2 hours ago
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Pav bhaji, or Indian spiced mash, is a home cook’s friend. It’s not fussy, and it will take most leftover vegetables and transform them into something delicious. Add a squeeze of lemon, chopped onion and fresh herbs, and mop up with a butter-fried roll, just as the people of Mumbai do. The odd potato? No problem. A bit of cauliflower? Sure. Some peas from the freezer? Ideal! What you do need, however, is a secret weapon in the form of pav bhaji masala, a little box of spice perfectly blended to add the appropriate magic (and available in most places where you’d find a hungry Indian).
Pav bhaji
Different masalas have different strengths and salt levels, so add both judiciously: with the masala, say, a teaspoon at a time, and with the salt a quarter-teaspoon at a time. The MDH, Everest and Badshah brands all make good pav bhaji masala, which is widely available in Indian grocery stores and online.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4
2 medium potatoes (250g), peeled
2 carrots (300g)
½ cauliflower, divided into florets (250g net)
1 tsp fine sea salt
120g salted butter
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 red onions, peeled and finely diced
4 fat garlic cloves, peeled and minced
400g passata
½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
2 tbsp pav bhaji masala, or less to taste
4 soft white rolls
To serve (all optional)
A squeeze of lemon, finely diced red onion, chopped fresh coriander
Roughly chop the potatoes and carrots into 2cm x 2cm pieces and the cauliflower into 4cm x 4cm florets. Put a litre of just-boiled water in a saucepan, add a teaspoon of salt, then add the potatoes and carrots, cover the pan and boil for 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower, boil for another five minutes, until all the vegetables are soft, then drain over a bowl to reserve the cooking water.
Put the vegetables back in the pan over a very low heat, then mash them really well, adding three or four tablespoons of the reserved water, or as much as you need to make a smooth mash.
Put three tablespoons of oil and 50g butter in a wide pan on a medium heat. When it’s hot, add the cumin seeds and onion, and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until soft and browning. Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the passata and cook for 10 minutes more. Stir in the kashmiri chilli and a tablespoon of pav bhaji masala.
Scoop in the mashed vegetables and a further 50g butter, mash again, then taste for seasoning – you may want to add up to a tablespoon more masala, or a little salt. Cook for a couple of minutes longer, until everything is well combined, loose and glossy, then take off the heat.
Split the rolls and crank a large pan up to a high heat. Add the remaining 20g butter to the pan, then lay in the rolls cut side down. Once browned and toasted, take out of the pan.
To serve, put the bhaji mixture in the middle of the table and serve with the hot buttered rolls for scooping and an optional squeeze of lemon, some chopped red onion and fresh coriander.
