Add this to your meatless weekday lineup, and they will steal the show as a hearty, home-style, all-in-one meal.
You will practically find every street with vendors selling Batata Vada Pav and people so crazily thronging these vendors to grab the delicious snack. The reason for the popularity of this snack is maybe in the ease with which you can just grab it and go. A city known for its busy lifestyle, Mumbai offers this snack that goes well with its fast pace, and you will find every Mumbaikar loving this snack to the core. In this recipe, spicy potato dough balls are dunked in thick chickpea batter and then fried in hot oil to get crispy, flavorful potato fritters (Vadas). These vadas are then sandwiched in the bun-bread, slathered with spicy green chutney, dry garlic chutney, and tangy tamarind chutney. The variety of chutneys used in this recipe differs from region to region. This snack is then relished with a steamy hot cup of tea or coffee to entice the taste buds and the soul alike! Dry Garlic Chutney — Garlic chutney is a kind of taste booster for our Batata vada pav recipe. It’s spicy and delicious, with a distinct flavor of coconut and garlic. A generous sprinkle and our vada pavs elevate to another level! This dry chutney serves as a side condiment and works well with other recipes too.
Aloo Bonda — In South India, Batata Vada is called Aloo Bonda. The process to make the vada is the same; the ingredients in the batter and a few spices make it different. In batata vada, only gram flour is used for the batter, whereas in Aloo Bonda – a blend of gram flour (besan) + rice flour is used to prepare the batter. Mysore Bonda — In Mysore Bonda, gram flour is not used in the batter. Instead, the batter for bonda is made with all-purpose flour and spices. You could sense the incredible burst of flavors right from the first bite and savor its deliciousness long after you have finished the last bite. Besides this, there are more reasons to love the Vada Pav —
Easy to prepare with everyday pantry staples. Can be prepared in advance and in big batches too. An on-the-go snack that can be easily assembled. An easy-to-carry snack in the lunch box too. Is loved by one and all!
You can also serve these delicious snack treats at a birthday party or weekend get-together and experience the joy it brings to your guests.
You can go ahead with this recipe even if you are an amateur and discover the culinary skills that lay hidden within you. Potatoes — Boiled potatoes are the base ingredient for our Batata Vadas. You can use starchy potatoes for the best results. Mustard seeds — They are added to the Vadas for their base flavors that add a perk to the recipe. Spices – Spices like mango powder (Amchur), turmeric, and red chili powder lend a tangy flavor, intense color, and required heat to the Vadas. Kashmiri red chili powder added a beautiful hue to the dry garlic chutney without making it overly spicy. Fresh coconut — It gives a nutty flavor to the dry garlic chutney. Cilantro leaves and curry leaves — These leaves lend flavor and a contrasting hint of green color that looks charming on Vadas. Chickpea flour (Besan) — The vadas are coated with a thick batter prepared with chickpea flour for a crispy covering.Soda water is added to the batter as it is a leavening agent that lightens and aerates it. This makes soft and puffed vadas. Homemade Pavs — We use soft and spongy homemade pavs to assemble our Vada pavs. Green chutney — Green chutney is a must-have ingredient for the spicy and yummy Vada pav recipe. A generous spread over the pav before sandwiching the vadas makes the recipe perfect. Tamarind chutney — Tamarind chutney adds a tangy yumminess to the Vada pavs. The recipe seems incomplete without a drizzle of its tanginess. Onions — Optional but thinly sliced onion rings can be used when assembling the Vada pavs. Raw onions add crunch and earthy flavor to the recipe.
Prepare Dry Garlic Chutney —
Heat a pan on a medium-low flame. Add the garlic cloves and sauté them for a minute. You can sauté the garlic till it becomes slightly brown so that the raw smell of the garlic goes away. Remove from heat and set it aside on a plate. Add dry coconut to the same pan and dry roast until it becomes light brown. Remove from heat and set it aside to cool. Now transfer the garlic cloves and roasted coconut to a food processor along with toasted sesame seeds, Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt. Pulse them to a coarse powder. Set it aside.
Prepare Batata Vada — Peel and mash the boiled potatoes. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed wide pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add hing and curry leaves. Sauté for a minute. Add mashed potatoes, spices, and chopped cilantro leaves. Mix well till everything is incorporated well. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then take the potato mixture off the flame. Set it aside to cool completely. Once cooled, divide the potato mixture into 12 equal portions and make smooth vada balls.
Fry Batata Vada —
Heat oil in a kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, take 1 ½ teaspoon of hot oil and add it to the besan batter. Beat it well. Now, take one potato ball and dip it into the besan batter. With the help of a spoon, lift the batter-coated ball and carefully add it to the hot oil. Do not crowd the kadhai; fry a few vadas at a time. Keep moving them around the pan for even browning. Once browned from all the sides, remove them using a slotted spatula—transfer batata vada from the kadhai to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat the process until all the batata vadas are fried.
Slice each pav halfway through the center (do not slice it thoroughly). It should still be secured and connected at one end. Toast the pav with some butter on a skillet. Apply green chutney on one side and tamarind chutney on the other side of the pav. Sprinkle garlic chutney on top of the chutney. Place the fried vada in the center. Gently press the top part of the pav over the vada. Serve immediately with more chutney and fried green chilies on the side.
You can also serve it as a chaat by topping the batata vadas with whisked yogurt, chutneys, finely chopped onions, pomegranate seeds, and sev. Don’t miss serving a hot cup of tea with these vadas! Soda water — Soda water should be added to the batter before frying the vadas. The best way would be to roll the potato dough into small balls and keep it aside. Now, prepare the batter by adding soda water to the chickpea flour. Whisk well for a lump-free and smooth batter. Dip the dough balls in the batter and deep fry. Substitute — The closest substitute to soda water is baking soda. Though, adding Baking Soda is entirely optional. But 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda makes the vadas puff up a little, but remember to finish the batter right away if you add baking soda. Please do not keep the batter in the refrigerator, or it will become watery and will not coat the vadas properly. Dry garlic chutney — Roast each ingredient separately as they take different times to roast. Cool all the toasted ingredients before grinding. If pulsed when hot, the ingredients will release their natural oils, making the chutney oily.
If the batter is too thin, it will not coat the vadas well. Likewise, if the batter is thick, the outer cover will be so thick that it will dominate the vada flavor.
Therefore, the batter consistency is an essential element – It should be thick and of dropping consistency, and easy to coat the dough balls evenly. Keep the oil medium hot while frying — Too hot oil will turn the vadas deep brown and overly crispier from the outside, while the inside will remain undercooked. If the oil is not hot enough, the Vadas will absorb more oil and turn soggy. So, maintain the heat of the oil to medium-low. Batata Vada cannot be shallow-fried like pakora. They must be dunked into the hot oil while frying to maintain their round shape. Make the chutneys in advance — The green chutney, garlic chutney, tamarind chutney, and other chutneys can be prepared 1 or 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge. These chutneys can be used when you assemble the Vada pavs, and as such, they make for convenient preparation of the recipe. So why not begin with the preparation and indulge in the gratifying recipe? Should you make this recipe, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.
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