The Indian street-food dish combining mashed vegetables with buttered bread rolls is called pav bhaji.
Pav bhaji consists of a thick, spicy vegetable curry called bhaji served with soft bread rolls known as pav. The vegetables are cooked until tender and mashed on a hot griddle, commonly with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peas, and cauliflower. Butter and a distinctive spice blend give the dish its rich flavor.
The dish is closely associated with Mumbai, where it developed as a quick meal for textile-mill workers and other busy urban diners during the nineteenth century. Vendors could prepare the vegetable mixture in large quantities and serve it rapidly with toasted rolls.
Pav bhaji is not the same as vada pav. Vada pav contains a fried potato dumpling inside a bread roll, whereas pav bhaji is a spoonable vegetable preparation served alongside the bread. Lemon, chopped onion, and coriander are common garnishes.