Batata Vadaबटाटा वडा

Name: Batata Vada
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Maharashtrian
Ingredients: 4 medium potatoes; 1 cup chickpea flour (Besan); 2 tbsp oil for tempering; 1 tsp mustard seeds (Rai); 10-12 fresh curry leaves (Kadi Patta); 2 green chilies, finely chopped; 1 tsp ginger, grated; ½ tsp for filling + pinch for batter turmeric powder (Haldi); ¼ tsp red chili powder; ¼ tsp baking soda (for a lighter batter); to taste salt; 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped; 1 tsp lemon juice; for deep frying oil for deep frying

⏱ Prep 15m🍳 Cook 40m🍽 Serves 4🌿 Vegan

Video: Hebbars Kitchen (YouTube)

The soul of Mumbai street food — a ball of spiced, tempered mashed potato encased in a crisp chickpea-batter shell and fried until golden. Stuffed into a pav with two chutneys, it becomes Vada Pav, the dish that has sustained generations of Mumbaikars. The curry leaves sizzled in the tempering and the heat of the green chili are what set a great Batata Vada apart from a forgettable one.

📍 Make it in Plano

This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.

Finding Desi spots near Plano…

Ingredients

▪potatoes4 medium
▪chickpea flour (Besan)1 cup
▪oil for tempering2 tbsp
▪mustard seeds (Rai)1 tsp
▪fresh curry leaves (Kadi Patta)10-12
▪green chilies, finely chopped2
▪ginger, grated1 tsp
▪turmeric powder (Haldi)½ tsp for filling + pinch for batter
▪red chili powder¼ tsp
▪baking soda (for a lighter batter)¼ tsp
▪saltto taste
▪fresh coriander, chopped2 tbsp
▪lemon juice1 tsp
▪oil for deep fryingfor deep frying

🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions

Besan (chickpea flour / gram flour) is available at South Asian, Middle Eastern, and many health-food stores. Bob's Red Mill markets it as gram flour in the USA; it's also found at Whole Foods and online.
Fresh curry leaves are worth going out of your way to find at a South Asian grocery store — they are not replaceable in this dish. They freeze very well; buy a bunch and freeze for future use. Do NOT use dried curry leaves as a substitute.
Pav is available at South Asian bakeries and some Indian grocery stores in diaspora cities. Slider buns, Hawaiian rolls, or soft brioche rolls are excellent substitutes for making Vada Pav.

Method

1Boil potatoes in salted water until fully tender. Drain, peel while warm, and mash until smooth.
2Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Add curry leaves and green chili — they will sizzle loudly. Add grated ginger and turmeric; cook for 30 seconds.
3Pour this tempering over the mashed potatoes. Add coriander, lemon juice, and salt. Mix well. Taste and adjust.
4Divide and shape into smooth balls, roughly golf-ball size. You should get 8-10 vadas.
5Make the batter: in a bowl, whisk besan, red chili powder, a pinch of turmeric, baking soda, and salt together. Add water gradually, whisking to a thick, smooth, lump-free batter that coats the back of a spoon thickly.
6Heat oil for deep frying to 175°C (350°F). Dip each potato ball into the batter, coating thoroughly, and gently lower into the hot oil.
7Fry 3-4 at a time (do not crowd), turning occasionally, until uniformly golden and crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towel.
8Serve immediately while hot and crisp, with pav, green coriander chutney, and dry garlic-peanut chutney.

A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.