batata vada-pav
Ingredients
potatoes - 3-4 medium sized, boiled and mashed
bun/ bread - 7-8
onion - one forth cup
ginger-garlic paste - one half tablespoon
green chillies - 5-6
cilantro - one half cup, chopped
lemon juice - one half tablespoon
gram flour (besan) - one cup
turmeric powder - one half teaspoon
salt to taste
red chili powder - one half tablespoon
ajwain / carom seeds /owa - one teaspoon
water - enough for batter
vegetable oil enough for deep frying
coconut-garlic chutney
coconut-cilantro chutney
tamarind chutney
Recipe
Mash boiled potatoes. Make paste of onion, green chillies , cilantro and ginger-garlic , then add paste to mashed potatoes. Also add lemon juice and salt. Mix well.
Make a batter of gram flour(besan) adding enough water, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and ajwain/carom seeds. The batter should be thick and of pancake consistency
Divide potato mixture into small balls and roll them between palms( slightly greased) to soften. You can flatten the balls or keep it round.
Heat vegetable oil in a wok. When hot, take a potato ball ,dip into gram flour batter and gently slide in hot oil, allowing extra batter to drip off. Deep fry potato ball on medium flame. Remove from wok when outer cover of the potato ball turns golden brown and drain on paper towel. Repeat the procedure for remaining potato balls. You can deep fry 3/4 vadas or potato balls at a time if you have a big wok but take care the vadas should not stick to each other when slipped inside the wok.
Split bun/pav keeping the base intact and
pan fry till the insides turn golden brown applying a little bit of butter if you desire. Spread tamarind chutney on one side of pav and coconut-cilantro chutney or coconut-garlic chutney on the other. Place vada in between and press gently.
Tidbits
Vada-pav is basically a Maharashtrian dish but because of its tempting taste it has crossed the borders of Maharashtra. In Pune, there are numerous stalls of vada-pav but my favorite is opposite my husband's clinic in Sadashiv Peth. The guy starts at 4 p.m. and at around 7 p.m. all vada-pavs are sold out. Many times people pass by the stall but turns back because of the aroma. You get exclusive vada-pav on Mumbai-Pune Expressway food malls too.