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Vada Pav

Vada pav is an Indian potato ball or patty, laced with spices, green chili, and garlic. It's dipped into a besan batter and deep fried.

Servings: 4 people
Calories: 195 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 10 soft buns , pav
For vadas
  • 3 large waxy potatoes , about 20 oz / 600 g, boiled
  • 2 large onions , about 10 oz / 300 g, diced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 1 inch / 3 cm piece fresh ginger
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 green chilies
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon Coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
For the coating
  • 1½ cup Indian chickpea flour , besan
  • 1 tablespoon rice flour (or cornstarch)
  • 1 pinch baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon chili
  • ¼ teaspoon asafoetida powder
  • salt , to taste
  • 1 cup water , or more
For frying
  • vegetable oil , for deep frying
For the tamarind chutney
  • 4 tablespoons tamarind pulp
  • 2 tablespoons molasses (or powdered jaggery)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
For the garlic chutney
  • ½ cup dry desiccated coconut
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Vadas
    Cup of Yum
  1. Roughly mash the boiled and peeled potatoes.
  2. Roughly chop the ginger, garlic and green chili, then pound or blitz without water to a coarse paste.
  3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the diced onions and sauté on medium heat until transparent.
  4. Add the ginger, garlic, and chili paste to it, reduce heat to low, and stir-fry for a few seconds to reduce the raw smell.
  5. Add to it the turmeric, coriander, and cumin powders. Stir to mix well.
  6. Add the mashed potatoes, sugar, and salt. Stir and cook for about a minute to mix all well.
  7. Remove to a bowl, add the lime juice & chopped coriander, and mix well. Allow the vada mixture to cool.
  8. To make the vadas, set a deep frying pan with the oil to heat.
  9. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the coating.
  10. Slowly add water little by little and whisk so that no lumps form. Add enough water to make a batter like that of a pancake, runny but thick.
  11. Using moistened hands, take a lemon-sized ball of the vada mix and roll it in the palm. Press the ball slightly to get a round, flattened patty with even edges.
  12. Make 3 to 4 patties at a time and place them on a lightly oiled plate.
  13. Drop a small bit of chickpea batter in the oil to check the heat. It should rise immediately.
  14. Thereafter maintain the heat by reducing the flame to medium.
  15. Drop a patty in the batter, with a spoon pour some batter over the top. The vada should be coated evenly with the batter on both sides. Batter should be of a consistency getting a few millimeters (⅛ inch) of coating, not too thick.
  16. Remove with a wider spoon, and drop it gently into the oil, or use the fingers for coating with the batter, and carefully slide the vada into the oil. A large bowl of water is needed to wash the fingers after each batch, and a dark-colored tea towel to dry.
  17. Depending on how large the pan is, fry 2 to 4 vadas per batch.
  18. Flip over once, and fry the vadas to a light golden color on both sides. Remove the small tidbits of chickpea batter, that may separate and float.
  19. Remove the vadas to a plate lined with kitchen paper, and finish frying all the rest.
  20. Fry the chili peppers for a few seconds, if used as accompaniment last.
  21. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Salt them.
Assembly
  1. Cut the bun in half, keeping it intact at one end.
  2. Brush 2 tsp of tamarind chutney on one side. Place the Vada on it and lightly press to flatten a bit.
  3. Add the garlic chutney on top of the vada. Add a fried chili on top of the vada, or at the side of the plate.
  4. Fold over the bun to form a burger.
Tamarind chutney
  1. Mix all the ingredients.
  2. Add some water to make it a bit runny. Chutney should taste sour, sweet, with a hint of chili, and salty. Adjust accordingly.
Garlic chutney
  1. Blitz all the ingredients in a small blender to powder.