Ingredients

• 2 cups cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
• 4 tbsp butter, divided (do not skimp here — the butter is not optional, it is the point)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 green chili, minced
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes, pureed
• 1 tbsp LXV Mummiji Spice Blend, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, for color more than heat
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Fine sea salt, to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4-6 pav (soft dinner rolls), split and buttered
• Raw onion, finely chopped, and lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Boil the cauliflower, potatoes, carrots and peas together until fully tender, then mash coarsely with a potato masher — leave it a little rough, not baby food. This is the base of the dish; everything after this is about building flavor into it.
2. Warm the oil and 2 tbsp of the butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle a few seconds — this is the foundation every good bhaji is built on.
3. Add the onion and cook 6-8 minutes until it goes properly golden, not just soft. The color is where the flavor lives; a pale onion makes a flat bhaji.
4. Stir in the ginger-garlic paste and green chili and fry 1 minute until it stops smelling raw. Add the bell pepper and cook 2-3 minutes more.
5. Add the tomato puree, Mummiji, Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric. Cook this down 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the butter separates from the masala and it turns a deep brick-red. Rushing this step is the one mistake that flattens the whole dish — do not move on early.
6. Fold in the mashed vegetables along with 1/2 to 1 cup of water, enough to loosen the mixture to a thick, spoonable consistency. Simmer 10-15 minutes, mashing further as you go and adding more Mummiji or salt to taste.
7. Finish with the lemon juice and the remaining 2 tbsp butter melted on top. Scatter with cilantro and raw onion.
8. Serve hot with pav griddled in butter until blistered at the edges, extra lemon on the side.

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