Mumbaiya vada pav

About VADA pav:

Vada Pav is a vegetarian  fast  food dish native to the Indian city of Mumbai, The dish is a simple creation involving a deep fried potato patty with some coriander and spices, served in a bread roll (pav)It is originated as cheap street food in Mumbai but is now offered in stalls and restaurants throughout India.

Ingredients:

4 medium size boiled potatoes2 tablespoons oil1/2  teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)1/4  teaspoon turmeric (haldi)1 teaspoon ginger paste2 green chilies minced (hari mirch) adjust to tasteAbout 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara dhania)1 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste

For Batter

3/4  cup gram flour (besan)About 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (hara dhania)1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to tasteAbout 1/4 cup of water

Peanut Chutney

2 tablespoons of shelled peanuts1 tablespoons sesame seeds1 tablespoons dry coconut powder4 whole dry red chilies adjust to taste1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste

Also Needed

Oil to fry6 buns

For Garnishing

1/4 cup tamarind chutney1/4 cup hard chutnet1 thinly sliced tomatoSome lettuce leaves

Method

Peanut Chutney

Dry roast peanuts on medium heat until peanuts lightly change color. Add red chilies and roast for another minute until chili become dark. Reduce the heat to low, add sesame seeds and roast for another minute. Turn off the heat, add coconut powder and mix it well.Transfer the peanut mix into a bowl.Wait until the peanut mix cools off. Grind it to make it a coarse powder. Adjust salt to taste. This is a dry powder chutney.

Batter

Mix gram flour, salt and cilantro (hara dhania), and add water slowly to make a thick but smooth batter. Set aside.

Vada

Peel and mash the boiled potatoes keeping the crumbly in texture.Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat.Add mustard seeds and as the seeds crack add mashed potatoes, ginger paste, minced green chili, turmeric, and salt.Stir fry for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Add cilantro mix it well. Turn of the heat.After mixture cools off, divide the potato mix slightly bigger than a golf ball.Make them into smooth ½ inch thick patties, rolling between slightly greased palms.Heat oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.The frying pan should have about 1 ½ inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in oil. The batter should come up but not change color right away.Dip the potato patties into the batter one at a time, making sure the patties are completely covered by the batter. Then, slowly drop them into the frying pan.Vada will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook.Turn them occasionally. Fry the vada until both sides are golden-brown.

How to Serve Pav Vada

Take one pav bun, slit in half, spread the cilantro chutney and tamarind chutney to each pav as desired.Next sprinkle the peanut chutney.Place the potato vada, lettuce leave and sliced tomato on one half of the bun.