Authentic Mumbai Vada Pav

Mumbai vada pav served with green chutney and spicy powder, perfect for snacks or appetizers.

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Crispy golden batata vada — spiced mashed potato fritters in a besan batter — nestled in soft pav with dry garlic chutney and green coriander chutney. The most iconic Mumbai street food made at home.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Appetizer, Snack, Street Food

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: vada pav

Calories: 230kcal

Author: Vaishali

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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