A proper, butter-loaded Mumbai-style bhaji — slow-cooked, well mashed, and finished with depth.

 

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 2 potatoes, boiled and mashed
• ½ cup cauliflower, boiled
• ½ cup green peas, boiled
• 1 capsicum, finely chopped

Base

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes, finely chopped or pureed
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

Spice

• 2 tsp Nativ Origins Pav Bhaji Masala
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• Salt to taste

Finish

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp kasuri methi, crushed
• Lemon juice
• Fresh coriander

For Pav

• Butter
• Pav buns

Method

Start with butter and oil on a wide pan. Add onions and cook till soft and lightly golden.

Add ginger-garlic paste and let it cook through. Stir in the tomatoes and cook this down properly — it should lose its rawness and turn thick, almost buttery, with oil separating at the edges.

Add the pav bhaji masala, chilli powder, and turmeric. Let the spices cook briefly — just enough to release aroma.

Add all the vegetables. Mash directly in the pan while mixing. Add a little water and keep cooking, mashing and stirring till everything comes together into a thick bhaji.

Let it simmer for a few minutes — this is where the flavour builds.

Finish with butter, crushed kasuri methi, a squeeze of lemon, and coriander.

Pav

Toast the pav in butter till golden on both sides.

To Serve

Hot bhaji, a knob of butter on top, chopped onions on the side, lemon wedge, and buttered pav.

Notes

• Cook the bhaji longer than you think — it makes a difference
• Mash while cooking, not before
• Add butter in stages for better flavour
• The masala should carry the dish, not overpower it