Pav Bhaji (Mumbai Street Food)

Instructions

1. Add the chopped potatoes, cauliflower, carrot, peas, and french beans to a 2-litre pressure cooker with 2.25 to 2.5 cups water. Pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles (about 12 minutes) on medium. (You can also steam or pan-cook until fully tender.)
2. Heat a large pan or tawa and add 2 to 3 tablespoons butter. When it melts, add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
3. Add the onions and sauté on low to medium until translucent.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the raw aroma goes. Add the green chilies and mix.
5. Add the tomatoes and sauté on low to medium until soft and mushy and the butter releases from the sides, about 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle in a little water if it sticks.
6. Add the capsicum and sauté 2 to 3 minutes — a little crunch is fine.
7. Add turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, and pav bhaji masala; mix well.
8. Add the cooked vegetables along with their cooking stock. Mix and season with salt.
9. Mash the vegetables directly in the pan with a potato masher — more for smooth, less for chunky.
10. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adding water as needed to keep it neither thick nor thin. Taste and adjust salt, masala, chili, or butter.
11. To toast the pav: heat a skillet on low, melt butter, stir in a pinch of pav bhaji masala, then press the split pav into the butter on both sides until they soak it up and lightly toast.
12. Serve the bhaji topped with a cube of butter, with chopped onion, cilantro, and lemon wedges alongside the buttered pav. Squeeze lemon over the bhaji as you eat.