Name: Pav Bhaji Masala Powder
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon Black peppercorns; 25 Cloves; 12 Dried red chilies (use kashmiri for bright red color); 2 tablespoons Cumin seeds; 2 ½ tablespoons Coriander seeds (sabut dhaniya); 1 tablespoon Fennel seeds; 6 inch Cinnamon stick; 1 Black cardamom; 2 Bay leaves; 6-8 Curry leaves; ¼ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak); 1 tablespoons Amchur powder (Dried mango powder)

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Pav bhaji masala recipe – easy homemade spice powder recipe that is used for flavoring the pav bhaji or tawa pulao.

2 spoons of pav bhaji masala and pav bhaji plate in the back.

The taste of bhaji made with this masala has no comparison to the same with store bought one. this is definitely the winner.

This homemade pav bhaji masala powder recipe is requested by many readers along with ladi pav/buns. My mom always use the store bought one so I am. Thus I had no clue how to make masala at home. So I followed the Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe. I used in the pav bhaji and the result was beyond my expectation. For the buns, I have tried couple of times. But it did not meet my expectation. I will keep trying.

The original recipe has salt in it. Here I have skipped it. So I can control the salt and don’t have to worry about the over salting the recipe.

There are many brand’s masala powder is available in market. So far I have tried badshah and Everest. Both has different flavors. Personally I liked the Everest brand for pav bhaji masala. And a big NO for Badshah one. About the six months ago, I tried this recipe. Now I will never ever buy from the store.

Check out other homemade masala powder recipes
Garam masala // Sambar masala // Sandwich masala // Goda masala

Step By Step Photo Instructions:

1) Take all the spices (except amchur powder and black salt) in a pan. Turn the heat on low-medium. Roast with stirring continously till you get nice aroma of the spices. It will take only 5 minutes. NOTE: My curry leaves are already dry, so it was ready with other spices. If using fresh curry leaves, you should roast them separately till they are crispy and free of moisture.

2) We don’t want the spices to change the color. Roast just till they are fragrant. Remove them to a plate and let it cool completely.

Collage of 2 images showing roasting the spices and removed to a plate.

3) Once the spices comes to room temperature, make fine powder using spice grinder or blender.

4) Add amchur powder and black salt.

Collage of 2 images showing ground spices and adding amchur.

5) Mix it using your fingertips. This is the best way to incorporate the masala well. also break the lumps of the amchur.

6) It should be mixed very well.

Collage of 2 images showing mixing amchur with fingers and ready pav bhaji masala powder.

Storing the masala: you can store them in airtight container and keep it at room temperature. It stays good for at least 6-8 months in airtight container. Always use the clean and dry spoon to remove the required amount. It helps to maintain the longer shelf life.

Using the masala in recipes: Use this homemade pav bhaji masala for making mumbai pav bhaji, tawa pulao, masala idli. You can add in vegetable sabzi recipes instead of garam masala for the some variation.