Vada Pav is the street food of common man in India, which originated in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It can possibly be called one of the national, beloved foods of all.A vada pav, served with fried green chillies and cutting chai (Indian tea served in a small transparent cup) is a treat for the most Indian foodies.
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil, add curry leaves, once these splutter, add asafetida, mustard seeds. Saute, add chopped green chillies, grated ginger.
Add mashed potatoes, turmeric, chaat masala (optional) and salt to the above. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Keep the mixture aside.
In a container take gram flour and rice flour. Add salt, turmeric powder. Add water to form thick, but lump free batter. Mix well.
Heat oil. While the oil is being heated, form golf ball sized balls from the potato mixture. Dip it into the batter, such that it covers the potato ball. Let the excess batter drain into the container. When the oil is hot, add few batter covered potato balls in the oil at a time. Switch heat to medium. Once the vadas are golden brown, remove it from the oil and drain it on a paper towel.
While the oil is hot, fry some small green chilies or vertically chopped big ones, remove from oil, sprinkle salt on it. This is served on top or inside the vada pav.
To Assemble:
Take pav. These can either be bought at any Indian grocery store or made at home - recipe link mentioned in the post below) Slit the Pav in half, spread the garlic-peanut chutney (scroll down for recipe) on both the inner surfaces of Pav/bun. Put a vada in between, press the pav from top, and top it with a fried green chili.
Serve it with Indian chai for the best combination! You may optionally add the coriander-mint chutney and tamarind chutney. I did not, as I like the taste of vada pav with just the garlic chutney and green chili.