Pav bhaji is a fast food dish from Maharashtra, consisting of a thick vegetable curry usually prepared in butter and served with a soft bread roll.The dish originated in the 1850s as a fast lunchtime dish for textile mill workers in Mumbai. Pav bhaji was later served at restaurants throughout the city. Pav bhaji is now offered at outlets from simple hand carts to formal restaurants in India and abroad.Pav bhaji has many variations in ingredients and garnishes, but is essentially a spiced mixture of mashed vegetables in a thick gravy cooked on a flat griddle (tava) served hot with a buttered soft white bread roll.Variations on pav bhaji include:Cheese pav bhaji, with cheese on top of the bhajiFried pav bhaji, with the pav tossed in the bhajiPaneer pav bhaji, with paneer cheese in the bhajiMushroom pav bhaji, with mushrooms in the bhajiKhada pav bhaji, with vegetable chunks in the bhajiJain pav bhaji, without onions and garlic and with plantains instead of potatoesKolhapuri pav bhaji, using a spice mix common in KolhapurDryfruit pav bhaji with dried fruits in or on the bhaji