Vada Pav Recipe – Street Style

Time and servings

Prep time	10 min
Cook time	20 min
Total time	30 min
Serves	6 servings

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About Vada Pav

It is a popular street food and a staple of Maharashtra state in India. Vada pav is often termed a thrifty, affordable, or economical Indian burger prepared with basic ingredients to match the local desi taste buds. It basically originated in Mumbai streets in the late 1960s and the whole idea was to offer something cheap yet filling to the mill workers. Since then it has become an iconic if not a pride of Marathi cuisine. It has been widely accepted across India if not all over the world. Since its inception, it has been transformed into many local variants across India. The changes are mainly introduced to its stuffing or the way the vada is prepared. Additionally, depending upon the taste preferences, additional condiments like chutney, chilies, or even cheese grate are added. Particularly the fast food joints have embraced the traditional Mumbai Vada Pav and transformed it into myriad variations. The most popular types are masala, schezwan, or cheese vada pav.

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Why does this recipe work

The popularity and acceptance of the vada pav recipe should be contributed to the following reasons,

1. Simplicity – The recipe for vada pav has to be a simple street food prepared with basic ingredients. Yet there is no compromise on the taste, flavor, and more importantly the filling nature.
2. Cost-effective & Economical – The ingredients used are basic like potatoes, gram flour, and small dinner roll breads. Therefore, the cost of production is low and hence affordable to prepare or to even buy from street vendors or fast food joints.
3. Flexible & Movabale – The end product is similar to a burger and does not have wet ingredients. Hence it makes it easy to carry and makes portability easy from one place to another.
4. Filling – It is not only easy and quick to prepare, but it is also a filling snack. The main reason is the combination of bread and potatoes. Both the key ingredients are rich in carbohydrates and fiber.

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Ingredients

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for aloo mixture:

• 2 tsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard
• pinch of hing / asafoetida
• few curry leaves
• 1 inch ginger (crushed)
• 2 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1 chilli (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp turmeric / haldi
• 2 potato / aloo (boiled & mashed)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

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for besan batter:

• ¾ cup besan / gram flour
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• ¼ tsp turmeric / haldi
• ¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder / lal mirch powder
• pinch of hing / asafoetida
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup water
• oil for deep frying

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other ingredients:

• 6 ladi pav / dinner rolls
• 7 green chilli
• 6 tsp green chutney
• 3 tsp tamarind chutney
• 3 tsp dry garlic chutney

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Instructions

1. firstly, take ball sized aloo mixture and dip in besan batter and coat well.
2. deep fry in hot oil stirring occasionally.
3. now slit the ladi pav and spread 1 tsp green chutney, ½ tsp tamarind chutney and ½ tsp dry garlic chutney.
4. place the prepared vada in center of pav, chura and fried chilli.
5. finally, press the vada pav and serve immediately.

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Preparing Batata Vada

1. Firstly, in a large kadai heat 2 tsp oil and splutter ½ tsp mustard, a pinch of hing and a few curry leaves.
2. Also add 1-inch ginger, 2 clove garlic, 1 chili, and 2 tbsp coriander and saute well.
3. Further, add ¼ tsp turmeric and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Additionally, add 2 boiled and mashed potatoes and ½ tsp salt.
5. Mix well making sure all the spices are combined well with the potato.
6. Turn off the flame and add 1 tbsp lemon juice.
7. Mix well and the aloo mixture is ready. Keep aside.
8. Further, prepare besan batter by taking ¾ cup besan, 1 tbsp rice flour, ¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp chili powder, a pinch of hing, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp baking soda.
9. Add ½ cup water or as required and prepare the smooth lump-free batter.
10. Now make a ball-sized aloo mixture. I like my vada to be round rather than flat, flatten the balls slightly if you prefer.

11. Dip in prepared besan batter and coat well.

12. Deep fry in hot oil stirring occasionally.

13. Fry on medium flame till the vada turns golden and crisp.

14. Drain the vada on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. keep aside.

15. Now fry the green chilli, by turning off the flame – be careful as the oil splutter.

16. Stir occasionally, till the blisters appear on the chili.

17. Drain the fried chili on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Keep aside.

18. Now with leftover besan batter prepare chura by pouring watery besan batter in hot oil. Add 2 tbsp of water to the besan batter to make a watery besan batter.

19. Fry on medium flame till the chura turns golden and crisp.

20. Drain the chura on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Keep aside.

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Assembling

1. Now slit the ladi pav center halfway without cutting fully.
2. Spread 1 tsp green chutney, ½ tsp tamarind chutney, and ½ tsp dry garlic chutney on one side of the inside pav.
3. Place the prepared vada in the center of the pav.
4. Also, stuff a few prepared chura and place a fried chili on top of the vada.
5. Finally, press the vada pav and serve immediately.

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Video

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FAQ

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Notes

• Firstly, adjust the amount of green chutney, tamarind chutney, and dry garlic chutney to your choice.
• In addition, to keep the vada flat, make sure to shape it before deep frying.
• Furthermore, add rice flour/corn flour to besan batter to get crispy vada.
• Finally, vada pav tastes great when served hot with fried green chili.