Vada pav, Mumbai’s iconic street food, is a perfect snack for people in a hurry. It’s affordable, quick and convenient, portable, filling and satisfying, and totally delicious. Vada pav stalls in Mumbai are everywhere, so you never have to go hungry. Mumbai vada pav stands are clustered outside local railway stations, feeding armies of commuters—from factory workers to students, from officer goers to shoppers.
The origins of the vada pav recipe are generally traced to 1966 or 1971 (there is some confusion about the dates) when Ashok Vaidya, operating a food stall near Dadar station, handed a hungry and harried customer a fat batata vada (crispy deep-fried potato patty) shoved into a chutney-slathered pav (bun bread, slider bun) which the man could eat on the go. The vada pav was an instant hit and thus was born the Bombay vada pav, one of Mumbai’s most beloved and popular snacks.
The traditional Mumbai ka vada pav is now available in a myriad of new experimental avatars, like Schezwan vada pav, nacho vada pav (topped with tortilla chips), sweetcorn vada pav, and the fancy ‘slider’ with salsa. There is even a Pav Day on August 23 that celebrates this Indian or Bombay burger.
The soft, chewy pav and the crispy, deep-fried spicy, piquant vada offer a wonderful contrast in taste and texture, enhanced by the taste of the three accompanying chutneys—spicy green coriander chutney (tikhi chutney), sweet tamarind and date chutney (meethi chutney), and dry garlic coconut chutney (sukha masala). This marriage of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours makes for an irresistible vada pav.
The process of how to make vada pav at home may seem daunting and time consuming because of the multiple steps involved, but our Mumbai vada pav recipe shows you how to enjoy the delights of this yummy dish step by step. With a little bit of planning, you can relish this mouth-watering street food for breakfast, lunch, or teatime. Wash down your vada pav with piping hot masala chai or coffee, or a cooling lime soda.
For best results, make sure the boiled and mashed potatoes are moisture free. If there is any residual moisture, heat the mashed potatoes in a pan for 2–3 minutes.
For really crisp vadas, add baking soda and 1 tbsp of rice flour to the besan (gram flour) batter.
Whisk well to form a lump-free, smooth-flowing batter. Generously coat the vadas in the batter.
Fry on medium heat till the vadas turn golden and crisp. Place the fried vadas on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.
Serve the vada pav immediately after deep frying and assembling. To serve later, warm the vadas in a pre-heated oven or deep-fry them again for 1 minute.
Add green chutney (tikha chutney), tamarind chutney (meethi chutney) and dry spicy garlic chutney (sukha masala) according to your taste, but do not overload these condiments in the vada pav. Otherwise you could end up with soggy pav.
Flatten the vadas slightly with the pav so they can sit properly within the pav.
Slit the green chillies just a bit before frying them; this is an important step to avoid the chillies .
Learn how to make Mumbai style Vada Pav recipe step by step by watching our vada pav recipe video and seeing all our vada pav images that show all techniques. Read our vada pav recipe below for all ingredients and detailed cooking methods.
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Or take a look at all our Street Food recipes right here!