Mumbai’s popular street food, Vada Pav – spicy potato filling sandwiched between buns and layers of spicy garlic and green chutney!Vada Pav is one of Mumbai’s most famous food. It’s almost synonyms with the city, in fact I remember when I was in Mumbai few years back, it was one of my goals to eat vada pav! This popular street food is loved by one and all.
IngredientsDry Garlic Chutney2 teaspoons oil
1/4 cup garlic around 15 cloves
1 cup grated coconut use fresh
3 teaspoons kashmiri red chili powder or add more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Green Chutney1 bunch cilantro
1-2 green chili
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon water as needed
1/2 teaspoon sugar optional
Tamarind Chutney1 cup water
1/4 cup tamarind paste
50 grams jaggery
3 tablespoons sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
For the Vada1 inch ginger
5-6 large garlic
2 green chilies
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon hing also known as asafetida
12-15 curry leaves
4 medium potatoes around 600 grams
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
For The Batter1 cup besan also known as chickpea flour
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch baking soda
1/2 cup water + 1-2 tablespoons extra, as needed
Other Ingredients10 ladi pav
vegetable oil for frying
butter for toasting the pavs
MethodMake The Garlic Chutney* Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium heat.
* Then add garlic cloves and fry for 1-2 minutes until garlic turns slightly brown in color. Set aside on a tissue.
* To the same pan, add freshly grated coconut. Cook for 2 minutes until light golden brown.
* Transfer coconut to a blender. Add toasted garlic, salt and red chili powder and grind to a coarse chutney. Set it aside.
Make The Green Chutney* To a blender add cilantro. Discard the hard stems, the softer ones are okay to use.
* Add green chili, garlic, cumin powder, salt, sugar (if using) and lime juice. Add 1 tbsp water or as needed. Blend to a fine paste and set it aside.
Make The Tamarind Chutney* To a pan add water, tamarind paste, jaggery, sugar, salt, red chili powder, cumin powder and ginger powder. Bring mixture to a boil.
* Reduce heat to medium and let it boil for 3-4 minutes until the chutney turns thick and coats the back of a spoon. Set it aside to cool. It will thicken more as it cools down.
Make The Vada* Boil the potatoes until soft, peel them and set them aside. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the ginger, garlic and green chili. Set it aside.
* Heat 1 tablespoon oil in pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the curry leaves and hing and mix.
* Add the crushed ginger-garlic-green chili. Cook for one minute until the ginger and garlic starts changing color.
* Now add the boiled potatoes and remove pan from heat. Add turmeric, salt and mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Add chopped cilantro and mix well.
* Now make lemon sized balls out of the potato mixture. I was able to get 10 of these. Set these aside.
Make The Batter to Fry The Vada* To make the batter, take besan in a large bowl. Add turmeric, salt and pinch of baking soda to it. Start adding water, little by little to the bowl.
* Whisk to form a smooth batter. You may need couple of extra tablespoons of water to reach a desired consistency. The batter should neither be thick nor thin.
Fry The Vada* Heat oil in a kadai/wok on medium-high heat. Dip each potato round into the batter, coat it from all sides. Then drop it carefully into the hot oil.
* Fry the vada in hot oil until golden brown in color. Fry all vadas in a similar way. Drain on a paper towel.
Assemble The Vada Pav* To assemble the vada pav, toast the pav with some butter on a pan. Then slice each pav but not entirely. It should still be attached at one end.
* Apply green chutney on one side and tamarind chutney on the other side of the pav. Then apply garlic chutney on top of these chutneys.
* Place the fried vada in the center. Serve the vada pav immediately with more chutney on the side.