Garam Masala Tuesdays: Vada Pav
 
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Vada Pavs: Spicy potato fritters that are sandwiched between two pavs (buns), a sweet chutney, a garlic chutney and green chutney. The potato fritters are gluten free and vegan. By using gluten free buns, and omitting Vada Pav can be an entirely vegan and gluten free option for those with dietary restrictions.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast, snack
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 8-10 vada pavs
Ingredients
For the batata vada
  • 4 potatoes, boiled
  • 2 tbsp Cilantro/ Coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 5-6 kadi patta (bitter leaves)
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 tbsp oil
For the chickpea flour batter
  • ¾ cup gram flour
  • 4 tbsp rice flour
  • a pinch asafoetida
  • salt, to taste
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ cup water
For the garlic coconut chutney
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp garlic
  • 2 tbsp grated coconut
  • Salt, to taste
For the final assembly:
  • 10-12 dinner rolls (the pavs)
  • garlic-coconut chutney
  • 10-12 batata vadas
  • mint chutney ( recipe in blog archives)
  • Date tamarind chutney ( I used store bought but I am sure you will find a good enough recipe online)
  • Melted butter, to smear on the buns
Instructions
  1. Boil the potatoes till they are tender enough to mash. I no longer use the microwave, but in case you want to this is what I used to do: I put the potatoes in a zip lock bag and puncture the bag and the potatoes both with a fork. I microwave the zip lock bag on the potato setting- generally 6-8 minutes. Once the potatoes are done, peel the skin off and mash them with your hands or a fork or a potato masher.
  2. Heat oil. Add the mustard seeds. Let sizzle. Add the curry leaves.
  3. Add ginger and garlic and the chillies.
  4. Add in coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Let cook for a few seconds on medium heat.
  5. Add in the mashed potatoes. Season with salt and add in the garam masala. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  6. Add the chopped cilantro and lemon juice. Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl. Allow to cool.
  7. Once cool, make 10-12 mixture balls. Depending on the size of your potatoes the yield might vary.
  8. Whisk the ingredients of the batter well. Make sure there are no lumps. Batter should be similar in consistency to pancake batter
  9. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat to deep fry the vadas. Drop the potato balls in the gram flour batter and completely coat all sides of the ball. Shake off any excess batter and place them in the oil. You can fry about 3-4 vadas at a time (depending on how big your pan is). Fry till golden brown. Place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
  10. Heat a pan or skillet, add the grated coconut. On a medium low heat, cook while constantly stirring until the coconut is dry roasted and light golden. Grind all the ingredients listed under the garlic chutney. Traditionally, the chutney is supposed to be dry, but I find grinding it with a little water to make a paste makes it easier to spread and stick to the bun. Adjust seasoning.
  11. Slit the buns in two. (You can leave one edge intact while slicing the bun)
  12. Slather some melted butter on both side of the buns. Apply the garlic chutney to one half. Top with some date tamarind chutney. Put the vada on this half. To the other half, add the mint chutney and close the bun. And eat! Then eat one more!
Update:
  1. After I posted this recipe on my facebook page one of my friends pointed out that the traditional vada pavs have slightly different chutneys in them. The red garlic chutney actually has peanut, garlic and red chilli powder in it, while the green chutney (different from the mint chutney I used) is made from coconut, curry leaves (kadi pata), green chillies. The combination of these two chutneys gives a slightly spicier version of the vada pav, which is more traditional. V preferred this version more. I found it a little too spicy, but liked it nonetheless. If you have peanut allergies I would suggest using the above recipe, but if you are not allergic to peanuts and would like a slightly spicier Vada Pav, here is the recipe for the more traditional chutneys:
The red garlic Chutney:
  1. In a spice grinder/ food processor grind together ¼ cup peanuts, 1 tbsp minced garlic and 2 tsp red chilli powder with ⅛ cup water. Add salt, to taste.
The Green chutney:Grind together 1 jalapeno (or 3-5 green chillies), 8-10 curry leaves, 2 heaping tbsp shredded coconut, 1 tbsp garlic with ⅛ cup water. Add salt, to taste.
Recipe by The Novice Housewife at https://novicehousewife.com/2012/07/24/garam-masala-tuesdays-vada-pav/