Vada Pav - Mumbai Street Style

Vada Pav is the popular snack of the Mumbai city. It can be called as staple food in Mumbai. The people of Mumbai are almost dependent on Vada pav, whenever they want to beat their hunger in the busy schedule and even in the middle of the night. You will found vendors selling Vada pav in every street of Mumbai. This famous snack has become very popular all over the country and it is featured on the menus almost of all the Indian restaurants residing in abroad.

Vada Pav consists of deep fried potato patty or potato dumplings placed in between the slitted bread bun along with hot garlic chutney and fried green chillies.This snack can be relish during any time of day like breakfast or as an evening snack. Vada pav can be best served with the hot Indian chai.

I have already posted vada pav recipe with three chutneys. Both version of vada pav are equally tasty and delicious.

I already have white pav and whole wheat pav on my blog . You can check them too.

THINGS YOU NEED TO MAKE VADA PAV

• Batata Vada (Fried Potato Patty or Potato dumplings)
• Pav bread (Whole Wheat pav or White Pav)
• Spicy Garlic Chutney
• Fried green chillies (totally optional)

To Make Batata Vada (Deep Fried Potato dumplings)

For spicy potato stuffing

• Potato – 4 medium sized
• Green chillies – 2 nos
• Garlic – 5 nos
• Ginger – ½ inch piece
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
• Curry leaves – 5 to 6 nos
• Cilantro or coriander leaves – 2 tbsp. , Chopped
• Salt as per taste
• Ghee or oil– 1tbsp

 

To Make Batter for Vada

• Besan (gram flour or chickpea flour) – 1 cup
• Rice flour – 2 tbsp
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Baking soda – a pinch
• Ghee – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

To Make Spicy Garlic Chutney

• Dry coconut powder – ½ cup
  
• Red chilly powder – 1tsp
• Garlic pods – 4 nos
• Salt to taste

 To Make Batata Vada (Fried Potato Dumpling)

• Boil potatoes into the pressure cooker till they soft. Peel them and mash them completely using a fork.
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• Grind ginger, green chillies and garlic into a coarse paste.
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• Heat oil into a pan on the medium flame. Add mustard seeds and wait till they crackle.
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• Then add asafoetida and curry leaves. Fry them for about 5 seconds.
• Add coarse paste (prepared with ginger, green chillies and garlic) and turmeric powder. Fry till raw smell of masala is completely gone.
• Then add boiled and mashed potatoes and salt. Mix everything well till mashed potatoes are completely mixed into the masala.
• Finally add chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Mix well and turn off the flame.
• Allow the potato mixture is cool down completely.
• Then make medium balls from the mashed potato mixture. Flatten the balls .Cover the balls  and keep it aside
• To Make Batter for Batata Vada
• Add in besan (gram flour), rice flour, turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt and ghee into a wide bowl. Mix well using your fingers such that ghee should mix in the flour.
• Add water to the besan mixture and make the batter. The batter should not be too thick or too thin.
• Lastly add baking soda and give a nice mix. Always add baking soda just before frying batata vadas.

 

To Fry Batata Vada

• Heat oil into a frying pan  on the medium flame. Dip each flattened vadas into the batter and coat it evenly with the batter.
• Slowly drop the batter coated potato balls into the hot oil. Fry them till get  light golden color on both the sides.
• Remove them on the kitchen paper towels to remove any excess oil.
• In similar way, fry all the rest of the vadas.

To Make Spicy Garlic Chutney

• Add in dry coconut powder, red chilly powder, garlic pods and salt into a mixer.
• Grind them till you get fine powder.
• Spicy Garlic chutney is ready

To Make Fried Green chillies

• Slit green chillies. Do not cut them completely into two pieces
  
• Deep fry them for 5 seconds on each sides.
• Then srinkle some salt on fried green chillies.

To Assemble Vada Pav

• Warm up the pav and slice the pav without breaking it into two parts.
• Sprinkle spicy garlic chutney on both the sides of the sliced pav. Chutney can be added as per your taste.
• Place the fried batata vada in between the sliced pav.
• Serve the vada pav along with green chillies and extra of spicy garlic chutney.

 

Corn Cheese Balls

Corn Cheese Balls are appetizers which are the combination of corn and cheese. They are super delicious snack which just melts down into the mouth. Corn Cheese balls can be amazing idea of appetizers during party which can be best served with tomato ketchup or mayo.

 INGREDIENTS

• Sweet Corn/ American Corn (Fresh or frozen) - 1 cup, boiled
• Mozzarella Cheese (grated) -1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (Cheddar cheese or processed cheese can also be used)
• Potato (boiled) - 2 nos  medium
• Red chilly flakes or red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder - 3/4 tsp
• Oregano - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (Pizza seasoning powder can also be used)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

 To Coat the Balls

•  Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (as required)

 To Make Batter

• All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste 

METHOD

• Boil corn and potato. Let it cool down completely
• Grind the boiled corn to a coarse mixture.
• Mash the boiled potato and add it to the coarsely corn mixture.
• Then add in grated cheese, red chilly flakes, pepper powder, oregano, garlic powder and salt.
• Mix all the ingredients well and form a kind of dough. Do not add water while mixing the ingredients.
• Pinch small portion of dough and make small balls of it.
• Place all the balls on to the plate and keep them into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
• Until the balls are set in refrigerator, let’s make the batter for frying.
• Into a deep bottomed bowl, add in all-purpose flour, pepper powder and salt. Mix everything well.
• Make a semi thick paste using water. Remember batter should not be too thick or too thin.
• This semi thick batter will help the breadcrumbs to coat evenly on the balls. After 20 minutes, check on the balls which were placed in the refrigerator. They must have set till now.
• This step is very important to get perfect texture for the balls.
• Spread bread crumbs into a wide plate.
• Dip each ball into the batter and roll in the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs should evenly stick on to the balls.
• Repeat this step (dipping into the batter and rolling in the breadcrumbs) twice, so that there is a thick rust on the balls after frying.
• Repeat the same process for rest of the balls.
• Heat oil into the frying wok on the medium flame. 
• Fry all the coated balls into the hot oil till they are crispy and get a nice golden brown color on all the sides.
• Be careful during frying. Do not repeatedly turn the balls while frying, the balls might break and cheese can come out.
• Once fried, take out the balls on the tissue paper to remove any excess oil.
• And now Corn Cheese Balls are ready to serve with tomato ketchup or mayo.