Vada Pao: The Indian Burger That Even McDonald's Can't Compete With:

'Vada Pau' and the city of Mumbai go hand in hand with each other. From factory workers to leading Bollywood actors, almost everyone does not shy away from expressing their love for 'Vada Pao'. But what is this burger called vada pau, let's read it in this article.


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Suresh Thakur unwraps another batch of potato peels, called 'Vada', and drops them into a large pan of oil. He added spices to the potatoes early in the morning and gave them the shape of trees. This particular spice was prepared by mixing green chillies, finely chopped raw onions.

These potato patties were oval in shape and Suresh was dipping them in the gram basin before putting them in the oil pan. As soon as the 'Vada' is added to the oil, a sizzling sound is heard and the aroma of gram flour spreads in the air. And it is this aroma that makes the hearts of many shoppers standing around quicken and whet their appetites.

After being put in the pan, the 'vadars' were rolled around with the help of a large sieve. And soon Vada was ready.

After that, Suresh cut a soft bun called 'pau' in the middle and added chopped green chillies and coriander chutney, pointing at me and asked 'garlic too'.

I nodded, and they generously added a good amount of garlic sauce and then pressed the vada in the middle. Thus the 'Vada Pao' sandwich was made, wrapped in a piece of old newspaper, with fried green chillies wrapped separately (as if the pre-applied spices were less!).

The whole burger cost just 12 rupees which I grabbed Suresh Thakur and went on my way.

As soon as my teeth passed through the soft pau into the crunchy vada, it felt like I was experiencing the true taste of Mumbai. It was a stark contrast in taste and texture: the softness of the pao acted like a foil to the crispness of the vada.


Even though I had experience with spicy food for a long time, the very first mouthful of it provided a sharp and pungent taste. I could feel the sharp taste of both sauces spread over my tongue. Vada Pao is a delicious carbohydrate-rich blend that provides instant energy to the eater.

Today, this snack i.e. Vada Pao and the city of Mumbai are synonymous with each other. From factory workers to college students and Bollywood stars, almost everyone has no qualms about declaring their love for her.

It is estimated that more than 2 million vada pau are eaten in India's financial capital every day.

Travel blogger Kaushal Karkhanis, who runs a website dedicated to this particular burger, told me: 'For a city that's buzzing day and night, I think Vada Pao is the fastest, cheapest and on-the-go breakfast.

“I think this is the first 'food' experience for anyone in Mumbai. Because of the low cost at which it is available, it is going to eradicate social discrimination to a great extent.

Vada Pao is delicious, but the love and respect that Mumbaikars have for this snack often surprises people outside of Mumbai.

Mumbai-based food writer Meher Mirza, referring to the temple town of Udupi in the state of Karnataka, said that 'Vada Pao was later chosen by the Shiv Sena to present it as a Maharashtrian alternative to Udupi, which was popular at the time. .'

Shiv Sena's campaign led to the rise in popularity of many South Indian dishes like 'Dosa' and 'Idli' etc. The Shiv Sena's aim was to convince Mumbaikars to abandon 'outside' food and embrace their own cuisine, a strategy that worked very well in these turbulent economic conditions.

Ironically, both the main ingredients of Vada Pao, potatoes and beans, are European imports, brought to India by the Portuguese around the 17th century. The only key ingredient of the dish, which is native to the region or rather to India, is besan (chickpea flour), in which the potato flakes are dipped before deep-frying.

Still, Mumbaikars consider Vada Pao to be a purely 'Bambia' (now Bombay is called Mumbai) dish.


Ingredients: 

  • Potatoes (boiled): 4 pcs
  •  Chopped Red Chillies: 1 tsp
  •  Turmeric: 1 teaspoon
  •  Salt: As per taste
  •  Hot spices: 1 teaspoon
  •  Cumin: 1 teaspoon
  •  Coriander: 3 teaspoons
  •  Tamarind juice: half a cup
  •  Besan: 2 cups
  •  Bin: Custom


Recipe:

First, boil potatoes and add chopped red chillies, turmeric, salt, garam masala, green coriander and tamarind juice to it and mix well.

Round them with your hands and make them into a ball (Vada).

Add cumin, turmeric and salt to the basin and mix well by adding little water.

Dip the vada in the besan mixture and fry.

Now cut the bun into 2 pieces and place the vada in it, garnish with onion, green chutney and sweet chutney on top.

Delicious Vada Pao are ready to eat.