Vada pav, Bombay's burger
A potato mash seasoned with garlic, ginger and turmeric, shaped into a dumpling, coated in chickpea batter and fried, then pressed into a soft bun with a dry red garlic chutney. Bombay's popular, democratic snack, eaten standing on the sidewalk.
A potato mash seasoned with garlic, ginger and turmeric, shaped into a dumpling, coated in chickpea batter and fried, then pressed into a soft bun with a dry red garlic chutney. Bombay's popular, democratic snack, eaten standing on the sidewalk.
Tu vois, à Bombay nous n'avions pas besoin de musée pour rencontrer une forme : il suffisait de tendre la main au vendeur près de la gare, et il te posait dans la paume cette petite masse brûlante, dorée, ce volume parfait enfermé dans son pain. Le chutney rouge à l'ail, je m'en souviens comme d'un pigment sec qui poudroyait sur les doigts. On mordait debout, dans le bruit et la chaleur, et c'était déjà toute une ville tenue dans une seule bouchée. Crois-moi, aucune sculpture monumentale ne m'a jamais autant nourri que cette boule de pomme de terre à deux roupies.
- •Potatoes — a big handful per person (heart of the dumpling)
- •Garlic and ginger — equal parts, crushed (aromatic base)
- •Turmeric and mustard seeds — a pinch (color and flavor)
- •Curry leaves — one sprig (fresh fragrance)
- •Green chili — according to your courage (heat)
- •Chickpea flour (besan) — enough to coat (frying batter)
- •Pav rolls — one per vada (soft base)
Vada pav, Bombay's burger
A potato mash seasoned with garlic, ginger and turmeric, shaped into a dumpling, coated in chickpea batter and fried, then pressed into a soft bun with a dry red garlic chutney. Bombay's popular, democratic snack, eaten standing on the sidewalk.
Why this dish? Anish Kapoor was born in Bombay in 1954 and grew up there. The vada pav — a spiced potato dumpling tucked into a small bread roll — is THE snack of the city, born in the 1960s-70s near the factories and train stations, exactly the Bombay of his childhood and adolescence.
Tu vois, à Bombay nous n'avions pas besoin de musée pour rencontrer une forme : il suffisait de tendre la main au vendeur près de la gare, et il te posait dans la paume cette petite masse brûlante, dorée, ce volume parfait enfermé dans son pain. Le chutney rouge à l'ail, je m'en souviens comme d'un pigment sec qui poudroyait sur les doigts. On mordait debout, dans le bruit et la chaleur, et c'était déjà toute une ville tenue dans une seule bouchée. Crois-moi, aucune sculpture monumentale ne m'a jamais autant nourri que cette boule de pomme de terre à deux roupies.
Ingredients (period version)
- Potatoes — a big handful per person (heart of the dumpling)
- Garlic and ginger — equal parts, crushed (aromatic base)
- Turmeric and mustard seeds — a pinch (color and flavor)
- Curry leaves — one sprig (fresh fragrance)
- Green chili — according to your courage (heat)
- Chickpea flour (besan) — enough to coat (frying batter)
- Pav rolls — one per vada (soft base)
Ingredients
- Potatoes — 500 g (heart of the dumpling)
- Garlic cloves — 4 (aromatic base)
- Fresh ginger — 2 cm (aromatic base)
- Turmeric powder — 1/2 tsp (color)
- Mustard seeds — 1 tsp (flavor)
- Curry leaves — 10 (fresh fragrance)
- Green chili — 1, finely chopped (heat)
- Chickpea flour (besan) — 150 g (frying batter)
- Soft burger buns or pavs — 6 (base)
- Neutral oil — for frying (cooking)
Method
- Boil the potatoes, peel them and mash them coarsely.
- Pop the mustard seeds in a little oil, add curry leaves, garlic-ginger, chili and turmeric; cook for 1 minute.
- Mix this masala into the mash, season with salt, and shape into 6 dumplings.
- Whisk the besan with a little water and salt into a smooth, runny batter.
- Dip each dumpling into the batter and fry until golden.
- Split the buns, spread with garlic chutney, slip in the hot vada and serve immediately.
How it was made : The vada pav is said to have appeared around 1966 in Bombay, near Dadar station, as a cheap meal for textile mill workers. The pav itself is a Portuguese legacy (pão = bread), proof that Bombay cuisine has long been a collage of cultures.
The contemporary twist : Serve on a matte black slate (a nod to Vantablack) with the red chutney as a comma of color, to bring out the contrast between the golden vada and the red pigment.
Sources : Vikram Doctor, food columns on Bombay, The Economic Times · Pushpesh Pant, India: The Cookbook, Phaidon, 2010
Anish Kapoor · Charactorium