Batata vada ( mr, बटाटा वडा, ) is a popular

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

fast food dish from the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

of Maharashtra. The dish consists of a mashed

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

patty A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, Serving size, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or Meat analogue, meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world. ...

coated with chick pea flour, which is then

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

and served hot with

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sa ...

. The vada is typically around two or three inch in diameter. Across different regions of India, this dish is also known as ''aloo bonda, aloo vada, batata bonda, potato bonda'' and ''potato vada''. Although Maharashtrian in origin, ''batata vada'' has gained popularity in the rest of India as well.

Preparation

The potato filling and the batter used to coat the filling are the only two components of batata vada. The potatoes are boiled, mashed coarsely and set aside. Seasoning like

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex ( gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs growing tall. They are part of the celery family, Umbelliferae. Asafoetida is th ...

, mustard seeds, chillies, onions, curry leaves are pan-fried with garlic-ginger paste,

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

and salt, then cooked with the mashed potatoes. A thick batter is made using chick pea flour, seasoned with salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Sometimes a small quantity of baking powder is also added to make the batter fluffier. To make the fritters, little balls of the potato mixture are coated in the batter and deep-fried in hot vegetable oil. It is possible to use red chilli paste to make the vada spicy. Batata vadas are usually accompanied by green chutney or dry chutneys, such as Shengdana Chutney (chutney in dry powder made from crushed groundnuts) and garlic-coconut chutney. Often, Jain batata vada recipes are a variation that replaces potatoes with raw bananas.

Serving

Batata vada is typically served very hot with green chillies and

s of various types. The most common way to eat this dish is in the form of

Vada pav Vada pav, alternatively spelt wada pao, is a vegetarian fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish consists of a deep fried potato dumpling placed inside a bread bun (''pav'') sliced almost in half through the middle. ...

.. Batata Vada is popular with certain recipe variations in the southern Indian states too and is called Bonda
The Times of India : Even Celebrities Love Vada Pav
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References

Indian cuisine Indian fast food Maharashtrian cuisine Potato dishes Deep fried foods 6https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/mumbais-favorite-snack-vada-pav/ {{India-food-stub