VADA PAV

VADA PAV

Vada pav is the most common man’s food in Mumbai and is a popular street food snack across whole maharashtra. You will find shops selling vada pav all over Mumbai and even outside schools and colleges. It easy to make and serve. Vada pav basically has Batata vada is sandwiched between two slices of a pav, along with sweet chutney, green chutney and dry garlic chutney.

Ingredients:

For Batata Vada 

2 medium to large sized potatoes
6 to 7 garlic and 1 to 2 green chillies, crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

7 to 8 curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
Salt  as required

For Batter
1 cup gram flour (besan)
A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 pinch of baking soda, optional
1/2 cup water or as required
Salt as required

For dry garlic chutney
12 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Peanuts

1/2 cup  Desiccated Coconut
1+1/2 tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder adjust to taste
1 tsp Salt adjsut to taste

Recipe:

Preparing Batata Vada For Vada Pav

1. Boil 2 large potatoes, till they are completely cooked. Peel and then mash them in a bowl.
2. Heat 2 to 3 tsp oil in a small pan. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and crackle them. Then add 7 to 8 curry leaves and asafoetida. Stir and saute for about 5 seconds.
3. Then add garlic and green chilli paste. Add 1/8 tsp turmeric powder. Stir till the raw aroma of garlic goes away.
4. Pour this tempering in the mashed potatoes.
5. Add 1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves. Also add salt.
6. Mix everything well and then make small to medium balls from the mashed potato mixture. Flatten these balls a bit. Cover and keep aside.
7. In another bowl, make a smooth batter from 1 cup of besan/gram flour, 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of asafoetida, a pinch of baking soda (optional), salt and 1/2 cup water. The batter should not be too thick or thin. (If the batter becomes thin, add 1 or 2 tbsp of gram flour. If the batter becomes thick, then add 1 or 2 tbsp water). Keep aside.

For dry garlic chutney

1. Heat a pan on medium low flame. Add the garlic cloves and roast them for a minute.
2. You can roast the garlic till it becomes little brown in color so that the raw smell of the garlic goes away. Keep it aside on a plate.
3. Then dry roast the coconut in the same pan till it becomes light brown in color and keep it aside.
4. In the same manner, dry roast both the peanuts and sesame seeds separately and keep aside.
5. Let the roasted ingredients cool and then add them all in a food processor jar.
6. Add kashmiri red chilli powder and salt to the jar.
7. Grind them to a coarse powder.

Frying Batata Vada

1. In a kadai or pan, heat oil for deep frying.
2. Dip the slightly flattened potato balls in the batter and coat it evenly with the batter.
3. Gently drop these batter coated potato balls in medium hot oil.
4. Deep fry these batata vadas till golden evenly.
5. Drain them on kitchen paper towels. Make all batata vadas this way and keep aside.
6. When they are still hot or warm, you need to serve them. Take all the chutneys and pav on your work surface.

Assembling Vada Pav

1. Slice the pav without breaking it into two parts and keep aside.
2. Spread the green chutney (recipe in another blog) on the sliced pav.
3. Sprinkle the dry garlic chutney.
4. Place the hot batata vada sandwiched in the bread slices.

Serve vada pav immediately or else the pav becomes soggy. You can also serve some fried green chillies and both the chutney along with it.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.