Batata Vada / Vada Pav

Batata vada is a potato based fritter and is a popular Indian Vegetarian Street food that originated in Maharashtra. If you are looking for an excellent tea time snack or as an appetiser for guests at your place or as a snacks for kids, then this one is for you. In this recipe, the balls of mashed potatoes with spices and various ingredients are dipped in a batter of gram flour and then deep fried.

It can be accompanied by a hot mint chutney and sweet-sour tamarind chutney. As I prepared this one for my kid, I served it with tomato ketchup. I will show batata vadas with different chutneys in my next post sometimes. In this post, have a virtual treat of batata vadas with tomato ketchup :)

INGREDIENTS :

For Besan batter

(1) 250 gms of Gram flour / Besan

(2) 3/4 teaspoon of Red Chilli powder

(3) 1/4 teaspoon of Turmeric powder

(4) 2 pinch of Asafoetida

(5) Salt as per taste required

(6) Water 

For spiced Potato stuffing 

(1) 3 medium sized potatoes

(2) 4 buds of garlic (I took 4 as they were large in size, can take 6-8 if small buds), minced

(3) 1 inch sized ginger, minced

(4) 2 whole green chillies, finely chopped

(5) Handful of finely chopped Coriander leaves

(6) Salt as required

For tempering the Potato stuffing

(1) 3/4 teaspoon of Cumin seeds / Jeera

(2) 3/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds / Rai

(3) 10-12 Curry leaves / kadi patta

(4) 2 pinch of Hing / Asafoetida

(5) 3  tablespoon of cooking oil

Other ingredients :

(1) Cooking Oil for deep frying

(2) Coriander Mint Chutney

(3) Dates Tamarind Chutney

(4) Tomato Ketchup

(5) Pav

METHOD :

(1) Take gram flour, Turmeric powder, Red Chilli powder, Asafoetida and Salt in a bowl. You may add a pinch of baking soda (Optional).

 (2) Add Water (approx. 1/3 cup) little by little and stir continuously and make a lump free smooth batter. The batter should not be too thick or too thin. If the batter is thick, then add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water. If the batter is too thin, then add 1-2 teaspoon of gram flour.

(3) I did not add baking soda and instead kept the batter aside to set for 2 hours. If baking soda is added, then no need to keep the batter aside for 2 hours.

After 2 hours.....

(4) Peel boiled Potatoes and mash them with backside of a large spoon.

Boiled potatoes

Potatoes peeled after boiling

Mashed potatoes

(5) Heat 3 teaspoon of cooking oil in a tempering ladle over a medium flame. Add Mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add Cumin seeds. When the Cumin seeds change colour, add 10 - 12 chopped Curry leaves, 2 pinch of Asafoetida. Then immediately add 2 pinch of Turmeric powder and mix well. Saute for 5 seconds and turn off the gas flame.

Take cooking oil in a tempering ladle

Add Mustard seeds to the warm oil

Add Cumin seeds

Add chopped Curry leaves 

Add Asafoetida 

Mix well

Add Turmeric powder

Tempering ready

(6) Pour this tempering over the mashed potatoes. Add garlic, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves (All four finely chopped). Add Salt to taste.

(7) Mix everything well.

Make small to medium sized balls of the mashed potato mixture. Keep aside for a while till we heat the cooking oil in a wok.

(8) The batter and potato balls are now ready to be deep fried. 

Now, take cooking oil in a deep frying pan / wok and heat it till the oil is medium hot. 

(9) Dip each potato ball in the besan batter and coat it with batter evenly with a spoon or with hand. Then take them and gently drop them in the hot oil. Do it in batches. Drop 4-5 balls in a single batch and deep fry them until golden brown.

(10) Using a perforated spoon, take out the vadas from the pan, draining excess oil and transfer the vadas over a paper napkin on a plate. Deep fry all the potato balls.

First batch of Batata Vadas

First batch of Batata Vadas is ready

Second batch of Batata Vadas ready

Third batch of Batata Vadas ready

Third batch of Batata Vadas ready

Batata Vadas transferred on a paper napkin kept on a plate

Batata Vadas Ready!!

(11) Batata Vada is now ready to be served. Serve them with Pav as shown along with Coriander Mint Chutney and Dates Tamarind Chutney / Tomato ketchup. Its delicious to eat them with a cup of tea.

Recipe links of Chutneys :

Coriander Mint Chutney

Dates Tamarind Chutney

Fish Curry (My style using mustard seeds)

I am sharing today my style of Fish curry prepared using mustard seed paste. Fish lovers will relish this recipe prepared using easily available ingredients and a simple process.

INGREDIENTS :

All the ingredients used are same as in Prawns curry shown earlier except that I have added garam masala and whole green chillies here and not there.
Rest of the ingredients are same.

For Marination :

(1) Fish : 800 gms 

(2) Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

(3) Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1/4 teaspoon

(4) Kashmiri Red Chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon (Depending on the spicy taste required)

(5) Pepper powder - 1 pinch

(6) Salt 

(7) Oil to fry

For Gravy :

(1) 2 medium sized Onions, finely chopped

(2) 1 large Tomato, finely chopped

(3) Yellow Mustard seeds - 3 teaspoons

(4) 8-10 garlic buds, finely chopped

(5) Garam masala powder - 1 teaspoon

(6) Coriander / Dhaniya powder - 1 teaspoon

(7) Cumin / Jeera powder - 1 teaspoon

(8) Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1/2 teaspoon

(9) Kashmiri Red Chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon

(10) Coriander leaves, finely chopped

(11) Salt as required

(12) Oil for cooking

(13) 2 Tej patta / Bay leaves

(14) 2 whole green chillies, finely chopped

METHOD :

(1) Add all the marination ingredients to the cleaned fish pieces and mix well. Set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.

(2) Heat oil in a Kadhai / Wok to fry the fish pieces. Then add marinated fish pieces. Saute until the fish is fried.  Cook it on a medium flame. Let it cook for 6-8 minutes till they are cooked. Fry the fish pieces in batches.

(3) Turn off the gas stove and remove the fish pieces from the wok and keep aside.

(4) Now heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a kadhai / wok.

(5) Add chopped garlic.

(6) Saute till the garlic turns golden colour.

(7) Add chopped green chillies.

(8) Add finely chopped Onions and mix well. Saute till they turn golden in colour.

(9) Add finely chopped Tomato and sauté till they are cooked and turn mushy.

(10) Turn off the gas flame and allow it to cool.

(11) Put the sautéed Onion Tomato mixture into the grinding jar of a mixer grinder. Add 3 teaspoon of mustard seeds and grind the mixture till you get a smooth paste.

(12) Take 4 table spoons of oil in a wok / kadhai.

(13) Add 2 Tej patta / Bay leaves. 

(14) Then add the Onion Tomato Mustard seeds paste to the warm oil.

Mix well.

(15) Add 1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric powder, 3/4 teaspoon of Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of Cumin powder and 1 teaspoon of Coriander powder to the gravy.

Mix well.

Add 1 teaspoon of Garam masala powder. Mix well.

(16) Add 450 ml of water to the gravy. Mix well. 

(17) Add salt to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add little less salt as we have already added salt in the marinated fish pieces too.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes covering the lid on a low flame.

Open the lid now.

(18) Add the fried Fish now.

(19) Mix well and simmer for 15 minutes on a low flame. 

Adjust the thickness of the gravy by adding water.

(20) Turn off the gas flame. The Fish curry is ready.

(21) Transfer the curry to a serving bowl.

(22) As the fish pieces got completely dipped in the gravy, I took little gravy in another bowl and showed all the fish pieces for photographic purpose below. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.