By Rose Pottermore
I, Rose Pottermore, presents to you Vada Pav, the ultimate Indian veggie burger! It’s a vegetarian fast food dish native to the state of Maharashtra in India. Slightly spicy, yet delicious, no one can say no to a Vada Pav.
PREP TIME: 40 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
CUISINE: Indian
SERVINGS: 10
INGREDIENTS:
Vegetable oil
Butter
For Vada:
· 1 inch ginger
· 5-6 large garlic
· 2 green chilies
· 1 tablespoon oil
· 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
· 1/4 teaspoon hing also known as asafetida
· 12-15 curry leaves
· 4 medium potatoes around 600 grams
· 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
· 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
· 2 tablespoons chopped cilantr
INSTRUCTIONS:
A. Make the Vada
1. Boil the potatoes until soft, peel them and set them aside. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Set it aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the curry leaves and hing and mix.
3. Add the crushed ginger-garlic-green chili. Cook for one minute until the ginger and garlic starts changing color.
4. Now add the boiled potatoes and remove the pan from heat. Add turmeric, salt and mash the potatoes. Add chopped cilantro and mix well.
5. Now make lemon sized balls out of the potato mixture. Set these aside.
B. Make the batter for the vada
1. To make the batter, take besan in a large bowl. Add turmeric, salt and a pinch of baking soda to it. Start adding water, little by little to the bowl.
2. Whisk to form a smooth batter. You may need a couple of extra tablespoons of water to reach a desired consistency. The batter should neither be thick or thin.
C. Fry the Vada
1. Heat oil in a kadai/wok on medium-high heat. Dip each potato round into the batter, coat it from all sides. Then drop it carefully into the hot oil.
2. Fry the vada in hot oil until golden brown in color. Fry all vadas in a similar way. Drain on a paper towel.
D. Assemble the Vada Pav
1. To assemble the vada pav, toast the pav with some butter on a pan. Then slice each pav horizontally but not entirely. It should still be attached at one end.
2. Apply green chutney on one side and tamarind chutney on the other side of the pav. Then apply garlic chutney on top of these chutneys.
3. Place the fried vada in the center. Serve the vada pav immediately with more chutney on the side!
Vada Pav tastes more delicious if taken with chutney, or a paste in English. Mainly three types of chutneys are taken with Vada Pav. Dry Garlic Chutney, Green Chutney and Tamarind Chutney. Below are the recipes to give your dish another tangy taste.
Dry Garlic Chutney
· 2 teaspoons oil
· 1/4 cup garlic around 15 cloves
· 1 cup grated coconut use fresh
· 3 teaspoons kashmiri red chili powder or add more to taste
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
Green Chutney
· 1 bunch cilantro
· 1-2 green chili
· 2 garlic cloves
· 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· juice of 1 lime
· 1 tablespoon water as needed
· 1/2 teaspoon sugar optional
Tamarind Chutney
· 1 cup water
· 1/4 cup tamarind paste
· 50 grams jaggery
· 3 tablespoons sugar or to taste
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste
· 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
· 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
If you need the recipe for Pav, here you go.
PREP TIME:20 MINUTES
COOK TIME:20 MINUTES
RESTING TIME:2 HOURS 20 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME:40 MINUTES
SERVINGS: 12
COURSE: BREAD
CUISINE: INDIAN
INGREDIENTS:
0.94 cup milk, warm
1.5 tsp sugar
5.25 grams dry yeast
2.25 cup (450 grams) maida / plain flour
0.38 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp butter, softened
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Firstly, in a bowl, activate the yeast by combining 1 cup milk, 2 tsp sugar and 7 grams dry yeast.
2. Add 3 cups maida (corn flour) and ½ tsp salt.
3. Knead until the dough turns soft.
4. Further, add 2 tbsp butter and knead the dough.
5. Cover with cling wrap or cloth and rest for 2 hours in a warm place.
6. Punch the dough and knead it slightly to remove air incorporated.
7. Place the balls into a greased tray. place them leaving equal space in between.
8. Further, brush the dough with milk without damaging the balls.
9. Now cover with cling wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes or until the dough reaches the brim of the tray.
10. Preheat and bake at 180 degree celcius for 20 minutes, or until the pav turns golden brown from top.
11. Once the pav is out of the oven, rub with butter to get a shiny look.
12. Also, cover with a wet cloth to get a super soft cloth and allow it to cool completely.
Enjoy eating!