VADA PAV (STREET FOOD)

Vada Pav:

" Vada Pav - The Great Indian Burger" , must be one of the most loved street foods. Vada is a spicy potato mixture with a coating of gram flour, deep fried in oil. Pav is a special kind of soft bread, almost square or round in shape. The chutneys for this were very easy to make. I made all the three chutneys even though the green chutney and the red garlic chutney are the most frequently used ones. Sweet chutney is not always a part of it.  

Ingredients for Vada stuffing:

3 cups boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes (that is about 4 big potatoes)
1/2 tea spn cumin seeds
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1/2 tea spn ginger garlic paste
2 green chilies
3-4 strands coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped onion
A pinch turmeric
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat a little oil and add mustard, cumin seeds.
2. When it starts popping, add curry leaves, green chilies, ginger garlic paste, onions and fry till onions turn translucent.
3. Add the potatoes, turmeric, salt and mix well. If there are any big pieces of potatoes, add a little water and close and cook for few minutes, then mash and mixed well.
4. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix. Let it cool a bit.

Ingredients for Vada coating:

1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
1 tbl spn rice flour (added for crispiness)
1/2 tea spn chili powder
Salt

Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients with water to make a smooth paste.
2. As soon as water it added to the flours, it starts becoming lumps, so mix it with hand to remove lumps or use a egg whisk.
3. Do not make it too thin, the coating does not hold on to the stuffing it is too thin.

Making Vadas:

1. Heat oil for deep frying.
2. Make a ping-pong ball sized round from the stuffing.
3. Dip the ball into the coating batter and deep fry in hot oil.
4. Take out on a paper towel.

Ingredients for Green chutney:

9-10 strands coriander leaves
Few mint leaves (optional, I didn’t use it)
3 green chilies
1″ piece ginger (optional)
Salt

Method:

1. Grind all to a smooth paste.
2. Do not make too watery.

Ingredients for Red chutney:

1 cup dried coconut (or dessicated coconut)
2 tbl spns chili powder
1 tea spn chopped garlic
1/4 tea spn tamarind extract or 1-2 pieces of tamarind (optional, added for tanginess)
Salt

Method:

1. Dry roast coconut and tamarind till it turns slightly brownish.
2. Grind together with all other ingredients.
3. This is dry powder, so do not add water.
4. It can be stored in air tight containers for about a month.

Making Vada Pav:

1. Take a Pav , Cut open the rolls horizontally, taking care one end is still connected.
2. Apply chutneys to pav as desired.
3. Slightly press the vada to flatten it.
4. Keep it on one half of the pav and cover with other half. Slightly press down.
5. Serve hot with Green Chili