Roasted chilli bajji peppers (banana peppers), spicy garlic chutney, and flavourful aloo masala – this chilli bajji pav is a delightful melange of flavours.
With layer after layer of flavours, this chilli bajji pav is a treat for your taste buds. Smoky, roasted banana peppers, garlic-coconut dry chutney, a dollop of mashed potato masala, and a slice of cheese, all of these held together with a toasted pav bun. What else do you need? A hot cup of tea, maybe!
It has been a while since I posted a snack, and I thought it is high time I try one! I wanted to incorporate roasted peppers in one of my recipes, and I fancied I could try with the local banana peppers. That is the origin of this chilli bajji pav.
About this chilli bajji pav
There are three layers to this pav bun sandwich.
The first one is the roasted banana peppers (the chilli bajji peppers). The peppers are roasted on a gas stove flame and scraped off to remove all the charred skin. Banana peppers are perfect for this pav. They add a nice peppery, chilli hit without being too hot!
The second layer is the garlic-coconut chutney powder. Garlic, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, dry chillies, peanuts, and grated coconut are roasted and ground to a coarse chutney powder. This is probably the soul of this sandwich rendering most of the flavours and aroma.
The third and final layer is the aloo (potato) masala. Mashed potatoes with finely chopped onions and coriander seeds. This balances out the spiciness of the other two layers, add to the volume and brings in a note of freshness with the coriander leaves.
This recipe is to make 6 chilli bajji pavs. The amount of garlic-coconut chutney, however, is more than what is required for the 6 pavs. You’ll need about half of it for the 6 pavs. You can store the rest in the fridge and use it to spice up your steamed rice or as a spice-coating on your dosa or idli.
If you liked this chilli bajji pav, don’t forget to check out the following recipes as well.
- Baked Potato Wedges
- Vegetable Cutlet (Vegetable Tikki)
- Pull-Apart Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Spicy Egg and Lettuce Wrap
Chilli Bajji Pav
Ingredients
For aloo masala
- 2 Potatoes medium
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 green chilli finely chopped
- coriander leaves (cilantro)
- salt
For garlic-coconut chutney
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts
- 6 dry kashmiri red chillies
- 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon tamarind
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 1/2 tablespoon oil
- salt
- 3 banana chilli pepper chilli bajji
- 6 pav buns
- butter
- sev optional to sprinkle on the pav
Instructions
- Heat some oil in a pan and fry the garlic on a low flame.
- Transfer to a blender once they start turning brown.
- Add sesame seeds to the same pan and fry till they pop. Do not add any more oil.
- They might not pop if you have too much oil in the pan.
- Now add the coriander seeds followed by the Kashmiri chillies.
- Combine well and continue roasting for a couple of minutes.
- Add the grated coconut and roast till they turn golden brown.
- Transfer to the blender.
- Add roasted peanuts, tamarind, and salt.
- Once the roasted coconut mixture has cooled down, blend to a coarse, dry chutney. Do not add water.
- Cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker.
- Cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker.
- Peel them and smash to small pieces.
- Heat a little oil in the pan, and shallow fry the finely chopped onions.
- Once they turn translucent, added the mashed potatoes.
- Add turmeric powder, chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, and salt.
- Combine well and switch off.
- On a naked flame roast the banana peppers on by one. Roast till the skin is evenly charred.
- Place them on a chopping board and scrape off all the charred skin with a knife or a spoon. Slice them open, deseed and cut to finger size slices.
- Toast the pav (buns) with some butter.
- Now start making the sandwich.
- Place a slice of roasted chilli, followed by a slice of cheese, then a generous dusting of the coconut chutney, and finally a dollop of the mashed potato.
- Put the crown (the top bun) on the top and you are ready to go.
