Vada Pav, also known as the “Indian Burger,” is a popular street food delicacy hailing from the vibrant city of Mumbai. This flavorful dish consists of a spicy potato patty (vada) sandwiched between soft pav buns, accompanied by a medley of chutneys. With its explosive combination of textures and flavors, Vada Pav has captured the hearts and palates of food enthusiasts across the globe. In this recipe blog, I will guide you through the step-by-step process of creating this delectable street food favorite right in your own kitchen.
Origin of Vada Pav
While the exact origin of Vada Pav’s creation is not pinpointed to a specific individual or place, it is the amalgamation of culinary influences from different regions of India that have contributed to its evolution and widespread popularity.
Over time, Vada made its way to the streets of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, where it underwent a transformation and became an integral part of the iconic street food dish called Vada Pav. Mumbai’s bustling street food culture and the affordability of Vada Pav made it a beloved go-to snack for the city’s working-class population.
Vada Pav, with its fusion of flavors and textures, quickly gained immense popularity and became synonymous with Mumbai’s vibrant street food scene. Today, it is considered a quintessential Mumbai street food delicacy, representing the city’s culinary heritage and serving as a delicious on-the-go meal for locals and tourists alike.
How to make Vada Pav?
Make the Dry Garlic Chutney
- Heat a skillet over medium-low flame and add the garlic cloves. Roast them for a minute until they turn slightly brown and the raw smell dissipates. Set them aside on a plate.
- In the same skillet, dry-roast the coconut until it becomes light brown. Transfer it to the plate with the garlic.
- Repeat the process with peanuts and sesame seeds separately, and add them to the plate as well.
- Once the roasted ingredients cool down, add them all to a food processor.
- Add Kashmiri chili powder and salt. Grind them into a coarse powder, ensuring not to make it too fine. Adjust the heat and salt levels according to your taste.
- Transfer the dry garlic chutney into an airtight jar, refrigerate, and use it within 15-20 days.
Making the Potato Vada
- Begin by boiling the potatoes until they are soft. Once cooked, peel and mash them, setting aside the fluffy goodness for later.
- In a pan heated over medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, toss in the cumin seeds and mustard seeds, allowing them to crackle and release their aromatic flavors.
- Now, add the curry leaves and asafoetida, mixing well to infuse the oil with their essence. Next, add the minced green chili peppers to the pan
- If desired, you can also include minced ginger and garlic for an extra kick of flavor. Sauté the mixture for about a minute until the raw smell dissipates. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder and salt, giving it a quick sauté for a few seconds.
- Add mashed potatoes to the pan and, using a potato masher, incorporate them with the aromatic mixture. Next, add the minced green chili peppers to the pan
- Give it a good mix until all the flavors are beautifully combined.
- Form lemon-sized balls out of the potato mixture, setting them aside for the next step.
Creating the Batter and Frying the Vada
- In a large mixing bowl, take gram flour (besan) and add turmeric, salt, and a pinch of baking soda. Gradually pour in water, whisking the mixture to achieve a smooth batter. Adjust the consistency with a few extra tablespoons of water, aiming for a batter that is neither too thick nor too thin.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. It’s time to coat those potato balls with the gram flour batter. Dip each ball into the batter, ensuring they are evenly coated.
- Carefully drop the coated balls into the hot oil, one by one, to maintain the oil’s temperature. Fry the vadas until they turn a glorious golden brown. Once done, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
- For an extra touch of flavor, slit the green chilies lengthwise to prevent them from spluttering. Fry them in the oil until they turn a slightly whiteish hue. Remove them from the oil, drain on a paper towel, and sprinkle with salt. These crispy chilies will make a fantastic garnish.
Assembling the Vada Pav
- Lightly toast the pav buns with some vegan butter on a pan, enhancing their flavor and texture.
- Be sure to slice each bun horizontally, without completely separating the halves, keeping one end attached. On one side of the pav, spread a generous layer of green chutney.
- Generously slather the other side with garlic chutney, imparting a bold and aromatic kick. Place a fried vada, still warm and crispy, in the center of the pav.
Top it off with a single fried chili. Enjoy with some green mint chutney.
If you try my recipes, do let me know. I would love to see how you have prepared these recipes.
Check out my other recipes:
- BEANS MASALA SANDWICH – QUICK VEGAN LUNCH
- Tofu Masala Sandwich
- Easy Vegan Tuna Sandwich
Vada Pav Recipe – Mumbai Street-style
Ingredients1x2x3x
Vada/potato patty
- 2-3 green chilies minced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida also known as hing
- 12-15 curry leaves
- 4 medium potatoes around 600 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
For batter
- 1 cup gram flour/besan sub with chickpea flour
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch baking soda
- 1/2 cup water + 1-2 tablespoons extra as needed
Other ingredients
- 10 ladi pav or dinner rolls
- 10 green chillies to fry and garnish
- vegetable oil for frying
- vegan butter for toasting
Dry Garlic Chutney
- 12 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup Peanuts or 36.5 grams
- 3 tablespoon Sesame seeds or 27 grams
- 1/2 cup fresh or dessicated Coconut or 50 grams
- 1.5 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
Instructions
Make the Garlic Chutney
- Heat a skillet on medium-low flame and add the garlic cloves. Roast them for a minute.
- Let the garlic turn a little brown in color and the raw smell of the garlic goes away. Set it aside on a plate.
- Then dry-roast the coconut in the same skillet till it becomes light brown in color and set it aside on the plate with the garlic.
- Continue with the peanuts and sesame seeds separately and set them on the plate as well.
- Once roasted ingredients cool down, add them all to a food processor.
- Add the Kashmiri chili powder and salt to this.
- Grind them to a coarse powder, making sure not to make them fine. Adjust the heat and salt level to taste.
- Transfer this dry garlic chutney into an air-tight jar, refrigerate, and use it within 15-20 days.
For the Vada:
- Boil the potatoes until soft, peel and mash them, and set them aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the curry leaves and asafoetida and mix well.
- Add the minced green chili peppers (optionally add minced ginger and garlic). Cook for about a minute until it no longer smells raw, add turmeric and salt and saute for a few seconds.
- Then add boiled potatoes and mashed potatoes, using a potato masher to mash them in. Switch off the heat and add chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon juice, and mix well.
- Then, make lemon-sized balls out of this potato mixture and set aside.
Make the batter to coat the vada:
- In a large mixing bowl, take gram flour/besan. Add turmeric, salt, and a pinch of baking soda to it. Start adding water, little by little to the bowl.
- Whisk to form a smooth batter. You may need a couple of extra tablespoons of water to reach the right consistency. The batter should be neither too viscous nor too thin.
Fry the vada
- Heat oil in a wok on medium-high heat. Dip each potato ball into the gram-flour batter, and coat it evenly.
- Drop them carefully into the hot oil. Drop them one by one and not altogether to prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping.
- Fry the vada in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Remove from the oil and let them drain on a paper towel.
- Once the vadas are done frying, slit the green chilies (to help air from the inside to escape and not splutter in the oil) and drop them in the oil. We want the exterior to get crispy. Once they become sort of whiteish, remove them from the oil, drain the oil on a paper towel, and sprinkle salt on them. They make a great hot garnish.
Assemble the Vada Pav
- To assemble the vada pav, toast the pav with some butter on a pan (if you wish). Then slice each pav until the other end, but not entirely. making sure it is still attached at one end.
- Apply green chutney on one side and add garlic chutney.
- Place the fried vada in the center, with a single fried chili on top. Serve the vada pav hot with more chutney on the side!
Nutrition
This cake is inspired by the traditional dessert: Gulab Jamun, made with plant-based ingredients that are just as delicious and indulgent as the original. In this blog post, I will show you how to make this vegan version of Gulab Jamun Cake that is sure to impress your friends and family while being kind to animals and the planet. So let’s get started!
Why Gulab Jamun Cake?
Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian dessert that is traditionally made from deep-fried milk solids balls that are soaked in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom and rose water. It is a rich and indulgent dessert that is typically reserved for special occasions and festivals.
However, for those who follow a vegan lifestyle, traditional Gulab Jamun is off-limits as it contains dairy products like milk and ghee. Don’t worry though, because I already have a vegan Gulab Jamun recipe here on the blog! But if you don’t want to individually shape the gulab jams or spend time soaking them in syrup then I have an amazing solution for you – Vegan Gulab Jamun Cake!
How to serve Vegan Gulab Jamun Cake?
Well, if you want to go all out, you can serve a warm slice with some vegan ice cream the way it is enjoyed in India when you want something super indulgent. You could also just enjoy a slice by itself or with a cup of masala chai.
Ingredients you’ll need to bake this cake
Here’s a list of ingredients you need to make this recipe. You can find exact measurements in the printable recipe card below.
- Slices of white bread : This is the ingredient I usually use to replace “Khoya” or milk solids in Indian dessert recipes.
- Cashews : 2nd half of the “Khoya” substitute, cashews provides the fatty richness that makes this dessert moist and soft.
- Soy milk : You can sub with other plant-based milks but then don’t bring the wet mixture to a boil in that case. Other plant-milks tend to curdle at higher temperatures.
- Brown sugar : I used brown sugar here to provide the classic brownish color of gulab jamuns to this cake. You can use white sugar instead but the cake will have a lighter color.
- Baking powder : To help rise the cake
- Neutral oil : Used in a very small amount to make the cake moist.
- Ground cardamom seeds : Classic spice used to spice up the Gulab Jamun syrup
- Few strands of saffron : You can skip this if you don’t have it
- Rose water/Gulab jal : No Gulab Jamun is complete with a tiny splash of gulab jal!
How to store this Gulab Jamun cake?
This Vegan Gulab Jamun cake can be stored for up to a week in an air tight container in the fridge. The slices can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove from the freeze the night prior to consumption and let ti slow-thaw in the refrigerator.
If you try out this recipe then definitely send me some pictures on Instagram .
Other dessert recipes for you to try:
- Vegan Gulab Jamun
- Vegan Spiced Plum cake recipe
- Vegan Cardamom Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- Cardamom Snickerdoodle Cookies
Easy Vegan Gulab Jamun Cake
Ingredients1x2x3x
- 7 slices white bread 1 slice of about 35 g so total weight: 245 g
- ½ cup cashews 70-80 grams or 2.5-2.8 ounces
- 1 cup soy milk 240 ml or 8 oz
- ½ cup water 118 ml or 4 oz, plus more if required
- 1 cup brown sugar 200 grams or 7.05 ounces
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup oil 55 grams or 2 ounces
- ½ tsp ground cardamom seeds
- Few strands of saffron
- 1 tbsp rose water/Gulab jal
Optional Garnish
- ¼ cup pistachios chopped
Instructions
- Start by adding the cashews, soy milk, water, sugar, cardamom, and saffron to a pot and place it on the stove on medium heat.
- Bring it to a boil, be careful to stir a few times to prevent the bottom from burning, and immediately switch off the heat.
- Let it slowly cool down (this helps soften the cashews without the need for multiple bowls. Alternatively you can soak the cashews overnight, drain and add to this mixture after boiling).
- While the mixture cools down, Turn your oven on to 180C/350F.
- Then take 7 slices of white bread and blend/process it to a fine powder.
- Add this white bread powder to a large mixing bowl.
- Add baking powder to this and stir it in with a spatula.
- Once the cashew spice milk mixture cools down, add the rose water, pour it into a blender, and blend smooth.
- Pour this into the bread powder and stir to combine everything well with a spatula.
- The bread powder will absorb the liquid and you will get a thick batter.
- Pour it into a well-oiled cake pan (bundt or otherwise).
- Place into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, covering the pan with an aluminium foil halfway through to prevent the top from burning.
- Do the crumb test by inserting a long toothpick to see if the centre is cooked. This cake is moister than regular cakes so you will have more crumbs sticking to the toothpick.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely before removing from the pan.
- Top with chopped pistachios and serve with some ice cream or a side of coffee/vegan chai!
Nutrition
These fluffy vegan banana pancakes are inspired by the deep-fried Indian pancakes in India called Malpua. It uses a combination of whole fennel seeds, cardamom, and poppy seeds to flavor the pancakes and makes this taste exotic and delicious. You are in for a treat, my friend!
You can also choose to make my spiced syrup to pour on these fluffy vegan pancakes!
Why Spiced Banana Pancakes?
So, some time back, I kinda never understood the hype after pancakes. They did not taste phenomenal, and neither did they fill me up for breakfast. And it’s not that I didn’t try! I was curious to see why the Americans (and in turn all of social media) raved about it so much.
So I tried making regular pancakes, protein pancakes, and pumpkin spiced pancakes etc., partially also because I was also trying to fit into the vegan foodie space and saw a lot of oatmeal and vegan pancake situations going on. I then gave up. I mean if I needed a base to add toppings to, I would rather choose bread. Like a really good toasted sourdough, you know? I can’t be the only one!
Anyway, then I decided to change my strategy. Instead of trying to force myself to like things that were clearly attached to childhood nostalgia for most people, I decided to use the tool I have at hand: SPICES. I don’t mean chili peppers! But real whole spices. Say hello to my spiced, super Fluffy Vegan Banana pancakes spiced with real whole spices.
This whole fennel seed-cardamom-white poppy version is what really turned me into a pancake lover now.
I could eat this all day!
Ingredients and substitutions for Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes:
So I went with basic vegan banana pancake ingredients and then flavored it.
Basic ingredients:
- All purpose flour : You can easily sub with with whole wheat flour. Just know that the pancakes could be denser.
- Baking powder : Levener to make thee rise and fluff up.
- Ripe banana : Acts as a binder and natural sweetener for these vegan pancakes. I don’t add any other sweetener. If your banana is not ripe enough, then add a teaspoon of sugar into the batter.
- Plant milk : I used Soy milk, but feel free to use another type of plant milk.
Spices for the pancakes:
- Whole fennel seeds : We add half crushed and half whole seeds to enjoy the variety of flavor profiles obtained by changing the flavor extraction method (to learn more about spices, join my cooking courses 😉)
- Cardamom seeds : You can sub with pre-powdered cardamom, but the taste won’t be as
- White poppy seeds : Adds a unique nuttiness to the flavor. You can choose to skip it out.
For sugar syrup: Sugar, water, cardamom, saffron strands
Spiced Banana Pancake variations
To change up the spices you can use cinnamon, saffron, anise, cloves, or just cardamom
For spiced chocolate chip pancakes , add 1 cup of non-dairy chocolate chips to the batter.
For spiced berry pancakes , add around a cup of fresh or frozen berries to the batter.
How to store these Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes
These vegan pancakes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, in an airtight container. Simply reheat in the microwave or toaster oven until warm.
These pancakes also freeze really well! Make sure to let them cool completely, then stack them in a large ziplock bag. Try to get most of the air out of the bag, close it, and freeze. To reheat, pop them in a toaster oven or a microwave until warm with your favorite toppings.
Other breakfast recipes to try:
- Healthy Vegetable Pancakes – Vegan, Gluten-Free
- Mango Basil Breakfast Pudding
- Mango Cardamom Nice-cream
Fluffy Vegan Banana Pancakes – Spiced with Fennel, and Cardamom
Ingredients1x2x3x
For Pancakes:
- 1 banana
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp Kala namak or black salt use a pinch of regular salt instead
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 1 tsp fennel seeds divided
- ½ tsp White poppy seeds
- ½ tsp ground cardamom seeds
- oil for cooking
For sugar syrup:
- 1½ cup sugar
- 1½ cup water
- ½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds
- Few strands of saffron optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl sift in 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp kala namak, ½ tsp whole fennel, ¼ tsp crushed cardamom seeds, baking powder.
- In a blender add 1 banana and 1 cup milk and ½ tsp fennel seeds.
- Blend it smooth and transfer the banana smoothie mix to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix it well.
- Make sure the batter is lump-free and set it aside to rest for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup. In a pan, add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, a few strands of saffron, and 1 tsp ground cardamom seeds.
- Bring this to a rolling boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- After 5 minutes or until the sugar syrup turns sticky in consistency, turn off the heat. Check doneness by doing the string test. If by touching with the tip of your index and thumb finger and pulling apart gets you a single string, then it is ready. If not, keep boiling it some more.
- Now heat up a seasoned skillet.
- Pour a ladle-full of the batter and cook one side on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, or until you see bubbles on top.
- Flip and cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes until you have golden brown sides.
- Repeat for the rest of the batter.
- Stack the pancakes on a plate, pour over the spiced sugar syrup, top with chopped pistachios and enjoy!
Nutrition
Vada Pav Recipe - Mumbai Street-style
Ingredients1x2x3x
Vada/potato patty
- 2-3 green chilies minced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida also known as hing
- 12-15 curry leaves
- 4 medium potatoes around 600 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
For batter
- 1 cup gram flour/besan sub with chickpea flour
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pinch baking soda
- 1/2 cup water + 1-2 tablespoons extra as needed
Other ingredients
- 10 ladi pav or dinner rolls
- 10 green chillies to fry and garnish
- vegetable oil for frying
- vegan butter for toasting
Dry Garlic Chutney
- 12 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup Peanuts or 36.5 grams
- 3 tablespoon Sesame seeds or 27 grams
- 1/2 cup fresh or dessicated Coconut or 50 grams
- 1.5 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
Instructions
Make the Garlic Chutney
- Heat a skillet on medium-low flame and add the garlic cloves. Roast them for a minute.
- Let the garlic turn a little brown in color and the raw smell of the garlic goes away. Set it aside on a plate.
- Then dry-roast the coconut in the same skillet till it becomes light brown in color and set it aside on the plate with the garlic.
- Continue with the peanuts and sesame seeds separately and set them on the plate as well.
- Once roasted ingredients cool down, add them all to a food processor.
- Add the Kashmiri chili powder and salt to this.
- Grind them to a coarse powder, making sure not to make them fine. Adjust the heat and salt level to taste.
- Transfer this dry garlic chutney into an air-tight jar, refrigerate, and use it within 15-20 days.
For the Vada:
- Boil the potatoes until soft, peel and mash them, and set them aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the curry leaves and asafoetida and mix well.
- Add the minced green chili peppers (optionally add minced ginger and garlic). Cook for about a minute until it no longer smells raw, add turmeric and salt and saute for a few seconds.
- Then add boiled potatoes and mashed potatoes, using a potato masher to mash them in. Switch off the heat and add chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon juice, and mix well.
- Then, make lemon-sized balls out of this potato mixture and set aside.
Make the batter to coat the vada:
- In a large mixing bowl, take gram flour/besan. Add turmeric, salt, and a pinch of baking soda to it. Start adding water, little by little to the bowl.
- Whisk to form a smooth batter. You may need a couple of extra tablespoons of water to reach the right consistency. The batter should be neither too viscous nor too thin.
Fry the vada
- Heat oil in a wok on medium-high heat. Dip each potato ball into the gram-flour batter, and coat it evenly.
- Drop them carefully into the hot oil. Drop them one by one and not altogether to prevent the temperature of the oil from dropping.
- Fry the vada in hot oil until they turn golden brown. Remove from the oil and let them drain on a paper towel.
- Once the vadas are done frying, slit the green chilies (to help air from the inside to escape and not splutter in the oil) and drop them in the oil. We want the exterior to get crispy. Once they become sort of whiteish, remove them from the oil, drain the oil on a paper towel, and sprinkle salt on them. They make a great hot garnish.
Assemble the Vada Pav
- To assemble the vada pav, toast the pav with some butter on a pan (if you wish). Then slice each pav until the other end, but not entirely. making sure it is still attached at one end.
- Apply green chutney on one side and add garlic chutney.
- Place the fried vada in the center, with a single fried chili on top. Serve the vada pav hot with more chutney on the side!
