Vada Pav

Ingredients:

1. 9 - potatoes boiled and mashed
2. 2 tsps - garlic paste
3. 1 tsp - ginger paste
4. 3 - green chillies
5. 1/2 tsp - turmeric pow
6. 1/2 tsp -  mustard seeds
7. 6 - curry leaves
8. Salt to taste
9. 2 cups - Bengal gram flour
10. Oil for deep frying
11. 6  - Pav buns
12. 1 cup Tamarind Chutney (recipe below)
13. 1 cup Mint-Coriander Chutney (recipe below)
14. 1/2 cup peanut garlic chutney (optional)- recipe below

Method:

• Mix the gram flour with enough water and salt to taste, to make a thick, smooth paste. Keep aside.
• Mix the ginger, garlic and green chilli pastes.
• Mix this paste with the mashed potatoes. Season with salt.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric powder.
• Add this to the potato and mix well.
• Divide the potato mix into portions slighter smaller ball (like lemon).
• Heat the oil for deep frying on a medium flame.
• When the oil is hot, dip one potato ball at a time into the gram flour batter to coat well and then deep fry till golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Take one Pav bun, slit in half (not completely - leave one edge joined) and put a spoonful each of Tamarind Chutney, Mint-Coriander Chutney and peanut garlic chutney each on it. Place a potato ball on the bun and fold over, pressing down gently. Serve while the potato ball is still hot.

CHUTNEY RECIPES

1 ] Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients:

1. tamarind - 200 gms 
2. dates - 100 gms 
3. jaggery - 150 gms
4. water - 2 cups
5. fennel seeds -1 tsp  
6. cumin seeds -1 tsp  (roast and grind coarsely)
7. Red chilli powder as per taste
8. salt - 1 tsp 

Method:

• Put the tamarind, dates, jaggery and water in a saucepan and cook on a medium flame till the dates and tamarind are soft.
• Turn off flame and allow the mixture to cool.
• Use a hand blender to blend mixture together into a smooth sauce.
• Put sauce back into the saucepan and onto a medium flame and add remaining spice ingredients.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and turn off.
• Allow to cool, then chill and serve.

2 ] Mint-Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

1. fresh mint leaves - 1 bunch
2. fresh coriander leaves - 1 bunch 
3. garlic - 5 cloves 
4. ginger - 1" piece 
5. green chilli - 2  
6. lime juice - 2 tsps 
7. sugar -1 tsp 
8. salt - 1/2 tsp 

Method:

• Cut off roots from the coriander and any thick stalks from the mint and discard. You should now have enough coriander and mint to loosely fill 1 1/2 to 2 cups with each of them.
• Peel garlic and ginger and remove stalks from green chillies. Wash all these ingredients thoroughly.
• Grind all the ingredients (including the salt which you can add more of later to suit your taste) into a smooth paste in a food processor.
• Chill and serve.

3] Peanut garlic chutney

Ingredients:

1. dry coconut - 1 cup 
2. sesame seeds -  1/3 cup
3. dry red chilli - 2 
4. roasted salted peanuts coarsely ground -  1/2 cup
5. garlic - 15-20 cloves
6. Salt to taste

Method:

• Roast the coconut on a low fire till it begins to turn golden.
• Roast the sesame seeds in the same way.
• Mix all the ingredients except the peanuts together and grind in a food processor.
• When done add the peanuts and mix well. Season with salt.