Fill a table with these and I shall commit gluttony. This popular food from Mumbai is one of my favourite examples of how the simplicity of street food delivers a complex culinary experience through layers of flavours and textures. The three different chutneys balance sweet, sour and spicy flavour notes that beautifully accompany the savoury potato patty, while the chura…

Although the recipe seems rather long, you can quite easily get all of the chutneys done while the potatoes are cooking. The tamarind chutney and the dry garlic chutney will also keep well in an airtight container in the fridge, so feel free to make a double batch and use them in other dishes, or as an excuse to make Vada Pav again soon…

A note of warning that deep-frying the whole green chillis will cause them to spit in the hot oil. You can pierce them with a knife before to avoid them from bursting, but unless you’re very keen or well-trained with frying, I’d recommend leaving them out. If you do fry them, take a few steps back after dropping them into the oil.

serves 4

Ingredients

For the vada

• 2 large potatoes (400g)

• 20g ginger

• 2 garlic cloves

• 3 green finger chillis

• 30 small fresh curry leaves

• 20g coriander

• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds

• 1/3 tsp asafoetida (hing)

• 1/3 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

• 1l vegetable oil for frying

For the tamarind chutney

• 100g block of seedless tamarind

• 75g jaggery (or golden granulated sugar)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp chilli powder

For the dry garlic chutney

• 6 large garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp raw peanuts

• 3 tbsp desiccated coconut

• 1 heaped tsp kashmiri chilli powder

For the coriander chutney

• 100g coriander

• 1 green chilli

• 1 garlic clove

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)

For the batter

• 100g gram flour

• 1/4 tsp turmeric

• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)

To serve

• 8 green finger chillis (optional)

• 8 soft bread buns

Method

For the vada, add the potatoes to a pan, cover with cold water and season generously with salt. Then bring it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until knife tender. Drain the potatoes, leave them to cool a little, then peel and mash them. In the meantime make your chutneys as below.

For the tamarind chutney, break the tamarind into smaller pieces into a heat-proof bowl and cover with 200 ml boiling water. Leave to soak for 15 minutes, then use your hands to loosen the flesh from the fibrous strings. Place a sieve over a saucepan and strain the tamarind pulp, using a spoon to press through as much as possible and making sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Return the pulp to the mixing bowl and wash it with another 100 ml water. Then strain into the saucepan again. Discard the pulp, then add the jaggery, cumin, ground ginger, chilli powder and 1/2 tsp salt to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the chutney has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Set aside.

For the garlic chutney, add the peeled garlic cloves and peanuts to a small frying pan and toast until they have golden spots all over. Stir in the desiccated coconut and continue toasting until it is golden throughout. Then add everything to a food processor along with the chilli powder and 1/2 tsp salt and pulse until fine and evenly red. Set aside.

For the coriander chutney, trim the lower stems of the coriander and roughly chop the rest. Trim the chilli and deseed if you’d like it less spicy, then roughly chop along with the garlic. Add the coriander, chilli and garlic to the jug of a blender along with the cumin, lemon juice, 3 tbsp cold water and 3/4 tsp salt. Then blend it into a thick chutney. You might need to give the jug a shake every now until it comes together. The acidity of the lemon juice will discolour the vibrant green chutney after a while, so refrigerate it in covered container to slow down the process.

While the potatoes are cooling off, continue with the vada. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli to a pestle and mortar and mash them into a paste. Pick the curry leaves and roughly chop the coriander. When the potatoes are ready, heat some vegetable oil in a small frying pan. Add the mustard seeds and, as soon as they begin to pop, add the curry leaves and asafoetida followed by the ginger, garlic and the chilli paste. Sauté everything for around a minute until the garlic smells aromatic, then stir in the turmeric and turn off the heat. Add the mashed potatoes as well as the lemon juice, coriander and 1/2 tsp salt. Tip it into a mixing bowl and, once cold enough to handle, use your hands to mix it evenly. Divide and shape the mixture into 8 balls, then flatten each ball into a thick potato patty.

Heat the vegetable oil in a sauce pan to around 170°C. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the batter along with 1/3 tsp salt and 100 ml water. Coat 4 of the patties in the batter, adding them to the hot oil right away. Make sure that they don’t overlap or they might stick to each other. Fry the patties until golden and crisp on both sides (around 4 min), turning them every now and then, then remove with a slotted spoon onto a rack lined with kitchen paper and continue with the rest. When you’ve finished the potatoes, drizzle around 4 tbsp of the batter into the hot oil. They will puff up into light crispy bites called chura, which we’ll use as a garnish later.

Only fry the remaining chillis if you’ve done this before and are confident with deep-frying, as they will spit in the hot oil. Let the oil temperature decrease to around 160°C. Use a small knife to pierce into the side of the remaining green chillis to avoid them from bursting in the pan. Then add 1 chilli at a time and fry it until it begins to spit. Once it calms down, you can add the next chilli and so on until all the chillis are fried. Please keep a safe distance from the hot oil after adding each chilli.

Slice the buns in half, spread the coriander chutney over one side of the bun and the tamarind chutney over the other. Then sprinkle the dry garlic chutney over both. Place the vada on top followed by the chura and a fried chilli. Close the bun and serve straightaway with some more of the chutneys on the side.

As an Amazon Associate I receive a small commission from affiliate links on this page.

Vada Pav

Fill a table with these and I shall commit gluttony. This popular food from Mumbai is one of my favourite examples of how the simplicity of street food delivers a complex culinary experience through layers of flavours and textures. The three different chutneys balance sweet, sour and spicy flavour notes that beautifully accompany the savoury potato patty, while the chura adds a satisfying crunch amidst the soft bun. It’s a symphony that begs to be repeated again and again.

Share Tweet Pin

Active Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Course Mains

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

For the vada

• 2 large potatoes (400g)
• 20 g ginger
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 green finger chillis
• 30 small fresh curry leaves
• 20 g coriander
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1/3 tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 1/3 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
• 1 l vegetable oil for frying

For the tamarind chutney

• 100 g block of seedless tamarind
• 75 g jaggery (or golden granulated sugar)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder

For the dry garlic chutney

• 6 large garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp raw peanuts
• 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 1 heaped tsp kashmiri chilli powder

For the coriander chutney

• 100 g coriander
• 1 green chilli
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)

For the batter

• 100 g gram flour
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)

To serve

• 8 green finger chillis (optional)
• 8 soft bread buns

Instructions

 

• For the vada, add the potatoes to a pan, cover with cold water and season generously with salt. Then bring it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until knife tender. Drain the potatoes, leave them to cool a little, then peel and mash them. In the meantime make your chutneys as below.
• For the tamarind chutney, break the tamarind into smaller pieces into a heat-proof bowl and cover with 200 ml boiling water. Leave to soak for 15 minutes, then use your hands to loosen the flesh from the fibrous strings. Place a sieve over a sauce pan and strain the tamarind pulp, using a spoon to press through as much as possible and making sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Return the pulp to the mixing bowl and wash it with another 100 ml water. Then strain into the sauce pan again. Discard the pulp, then add the jaggery, cumin, ground ginger, chilli powder and 1/2 tsp salt to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the chutney has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Set aside.
• For the garlic chutney, add the peeled garlic cloves and peanuts to a small frying pan and toast until they have golden spots all over. Stir in the desiccated coconut and continue toasting until it is golden throughout. Then add everything to a food processor along with the chilli powder and 1/2 tsp salt and pulse until fine and evenly red. Set aside.
• For the coriander chutney, trim the lower stems of the coriander and roughly chop the rest. Trim the chilli and deseed if you’d like it less spicy, then roughly chop along with the garlic. Add the coriander, chilli and garlic to the jug of a blender along with the cumin, lemon juice, 3 tbsp cold water and 3/4 tsp salt. Then blend it into a thick chutney. You might need to give the jug a shake every now until it comes together. The acidity of the lemon juice will discolour the vibrant green chutney after a while, so refrigerate it in covered container to slow down the process.
• While the potatoes are cooling off, continue with the vada. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli to a pestle and mortar and mash them into a paste. Pick the curry leaves and roughly chop the coriander. When the potatoes are ready, heat some vegetable oil in a small frying pan. Add the mustard seeds and, as soon as they begin to pop, add the curry leaves and asafoetida followed by the ginger, garlic and the chilli paste. Sauté everything for around a minute until the garlic smells aromatic, then stir in the turmeric and turn off the heat. Add the mashed potatoes as well as the lemon juice, coriander and 1/2 tsp salt. Tip it into a mixing bowl and, once cold enough to handle, use your hands to mix it evenly. Divide and shape the mixture into 8 balls, then flatten each ball into a thick potato patty.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a sauce pan to around 170°C. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the batter along with 1/3 tsp salt and 100 ml water. Coat 4 of the patties in the batter, adding them to the hot oil right away. Make sure that they don’t overlap or they might stick to each other. Fry the patties until golden and crisp on both sides (around 4 min), turning them every now and then, then remove with a slotted spoon onto a rack lined with kitchen paper and continue with the rest. When you’ve finished the potatoes, drizzle around 4 tbsp of the batter into the hot oil. They will puff up into light crispy bites called chura, which we’ll use as a garnish later.
• Only fry the remaining chillis if you've done this before and are confident with deep-frying, as they will spit in the hot oil. Let the oil temperature decrease to around 160°C. Use a small knife to pierce into the side of the remaining green chillis to avoid them from bursting in the pan. Then add 1 chilli at a time and fry it until it begins to spit. Once it calms down, you can add the next chilli and so on until all the chillis are fried. Please keep a safe distance from the hot oil after adding each chilli.
• Slice the buns in half, spread the coriander chutney over one side of the bun and the tamarind chutney over the other. Then sprinkle the dry garlic chutney over both. Place the vada on top followed by the chura and a fried chilli. Close the bun and serve straightaway with some more of the chutneys on the side.

Video

Print Recipe