If there is one dish that captures the soul of Mumbai in a single bite, it is vada pav. This iconic Indian street food is a crispy, golden batata vada (spiced mashed potato fritter) tucked inside a soft pav with a generous smear of dry garlic chutney and bright green coriander chutney. The good news? You do not need to fly to Mumbai to experience it. This vada pav recipe gives you the real thing, made from scratch in just one hour in your own kitchen.
My introduction to Vada Pav was when I visited Mumbai for the first time in my senior year of college. It was everywhere and was not a snack or a street food per se - it was an event, eaten standing up, paper in hand, oil still sizzling.
That same love for bold Indian street flavors is what inspired recipes like my papdi chaat recipe and this crowd-favorite aloo tikki slider — because the best food always tells a story, and this one is Mumbai's greatest.
🔎Vada Pav Recipe at a Glance
- ⏱️ Total Time: 1 hour (30 min prep + 30 min cook)
- 👨🍳 Skill Level: Easy
- 🍽️ Yield: 8 vada pavs
- 🌶️ Cuisine: Indian, Maharashtrian, Mumbai Street Food
- 🥔 Star Ingredient: Batata vada — spiced mashed potato fritter in a crispy chickpea flour (besan) batter
- 🔥 Spice Level: Medium (adjustable — reduce green chilies for mild)
- 🌿 Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-Free
- ⚡ Make-Ahead: Yes — chutneys and potato filling can be made 2–3 days ahead
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🍔What is Vada Pav?
Vada pav — also spelled wada pav or wada pao — is Mumbai's most iconic street food and India's authentic burger. Often called the Indian burger or Bombay burger, it is a crispy, deep-fried spiced potato fritter (batata vada) nestled inside a soft Indian dinner roll known as pav, generously layered with chutneys.
At its heart, vada pav is simple street food — affordable, satisfying, and the kind of thing you eat standing up and immediately want another one of.
✨What you'll love about this recipe?
- Authentic Mumbai street-style — the real batata vada (spiced mashed potato balls dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep fried) technique, not a shortcut version
- Vegan and naturally gluten-free (batata vada only) — skip the pav for a GF option
- Make-ahead friendly — prep pav, chutneys and potato filling 2–3 days ahead
- Grab and Go - no utensils needed to enjoy this yummy meal.
📋Recipe Ingredients
For batata vada (mashed potato fritter):
- Potatoes - you will need potatoes that have been boiled and peeled. My favorite way to boil potatoes is in a pressure cooker or instant pot (read details in my garlic mashed potatoes recipe). Using russet or yukon gold would be my recommendation.
- Spices and aromatics - for tempering the mashed potatoes, you will need mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, roasted cumin powder, ginger garlic paste (with or without green chili), salt, lemon juice, and sugar.
- Chickpea flour batter - the batter is made with chickpea flour or besan that is spiced with red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and salt, baking soda, oil and water.
- Oil - to deed fry. Use any neutral tasting oil.
For serving:
- Pav - Use of Indian dinner rolls or ladi pav is traditional. Dinner rolls or slider buns work outside India.
- Butter - use salted butter to toast the pavs. If making the recipe vegan, you can skip it or use a vegan alternative.
- Chutneys - use homemade cilantro chutney. Use of garlic chutney and tamarind chutney is pretty common as well.
- Green chili - slit green chili and deep fry. Tuck it inside the vada pav and serve. Totally optional!!!
Don't forget to check out the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients along with the quantities.
👩🍳Steps to make this recipe
This recipe does not account for the time to boil the potatoes. So, plan ahead, and have boiled and peeled potatoes ready. You can make a batch of cilantro chutney at home or buy it. I have included how to make dry garlic chutney below but you can also buy dry garlic chutney (that is what I usually do).
Peel the potatoes and mash them lightly. Make a paste of ginger, garlic, and green chili (if using). You can make it in a mortar pestle or use the fine side of a box grater.
Prepare the batata vada stuffing
Step 1: Heat oil in a frying pan. Once hot and shiny, lower the heat and add mustard seeds and leaves from a sprig of curry leaves. Once the leaves are crisp, add ginger garlic and green chili paste. Cook for a minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away.
Step 2: Add turmeric, and toasted cumin powders, mix and cook for 15 seconds or until the spices are slightly toasted. Add the mashed potatoes, salt, sugar and lemon/lime juice.
Step 3: Give everything a good mix, taste and adjust seasoning. Turn the heat off, add chopped cilantro and give a good mix. Set the batata vada mixture aside to cool.
Make the batter
Step 4: In a mixing add all the ingredients of the chickpea flour batter - chickpea flour (besan), salt, turmeric, red chili, baking soda, and oil.
Step 5: Make a smooth and lump free batter by adding water, little bit at a time. Your batter should be slightly thinner than pancake batter.
Form the vadas and fry
Step 6: Set a small wok (kadahi) or deep pan with enough oil to deep fry on high heat. While the oil is heating up, divide the spiced mashed potato mixture (which should be cool to handle by now) in 12 equal parts and form into ping pong size balls.
Step 7: Test if the oil is hot by dropping a drop of batter and if it sizzles and rises to surface of the oil, you are good to go. Take a mashed potato ball, coat it in the chickpea flour (besan) batter and carefully drop it in the hot oil.
Step 8: Let the batata vada fry untouched for 2 minutes. If you touch it sooner the ball might break.
Step 7: After 2 minutes, stir the batata vadas around and fry until the bubbles subside. Remove the vadas with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until the vadas have been fried.
Assemble the vada pav
Step 8: Slit the pav from the middle and toast it in a skillet with butter (just like for keema pav). Slather one side of a toasted pav with cilantro chutney and the spread some dry garlic chutney on the other side. Put a fried batata vada between the slices, top with a fried green chili (optional) and enjoy!!
💡Vaishali's Tips!
- ♨️Do not overcrowd the pan - fry 3–4 vadas at a time. Do not overcrowd — the oil temperature will drop and the vadas will absorb oil rather than crisping. Fry for 3–4 minutes until deep golden brown on all sides, turning once midway. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- 🌡️Oil temperature - maintain 180°C/350°F consistently — use a thermometer or the batter-drop test between batches.
- 👨🏽🍳The Mumbai vendor method - press the assembled vada pav together firmly before handing it over — this compresses everything and makes the first bite even better.
- 🌶Fried green chili - pierce each green chili with a knife tip to prevent it from bursting. Fry in hot oil (the same oil from the vadas) for 30–60 seconds until blistered and slightly charred. Sprinkle with salt. Served alongside vada pav — eat it between bites or tucked inside the sandwich for the full Mumbai experience.
- 🥔Use starchy potatoes - Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes mash to a dry, fluffy texture that holds its shape when fried.
- 🥖Pav quality matters - Homemade or Indian bakery pav (ladi pav) is softer and slightly sweet — perfect for absorbing chutneys. You can use any soft dinner rolls - I personally like brioche slider buns. Avoid crusty rolls.
🫙Storage and make ahead instructions
Vada pav is at its absolute best the moment it's assembled. But smart prep makes serving a crowd completely manageable:
- Potato filling - can be made 2–3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. When ready to fry, make balls and coat in the batter.
- Fried batata vadas - taste best when freshly fried. Leftover vadas can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two and re-fried or air fry at 350°F/180°C for 5 min.
- Chutneys - the chutneys can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
❓FAQs
Yes — traditional vada pav is 100% vegan. The batata vada is made with potatoes, besan (chickpea flour), and plant-based spices. Indian pav is typically an eggless dinner roll. The only non-vegan element is the butter that is used to toast the pav; simply skip it or use vegan butter to make the entire dish fully vegan.
Batata vada is the potato fritter alone — spiced mashed potatoes shaped into ping pong size balls and deep-fried in a besan batter. It can be eaten as a standalone snack with chutney. Vada pav is the complete assembled dish: the batata vada placed inside a pav with chutneys, and an optional fried green chili alongside.
The three most common reasons could be (1) The batter is too thin — add more besan and re-tes, (2) The oil isn't hot enough — the vadas absorb oil and steam rather than frying, and (3) The pan is overcrowded — which drops oil temperature rapidly. Fry in small batches of 3–4 vadas maximum. Adding a pinch of baking soda to the batter also helps create a lighter, crispier shell.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you liked it! Share it on Instagram with the hashtag #thekitchendocs or share on Facebook, too.
Love – Vaishali
Authentic Mumbai Vada Pav
Ingredients
For Batata Vada Mixture
- 2 large potatoes (about 2.5 cups mashed) boiled, peeled and mashed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves leaves stripped and stem discarded
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic green chili paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
For Chickpea Flour Batter
- 1 cup besan or chickpea flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder optional
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup water plus 2 tablespoon if needed
- Oil for deep frying
To assemble
- 12 Pavs or dinner rolls
- Green coriander chutney
- Butter to toast the pavs (optional)
- Dry garlic chutney
- 6 fried green chilis cut in half
Instructions
To make batata vada
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot and shiny, lower the heat and add 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds and leaves from 1 sprig curry leaves. Once the leaves are crisp, add 1 tablespoon ginger garlic green chili paste. Cook for a minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away.
- Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder, mix and cook for 15 seconds or until the spices are slightly toasted. Add the 2 large potatoes (about 2.5 cups mashed), Salt to taste, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice.
- Give everything a good mix, taste and adjust seasoning. Turn the heat off, add 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro and give a good mix. Set the batata vada mixture aside to cool.
- In a mixing add all the ingredients of the chickpea flour batter - 1 cup besan or chickpea flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, and 1 tablespoon oil.
- Make a smooth and lump free batter by adding ½ cup water, little bit at a time. Your batter should be slightly thinner than pancake batter.
- Set a small wok (kadahi) or deep pan with enough Oil to deep fry on high heat. While the oil is heating up, divide the spiced mashed potato mixture (which should be cool to handle by now) in 12 equal parts and form into ping pong size balls.
- Test if the oil is hot by dropping a drop of batter and if it sizzles and rises to surface of the oil, you are good to go. Take a mashed potato ball, coat it in the chickpea flour (besan) batter and carefully drop it in the hot oil.
- Let the batata vada fry untouched for 2 minutes. If you touch it sooner the ball might break.
- After 2 minutes, stir the batata vadas around and fry until the bubbles subside. Remove the vadas with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat until the vadas have been fried.
Assemble the vada pav
- Slit the 12 Pavs from the middle and toast it in a skillet with Butter (just like for keema pav). Slather one side of a toasted pav with Green coriander chutney and the spread some Dry garlic chutney on the other side. Put a fried batata vada between the slices, top with a fried green chili (optional) and enjoy!!
Notes
- ♨️Do not overcrowd the pan - fry 3–4 vadas at a time. Do not overcrowd — the oil temperature will drop and the vadas will absorb oil rather than crisping. Fry for 3–4 minutes until deep golden brown on all sides, turning once midway. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- 🌡️Oil temperature - maintain 180°C/350°F consistently — use a thermometer or the batter-drop test between batches.
- 👨🏽🍳The Mumbai vendor method - press the assembled vada pav together firmly before handing it over — this compresses everything and makes the first bite even better.
- 🌶Fried green chili - pierce each green chili with a knife tip to prevent it from bursting. Fry in hot oil (the same oil from the vadas) for 30–60 seconds until blistered and slightly charred. Sprinkle with salt. Served alongside vada pav — eat it between bites or tucked inside the sandwich for the full Mumbai experience.
- 🥔Use starchy potatoes - Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes mash to a dry, fluffy texture that holds its shape when fried.
- 🥖Pav quality matters - Homemade or Indian bakery pav (ladi pav) is softer and slightly sweet — perfect for absorbing chutneys. You can use any soft dinner rolls - I personally like brioche slider buns. Avoid crusty rolls.
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