A buttery mashed vegetable curry from the Mumbai streets, served with soft rolls griddled in butter. Only gluten free if you use gluten free rolls.
Prep
25 mins
Cook
40 mins
Servings
5
Per serving
£1.10
Difficulty
easy
The bhaji itself is a mash of potato, cauliflower, pepper and peas cooked down with tomatoes and a great deal of butter until it is almost a paste. Traditionally it comes with pav, soft white wheat rolls, which is the one thing standing between this dish and coeliacs. Swap them and nothing else changes.
Boil the potatoes and cauliflower together in salted water for 15 minutes until very soft. Add the peas for the last 2 minutes, then drain, reserving a mugful of the water.
Mash the cooked vegetables roughly, leaving some texture. Set aside.
Melt 50g of the butter in a very large frying pan. Add the two chopped onions and the red pepper and cook for 12 minutes until soft and browning.
Stir in the garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes, then add the Kashmiri chilli, ground coriander and cumin and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the chopped tomatoes and 2 tsp of the salt and cook for 10 minutes, mashing them down, until you have a thick paste.
Add the mashed vegetables and a splash of the reserved cooking water. Now mash everything together in the pan with a potato masher for a good 3 minutes over a medium heat.
Keep mashing as it cooks. The texture should be close to a rough purée, not a chunky curry.
Cook for a further 10 minutes, adding more water if it stiffens, until dark red and glossy. Stir in the amchur, garam masala and 25g more butter.
Split the gluten free rolls. Melt the remaining butter in a clean griddle pan and toast the cut sides for 2 minutes until golden.
Use a clean pan and fresh butter. Butter that has touched ordinary wheat pav is contaminated.
Serve the bhaji with the toasted rolls, the third onion finely chopped and raw, lemon wedges and plenty of coriander.