Masala Pav

5 from 3 votes

Masala Pav is popular street food from Mumbai! Toasted buns are topped with a spicy masala, these are best enjoyed with chai!

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

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!

Masala Pav

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.

Mumbai Masala Pav

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!

Mumbai Masala Pav Recipe

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)  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.

Masala Pav-Recipe-Step-1

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.
Masala Pav-Recipe-Step-2

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. Masala Pav-Recipe-Step-3

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.

Masala Pav-Recipe-Step-4

Place the masala on top of the toasted buns. Serve masala pav with some extra onion on top!

Masala Pav Recipe

* 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

5 from 3 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Masala Pav is popular street food from Mumbai! Toasted buns are topped with a spicy masala, these are best enjoyed with chai!

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
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

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

Calories: 288kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 416mg, Potassium: 230mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 1195IU, Vitamin C: 32.3mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 11mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breads, Snack
Cuisine: Indian Street Food
Your feedback is valuable!Please share your comments, ratings, and any suggestions or adaptations below to help us improve and make our recipes more successful.

Masala Pav

Masala Pav Collage


Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




29 Comments

  1. Street food is the best and it’s just so much fun! I could do some damage to a few masala pav while strolling down the street in India!

  2. Wow! How fun that every area is unique in their street food. It would be such an experience to try many different types. This looks intriguing. I love the combination of veggies and spices!

  3. Nothing beats street food and my mouth is watering thinking of all the yummy spicy food choices there must be. These look delicious, Manali!

  4. I’ve never heard of this, but since I love street food and this looks so good, count me in! I love all the colors and the spices sound amazing!

  5. You really can’t beat street food, it’s always some of the best! These look so delicious and perfect for an easy dinner!

  6. I’ve never had masala pav, but holy moly, this street food looks incredible!! I could totally nosh on this all day! Cheers, Manali!

  7. These buns are mouthwatering, Manali! Street food is always the best and this masala pav sounds super flavorful.

  8. I love discovering some new street food recipes to make at home. Street food was probably one of my favourite things about Thailand.

  9. Oh, you can’t beat street food! I’ve never been to India, but I’ve heard all about the deliciousness that is Indian street food. Whenever we go somewhere on vacation, we try to find a good street food vendor (depending on the location, of course)…that’s how you can really get a feel for a place’s foodie vibe! Thanks for sharing this one, Manali…it looks delicious!

  10. These rolls sound delicious, Manali! I love all of the veggies on top. Such a colorful and zesty dish!