Vada Pav (Potato Fritter Sandwich) Recipe

The Vada Pav or the Potato Fritter Sandwich is the heart of the Mumbai street food. Crispy vadas stuffed inside the soft pav (bun) with the spicy red powder made of dry coconut, ginger and red chilies sprinkled inside is a treat to your tasted buds when served with red and green chutneys along with onions and chilies. Oops I am hungry again!

Hmm these Vada Pavs or Batata Vadas as they are known over there are the identity of Maharastrian Snacks. Whether you are a kid, a teen ager or an 80 year old you can’t stop our self from having it! These vada pavs would for sure be in your favorite chaat list if you have ever had them.

The smell of the hot vadas pulls you like magnet when you pass by the Mumbai streets. At the beginning I was a little hesitant to have them but once I had one Voila! It was a roller coaster ride for my taste senses. That one small dish had it all the sweet, the sour, the tangy, the soft, the crispy! So many flavors in that one bite were amazing.

Being a foodie as I am I couldn’t resist myself to learn how to make these Vada Pavs and was headed to the same destination again my neighbor Aunty!
She, I must tell you is a marvelous cook and a wonderful person too. She not only made it for me but also promised to share all her cooking secrets and recipes with me and I would for sure share them all with you guys.

So friends are you ready to have this healthy, easy, yummy, tangy, spicy sandwich made of potato balls and various chutneys.

Ingredients for Vada:

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes( boiled & meshed)(aloo)	6 large
Green chilies (hari mirch)	6 finely chopped
Garlic (lasan) Paste	1 tea spoon
Ginger (adrak) Paste	1/2 tea spoon
Onion	1/2 cup finely chopped
Coriander Leaves	1/2 bunch chopped
Mustard Seed (Rai)	1/2 tea spoon
Cumin Seed	1/4 tea spoon
Asafoetida	1/4 tea spoon
Curry Leaves	1 spring ( around 6-7)
Red Chili Powder	1 tea spoon
Turmeric Powder	1/2 tea spoon
Cumin Powder (Dry & Roasted)	1/2 tea spoon
Oil	2-3 tea spoon
Salt	to taste
Lemon Juice	1/2 tea spoon
Rock salt (optional)	1/4 tea spoon

Ingredients for Coating of Vada:

Ingredients	Quantity
Bengal Gram/Chickpea Flour	1 & 1/4 Cup
Soda Bicarbonate/Baking Soda	a small pinch
Rice Flour	1 table Spoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tea spoon
Red Chili Powder	1/2 tea spoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 table Spoon
Yogurt (optional)	1/4 cup
Water	as needed

Ingredients for Red-Dry Powder:

Ingredients	Quantity
Dry/Desiccated Coconut(grated)	3 table spoon
Red Chili Powder	2 tea spoon
Garlic (lasan)	4-6 cloves chopped
Oil	1 table spoon
Gram flour crumbs/ besan boondi (optional)	1/2 cup
Salt	to taste

Other Ingredients:

Pav ( bun/dinner rolls/hamburger) - 8-10 Pav

Red Chutney ( Sweet Chutney)

Green Chutney( Coriander-Mint Chutney)

Method/Process/Instruction for Making the Vada Stuffing:

Take a frying pan add oil to it. Once heated add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and Curry Leaves
After the seeds crackle add finely chopped Onion, Green chilies (hari mirch), Garlic (lasan) Paste and Ginger (adrak) Paste,
 After which add all the spices like Asafoetida, Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Cumin Powder (Dry & Roasted)
After which add salt and lime juice and sauté it till onions become translucent then add the mashed potatoes and  chopped coriander Leaves.
Mix all the ingredients properly and keep the filling aside to let it cool little.
Then divide the masala into 8-9 equal parts and make balls out of it.

Method/Process/Instruction for Making the Coating for Vada:

Take a bowl put all the dry ingredients like Soda Bicarbonate/Baking Soda, Rice Flour, Turmeric Powder, and Red Chili Powder
Then heat 1 table spoon of oil pour it to the bowl and mix it well with the other ingredients
After which pour water as need to form a thick smooth paste and blend the batter well so that it is lump free
The batter shouldn’t be too thin or else the coating will not hold on to the stuffing.

Method/Process/Instruction for Making the Vada:

Take frying pan (6-qt. Dutch oven to a depth of 2”) ad
Take the potato balls dip them into the batter and put them in the oil one after the other as shown in the image.
Keep turning it with a frying spoon

d oil for deep frying and heat it in the medium flame.

Fry it until they go golden as shown in the image. Instead of deep frying you can also make it in a paniyaram pan (which will consume less oil and be easy to cook) as shown in the figure below:

But I have deep fried it, and then transfer it to an absorbent paper and let the excess oil drain.

Method/Process/Instruction for Making the Red Powder:

Grind all the ingredients (that is the dry coconut, garlic, red chili powder, oil and salt) together to make a powder out of it. If you want you can also add the besan boondi crumbs left out while making the vada.

Method/Process/Instruction for Assembling the Vada Pav:

Take a pav (dinner rolls, hamburger) cut it open (while cutting make sure that it is intact from the other side just like a shell)
Apply sweet red chutney on one side and green mint chutney on the other (optional)
Then take the already prepared vada (potato balls) press it a little and place it inside the pav( bun) sprinkle the red coconut-garlic powder and chopped onions or green chilies if you want.
Finally close the pav and take a big bite
Do share your views about the bite you just took!

Indian Vegetarian Stuffed Aloo Paratha Recipe

The king of all the Indian parathas is the rich Punjabi Aloo Paratha. These aaloo parathas are very popular in north india and are the most sought after breakfast over there; whether its ghar(house), dhaba( motel) or a big hotel these parathas are always in demand. In fact you have a complete lane in Delhi (capital of India) dedicated to parathas called the Paratha Wali Gali where the restaurants serve more than 100 types of parathas and yet the aloo paratha tops the chart.

These parathas/parothas are also the most loved dish of the heroes in the Bollywood movies, whether it was Aamir Khan in Rang De Basanti or Shahrukh Khan in Main Hoon Na, these parathas have always been patrons of Bollywood mothers’ for showing love towards their kids and has been popularized a lot.

These mouthwatering parathas are my personal favorites too. I live in Hyderabad which is in the southern side of the country and thus these parathas are like special occasion dish for us.
Our neighbors are north Indians and the Auntie makes yummy parathas. So, I thought why not share her recipe with you guys. Thus, here I am presenting to you the Royal Punjabi Aloo Paratha Recipe.
You can make it with less oil/ghee but, let me be honest  the royal taste of aloo paratha comes only when you use oil, ghee and butter in the required quantity this is what the Auntie told me!

Ingredients for Making Aloo Paratha:

For Filling/stuffing:

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes( boiled & meshed)	250 gm( around three large)
Cooking Oil(tel)	1 table spoon
Onion (pyax)	1 finely chopped/grated
Ginger(adrak)	1/4 tea spoon paste/finely chopped
Garlic (lasan)(optional)	1/4 tea spoon paste/finely chopped
Green Chili (hari mirch)	3-4 finely chopped
Coriander/Cilantro Leaves	3-4 table spoon finely chopped
Red Chili Powder	1/4 tea spoon
Coriander Seed (dhaniya)	1 tea spoon
Cumin Powder( dried & roasted)	1 tea spoon
Cumin Seed (jeera)	1/2 tea spoon
Turmeric (haldi)	1/2 tea spoon
Garam Masala	1/2 tea spoon
Coriander Powder	1/2 tea spoon
Dry Mango Powder (aamchur)	1/2 tea spoon
Salt ( namak)	to taste( 1 teaspoon approx.)
Rock/Red/Black Salt	1/4 tea spoon

For Dough:

Ingredients Quantity wholewheat flour (attaa) 500 grams( around 3 cups) Water 300 ml. approx Ghee/butter 2 tea spoon Salt to taste( 1 tea spoon) Carom Seeds(ajwain)  1/4 tea spoon Oil  2-3 table spoon(for pan frying)
For Garnish: Ingredients Quantity White Butter(makhan) 1/4 cup Coriander Leaves 20-30 leaves  Onions 1 chopped Green Chili 10-15 (can chop if you want) Serve with any of these: Red chutney Green Chutney Curd/Lassi Mango Pickle

Method of Making Aloo Paratha

Instruction/Method of making the Dough: 

Note: Make the dough when potatoes are boiling & also keep three-four table spoon of flour aside for dusting the parathas’

Take large bowl add flour, salt and carom Seeds (ajwain) to it

Mix all the ingredients well with oil and then add the required amount water in order to make stiff dough; do knead it well for around 6-7 minutes.

And then keep it aside for 5-10 minutes (in the mean time you can make the filling)

Instruction/Method of making the filling:

Take frying pan put cooking oil (sunflower oil) and heat it.

After few minutes add cumin seed and coriander seed to it then ginger paste (add garlic paste only if you like the flavor it is not the part of the recipe)

Then add the finely chopped onions and green chili after which add the other power like red chili, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, Garam Masala (if not then add chat masala) & Dry Mango Powder  or instead you can also use dried pomegranate seeds powder (anardana powder) in the specified quantity( you can make changes as per your need)

Finally add mashed potatoes and chopped coriander and both the salts and put it aside.

Instruction/Method rolling out the Parathas:

Divide the dough into 10-11 equal roll (cover it with a moist cloth incase the temperature in you city is high)
Take a rolling board and sprinkle some flour on it
Dust one roll and place it on the board and then press it little with hand or roll it out, 8-10 cm approx. or take the roll in your hand and press it with you thumb to form a pouch as shown in the figure.

Then place the filling in the center (around 1/10th part of the filling) of the rolled out dough/pouch (or else you can divide the filling into 10-11 equal balls and keep it ready)

Now take it in your palm and bring all the edges together to seal it as shown in the picture below

Then place the filled roll on the rolling board and roll it into a circle. The filling might ooze out in case it happens just place it again to the circle and seal it, but you can avoid the oozing by using a light hand while rolling

Though the perfect round looks good it will only come with practice. So, friends don’t worry about the perfect round shape of the parathas if you are a beginner, the shape might be anything this recipe just tastes yum in any shape.

Simultaneously heat the griddle/pan (take a non- stick pan (tawa) in case you are very health conscious and don’t like to add much oil in your calorie chart) {medium hot}

Instruction/Method for frying the Parathas:

Put one rolled paratha at a time on the heated griddle

and flip it to the other side when you see little bubble/blisters rise and the color changes after turning brush oil/ghee all over it

Then flip it again after 30 seconds and brush the oil to this side of the paratha too.
And apply pressure with a cloth or flat spatula for the parathas to cook evenly and fluff, it will also make it crispy.

Finally the paratha will be done when both sides become crispy and turn out to be golden brown.
Remember to cook the parathas on medium heat only.

It tastes best when served hot garnished with a knob of butter and fresh coriander leaves on the top along with chutneys (red chutney and green chutney) along with pickle and curd or lassi and the icing on the cake would be if chopped onion and green chilies are also served along with it!

Note: You can make a bunch of it, cut into wedges it like pizza and serve it as a starter too.
Though it is great if served hot but if not then the parathas can be covered with aluminum foil and frozen they can be later de-frosted and re-heated prior serving

This was my Aunt’s recipe you can make it yours by adding and removing ingredients accordingly and can come up with wonderful recipe!

Sev Batata Puri Mumbai Style

We Indians love chaat-pata ( spicy and tangy) street food and sev puri is one among the most loved chaats served on the road side stalls and chaat shops.

In fact anytime anywhere you can pleasure your taste buds with this easy to make healthy snack recipe.

Ingredients to be used to make Sev Puri:

Ingredients	Quantity
Crispy Puris/Pooris	4-6 pieces
Sev	1/4 cup
Potato/aloo (boiled and cubed)	1 cup
Onion/pyaz (finely chopped)	1/4 cup
Tomato/ tamatar (finely chopped)	1/4 cup
Sweet Chutney or Red Chutney	1-2 tea spoon
Green Chutney	1-2 tea spoon
Coriander/Cilantro ( dhaniya) Leaves (Chopped)	1/2 table spoon
Chat Masala	1/4 tea spoon
Lemon Juice	1/2 tea spoon

Method of making Sev Puri

1) Take a nice medium sized serving plate.

2) Break the puris in the plate 

3) Add all the other ingredients like potato, tomato,onions etc

4) Finally sprinkle all the spices and mix it with the red chutney, green chutney and lime juice.

5) Garnish the dish with chopped coriander leaves

And here we go the delicious sev puri is ready to jump upon J

Bhel Puri Recipe

Mumbai Beech, Chowpatti & Bhel are inseparable. This Indian snack is very very very easy to make. The Kolkata variant of Bhelpuri is called Jhaal Muri & when it reaches Banglore its called Churumuri. So its famous all over India e it north or south.

Very very easy to make & takes just a few minutes.

Ingredients of Bhel Puri:

Ingredients	Quantity
Puffed rice/Pori	1 1/2 cups
Nylon Sev	1/2 cup
Green chutney	1 1/2 tbsp(as needed)
Sweet chutney	2 tbsp(as needed)
Chilli Garlic chutney	1/2 tbsp(as needed)
Boiled potato chopped into chunks	1
Onion chopped finely	1 small
Tomato,chopped finely	1 small
Raw Mango,finely chopped	3 tbsp
Coriander Leaves	2 tblsp
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Chaat masala	1/2 tsp
Papdi, broken roughly	6-7

Method of Making Bhel Puri:

1. Fry puffed rice in a tsp of oil if it is not crisp.

2. Keep the ingredients of Bhel Puri ready before you start. Take a bowl,large enough to mix all ingredients. Add the Green chutney , Red - Sweet Chutney,  Chilli Garlic Chutney, chat masala powder and lemon juice & Mix well.

3. To the chutneys mix add chopped onion,tomatoes, raw mangoes & potatoes and mix well.

4. Now add the puffed rice, papdi and lemon juice,then  toss(mix) well. 

5. It's time to garnish with crumbled papdi, sev and coriander leaves and mix well.

6. Serve immediately.

Note: There are no hard and fast rules, you can adjust the ingredients according to your liking.

Dahi Puri Recipe

Hey guys today lets make something a lilltle sweet, a little spicy, a little tangy all in all something really yummy!! So here I am with the recipe of Dahi Puri!
Dahi puri is generally served by the road side chaat walas in India and are made with the combination of puri, potato and curd. What makes this super yummy dish more yummy is the different types of chutneys used in it.

For Filling of the Dahi Puri:

Ingredients	Quantity
Puris	20
Mixed Boiled Sprouts(Green peas, whole green gram,Black Chick Peas etc)	4/3 cup
Potatoes (Boiled & Cubed)	4/3 cup
Red Chutney(khajur aur  imli ki chutney)	1/2 cup
Green chutney	1/2 cup
Curds (dahi)	1 & 1/2 cups
Salt	to taste

For Garnishing the Dahi Puri:

Ingredients	Quantity
Sev	1/4 cup
Chilli Powder	1 tea spoon
Cumin Seeds (jeera) Powder Roasted	1 tea spoon
Chopped Coriander	1 table spoon
Chaat masala	1 tea spoon

You can make puri, red chutney and green chutney at home or get readymade.

Preparation Method of Dahi Puri:

1) Take a nice serving plate and arrange the puris in it then make holes in the center of each of the puris for stuffing
2) Simultaneously add salt to the curd ( if you want you can add little sugar to it too)
3) Fill each of the puris with sprouts, potatoes, red chutney, green chutney, and then add curd to it.
4) Pour curd on it and then sprinkle red chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin seed powder and sev
5) Then finally pour little chutneys of both the color i.e red chutney & green chutney and coriander to garnish.

Remember the curd should be chill and well balanced neither too thick nor too thin and now your delicious dish is ready to serve!

Puchka Kolkata Style Recipe

Puchka as it is called in Kolkata is the king of the Bengali style street food. It is the yummiest chat I have ever had and is ever green for all the seasons whether it’s a hot sunny day or a typical tropical rainy day J
Puchka’s for those who don’t know what it is, are Crispy Puffed Little Puris suffed with the spicy masala and tangy water all served together.

 

This easy to eat chat is also easy to make. Try this recipe at home and enjoy the taste of the street food in a hygienic way!

Ingredients for Puchka Water:

Ingredients	Quantity
Water	1500 ml
Tamarind Pulp	1/4 Cup
Black Salt(Kala/Lal Namak)	To Taste
Mint & Coriander	Handful
Green Chili	1 piece
Cumin Powder	1½ Tsp
Coriander Powder	1 Tsp
Pepper	½ Tsp
Red Chili Powder	½ Tsp
Lemon Juice	1 Tsp
Amchoor Powder	1 Tsp

  

Ingredients for Puchka Filling:

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes/ Aaloo (boiled and mashed)	2 cup
Black Chick Peas/kala channa(boiled )	1 cup
Black Salt(Kala/Lal Namak)	2 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder( sukhi lal mirch pici hui)	2 teaspoon
Salt(Namak)	to taste
Moodi Masala (optional)	2 teaspoon

Requirements to Serve Puchka:

• Puris
• Ptalas/Small Platels

Method for Pani:

1) Take a deep bowl

2) Put tamarind pulp (imli ka rass) into it then add all the other ingredients along with the water and blend it.

3) Refrigerate and steer well before serving

Method for Filling:

1) Take a big bowl and add boiled Black Chick Peas (chana) to the potatoes and mash them well together.

2) Then put all the other powders into it and mix it finely

To serve make a little hole in the puris add the masala, dip it into the water and eat it in an authentic road side fashion on a patal (plates made of dry leaves)

Crispy Chaat Puri Recipe

Hey friends I am here to present the most important integral element of the popular chaat item in Indian street food menu - the puri (crispy balls) of the Pani Puri (king of chaats). It’s served in different style and stuffing with various names in different parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.While surfing I was surprise to find out that there are names of pani-puri which I have not even heard of. The list of names I could find is mentioned below:

Phuchka, Phulki, Gup Chup, Paani Poori, Pani ke Bataashe, Pani Ke Patashe,  Pani ki Pakodi, Gol Gappa, Phoolki, Watery Bread, Crisp Sphere Eaten.

You can add to it if I have missed any J

Ingredients	Quantity
semolina (suji/rava)	2 cup
maida (all-purpose flour)	3-4 table spoon
baking soda	1/2 tea spoon
salt	to taste
oil	for frying
water	to knead the dough

Crispy Fried Chaat Puri/ Bataashe Cooking Method:

1)Take a large bowl (parat), add all the dry ingredients and mix it well.

2)Slowly add little-little water and make a stiff dough (Please do not add oil into it or else the puris will become soft as soon as they cool down)

3)Keep it aside for 20-30 minutes by covering it( dough) with a wet cloth

4)Check the dough after 2-30 minutes and knead it once again before making medium size balls(pade) [Always keep the dough covered because dry dough is difficult to roll]

5)Take the rolling board (chakla) and sprinkle some flour on it before placing the ball on it.

6)Then roll the ball into a thin large circle (because if the circle is thick the puris will not puff well)

7)After which cut it into discs with the help of small( 2 inch) biscuit cutter ( vati/bati)

8)Then cut out as many round puris( discs) form the circle as you can from the entire dough and place it properly into a large plate or thali and keep covering  it with a damp cloth because if the puris become dry and they will not puff.

9)After that take oil in a pan ( kadai) and heat it moderately ( if the oil is less hot the puris will soak the oil and if heated more than the puri will be burnt.

10)Test the temperature of the oil by putting one puri in the pan

11)If the oil is heated properly then the puri will puff and turn into golden brown color immediately, in case it is not puffing even after the temperature being moderate the apply a little pressure on the puri with the help of a slotted spoon and turn it( puri) to the other side for it to get cooked from both the sides.

12)You can fry one puri at a time or fry few puris together depending upon the size of your pan( kadai).

13)Once done place the puris on a tissue paper/ kitchen tissue for it to drain.

14)When done store the puris in a container or serve it hot in various forms. The choice is yours J

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