Colm O'Gorman: Pav Bhaji is a Mumbai street-food classic

Pav Bhaji is a Mumbai street food classic. Pav is the Hindi word for bread roll, and bhaji means a vegetable dish. Pav Bhaji then, is a beautiful thick vegetable curry, served with buttery bread rolls and a simple fresh onion chutney. It is delicious, and quite quick and easy to make. Perhaps the most complicated bit is mixing up the masala or spice mix that is used to flavour this gorgeous curry, but even that is fairly easy. And of course, once you make up a batch you will have it to hand for the next time you make this recipe, and trust me, once you have eaten this, you will want to make it again and again.

To make the masala, pop 2 tbsp of coriander seed, 1 tbsp cumin seed, 5 whole cloves, the seeds from 2 cardamon pods and 2 tsp fennel seed into a dry pan. Roast them over a medium heat until they are fragrant, about three to four minutes, and then grind the spices to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. If you prefer, you can use ground spices, but roasting your own will give you even better flavour. Combine those freshly ground spices with 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Mix thoroughly and transfer to a clean jar. You will only need a few tablespoons of this masala to make your Pav Bhaji, and it will keep well for a few months in your spice drawer.

Brioche rolls are the best locally available bread option for this dish. Just cut them in half lengthways, melt a few tablespoons of butter in a pan, add a sprinkle of your pav bhaji masala and toast the bread on both sides in the foaming butter.

Pav Bhaji

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

A starter or snack-friendly serving of an Indian street-food classic.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Starter

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• 400g potatoes

• ½ medium cauliflower

• 1 red pepper

• 35g butter

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion

• 3 cloves garlic

• 3 cm fresh ginger root

• 1 green chilli

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 1 ½ tbsp pav bhaji masala

• 1 tin cherry tomatoes

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• 100g frozen peas

• 1 tbsp soft brown sugar

• Juice of a lime

• 1 tbsp dried fenugreek (optional)

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

• Onion Chutney

• 1 red onion

• 25g desiccated coconut

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• ½ tsp flaky sea salt

• Juice of a lime

• Some fresh chopped coriander

• To Serve

• 6-8 brioche rolls

Method

1. Bake the potatoes. I pop mine in the microwave for about 15 minutes until they are cooked through. Wash and cut the cauliflower florets into 2cm chunks. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and grate the onion and garlic. Wash, deseed and finely chop the red chilli. Chop the red pepper into small chunks.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan until it foams. Add the olive oil and the chopped onion. Cook the onion over a medium heat until it is soft and translucent, about five minutes will do it. Add the garlic and ginger and stir those in for another minute until they lose their raw smell. Next, add the chopped chilli and the cauliflower. Cook for another few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and the pav bhaji masala, stir those in to coat everything in the spice and cook for just a few minutes, taking care not to let the spices burn.

3. Now add the tin of cherry tomatoes and about 200ml of water. Stir and bring to the boil. Add the red pepper and the sea salt, stir those in, reduce the heat to a simmer and pop on a lid.

4. Cook for ten minutes until the cauliflower is soft and the tomatoes are breaking down.

5. While the pan is simmering away, make the onion chutney. Finely chop the onion. Pop that in a bowl along with the salt, sugar, and lime juice. Taste and add more lime juice if needed. Set aside for now, adding the fresh coriander just before serving the dish.

6. Your potatoes should be baked by now. Remove them from the microwave and cut them in half lengthways. Holding the hot potato in a clean tea towel, scrape out the flesh which should be soft and fluffy. Just use a spoon to scoop it all into a bowl.

7. Once the cauliflower is cooked through, add the potatoes and the frozen peas to the pot of vegetables. Use a potato masher to mash everything together into a thick curry. Add a little more water if needed to get the consistency right and cook for two to three minutes until the peas are hot and cooked through. Add the dried fenugreek, the lime juice, and the chopped coriander. Stir those in well and taste. Add more lime juice or salt to season if needed.

8. Toast the brioche rolls as descried above. Serve the Pav Bhaji in bowls with some fresh chopped coriander scatter over the top, and the rolls and onion chutney on the side.

9. If you want to go all out, temper a teaspoon of mustard seeds, a couple of green chillis and some curry or basil leaves in some hot oil. Tempering spices brings out their flavour by cooking them for just a few minutes in some very hot oil, a tablespoon or two of olive is enough for this. When the mustard seeds start to pop, and the herbs and chilli start to blister, just pour the oil and spices over the curry right before you bring it to the table. It looks great and adds more flavour, but it is entirely optional.