Indian Vada Pav Street Snack Recipe

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
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Updated on 12/28/22
Vada Pav
Image © Kailash K Soni/ Dreamstime.com
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 6 snacks

Straight out of the heart of Maharashtra in Western Indian, Vada Pav has iconic status in India. It originated as a tasty but cheap, budget-friendly food for mill workers in Central Mumbai in the 1960s and early 1970s. These days, people from all walks of life can be spotted enjoyed Vada Pav in Mumbai's numerous roadside food stalls!

Vada means patty and Pav means bun in Hindi. Vada Pav is therefore a potato patty in a bun garnished with delicious, hot, tangy, sweet chutneys and served piping hot. For convenience sake you can pre-make the potato mixture a day earlier (it actually tastes better when done like this as the flavors 'mature' overnight). When you are ready to eat, fry the patties and prep the buns and serve.

Lots of people pre-make the chutneys in batches and store in their fridge. That way, when the urge strikes, you are halfway done to producing some delicious Vada Pav.  

Ingredients

  • 10 potato medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed

  • 2 teaspoons garlic paste

  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste

  • 3 pepper chiles

  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric

  • 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds

  • 6 to 7 curry leaves

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

  • 2 cups besan flour (bengal gram flour)

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil, for frying

  • 6 pavbuns, or burger buns

  • 1 cup tamarind chutney

  • 1 cup green chutney

  • 1/2 cup shengdaana lehsun chutney, peanut garlic chutney

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the Bengal gram flour/ besan with enough water and salt to taste, to make a thick, smooth paste. Always add the water a little at a time so that you do not get a runny batter. Stop when the batter is the consistency of a thick soup. When ready, keep aside for later use.

  3. Mix the ginger and garlic pastes and add the green chillies to them. Grind into a smooth paste in the food processor.

  4. Mix this paste with the mashed potatoes. Season with salt.

  5. Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a pan on a medium flame and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, and turmeric powder. Fry till the seeds stop spluttering.

  6. Add this to the potato and mix well.

  7. Divide the potato mix into portions slighter smaller than a tennis ball. Smoothen by rolling between slightly greased palms.

  8. Heat the oil for deep frying on a medium flame.

  9. When the oil is hot, dip one potato ball at a time into the gram flour batter to coat well and then deep fry till golden. Drain on paper towels.

  10. Take one pav bun, slit in half (not completely - leave one edge joined) and put a spoonful each of Tamarind Chutney, Mint-Coriander Chutney and Shengdaana Lehsun Chutney  (peanut garlic chutney) each on it. Place a potato ball on the bun and fold over, pressing down gently. Serve while the potato ball is still hot.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
706 Calories
20g Fat
117g Carbs
19g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 706
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 25%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 583mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 117g 43%
Dietary Fiber 13g 46%
Total Sugars 20g
Protein 19g
Vitamin C 43mg 216%
Calcium 144mg 11%
Iron 7mg 38%
Potassium 2134mg 45%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)