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Holi Special Vada Pav

Homemade Vada Pav | Mumbai Special Vada Pav

Mumbai's Special Street food, Vada Pav, where the spicy potato filling is coated with gram flour batter and deep fried to make a spicy and yummy snack.
5 from 6 votes
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Course: Appetizer, Snacks
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Besan, Chickpea, Potato
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 15 Vada
Author: Renu Agrawal-Dongre

Equipment

  • Wok
  • Pressure Cooker / Pot

Ingredients

For the Batter

  • 2 Cups of Besan (Gram Flour)
  • 1/2 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
  • 1/2 tsp Jeera (Cumin - Optional, I have skipped it)
  • 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Water for preparing the batter

Potato Mixture

  • 8-10 medium-size potatoes
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 5-6 green chilies finely chopped (as per taste)
  • 1/2 inch grated ginger (around 1 tablespoon)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic grated (Optional - around 1 tablespoon)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilly powder (as per taste)
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tsp Oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 10-15 curry leaves
  • a pinch of sugar
  • 1/4 cup Chopped coriander

Other Ingredients

  • Oil for Frying
  • Pav for assembling
  • 5-6 green chilies if you need to fry and add as a side

Instructions

Potato Mixture

  • Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker or a wide pan until done.
    Clean potatoes ready to be boiled
  • Once cooled, peel and mash them evenly.
    Peeled and mashed boiled potato
  • In a pan or a wok add in the 2 tsp oil.
  • Once the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds.
    Adding mustard seeds in the oil
  • Once the mustard seeds crackle add in the cumin and the curry leaves.
    Adding of cumin and curry leaves in the tempering
  • Add the grated ginger and garlic if using.
    Ginger, garlic and green chilies being added in the tempering
  • Add the turmeric, red chilly powder.
    Turmeric being added in the tempering
  • Now add the mashed potatoes
    Adding potato in the tempering
  • Give everything a quick mix.
  • Add in the salt, lemon juice, sugar and mix everything.
    Adding lemon juice in potato mixture
  • Add in the chopped coriander.
    Adding of coriander in the potato mixture
  • Mix everything and keep it aside to cool
    The prepared potato mixture

For the Batter

  • Sift the besan. Sifting helps to make a lump-free batter.
  • Add in the salt, asafoetida, cumin seeds, and red chilly powder.
    Gram flour with salt, turmeric, red chilly and asafoteida
  • Prepare a lump-free semi-thick batter using water.
    The gram flour batter
  • The batter should not be too watery. It should be thick enough to coat the potato mixture.
  • Let the batter rest for 20-30 minutes so that the gram flour absorbs water.

Preparing the Vada

  • In a wok add the oil and let it heat on medium.
  • In the meantime, make round balls of the potato mixture.
  • Take a lemon size potato mixture in your hand and press it with your hand as if making ladoos or truffles.
  • Keep them aside.
    The prepared balls from the potato mixture
  • Check if the oil mix is ready. Drop a tiny ball of the gram flour batter in the oil. If it comes up instantly the oil is ready.
  • Slowly drop the potato balls in the besan/gram flour batter and evenly coat it.
    Dipping of the vada in the gram flour batter
  • Drop this in the hot oil. Be careful not to put your hand in or not dropping it from a height.
    Frying of the vada in hot oil
  • Let this cook on medium for 2-3 minutes, until you see the bottom getting a bit cooked.
  • Using a serrated spoon, gently put some oil on the top.
  • I do this step so that when you turn the batter does not stick down.
  • Flip and cook on the other side.
  • Fry this for 7-8 minutes on medium heat turning in between until golden brown from all the sides.
    Frying of the vada , they are frying on the other side
  • Remove it on an absorbent paper.
  • Repeat the process for the remaining vada's.
  • If you are frying green chilies, do this in the last as the oil gets the spicy chilly taste.
  • First, slit the chilly in between and then fry for 3-4 minutes turning in between.

Assembling the Vada Pav

  • Take a pav/dinner roll.
  • Slit it in between.
  • Apply chutney as per your choice.
  • Add the vada in between and slightly press it.
  • Enjoy it as an evening snack with some tea.

Notes

  • Try to use the semi floury style potatoes. If the potatoes have more water it will absorb more oil.
  • Best is to boil the potatoes 4-5 hours before or the night before you want to make Vada Pav.
  • Sift the besan. Sifting helps to make a lump-free batter.
  • Use a whisk to make the batter, it helps to make a smooth and a lump-free batter.
  • Drop a tiny ball of the batter in the mixture to check if the oil is ready. If it comes up instantly the oil is ready.
  • Do not fry the chilly whole else it will pop out of the hot oil and you will be burned.
  • If you do not eat garlic, skip the garlic in the vada mixture.
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Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.