Pav Bhaji

Ingredients

• 300 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• 150 g cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
• 100 g green peas, fresh or frozen
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 medium green capsicum, finely chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 60 g butter, for the bhaji
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 500 ml water, for boiling and thinning
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 8 soft pav (dinner rolls)
• 30 g butter, for toasting the pav
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Instructions

1. Put the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and peas in a deep pot with 400 ml water and 0.5 tsp of the salt. Cover and boil until the potatoes and carrot break easily when pressed with a spoon.
2. Drain, keeping the cooking water. Mash the vegetables roughly with a potato masher, leaving a few small chunks for texture. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil and 30 g of the bhaji butter in a large heavy pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, until soft and light golden at the edges.
4. Stir in the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and cook for 1 minute until the raw smell goes. Add the capsicum and cook until it softens.
5. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala and the remaining salt. Cook, pressing the tomatoes with the back of the spoon, until they collapse and the butter starts to separate at the edges.
6. Add the mashed vegetables and 200 ml of the reserved cooking water. Mash everything together in the pan with the masher until thick and mostly smooth.
7. Simmer on low heat, stirring often and adding more cooking water if it catches, until the bhaji is thick, glossy and spoonable. Stir in the remaining 30 g butter, the lemon juice and half the coriander.
8. Slice the pav horizontally without cutting all the way through. Melt the toasting butter on a tawa or frying pan over medium heat and toast the pav cut side down until golden and lightly crisp. Work in batches.
9. Serve the hot bhaji in bowls topped with a small piece of butter if you like, the remaining coriander and chopped red onion. Serve with the buttery pav and lemon wedges.

Tips

• Mash the vegetables while they are still hot. They break down much more easily and give a smoother bhaji.
• Cook the tomatoes until the butter separates at the edges. This gives the bhaji its deep colour and rounded flavour.
• Keep the bhaji slightly looser than you want it. It thickens as it stands and when it is reheated.
• Toast the pav on the same pan after removing the bhaji. Any leftover masala on the pan adds flavour to the buns.