Vada pav

A potato fritter in a bun cut almost through, with a dry garlic and coconut chutney.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 6 pav, soft square buns
• 600 g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 green chillies, chopped
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• a handful of coriander leaves
• 200 g gram flour, for the batter
• about 180 ml water
• oil for deep frying
• 40 g desiccated coconut, for the chutney
• 6 cloves garlic, for the chutney
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder, for the chutney
• 6 green chillies, to fry whole

Method

1. THE BUN IS CUT ALMOST THROUGH, NOT ALL THE WAY, AND THE CHUTNEY IS GARLIC AND COCONUT. Its article gives the cut precisely -- a deep-fried potato dumpling PLACED INSIDE A BREAD BUN (PAV) SLICED ALMOST IN HALF THROUGH THE MIDDLE -- and the chutney by name: most commonly a SPICY LASUN-KHOBARA (GARLIC-COCONUT) CHUTNEY, ALONG WITH FRIED GREEN CHILLI. A hinge rather than two halves, so the thing holds together in one hand.
2. THE FRITTER IS SEASONED BEFORE IT IS BATTERED, AND THE ARTICLE LISTS WITH WHAT. A BOILED POTATO IS MASHED AND MIXED WITH CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI AND GARLIC, MUSTARD SEEDS, AND SPICES (USUALLY ASAFOETIDA AND TURMERIC). THE MASS IS THEN SHAPED INTO A BALL, DIPPED INTO GRAM FLOUR BATTER, AND DEEP-FRIED.
3. TEMPER THE MUSTARD SEEDS AND ASAFOETIDA BEFORE THEY GO NEAR THE POTATO. A tablespoon of oil, the seeds until they pop, then the garlic, chilli and turmeric for thirty seconds, then all of it into the mash. Raw mustard seeds in a potato cake are just grit.
4. SHAPE SIX BALLS AND FLATTEN THEM SLIGHTLY. Cold, so they hold. Slightly flat means the middle gets hot before the batter is too dark.
5. THE BATTER IS GRAM FLOUR AND NOTHING ELSE MUCH. Thick enough to coat without a bare patch. Dip, let it run off for a second, lower it in.
6. FRY AT A MEDIUM HEAT, FOUR OR FIVE MINUTES, UNTIL THE BATTER IS SET AND PALE GOLD. Everything inside is already cooked, so this is only about the shell.
7. THE DRY CHUTNEY IS TOASTED, NOT BLENDED WET. Toast the coconut in a dry pan until it is brown at the edges, then grind it with the raw garlic, the chilli powder and a little salt to a coarse powder. It is meant to be sprinkled, and it is the one part people remember.
8. CUT, SPRINKLE, PRESS IN THE VADA, AND FRY THE WHOLE CHILLIES. Slit each pav almost through, dust the inside with the chutney, push the hot vada in, and serve a blistered green chilli beside each one, which the article asks for by name.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes