Known as the Indian Burger, Vada Pav is a popular street food. Spiced potato dumplings are dipped in besan batter, fried & then served with pav as a snack.
It will always be Bombay for me. Mumbai doesn't connect with me as much as Bombay does. Well in all sense, I am one true Bombayite!! If you have obviously been to Bombay or lived there, you would understand this emotion. It's not just a city, it's an honest feeling. Even after moving miles away from it, I cannot take it out of me nor do I wish to. Today I miss Bombay for one too many reasons. It not just gave me my identity, kept me company in my lonely days but also gave me a lifetime of memories. Let's not forget the vast variety of food that's made everyday in this city. Be it in homes of the cosmopolitan crowd or the streets of every nook and corner. While there are many dishes that emerge on the streets of Bombay, there is only one that stands out of them all. Be it a resident or a tourist, not one of them would have missed tasting this extremely famous street food called Vada pav.
It looks like an easy dish to make, I mean, after all, it's just a potato vada sandwiched between a pav. Actually, it's quite a process to make this dish a success for me. Firstly, I am away from Bombay, missing our home, missing this delicacy, I have to emotionally prepare myself to make this and also adjust to the fact that I will not be able to simply order it from the local food stall near our house. Next comes the feeling of nostalgia which takes me back to the days when dad used to get hot vada pav on his way home from work for all of us, no evening walks with friends were complete without gorging onto atleast two vada pav if not three or just enjoying it as part of your dinner! You know, we had a local vendor near our house, who made the most awesome vada pav. We knew him by his first name and since we were his regulars, we had an account with him and he even gave us free home delivery!
So today this post is dedicated to him. 🙂 My husband loves it too, in fact that is the first thing we have when we land in Bombay. Well, I can go on and on about my love for vada pav to an extent that this may sound like an essay on it. So let me shut up and straight away go to method of making it. That is why you are here after all! Just one more thing - since I had never needed to make them in Bombay, I never really learnt to make it back then. Now that we are away from our hometown and miss this famous delicacy, I learnt to make it. There is a funny thing going on between KR and my girlfriends. Whenever anyone of them visit us from Bombay, they make vada pav for him. This time too, it was no different. One of my friend was visiting us along with her family. She insisted that she cook something for us and knowing KR's fixation with vada pav, she decided to make that for us. Her recipe is little different to what I normally make and that is why I chose to share her recipe with you today. We loved it.
First step is to make the potato stuffing. Boil and peel the potatoes. Mash them using a masher. You can even grate them. Transfer this to a bowl. Make a paste of ginger, garlic, green chillies and cilantro. Add this to the bowl. Give a tadka of mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves and pour this over the potato mix. Then add spice powders like turmeric powder, garam masala, salt and chopped cilantro. Give it all a good mix and using your palms, shape them as medium-sized balls. Next, heat oil in a frying pan. Now time to prepare the chickpea batter. In another bowl, add chickpea flour/besan, chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander cumin powder, garam masala and salt. Add water gradually and mix using a whisk. The consistency of the batter should neither be too thick nor too thin. It should have a thick flowing consistency. Once the oil is hot enough, add 1-2 tablespoon of hot oil to the prepared batter along with fruit salt/eno. This step is essential as it will make the vada crispy.
Dip/coat the potato balls in the prepared besan batter and carefully toss them into the frying pan. Deep fry till golden brown. Remember to keep the flame on medium. Carefully take out the fried vadas onto a paper towel to soak off the excess oil. Fry the remaining vadas the same way. Now its time to assemble the vada pav. Pav is an Indian bread that is easily available in India. But if you are in US, you can use water rolls as they come the closest to the desi pav. Take a water roll/pav, slit it halfway in the middle, smear it with sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney. Then sprinkle dry garlic chutney and place a vada in between and close the bread. Enjoy them hot, anytime of the day! You can also serve them with fried green chillies on the side. Devour these Bombay special Vada Pav today and worry about the calories later. Holidays are the best time to enjoy such delicious snacks.
Serving suggestions 🍽
You can also serve it with Bombay Chutney. Some street food vendors also serve Coconut Chutney with it. Add some chopped onions before placing the vada over the pav to make the flavors more intense. Vada Pav and Chai is a classic combo especially when it rains.
Top recipe tips 💭
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When making the Garlic Chutney for Vada Pav, you can also add peanuts, sesame seeds, and dry coconut to give it a different flavor profile.
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Recipe 📖
Bombay Special Vada Pav
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 potatoes boiled and mashed
- 5 green chillies
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 tablespoon oil for tadka
- 1 tablespoon Mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 7-8 curry leaves
- ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoon garam masala
- salt as required
- To prepare the batter
- 2 cups besan
- 2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 teaspoon chilly powder
- Salt as per taste
- ½ tablespoon Soda
- 1 tablespoon coriander cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoon hot oil
- Oil for frying
- 10 Pav/water rolls
Instructions
To Prepare the Potato Masala
- Boil and peel the potatoes. I steam them in the Instant Pot or the Microwave.
- Mash them using a masher. You can even grate them. Ensure there are no large chunks of potato. It should be well mashed.
- Add ginger, garlic, green chillies and cilantro to a blender jar.
- Make a paste by adding 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Temper mustard seeds, and cumin seeds in a pan. When they crackle, add GF asafoetida, and curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds.
- Add the cilantro paste to the pan and continue to fry for 30 seconds.
- Then add spice powders like turmeric powder, garam masala, and salt.
- Give it all a good mix and cook for a minute. Then add the mashed potatoes.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro. Mix it well. Taste and adjust the salt as needed. The potato stuffing mixture should be smooth with no big chunks.
- Transfer to a bowl and let it cool down.
- Divide it into equal parts. Then using your palms, shape them as medium-sized balls. You can also use a cookie scoop.
To make the Batter
- In another bowl, add chickpea flour/besan. Then add crushed ajwain, chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander cumin powder, garam masala and salt.
- Add water gradually and mix using a whisk. The consistency of the batter should neither be too thick nor too thin. It should have a thick flowing and coating consistency.
- Heat oil in the same tadka pan. Once the oil is hot enough, pour it over the prepared batter along with fruit salt or eno. This step is essential as it will make the vada crispy.
- Mix with a whisk to incorporate air into the batter. It should become light and fluffy. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
To Fry the Vadas
- Dip/coat the potato balls in the prepared besan batter and carefully toss them into the frying pan.
- Deep fry till golden brown and crispy. Remember to keep the flame on medium. Carefully take out the fried vadas onto a paper towel to soak off the excess oil. Fry the remaining vadas the same way.
To make the Sukha Garlic Chutney for Vada Pav
- Dip your hand into the batter and and let it drip into the hot oil. This step is similar to making Boondi.
- Fry this chura till they become crisp and golden. Transfer to another plate.
- Then place garlic in the slotted spoon and fry them till they turn golden.
- Transfer to the same plate along with the besan chura. Let them cool down completely.
- Reserve some besan chura for serving. Transfer the rest to a blender jar and add red chilly powder. Chef tip - You can also add some leftover toasted pav or breadcrumbs in it.
- Blitz to make a coarse powder. Do not add any water. Vada Pav Dry Garlic Chutney is ready.
To Fry The Green Chillies
- Slit green chillies. In the same hot oil add and fry green chillies. Use a slotted spoon to fry them. Fry till they turn crisp. Be careful, when frying the green chillies as they could pop.
- Transfer to a plate. Season it with salt. Mix and keep it aside.
To Assemble the Vada Pav
- Take water rolls or pav, and slit them halfway in the middle.
- Smear spicy green chutney on the base. Chef tip - You can also spread some meetha chutney if you have.
- Add the Dry Garlic Chutney on top.
- Place a fried Vada on top. Garnish with some chura and a fried green chilly.
- Serve immediately.
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