Pav bhaji began as a fast, filling lunch for mill workers in Mumbai and is now one of the best known plates of Indian street food. Potato, tomato, onion, peas and capsicum are cooked down on a flat griddle and mashed together with butter and a dedicated pav bhaji masala until the whole thing turns into a thick, deep-red curry with no distinct pieces left. The pav are soft dinner rolls, split and toasted cut-side down in butter on the same griddle.
The bhaji is rich and buttery with a tang from the tomato, and it is served with chopped raw onion, coriander and a lemon wedge so you can sharpen each bite to taste. You tear the pav and use it as the spoon. It shares a griddle-and-bread logic with paneer butter masala served with naan, and sits near samosa chaat on the snackier side of what we cook.
Pav bhaji is listed under Mini Meals and is ready for dine-in at Cafe Junoon in Cornerstone, 110 Corner Meadows Manor NE, for takeout on your way home, and for local delivery to nearby Northeast Calgary communities such as Skyview Ranch, Redstone, Cityscape, Saddle Ridge, Savanna, Martindale and Taradale. The whole cafe is 100% vegetarian. It scales well for a crowd, so it is a common catering choice — contact us to plan a larger order, browse the menu, or add chilli paneer and a Junoon Thali to the same order.
