Vada Pav Recipe

Vada Pav Recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 20 balls; 5 servings

SPICED POTATO MIXTURE:

• 2 fresh green chilies, finely chopped (seeded or not is up to you) 1 garlic clove, crushed
• thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• a pinch of asafoetida (optional)
• 10 (fresh or dried) curry leaves
• 1lb 2oz (500g) cold mashed potatoes
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• sea salt, to taste
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

SWEET CHUTNEY:

• 6 dried dates
• ½ tsp tamarind puree

DRY GARLIC CHUTNEY:

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tbsp peanut (groundnut) oil, plus extra for frying ½ cup (35g) dry unsweetened (desiccated) coconut 1 tsp chili powder

GREEN CHUTNEY:

• a large bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander)
• a handful of fresh mint leaves
• about 5 fresh green chilies, chopped (seeded or not is up to you) juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

BATTER:

• generous 1 cup (100g) chickpea/besan (gram) flour ¼ tsp ground turmeric

A pinch of baking powder

• scant 1/3 cup (80ml) water 5 soft white rolls, split open, to serve fried fresh green chilies, to serve (optional)

Method

1. To make the spiced potato mixture, mash together the chilies, garlic, and ginger
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, and cook until they pop
3. Add the asafoetida, if using, and the curry leaves and cook for 10 seconds
4. Add the chili/ginger paste and cook for 10 seconds
5. Add the mashed potatoes, turmeric, and salt, then add the cilantro (coriander) and mix wel
6. Remove from the heat and let cool
7. Meanwhile, make the chutneys
8. To make the sweet chutney, soak the dates in warm water for about 20 minutes, then remove the pits (stones)
9. Whizz the dates in a blender with the tamarind puree and a splash of water to form a tomato sauce-like consistency
10. Set aside
11. To make the dry garlic chutney, gently caramelize the whole garlic cloves in a frying pan with a little peanut (groundnut) oil
12. Add the coconut, stirring until golden
13. Blend together with the chili powder and the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil
14. Season with salt
15. Set aside
16. To make the green chutney, blend the cilantro, mint, green chilies, and lemon juice together with a splash of water
17. Add the vegetable oil, plus some salt, and blend to mix
18. Set aside
19. To shape and cook the potato mixture, pour vegetable oil for deep-frying into a deep frying pan or an electric deep-fat fryer and heat to 350°F 180°C
20. Shape the spiced potato mixture into bal s to make about 20 bal s
21. To make the batter, mix al the batter ingredients together, then dip each potato bal in the batter
22. Deep-fry the bal s in batches for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown al over
23. Drain on paper towels
24. Keep warm while you cook the rest
25. Serve hot
26. Serve the warm potato bal s in the white rol s with the chutneys and fried green chilies, if using

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