Aloo Vadas (spicy potatoes coated in chickpea batter)

Vada Pav is my all time vegetarian street food dish. To me, if any dish could come near to the construction of burgers, it is this Indian renderation. Vada Pav can be simply described as a spicy, potato ball fritter sandwiched between 2 sides of a Pav bun (Indian milk buns). Today, we make these aloo vadas a notch more tempting an desirable. Presenting NON FRIED, APPE VERSION ALOO VADAS !!

I was introduced to this dish the first time i visited Pune. I was staying at my dearest friend’s place and she was kind enough to drive me around the town. Now, both me and her are wanderers of good food and she took me to a street food stall which was famous for selling just vada pavs. It has been atleast 5 years since then but i distinctly remember the flavour of that vada pav. The pavs were melt in the mouth soft and the crispy, hot from the oil vadas were simply out of the world. I have been trying to create that experience at home ever since and i have finally found a recipe which does some justice. The original recipe requires the vadas to be fried. For the authentic fried vadas recipe, check here – Vada Pav.

This next recipe keeps the original flavours intact but becomes healthier. You guessed it right (duh it is written in bold above), it is Appefied ! Enjoy !

Aloo Vadas (spicy potatoes coated in chickpea batter)

  • Servings: 6-8
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ALOO VADAS APPE copy Recipe

Vada 

  • 4 medium sized potatoes – boiled and mashed by hands
  • 1/2 cup peas – boiled
  • 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 2-3 Garlic cloves – roughly chopped (i like a prominent garlic flavour in these vadas but you can tone it down it you like)
  • 2 Green chillies – roughly chopped
  • 1 inch ginger – roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp Salt or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped Coriander
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp oil for tempering

Batter

  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp soda bi carb – This makes the batter light, fluffy and when the potato balls are coated with this batter, it will not make the vadas hard
  • 1/2 cup water – The batter has to be thick
  • 2 tsp hot oil
  • Oil for roasting

Utensils

  • An Appe / Aebleskiver pan

Method

For the Potato filling,

  1. Take a Pan. Add in Oil and bring to heat. Next add in asafoetida and turmeric.
  2. Grind green chilies, garlic and ginger into a smooth paste and add into the pan.
  3. Next, add in the mashed potatoes, boiled peas, salt and mix well so that all the spices are well incorporated.
  4. remove from pan and keep aside. To this, add in the chopped coriander, lemon juice and mix well.
  5. Now with the help of a masher, mash the filling to a semi-smooth consistency. The potato filling is ready

For Batter,

  1. Take a mixing bowl and to it, add chickpea flour(sifted). Next add in salt, red chili powder, sod-bi-carb and turmeric and combine well.
  2. Next, to it, slowly add in the water and mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps and a smooth batter is formed. The batter should not be too thin.

Preparing the Vadas

  1. Divide the batter into 8 equal portions and form into balls.
  2. Meanwhile, place the Appe / Aebleskiver pan on stove and bring to heat. Add a drop of oil in each cavity.
  3. Once the balls are ready, dip them into the batter and make sure the balls are coated well throughout. With the help of a fork, remove the balls from the batter and put them into the pan cavities and roast till the vadas are crispy and golden in color.
  4. Remove on a kitchen paper. Serve hot.

Isn’t that a tempting dish…. right there. Serve these as is with coriander chutney and tamarind chutney or elevate this dish by serving these Vadas as Vada Pav. Thats how i served mine 😛 If this looks exciting to you, try the Vada Pav recipe… and if u are motivated enough to go the extra mile, you can make your own Pav Buns as well (as nothing is better than having fresh, home made baked bread)

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14 Comments

  1. Perfect recipe for aloo vadas.Its mouth watering!

  2. I love these….Yum!

  3. Good one thanks

  4. Perfectly done, Prachi. No one would know that they are not fried.

  5. They look beautifully done, Prachi. I’m trying this!

  6. Can you recommend a good Appe pan? Also, will it work on electric glass stove? We don’t have gas stove in our kitchen.

    • Hi ! I use an appe pan from India and i do have a coil range at home which works perfectly with my Appe pan. There are many varieties available in the market, some with cast iron, some non stick.. either works though i prefer the cast iron one as it works much better in the long run.
      You can also try to buy a cake pop maker which does similar work.

  7. Thanks Prachi for sharing the recipe

  8. very innovative dear. I will try this soon. looks so beautiful and delicious. Yummmy

  9. Really wonderful ! ll try this ,thank you for sharing the recipe.

  10. Pingback: Holi Specials - Ideas for Menu planning – Divine Spice Box

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