VADA PAV-MUMBAI STREET FOOD

VADA PAV – MUMBAI SPECIAL

Vada pav, not just a famous Mumbai street food but popular around the country with variation in taste as per region. A whole meal on the go. Our Indian burger made with spicy potato mix stuffed in chick pea batter and deep fried and served between sliced Pav(indian bun) along with spicy chutney and fried green chillies.
Pav is store bought but you can make them at home too (Recipe to follow in later posts). But here is my recipe of the Batata vada.

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 5-6 medium sized potatoes
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1 tablespoon oil + for deep frying vadas
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• A pinch of asafoetida/hing
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
• Salt as per taste

FOR COATING BATTER

• 1 & 1/2 cup Chickpea flour/besan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida/hing
• A pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 water or as per requirement.

FOR THE RED CHUTNEY

• 1 medium sized onion, sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 3-4 whole dry red chilli
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds/Jeera
• 2 tablespoon grated dry coconut
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds/til
• Salt to taste

METHOD

MAKING THE RED CHUTNEY

1. ◆ Deep fry the sliced onion till golden brown. Remove on absorbent paper.
2. ◆ In a pan take 1 teaspoon oil, add jeera garlic, dried red chillies grated coconut and til. Saute till everything is well toasted and fragrant. Allow it to cool.
3. ◆Once cool grind it along with the crisp onions and salt. Your red chutney is ready.

MAKING THE VADAS

1. ◆Boil the potatoes until tender and cooked. Peel and mash them.
2. ◆ Crush ginger, garlic and green chillies using mortar and pestle.
3. ◆In a pan take oil once hot add mustard seed. Allow them to crackle. Add hing and curry leaves followed by garlic-chilli paste and turmeric.
4. ◆Add this mixture to the mashed potatoes. Add salt.
5. ◆Combine everything well. Make medium sized balls and set aside.
6. ◆Prepare the batter by mixing all the ingredients. The batter should be smooth and thick enough to coat the vadas.
7. ◆Place a pan with oil on high heat. Once oil is hot reduce to medium.
8. ◆Dip the vadas in the batter and coat from all sides.
9. ◆Fry until golden brown and crisp from all sides.
10. ◆Also fry few green chillies and drain sprinkle some salt on them.

Slit the pav horizontally , put some red chutney on the pav keep a vada and press a bit to flatten. Serve with fried chillies and more red chutney.You can also serve green chutney and sweet date and tamarind chutney with this.