Batata vada to north India is what urulaikizhangi bonda/potato bonda to south India.It is basically batter coated deep fried mashed potatoes . We love our potatoes and no wonder we love this spicy snack.This is a very famous street food across India.In north,this batata vada is served along with pav and a myriad of chutneys,a very popular chaat-vada pav. The other day I made this batata vada for making vada pav with my homemade pav buns.They turned out brilliant.It gives extreme satisfaction to put together a dish like vada pav at home from scratch.I have already blogged about potato bonda here and this batata vada I am blogging today is slightly different. As far as I have tasted,the batata vada in vada pav sans onion and garlic.I at least have not tasted one so.So I too made a no onion garlic batata vada.The main ingredient here is our own humble mashed potatoes. It is the seasoning/tadka is the one that adds flavor and taste to this vada.Here is the recipe for batata vada,you can enjoy this just as a snack on its own or make vada pav.
If you are looking for similar street food varieties then check out
Potato corn cheese balls
Pav bhaji
Pani puri
Aloo tikki
Batata vada recipe
Star ingredients:Potatoes
Time:30 minutes
Yield:8-10
Ingredients:
For stuffing :
3 large potatoes,boiled,peeled and mashed very well.
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 green chillies,chopped fine
10-12 curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt
Oil for tempering
For outer coating/batter
3/4 cup gram glour
1/4 cup rice flour/corn flour
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
Salt
2 teaspoons hot oil
Oil for deep frying vadas
Method:
Stuffing:
1.Boil and peel the potatoes.Mash them very well so that there are no lumps.
2.Add salt and turmeric powderto the mashed potatoes.
3.Heat 2 teaspoons oil and do the tempering,from mustard through asafoetida.Add the tempering to the potatoes along with the oil.Mix well with a spoon ad let it cool for sometime.
4.Once they are warm to touch,mix well with your hands and make small balls.You should be able to make 8-10 balls for this quantity.Keep them aside.
Batter/outer covering:
1.Heat oil in a deep frying pan.
2.Mix all the flours,chilli powder and salt.Take 2 teaspoons oil from the frying pan and add to the flours.Mix with your finger tips.
3.Add around 1/2 cup water to form a thick batter.The batter should be thick enough to coat the potatoes.
4.Once the oil is hot, flatten the potato balls slightly and dip in the prepared batter and coat evenly.
5.Deep fry 2-3 vadas at a time in medium flame,until it is golden from both sides.
6.Serve piping hot with green chutney,sweet chutney or sauce.
Notes:
1.The addition of hot oil is to ensure crispiness.We often do this for south Indian deep fried snacks.
2.The consistency of batter is crucial.If it is too thin then it will not coat the potatoes,if too thick then the batter will remain uncooked.The consistency should be something like idly batter
3. If you are not going to make vada pav,there is no need to flatten the potato balls,you can just keep them round.
