat. This dish is made on a huge tawa (flat frying pan) Â on the roadside in Mumbai but I have used one of my regular pans here.
Method
Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Once the butter melts, add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
Crush the ginger, garlic and green chili together using a mortar and pestle and add to the pan. Saute for few seconds or till the crushed ginger-garlic paste starts to change its color.
Add chopped onions and mix.
Cook till onions become translucent and then add chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes.
Now add pav bhaji masala, salt and kashmiri red chili powder and mix. Cook the spices for a minute.
Add chopped green and red pepper and cook for another minute. Also add crushed kasuri methi.
Now add 1/2 cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for around 8-10 minutes or till water dries up.
The masala shouldn’t be dry but it shouldn’t be too watery either. So cook till the masala reaches that consistency. Then add in lemon juice.
And also add chopped cilantro and mix. The masala is now done. 
Shift the masala to one side of the pan. Melt some butter on the other side of the pan.
Sprinkle crushed kasuri methi on top of melted butter.
Place buns on top of the butter. Toast the buns till golden brown from both sides.
Place the masala on top of the toasted buns. Serve masala pav with some extra onion on top!
* I have used store bought whole wheat buns here. You may use any buns of your choice. The best choice would obviously be homemade pav.
* Skip the butter and use oil to make it vegan.
Masala Pav
Ingredients
for the masala
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 3-4 garlic
- 1 green chili
- 2 teaspoons pav bhaji masala adjust to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed kasuri methi also known as dried fenugreek leaves
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
for the buns
- 4-5 buns/pav
- 1 tablespoon butter
- kasuri methi to sprinkle
to serve
- finely chopped onions
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Once the butter melts, add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
- Crush the ginger, garlic and green chili together using a mortar and pestle and add to the pan.
- Saute for few seconds or till the crushed ginger-garlic paste starts to change its color.
- Add chopped onions and mix. Cook till onions become translucent and then add chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add pav bhaji masala, salt and kashmiri red chili powder and mix. Cook the spices for a minute.
- Add chopped green and red pepper and cook for another minute. Also add crushed kasuri methi.
- Now add 1/2 cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for around 8-10 minutes or till water dries up.
- The masala shouldn't be dry but it shouldn't be too watery either. So cook till the masala reaches that consistency. Then add in lemon juice.
- And also add chopped cilantro and mix. The masala is now done. Add in chopped cilantro.
- Shift the masala to one side of the pan. Melt some butter on the other side of the pan.
- Sprinkle crushed kasuri methi on top of melted butter.
- Place buns on top of the butter. Toast the buns till golden brown from both sides.
- Place the masala on top of the toasted buns. Serve masala pav with some extra onion on top!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Masala Pav
Thanks Manali for a wonderful recipe of masala pao. It turned out to be great
Thanks Medha, street food is the best!
Thank you Mira!
You should come with me to India, we will eat all the street food!
Thanks Kathy! Yes Indian street food is diverse and amazing!
Thanks Kelly!!
Amazing photos Manali! Each of these looks like a perfect bite!
Thank you Mary!
Thanks Cheyanne! I can totally live on this!
Thank you Jen, it sure was very flavorful!
Thanks Angie!
Street food is the best!
I just love street food. It tastes real good when it is homemade. Awesome Manali!!!
Thanks Puja, street food is the best!