Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe : Spice Mix Powder for Making Pav Bhaji!

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You can add some of your favourite spices as well. Whatever you will add, the result would be a tasty spice blend. When these fresh whole spices are roasted, they release a fragrant aroma. The taste of these grounded spices enhance the flavours of Pav Bhaji and make it almost similar the one you eat outside. The flavours, fragrance, aroma and taste of this spice mix cannot be beaten by any other way. This blend of spices is readily available but homemade fresh masala tastes best.

The identity of this Popular Indian street food is this one spice powder which is added to it.  The Pav Bhaji Masala is very simple and easy to make at home. Pav Bhaji is one such snack which you can easily afford to have. This tasty, healthy, and tummy-filling is available in every city and state of India. It is a well-known worldwide. The attention catcher in this dish is the Pav Bhaji masala. Without the masala, the Pav Bhaji is not worth eating and does resemble the original taste.

This recipe of aromatic spice blend is simple and easy. The Pav Bhaji masala can be made in bulk and stored for later use. A lot of credit also goes to the proportion you add this masala in your Pav Bhaji. Though adding the Pav Bhaji will only make the taste better, but at times adding more than the proportionate amount can bitter its taste. The way to make the Pav Bhaji Masala is similar to other masalas. This recipe is surely a keeper, especially if you are a fan of Pav Bhaji.

Pav Bhaji masala is the combination of condiments used in the preparation of the Bhaji. It includes spices like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, black cardamom, dry mango powder, fennel seeds and turmeric powder. You can alter the proportion of the spices in this Pav Bhaji spice mix. You can also skip or add more ingredients. The addition of this masala to the Pav Bhaji will do the phenomenal change to the original taste and flavours of the dish. But as it very strong in smell and taste, add only 2 to 3 tsp.

Remarks:

• Cleaning the whole spices properly is very important process otherwise, you won’t find the Pav Bhaji Masala good in taste.
• The colour of the Pav Bhaji Masala may vary a bit as it depends on the red chilli powder and roasting the spices.
• You can skip adding the salt in the spice mixture if you want to.
• When keeping the spices under the sun, make sure the place is dry.
• Place the plate such that more impurities cannot add into it.
• After keeping them under the sun, clean and remove impurities from them again.
• Do not forget to keep changing the position of the plate according to the sun direction.
• Keep away and save the spice plate from animals.
• Store Pav Bhaji Masala Powder in cool and dry place only.
• You can keep Pav Bhaji Masala Powder in the fridge as well as in the freezer.

Serving:

The Pav Bhaji Masala enhances the taste of the dish when mixed at the end of cooking of the Pav Bhaji dish. You can also sprinkle on the Pav Bhaji exactly before serving or add when you are cooking it. The addition of Pav Bhaji Masala will bring the super change in the taste and flavours of your Pav Bhaji. You would instantly get the taste of restaurant.

You can add this Pav Bhaji Masala to any other mashed vegetable dish. It will immediately infuse its flavours and spread the mouth-watering aroma all over the surrounding place.

This Masala can be sprinkled over any other dish which uses potato, capsicum or the tomatoes as its core ingredients.

Even this Pav Bhaji Masala can be used in preparation of the rice dish as well. The food snacks like Masala Pav use this Masala, where you roast the bun, sprinkle the spice mix and add the veggies between the two buns.

Quick Tip:

• The homemade masalas are too strong and highly aromatic. While making Pav Bhaji, add only 2 to 3 tsp. for serving of 4 people.
• The packet of ready-made Pav Bhaji Masala is also available in the market. But for the hygienic reasons, it is preferred to make at home.
• You can also dry roast some of the whole spices before grinding them. Skip roasting nutmeg and ginger powder.
• If dry roasting, then takes these whole spices individually and separately one after the other.
• You may substitute the whole nutmeg with the nutmeg powder.
• Add the green and the black cardamom as a whole. Do not peel off their covering as they have some flavour in it.
• Always better to make the Pav Bhaji Masala in small quantity as its freshness will vanish with time.

Points of Suggestion for Pav Bhaji Masala:

• Take the whole spices in a separate plate and then check if they have stones.
• Clean them individually before keeping them together in sun to dry.
• There should be no trace of insect or hidden mold growing in them. (Discard those spices.)
• For grinding, it is recommended to use fresh spices and not stores ones.
• It is very important to dry these spices. You can either sun dry or roast (Pan/Oven).
• You should use the actual cinnamon for making this Pav Bhaji masala.

There are various masala powders apart from Pav Bhaji Masala powder which can be added to our food. The ready-made packets of all these masala powders are available in the supermarket. You can buy them and use instantly. These store-bought instant powder packets are nice but not good from the hygiene point of view. So, make each one of these masalas at home with ease and at your suitable time. They all might sound same and have a similar texture, but they differ in flavour and taste. The basic ingredients almost remain the same in every masala powder with the change of one or two ingredients. There may be slight difference or change in the proportion of ingredients used for each of these different masala powders.

Though variation in taste, the method to make the Masala remains unchanged. Before you start to grind the whole spices for the Pav Bhaji Masala, it is crucial to dry them.  You can usually clean and keep Pav Bhaji masala spices to dry in sun for 2 or 3 days. Make sure they are totally dry and have no moisture in them. Then you can take them in a grinder one by one or together all at once and grind into smooth powder. The best of these masalas is you can prepare in abundance and store for later use. Take this spice mix powder to the bottle and store it in a proper place.

Storing the Pav Bhaji Masala:

Mentioned below are the few points to remember if you are storing the Pav Bhaji Masala:

• If you are making the Pav Bhaji Masala in the bulk, then you can store it in an airtight container. Keep this stored container at room temperature inside a kitchen cupboard or in the fridge.
• It stays good with the taste and flavours intact for at least 6-8 months if it is properly stored in airtight container.
• Whenever you are taking the Masala from the container, always use the clean and dry spoon. Remove the required amount and again close the container immediately.
• To maintain the longer life of the Pav Bhaji Masala, you can take out some it and keep it in your regular masala box. Then whenever that portion is over, again re-fill it from the container.

Consume this Masala before the expiry date or before it’s too old. Otherwise, your Bhaji won’t smell nice.

Roasting the Spices in Pan:

If you are living at the place where you do not get the enough sunlight, then you can roast these whole spices. Take all the spices required to make the Pav Bhaji masala in a pan. Do not take the spice powders like the dry mango powder, turmeric powder, dry ginger powder or even the salt.

Then, turn on the stove and heat on low-medium. Roast these spices till you get nice and fragrant aroma releasing from them. You have stir continuously while roasting to avoid the burning of the whole spices. It will take around 5 minutes for spices to be evenly roasted. While roasting, do not change the colour of these spices. Just roast them lightly, enough till they are fragrant. Remove the roasted spices to a plate and let them cool. (You can also roast these spices one by one.)

If you have dry curry leaves then you must not roast them. You can directly use it with other spices. But if you are using fresh curry leaves, then you must roast them with other spices. You can roast the curry leaves separately or individually till they are crispy, crunchy and free of moisture.

Roasting the Spices in Oven:

If you live in a place where you do not get enough sunlight, then you can roast these spices in an oven as well. Take each these whole spices one by one and roast till they become aromatic. To roast them, you have to set the temperature of the oven at its lowest.

For roasting the whole spices in an oven, keep the temperature range of oven anywhere between 50 degrees Celsius to 80 degrees Celsius (i.e. 122 degrees Fahrenheit to 194 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature range may vary depending on the individual oven. The roasting time is dependent on the temperature. Keep to dry the spices in an oven for 6 hours to 15 hours.

How to select to the readymade Pav Bhaji Masala?

• Select the best brand from all the available brands in the market.
• Scan for the expiry date.
• Smell and ensure maximum freshness.
• If you can taste, then check its taste.
• Buy small packets.