Skillet Pav Bhaji with Buttery Griddled Rolls

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Mumbai's most beloved street food, built entirely in one skillet: potatoes, cauliflower, peas and peppers simmered with tomatoes and warm spice, then mashed right in the pan until glossy and almost creamy. A generous amount of butter goes in at the end — that's not optional, it's the whole point. Soft dinner rolls get split and griddled in the same buttery pan drippings so they soak up every bit of flavor. Finish with raw onion, cilantro and a hard squeeze of lime.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 cups cauliflower florets, chopped small
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (about 4 medium)
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano chile, minced (seeds removed for less heat)

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 1/2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chile powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp sugar

• 8 soft dinner rolls or Hawaiian-style slider buns
• 1 tsp pav bhaji masala, for the buttered pan

• 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Put the potato chunks, cauliflower, carrot and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan with water to cover by an inch. Bring to a boil and cook 12–14 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart when pressed with a fork. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water. Set vegetables aside.
2. In a wide 12-inch skillet or braiser over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the oil. Add the chopped yellow onions and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until deeply golden at the edges — this browning is where most of the sweetness comes from.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and serrano and cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add the bell pepper and cook 3 minutes more.
4. Push the vegetables to the side, add 2 more tablespoons butter to the bare pan, and when it foams add the pav bhaji masala, Kashmiri chile powder, cumin and turmeric. Stir the spices in the butter for 30 seconds, then mix everything together.
5. Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt and the sugar. Cook 10–12 minutes over medium heat, mashing the tomatoes against the pan, until they break down completely and the mixture darkens and pulls away from the sides of the skillet.
6. Add the drained potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and the frozen peas along with 1 cup of the reserved cooking water. Now take a potato masher and mash directly in the pan, working across the whole surface, 3–4 minutes. Leave it slightly rustic — you want a thick, spoonable mash, not a purée.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes, mashing and stirring occasionally and adding reserved water 1/4 cup at a time until the bhaji is the texture of loose mashed potatoes. Taste and add salt, more masala, or a squeeze of lime as needed.
8. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter off the heat until it melts into the bhaji and turns it glossy. Keep warm over the lowest heat, covered.
9. Split the rolls almost all the way through, hinged like a book. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat and stir in 1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala. Press the cut sides of the rolls into the butter and griddle 1–2 minutes per batch, until the cut faces are golden and crisp at the edges but the rolls are still pillowy. Work in batches, adding a little more butter if the pan goes dry.
10. Serve the bhaji in shallow bowls with a knob of butter melting on top, a shower of red onion and cilantro, and lime wedges. Pile the griddled rolls alongside for scooping and mopping.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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