Vada Pav – Indian Street Food

Step 1: Wash and Boil Potatoes

Pour 12 kg of potatoes into a large pot. Wash the potatoes thoroughly with running water until clean. Transfer the washed potatoes to another large pot and place it over a wood fire to boil until soft. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.

Step 2: Peel and Mash Potatoes

Once the potatoes are boiled and tender, remove them from the pot using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a large tray. Allow them to cool slightly, then peel the skin off all the potatoes. Mash the peeled potatoes thoroughly using potato mashers until smooth.

Step 3: Prepare Coriander and Turmeric

Wash 500 g of fresh coriander leaves and finely chop them. Grind 50 g of fresh turmeric into a fine paste using a traditional grinding stone.

Step 4: Temper Spices

Place a large wok over a wood fire. Pour 50 ml of cold-pressed sesame oil into the hot wok. Once the oil is hot, add 2 tbsp of mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Then, add 2 tbsp of cumin seeds, the hand-ground turmeric paste, 2 sprigs of curry leaves, and 1 tsp of asafoetida powder. Sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Step 5: Mix Potato Filling

Add the mashed potatoes to the wok with the tempered spices. Mix thoroughly to ensure the spices are evenly distributed. Squeeze in the juice from 2 lemons, add 3 tbsp of crystal salt (or to taste), and the finely chopped coriander leaves. Continue mixing until all ingredients are well combined and the mixture is uniform.

Step 6: Form Potato Vadas

Transfer the potato mixture to a large tray and allow it to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, form small, round potato balls (vadas) from the mixture. Ensure they are uniform in size.

Step 7: Prepare Gram Flour Batter

In a large pot, add 2.5 kg of gram flour. Gradually add 1.5-2 liters of water, mixing continuously to form a smooth, thick batter. Add 3 tbsp of crystal salt to the batter and mix well.

Step 8: Deep Fry Vadas

Place a large wok over a wood fire and pour in 6 liters of cold-pressed sesame oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, dip each potato ball (vada) into the gram flour batter, ensuring it's fully coated. Carefully drop the coated vadas into the hot oil. Fry in batches until they turn golden brown and crispy. Remove the fried vadas using a slotted spoon and place them on a large tray.

Step 9: Fry Green Chilies

Slit 500 g of green chilies lengthwise. Carefully add the slit green chilies to the hot oil used for frying vadas. Fry them until they are slightly blistered and softened, about 1-2 minutes. Remove the fried chilies using a slotted spoon and place them on a separate tray.

Step 10: Assemble Vada Pav

Take 200-250 pav buns and slice each one horizontally, almost in half, leaving one side attached. On one side of the sliced pav bun, sprinkle a generous amount of 200 g of red chili powder (dry chutney). On the other side, spread a layer of 500 ml of green chutney. Place a freshly fried potato vada inside the bun. Finally, add a fried green chili on top of the vada before closing the bun. Repeat for all pav buns.

Step 11: Serve Vada Pav

Arrange the prepared Vada Pavs on trays. Serve them fresh along with fruits to the residents of the old age home.

• Ensure potatoes are boiled until soft for easy mashing.

• Adjust the spice levels of the potato mixture and chutneys to your preference.

• Fry the potato vadas until they are golden brown and crispy for the best texture.

• Serve Vada Pav immediately after assembly to enjoy it fresh and warm.

• Add ginger-garlic paste to the potato mixture for an extra aromatic kick.

• Experiment with different chutneys such as tamarind chutney or a spicy garlic chutney.

• Lightly toast the pav buns with butter on a griddle before assembling for added flavor and warmth.