Batata Vada

                   It has been a year since I started writing this blog to share my rasoi (cooking) experiments. Time has flown by so quickly.

                  Today, I am sharing a recipe which I grew up with in Mumbai. It is the most ubiquitous street food in Mumbai and is an everyday food for many Mumbaikars. It's the Indian slider, the Vada Pav. The dumpling-like balls between the buns, Batata Vada, are primarily made of mashed potatoes. They can also be eaten as-is with a dipping chutney, and are a great option for snacks as well as dinner. I hope you enjoy this Indian street food.

Ingredients:

For Vada

• 6 Potatoes (Boiled and mashed)
• 3-4 Garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
• 2 tbsp Green Chilli paste
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 4-5 Curry leaves
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder

For Batter

• 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup Besan (Gram flour)

Instructions:

• Take the mashed potatoes in a big bowl.
• Add the green chilli paste, garlic and salt to the bowl. You may adjust the chili paste according to the desired spiciness
• Now heat about 1 tsp oil in a small pan.
• Then add the asafoetida, curry leaves and the mustard seeds to the oil.
• Once the seeds starts to crackle, add the cumin seeds and then add the turmeric powder

• Now, add this oil mixture to the potatoes

• Add cilantro and mix it well.
• Divide the mixture into 20 portions and make lemon sized balls/rounds. Keep them aside

• To prepare the batter, take the gram flour in a bowl and add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder to it
• Now, slowly add water and stir properly. Make sure that there are no lumps in the batter. It should be a thin batter
• Heat sufficient oil in a kadai (Pan)
• Dip the potato balls in the batter and add to the oil 

• Deep fry the potatoes balls in the hot oil until they are golden brown on all sides
• Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot with chutney and sauces of your choice.

 Tips:

• They are best served with dry Garlic chutney and lightly fried whole green chillies
• To make a slider, apply the the green chili-cilantro chutney and sweet date chutney on the buns, for the desired sweet/spicy level. Place 1-2 vadas in between the buns and Enjoy!!