Vada pav

Vada pav is a vegetarian fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. A simple creation involving a deep fried potato patty with some coriander and spices..Place the hot vada in between the pav. 
Whether you are travelling to Shirdi Sai or Mumbai or any part of Maharashtra your trip would be incomplete without having a bite at this popular snacks..Its been few years we moved out of Pune but my taste bud always looks for it and when ever I get a chance I prepare for evening snacks for it ends up as dinner too :)
Follow the recipe and make your own Vada Pav

For batata vada:

2-3 large size potatoes boiled and mashed
asafoetida- a pinch
mustarad and cumin seeds- 1tsp
curry leaves a few
2 garlic pod chopped
2 green chillies chopped
few coriander leaves chopped
red chilli powder- 1tsp
turmeric powder- 1tsp
salt to taste 
oil- 1-2 tblsp


for outer cover

3/4 cup besan/ cheak pea flour
1tblsp rice flour (optional)
water as required ( Batter should be thick not runny)
salt as required
ajwain/ carum seeds 1tsp
Pinch of baking soda
1tsp red chilli powder
pinch of turmeric

Oil for deep frying the vadas

Dry garlic chutney
6-8 Pav Buns
2tblsp oil/butter for roasting the buns

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds.let it splutter.
Add curry leaves and asafoitida. 
Add chopped garlic,chili and saute for a minute. Add turmeric , red chilli powder to oil. immediately add the mashed potatoes to it. adjust salt. saute for 5 mins on low-medium flame. add chopped coriander leaves and mix properly. Let it cool.

Now make lemon size balls from the potato mixture.


Take a bowl. Mix all the ingredients given  for preparation of outer Covering. Add water slowly and mix with hand or hand beater. This batter has to be thick.

Now Frying vada:

Dip the potato balls in batter and add it to hot oil.
Fry the vadas in medium to high flame till the vadas become golden brown in colour .Now vada for vada pav is ready.
  

Heat a pan or Griddle. Cut them in half. Apply oil or butter to both side of the bun . Now roast the buns. Apply Garlic chutney in between the buns (You can also add green chutney or dates and tamarind chutney to the pav ).

Place vada pav. add chopped onions . Gently press using your palm and serve with garlic chutney and tomato ketchup.

Your vada pav is now ready to devour.

Batata Vada

Batata Vada  is a popular Indian vegetarian fast food in Maharashtra, India. It literally means potato fritters. The name "Batata" means potato . It consists of a potato mash patty coated with chick pea flour, then deep-fried and served hot with savory condiments called chutney. They can be placed within  pav or bun. You simply can not have just one... So here is the step wise recipe of Batata Vada..

For Batata vada:

2-3 large size potatoes boiled and mashed
asafoetida- a pinch
mustarad and cumin seeds- 1tsp
curry leaves a few
2 garlic pod chopped
2 green chillies chopped
few coriander leaves chopped
red chilli powder- 1tsp
turmeric powder- 1tsp
salt to taste 
oil- 1-2 tblsp


for outer cover

3/4 cup besan/ cheak pea flour
1tblsp rice flour (optional)
water as required ( Batter should be thick not runny)
salt as required
ajwain/ carum seeds 1tsp
Pinch of baking soda
1tsp red chilli powder
pinch of turmeric

Oil for deep frying the vadas

Dry garlic chutney
6-8 Pav Buns
2tblsp oil/butter for roasting the buns

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds.let it splutter.
Add curry leaves and asafoitida. 
Add chopped garlic,chili and saute for a minute. Add turmeric , red chilli powder to oil. immediately add the mashed potatoes to it. adjust salt. saute for 5 mins on low-medium flame. add chopped coriander leaves and mix properly. Let it cool.

Now make lemon size balls from the potato mixture.

Take a bowl. Mix all the ingredients given  for preparation of outer Covering. Add water slowly and mix with hand or hand beater. This batter has to be thick.

Now Frying vada:

Dip the potato balls in batter and add it to hot oil.
Fry the vadas in medium to high flame till the vadas become golden brown in colour .

Your Vada is ready..you can have it with tomato ketchup and garlic chutney or simply place in pav and enjoy.

Dry Garlic chutney

Garlic chutney is made from fresh garlic, dry coconut, groundnuts and red chilies,
For vada pav, garlic chutney is must have ingredient.





Today we will learn how to make garlic chutney ...so friends here is recipe...


Ingredients Required:
Dry coconut powder - 1 cup 
1/4th cup sesame seeds
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
Kashmiri Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 8 nos
Salt - as needed
sugar- 1tsp (optional)

Method:

Grind the above ingredients and make sure to keep it coarse.
Your chutney is ready to use..
Now add it to a airtight container. You can store upto 2 wks in a refrigerator.

Bhel Puri

Bhel puri  is a savory Indian snack made out of puffed rice, papdi, sev, crunchy  veggies , tangy  sauces and addition of raw mango (finely chopped) in bhel puri enhances the flavor. My family  always love having this for snack or for dinner.. Healthy easy to prepare, perfect in taste and spice just  loved it..Just follow the recipe and make your own bhel Puri in few minutes...

Ingredients:

Puffed rice/ murmura - 2 cups ( for making the masala murmura u need 1-2 tblsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, handful curry leaves, asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1tsp chilli powder, this procedure is completely optional but I bet u will love  after making bhel with these masala coated bhel))

Green chutney - 2 tsp
Tamarind and date chutney - 3-4 tbsp
Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Tomato - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Lemon juice - as per requirement
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
madras mix mixture (Optional)
Roasted Peanuts  - 1/4th cup
raw mango- 2 tblsp finely chopped (If it is a mango season otherwise u can skip it)
Papdi - 8-10 nos broken roughly
Boiled potato (Optional) - 1 cup chopped into chunks
Sev - 1/2 cup

Method:

Heat 2 tblsp oil a big Kadhai or pan. Add mustard seeds when they starts crackling add the curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder, chilli powder and immediately add bhel. Saute for 5-6 min on a low- medium flame till the masalas are well coated with the bhel. Now switch off the flame and let it cool completely.
 I Like my bhel in this way..The strong smell of asafoetida and the crispiness of bhel is just irresistible. 

Take a large bowl so that you shall be able to mix all the ingredients.

Add murmura , peanuts, papadi, madras mix, lemon juice,chaat masala ,chopped onions, tomatoes, raw mangoes and coriander leaves and mix well. 
 add diced boiled potatoes. Now add green chutney and tamarind chutney. Just remember, the tamarind chutney should be thick, not watery. Mix them well. Now sprinkle some sev on the top.
 
Serve immediately . Enjoy your homemade bhel Puri..Yummm....

Dabeli

Dabeli or Kutchi dabeli is a snack food of India, originating in the Kutch or Kachchh region of Gujarat. It is a spicy snack made by mixing boiled potatoes with a dabeli masala, and putting the mixture between pav (burger bun) and served with chutneys made from tamarind, date, garlic, red chilies, etc. and garnished with pomegranate and roasted peanuts.

Another yummy snack was pending for long time to be tried in my kitchen until recently. Opportunity arrived when my turn came for our society afternoon tea party (weekly summer event for get-together). Me and another friend prepared around 40-45 dabeli for the entire gal gang and it was a hit that afternoon. Sadly summer time is getting over and we will miss our party till next year..but Dabeli would be tried many times till then I am sure :)

Ingredients


For The Dabeli Masala
2 red chillis
1 tsp coriander  seeds
1/2" stick cinnamon, 2 cloves  
1/2 tsp cumin seeds

For The Filling
3 medium size potatoes boiled and mashed 
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tblsp dabeli masala
3 tbsp dates and tamarind chutney
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

for garlic chutney

2-3 red chillies soaked in water
8-10 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp oil
1tblsp lemon juice
salt as per taste

Other Ingredients
5 dabei/ burger buns
butter or for cooking

To Serve
1 onion  chopped
1/2 cup spicy roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup thin  sev
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate
 fresh garlic chutney as required
 sweet tamarind dates chutney as required

Method 

1st step is to prepare the dabeli masala
Roast all the ingredients given above for dabeli masala in a pan for 2 to 3 minutes. let it cool and Grind it to a fine powder in a blender.

For the filling

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they started spluttering, add  asafoetida, mix dabeli masala and dates tamarind chutney together and add it to the oil. Saute for 10-15 sec. Add mashed potato, salt as per the taste and ½ cup of water and mix well.

Remove from the fire, add the 2 tablespoons of tamarind dates chutney and mix well. Keep aside.


Now to prepare garlic chutney..
grind red chilli and garlic together to a fine paste. add salt and lemon juice mix well. keep aside.
Now take a big flat bowl. Place the potato mixture first. Then add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Add coconuts, pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander leaves on top.








How to proceed

Slice the burger buns into halves horizontally and cook the buns in a pan using a little butter/ oil. Apply tamarind dates chutney to lower half of the bun and garlic chutney to the upper half of the bun.







Place a portion of the potato filling on the lower half of each bun.
Top with the chopped onion, sev, if u want u can sprinkle some pomegranate seeds. Sandwich it with the top halves of the burger buns.








NB: I have used store bought peanuts. But if u want to prepare it at home here is the recipe. Heat 1 tblsp oil in a pan add asafoetida and then peanuts,  fry till they get slight brown in colour. now switch off the flame add red chilli powder and salt to taste. your roasted peanut is ready.