kook eazy: Vada pav, potato fritters in dinner rolls, Indian street food

Vada pav, potato fritters in dinner rolls, Indian street food

Vada pav is an awesome vegetarian alternative to burgers. This does take a little time to put together in all its glory. If you are planning to make it all homemade, better start off a day before. The chutneys -those yummy, spicy condiments- will stay fresh in your refrigerator for 2-3 days and even longer in your freezer.

I made the pav bread using this recipe.

http://cookingshooking.in/pav-buns-recipe-eb/

The bread was very tasty and spongy even though I made it with whole wheat flour. Making the bread was easier for me because I just dumped all the ingredients into my food processor and kneaded it for 5-7 minutes in speed 5. From there, I followed the recipe exactly.

Soak dates and tamarind for chutney. Boil the potatoes or microwave till soft. Peel and cube. Chop ginger, garlic, green chillies and coriander. Heat oil in a wok or kadai. Add the mustard, let it splutter. Add asafoetida, turmeric, salt and all the chopped herbs and sauté over medium heat for about a minute. Add potatoes and coriander. Combine well mashing potatoes roughly. Set aside to cool. Shape into 15-16 balls.

Combine the dry ingredients for the batter well. Add water slowly making sure no lumps are formed. The batter should coat your finger but not very thick.

Heat oil in a wok for deep frying. Dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry till golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

Now is the time to make chutneys if you have not done it the day before. Start with the garlic chutney. That needs some cooking.

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry the garlic over low heat till golden brown. Add the coconut and continue frying till the coconut turns light brown. Add the chilli powder and salt. Grind coarsely in a food processor till mixed well.

The next chutneys do not need to be cooked. So, just chop up the ingredients and puree in the blender.