Indian cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Pav Bhaji

Mumbai's classic street food: spiced mashed vegetables loaded with butter, served with golden-toasted buns.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 500g potatoes
• 300g cauliflower
• 150g peas (frozen)
• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 piece ginger (3cm)
• 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
• 100g butter
• 8 soft dinner rolls
• Salt

Instructions

1. Peel and dice the potatoes, break the cauliflower into small florets, and boil both with the peas in salted water for 15 minutes until soft; drain and roughly mash.
2. Finely chop one onion, the garlic and the ginger, dice the pepper small and roughly dice the tomatoes; finely dice the second onion raw and set it aside.
3. Melt half the butter in a wide pan, fry the chopped onion, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes until translucent, then add the pepper and fry for 3 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and pav bhaji masala and cook down for 8–10 minutes until the mixture is dark and thick and the butter separates at the edge.
5. Stir in the mashed vegetables with 150ml water, season with salt, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, mashing repeatedly with a potato masher until the mixture is thick and smooth.
6. Split the rolls in half, toast them golden in the remaining butter, and serve with the bhaji, the raw diced onion and a knob of butter.