This is a short and crisp post for the recipe of Indian style dinner rolls. These are known as “Pav” or “Ladi Pav” (Ladi means in a row and Pav means dinner rolls) in India and they are particularly famous in the state of Maharashtra. These are soft and go very well with many of the Indian snacks, appetizers and entrees. I have had many people ask me for this recipe and i even though i make these rolls often, i never really got down to writing the recipe.
Recently i invited one of the friends for a lunch at my place and i prepared her favorite dishes – Pav Bhaji, Almond Malpuas and chai. She hails from Maharashtra and misses pav bhaji a lot. She really loved the food and was all in praises of the bhaji. When i told her that that pavs were also home made, she literally jumped in excitement and asked me for the recipe right away. That is when i realized this recipe was missing from Divine spice box’s recipe collection and i decided to finally get it here.
Of many Indian food things i miss here, one of them is Pav bhaji for sure. The spicy, tangy vegetable mish mash makes the mouth salivate and the accompanied soft pav bread soaked with butter makes this dish a truly memorable experience. Even if you master the art of making the perfect bhaji, if the pav bread is not soft and pillowy, the fun is gone. After many failed attempts, i have finally cracked the recipe which works every single time !
Once you make these pav bread at home, i can assure that you won’t be missing the Indian bakery pav buns anymore. The recipe is fairly simple and easy to follow. You can make a big batch at a time and store these buns in an airtight container (after they have completely cooled down) for up to a week .
Pav Bread – Indian dinner rolls
pav bread - Indian dinner rolls
- 3 cups All purpose flour
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup water (warm or between 105-120 F)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp dry active yeast
- extra flour for dusting
Method
- In a bowl, take the warm water. To this, add the sugar and then the dry active yeast. Stir and allow the yeast to froth. This would take about 10 minutes. If the yeast does not froth, start all over.
- Now, take a big bowl and sieve in flour and add salt and butter to this.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour and add milk and more water as needed to form a soft dough.
- Place this dough in a well oiled deep bowl and cover the bowl with clear film. Let it stand for about 1 hour. The dough will rise to double the size.
- Remove the clear film and punch down the dough. Knead for a couple of minutes (add the flour on the working surface to knead out the dough).
- Divide the dough into 10-12 rolls and place them on the pre-greased baking sheet. Keep 1 inch space between all the rolls.
- Let it rest and rise for about 45 minutes. The rolls will double in size and the distance between all the rolls will be covered.
- Bake at 400 F for about 15-20 minutes or till golden brown on top.
- Remove from oven. Brush butter on the top and serve warm. The butter will make the top of the dinner rolls glisten and softer.
These pavs are so so good ! They are super soft and melt in the mouth when you bite into them. I was really excited to see these pav bake to a perfection. Serve them with mumbai style bhaji (vegetable mish mash curry) or slit them in half and serve for Vada pav.
Please note : You can also substitute All purpose flour with a mix of whole wheat and All purpose flour in the above recipe. Adding whole wheat in the recipe does interfere with the softness and sponginess of the pav bread but if you eat them often, whole wheat pav buns might be a healthier option.
Recipes which compliment these Pav are :
Check out these other recipes from my bread basket:
These rolls look wonderful as do your other breads. That was so sweet to make them for your friend that missed them!
Thanks a lot Julie. U are such a sweetheart ! <3
Thank you!
Your Pav look perfect. I have been meaning to make my oen Pav for a while now. May be I will start with your recipe.
Thank u Aruna 🙂 Do try make it..i was also apprehensive for sometime but this recipe did a justice to the Pavs 🙂
Awesome.. Where r u based if you don’t mind me asking ?
I am in US Anjali.
Hai. Great post, but a question. In the ingredients you have mentioned milk, but you haven’t used it anywhere in the process.. ?
Thanks for bringing it to my notice. I think it was a typo error. I added the detail. Thank you for noticing and writing to me 🙂
Prachi,
These Pav look divine. As a “pav addict’ I have to make these soon:)
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Hi..can i make pav on normal cookie sheet tray as i dont have a big pan
Hi Shikha. Yes u can use a baking sheet for sure. The only thing with a sheet is that the bread will rise horizontally than vertically… which is fine 🙂 So, go ahead with it ! Do let me know how it comes out 🙂
Hey can i make the ladi pav with wheat flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes manisha you can use whole wheat but I would still recommend half Maida and half whole wheat. The complete whole wheat buns might not be as springy and soft. Let me know which way u decide to go
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