Pav bhaji is Mumbai's great street food. It began in the middle of the nineteenth century as a quick, filling lunch for the city's textile mill workers: whatever vegetables were to hand, boiled, mashed and fried on a wide iron griddle with tomatoes, spices and butter, then served with pav, the small soft bread rolls of the city. Today it is sold everywhere from hand carts on the beach to smart restaurants, but the scene is always the same, a vendor at a vast flat tawa mashing the bhaji with a heavy masher, the clang ringing down the street, and a slab of butter melting on top of every plate.

At home it needs only a large pan and a potato masher. The secret is a spice blend called pav bhaji masala, sold in Indian shops and easy to find online, and a generous hand with butter at both ends of the process. It is vegetarian, endlessly adaptable and ideal for feeding a room full of people, each building their own plate, and it is built for eating standing up, which is just as well, because nobody sits still during the opening lap.

The boiled vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes
• 2 cups (200 g) cauliflower florets
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 cup (70 g) green peas
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Method

1. Put the potatoes, cauliflower and carrot in the pot, cover with water by 1 inch (2.5 cm), add the salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 12 minutes, then add the peas and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more.
2. Drain the vegetables in the colander, keeping 1 cup (240 ml) of the cooking water. Return them to the pot and mash roughly with the masher.

The bhaji

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (55 g) butter
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 large red or yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 to 2 green chilies
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pav bhaji masala
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the oil in the large frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 20 to 30 seconds.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and golden. Add the ginger, garlic and green chili and stir for 1 minute, then add the bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring and pressing them with the spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Turn the heat to low and stir in the pav bhaji masala, chili powder, turmeric and the rest of the salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time so the spices do not burn.
5. Add the mashed vegetables and 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the reserved cooking water. Mash everything together in the pan with the masher for 3 to 4 minutes, until almost smooth. Add more water if it is stiff.
6. Simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the kasuri methi, the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, most of the cilantro and the lemon juice. Taste and add salt if needed.

The toasted pav

Ingredients

• 8 soft dinner rolls or pav
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) butter
• 1/4 teaspoon pav bhaji masala

Method

1. Slice each roll horizontally with the bread knife, almost all the way through, so it opens like a book.
2. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a clean frying pan over medium heat, sprinkle in a pinch of masala if you like, and lay the rolls in, cut side down. Press lightly and toast for 1 minute, then turn and toast the tops for 30 seconds. Repeat with the rest.

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