Vada Pav or Wada Pav : The Indian burger

What do you crave during cool & rainy days? For me, it's deep fried street chaat. It could be a plate of hot masala puri or some bhajiyas (fritters). When we talk of street foods, who do you think can resist street foods? There is not much fun when you eat the street food or chat at the airconditioned restaurants.(Raste pe chaat khane ki maza hi kuch aur hain na!). I can see many nodding heads :D But when you are away from all those pleasures of life, there is only option left. Make them at your home & relish.

Wada Pav is a famous street food of Mumbai. After pav bhaji, this is the most appreciated Mumbai street food at my home. Vada Pav does take more time, but if you plan in advance & then cook, it'll not be tiresome.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

For the batata vada (stuffed potato fritters)
For the stuffing:
Boiled Russet potatoes: 3 nos, large (refer notes below)
Green chilli paste: 2 tsp
Grated garlic: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt: As needed
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Lemon juice: 2 tsp

For the batter:
Besan/Kadle hittu/ Gram flour: 1 cup
Rice flour: 2-3 tbsp, optional but recommended
Salt: As needed
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Baking soda: a pinch
Water: As needed

Enough oil for deep frying the batata vada (stuffed potato fritters)

For the dry coconut chutney: 
Dry coconut: 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp or about 8-10 dry red chillies
Salt: As needed

For assembling the burger | vada pav:
Pav or dinner rolls or burger buns: About 9-10
Dry coconut chutney: 2 tsp on each bun
Green chutney: 1 tsp on each bun, optional
Batata vada : 1-2 nos for each bun.

Method:
For the dry coconut chutney:
Blend together the dry coconut, chilli powder & salt in a blender until it is a coarse powder. Keep it aside.

For the batata vada:
Peel the skin of the potatoes & mash them roughly.
Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn golden brown, throw in the chilli paste & grated garlic. When garlic gets cooked, add the turmeric powder, mashed potatoes, salt & mix well. Add in the coriander leaves & lemon juice. Turn off the heat.
Mix & mash the cooked potato again.
Make lime sized balls from the potato mixture & keep it aside.

For the batter:
In a bowl, add the gram flour, rice flour, baking soda, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder & mix well.

Add little water at a time to the gram flour mixture and prepare a batter. The consistency of the batter should be like a pancake batter or a thick milkshake.
Heat enough oil for deep frying the batata vada. When oil is hot, dip the potato balls in the gram flour batter & slide the raw batata vada in the hot oil.

Deep fry on both the sides until the vada turns golden brown. Remove the vada using a slotted spoon & drain it on a paper towel.

Arranging the vada pav:
Slice or cut the pav or burger bun in half.

Spread about 2 tsp of dry coconut chutney on one half of the burger bun.

**If needed, spread a teaspoon of green chutney on the other half of the bun. (I don't do this as we do not want the green chutney to over power the dry coconut chutney)
Place the hot batata vada on the dry chutney powder.

Cover it with the other slice.
Dig in!!

Notes:

• Use any potatoes of your choice.
• Vada pav is supposed to be garlicky & spicy. So, ensure to make the batata vada spicy & garlicky. 
• Make the dry coconut chutney spicy too. You could serve the vada pav with a slightly roasted green chilli too. 
• Ensure to serve the batata vada hot.  

PS: I'm sending this to Pari's event 'Only' Sandwiches, Burgers & Panini hosted by myself :)

Along with this, I have two other entries too.

Here they are:
Baby corn-bell pepper grilled sandwich
Grilled tomato cheese sandwich.

Aloo Sandwich | Potato Sandwich

Potato sandwiches are a great option for weekend brunch or weekday dinner.These are our current favorite! I pack them for my hubby's lunch too. These are quick to make & quite filling.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Adapted from: Manjula's Kitchen

Ingredients: (Makes 3 sandwiches)
Bread: 6 slices (I used Aunt Millies Potato Bread)
Melted butter: 1 tbsp
Boiled & mashed potatoes: 2 cups
Salt: As needed
Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Chili powder: 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Cheese slices : 3 nos (I used grated Cheddar & Mozzarella Cheese)

Method:
Mash the potatoes thoroughly. Add in the coriander leaves, chili powder, lemon juice, cumin seeds, and salt to the potatoes & mix well.

Heat the tava/griddle.
Take 1.5 to 2 tablespoon of potato mixture & spread the mixture onto the bread. Press the mixture hard onto the bread. The potato mixture should stick to the bread.

Do the same on the other slice too.
Smear the butter over the potato spread.
Place both the slices of bread on the griddle (Potato spread should be facing down).

Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked & turn crisp.

Flip one slice of bread. Add in the cheese & cover it with the other slice.

Cook again on both the sides till the sandwich turns golden brown.

Make two more sandwiches similarly.
Serve them hot with a dip/green chutney or tamarind chutney.

Notes:

• Along with the cheese, you could add slices of tomato, cooked beets slice, and a slice of paneer(cottage cheese) too. I often add paneer to this. It tastes great!
• The potato mixture is very flexible. You could play with a lot of flavors. I have tried adding carom seeds/ajwain instead of cumin seeds. I do add jalapenos for the extra kick sometime.
• The above ingredients & recipe is just to give an idea. You could use your imagination to build your own grilled potato sandwich.

Simple potato roast with fenugreek leaves | Aloo methi :Dry sabzi

This dish is nothing to fancy about. It is a very simple & quick stir-fry that can be whipped in less than 30 mins. It tastes great as a side dish with roti, rice-dal or paratha!

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

• Potatoes: 3 medium sized
• Methi leaves/fenugreek leaves/menthe soppu: 1 cube, frozen (approximately 1/2 cup, fresh methi leaves)
• Oil: 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp
• Turmeric: 1/4th tsp
• Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
• Coriander powder: 1 tsp
• Salt: As needed.

Method:
Wash the potatoes, peel the skin & dice them. Soak the potatoes in water.
Thaw the methi leaves.
Heat oil in a broad pan. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn brown, add in the ginger-garlic paste. Saute till the raw flavor of the ginger-garlic disappears.
Throw in the methi leaves & saute for a couple of minutes.
Drain the diced potatoes & add the potatoes the sauteed methi leaves. 
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder & mix well. 
Cook it covered until the potatoes are almost done. Keep stirring in between to ensure the potatoes doesn't burn & get cooked evenly. 
Add the salt & mix well. Keep cooking until the potatoes are soft.
Turn off the heat & serve it hot!

Notes:

• This is a very basic & a simple potato roast. You could add other vegetables too, to make this dish more nutritious & interesting. I sometimes add in green peas or cauliflower. 
• If you are using fresh methi leaves, separate only the leaves from the stem and wash thoroughly before adding!

Pav Bhaji: A Mumbai Street Food with step-by-step photos

I have memories of my teenage days attached with this dish. No, I was neither born & brought up in Mumbai nor spent even a month in Mumbai. To set the record straight, I have not even tasted Pav Bhaji on the streets of Mumbai!

During my high school & Pre University days, I and my cousins used to eat masala puri, paani puri, pav bhaji at my town. I did not know how authentic it used to be but honestly never bothered about it! One blue moon day when I went to grocery shopping with my father, I noticed pav bhaji masala. I persuaded my father to buy it for me. He double checked the ingredients (as my mom, grandmom, father are " no" to garlic too!) & finally bought it for me. So, pav bhaji might be my first experiment in the kitchen during my late high school days (of course after maggi!).

I used to follow the pav bhaji recipe as found on the side of pav bhaji masala packet. Later, I started fine tuning it according to our tastes. I have been making pav bhaji from almost 15 years now. Now, I feel I can make a decent pav bhaji. I am still not sure whether it is an authentic recipe or not :)

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 45 mins

Ingredients: (Serves 5-6)
For the bhaji:
Potatoes: 2 nos, medium sized
Cauliflower: 250 gms
Green peas: A fistful
Carrot: 1 small
Tomato puree: About 2 to 2.5 cups
Onion: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Capsicum: 2-3 tbsp, finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste: 1.5 tsp
Green chillies: 2 nos, finely chopped
Chilli powder: 1 to 1.5 tsp
Pav bhaji masala: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Oil: 1 tbsp
Butter: 1 tbsp
Salt: According to taste

For the garnish:
Coriander leaves: 3 tbsp, finely chopped
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp

For serving:
Pav/Dinner rolls: 12-16 nos
Lemon wedges
Finely chopped onion
a blob of butter
coriander leaves

Method
For the bhaji:
Roughly chop the potatoes, cauliflower, & carrot. Add half a cup of water & 1/2 tsp of salt to the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and peas. Pressure cook the veggies for 2 whistles.
Meantime, take a broad pan. Heat oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, throw in the capsicum & saute for a minute.

Add the onions & saute until the onions are soft.

Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies & saute till the raw smell of the paste is gone (about a couple of minutes).

Add the tomato puree, turmeric, salt & red chilli powder. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. The mixture starts spluttering, so keep a lid 3/4th covered.

Meantime, thoroughly mash the vegetables cooked in the pressure cooker.

Add the mashed vegetables, pav bhaji masala, half a cup of water & continue mashing, cooking & stirring it. The mixture keeps spluttering all over. So, it is better you handle it with a mitt.

Add the butter & keep mashing the mixture.

Finally add coriander leaves, lemon juice & mash it for another couple of minutes.

Heating the pav/dinner rolls:
Cut the pav in half.
Add a teaspoon of butter onto a griddle. Srinkle some pav bhaji masala, coriander leaves on the butter.
Place the pav on the butter & let it get roasted for 30 secs. Flip the pav & roast the other side too.

Serving:
Pour around 1/4th cup or more of bhaji on a plate. Sprinkle coriander leaves on the bhaji. A blob of butter on the bhaji.
Put around a tablespoon or more of finely chopped onion onto the serving plate. Place a lemon wedge.
Finally add the buttered & hot pav to the plate & dig in!

Notes:

• One should not be able to find the vegetables that go in the bhaji. It needs to be thoroughly mashed. 
• Be ready to clean the kitchen counter after the bhaji is done, since the bhaji splutters a lot. Be careful while mashing the bhaji too.
• The bhaji needs to be spicy, tangy & buttery!
• I have not added any food color to this. So, this is the color you get after cooking the bhaji :)

Simple Alugadde palya (Aloo Sabzi) (Dry Potato Curry)

Alugadde palya tastes great as a side dish with any kinds of dosas(Indian crepes). I normally add few vegetables to make it more healthier. Here is my version of the tasty alu sabzi.

Ingredients:

Boiled & mashed potatoes: 2 cups

Boiled vegetables: 1 cup (I normally use frozen carrot, corn & green peas mixture).

Onion: 2 medium sized (sliced)

Green chilli paste: 3/4 tsp (Adjust according to your needs)
Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Curry leaves 6-8 nos
Salt: According to taste

For garnishing:
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

• Boil the vegetables & allow them to cool (This step is not required for frozen vegetables).
• Meantime, heat a broad pan & add oil to it. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds & urad dal. When mustard seeds splutter & dal turn golden brown, add curry leaves & green chilli paste. Saute for 30secs.
• To the tempering, add the onions & saute till onions become translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste & saute for 2-3mins. 
• Drain out the water completely from the boiled vegetables. Add the drained vegetables to the pan. 
• Mash the potatoes gently & add the potatoes to the pan. 
• Add salt, turmeric. Mix well. 
• Cook it on a medium heat for a minute or two.
• Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice & garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes:

• Chopped green chillies could be used instead of green chilli paste.
• Ginger-garlic paste could be omitted(if you do not prefer it).
• If you are using frozen vegetables, thaw them and add along with onion

Tava Fried Vegetables

People who are calorie conscious are requested to be away from this dish. Dont even see the pictures. Though the pictures have not come out good, there would be chances that you might feel like looking at the ingredient list. By chance if you happen to see the photo, dont ever peek into the ingredients because you might feel it is very simple & might think of giving it a try. Also, if you happen to try, dont blame me that I spoilt your diet.

If you are not calorie conscious, go ahead & try this simple, tasty tava veg that will surely be welcomed by all your family members. Do try & let me know if you liked it :)

Ingredients: (All vegetables are chopped into 1 inch cubes)

Small eggplants: 1 cup (I used green colored gulla badane & cut one brinjal into 4 parts)

Potato: 1 cup (peeled & cubed)

Cauliflower: 1 cup

Paneer: 1/2 cup

Capsicum: 1/2 cup

Shallots/Sambar onion: 1/2 cup (peeled)

Green chilli paste: 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Pav Baji masala: 1 tsp

Amchur powder: 1 tsp

Chaat masala: 1 tsp

Tomato puree: 1/4th cup

Salt: According to taste

Oil : For deep frying (I use canola oil)

Method:
Sprinkle some salt on all the chopped vegetables & keep them aside for 5-10mins.
Squeeze the water released & deep fry the vegetables till brown. Vegetables should get half cooked in oil.
Drain in an absorbent paper.

Heat the tava & place the vegetables on the rim of the tava (I couldn't take the picture of this)
Add a tbsp of oil. When oil is hot, add a big pinch of green chilli paste, add the few pieces of fried vegetables of your choice. Add a pinch of red chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, chat masala, amchur powder, salt & 1-1.5tbsp of tomato puree. Mix them well. Allow it to cook on a slow flame for 3-5minutes. Keep stirring in between.

Remove it from the tava & serve it immediately with roti/phulka.

Tips:

1. Prepare the veg for 1 person at a time. Dont load all the vegetables as it becomes difficult for the spices to blend well.
2. Feel free to use other vegetables like okra/ladies finger & mushroom to this dish. I didnot have okra handy, else I never miss adding them. Okra & mushroom blend very well with the above spices.

Update:
I happened to change the photo of bhindi besan. Have a look here.

Break, News & Bombay Saagu

Many of the fellow bloggers are taking a break as few of them are visiting India, others because of their parents' or in-laws visits. I was also thinking about the same, should I take a break or is it sufficient if I'm slow & steady? I personally do not want to take a break. Let us see how time & things make my way to blog during the coming weeks.

Now, enough of suspense, I do not want to keep your fingers crossed (really?? Was that a suspense??). My parents & in-laws are coming together for a visit. All 4 of them are landing here this week & I'm all excited !! We are currently settling in our new place (did I mention before that we moved to a new place??, if not.., here is that news too .., he he). At office, we also have an important release this month. So many things to do but so little time. I plan to be slow in publishing new recipes, reply to your mails & also, my visit to all the loved blogs would be limited :( There ends my news & task list for the current month.

Coming to the bombay saagu recipe. I donot know why it is named so?Please let me know, if you have an answer. I have seen this saagu in most of the food joints along with the very famous rawa idli or sometimes with poori. This saagu goes well with anything, be it.., plain rice, chapathi, poori, dosa, idli or roti.

Ingredients:
Potatoes: 2 nos
Onion: 1 medium sized
Tomato: 1 medium sized
Green peas: 1/4th cup (optional)
Green chillies : 2-3
Water: 1.5 cups (around 300ml)
Gram flour/besan: 1 tbsp
Salt: According to taste
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Channa dal: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1 pinch
Curry leaves: 6-8
Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp (adjust according to your family needs)
Cilantro: for garneshing

Method:

• Boil & mash the potatoes roughly. Finely chop the onion & tomato.
• In a broad pan, heat oil. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds, followed by urad dal, channa dal. When dals turn golden brown, add green chilli, curry leaves & saute for 10secs. Add onion & saute till onion turns golden brown. Add tomato & saute till tomatoes are soft & yet firm.
• Add water & cook the tomatoes till soft. Add mashed potato, turmeric, salt & cook on a slow flame for 2-4mins.
• Add 4 tbsps water to the gram flour & prepare a paste out of it. Ensure there are no lumps.
• Add the gram flour paste to the pan & mix it thoroughly. The curry becomes thick in a minute or so.
• Turn off the heat, add lemon juice & cilantro. Mix & serve with idli, poori, chapathi, dosa or rice.