Vada Pav (Indian Slider)

Did I tell you we went to Napa for the 4th of July weekend? Ok, not exactly the whole long weekend but made a quick one day trip to Napa. Enjoyed a fabulous weather, tasted some wine and had our little family picnic. It was after quite a while that we as a family spent some relaxed time. Just the three of us! Chased the little one in an open field, fell off and laughed till our stomach hurt. Good time! And this is when come pouring the memories of your own childhood.



I remember as children we did not have the luxury of getting away every long weekend. We had to wait the whole year for the summers to come until there were summer vacations. Every summer vacation our parents would take us to a new place. A new city every summer. India is a country of diverse cultures and one part of the country is so different from the other. So every trip used to be a new experience. Every summer used to be different from the previous. This one summer we went to Bombay (now Mumbai), the big city with the ocean, local trains, bustling streets and vada pav! Vada Pav was the first thing that we ate at the train station as soon as we stepped into the city. I remember me and my dad loving it so much that we ate just vada pav for the next three days! A fried potato dumpling sandwiched between two pieces of a pav (bread). It was good and its taste lasted long – until today!



It’s a hugely popular street food in India and has its origins in the state of Maharashtra. For the vada pav you need some potatoes – don’t ask what kind. In India back then if you asked for potatoes you’d get potatoes. No Russets, Yukons or Idahos, just potatoes. So out of two most important things for vada pav, one is potato and the second is pav. Pav is the dinner roll you use at your home every day. But it was not before I bit into the vada pav I made for this post that I realized that there was a third very important ingredient. That is this dry red coconut and garlic chutney. I forgot to make it before taking photos but very soon I realized the mistake, so please try and make this chutney to accompany your vada pav.



My friend Brian from A Thought For Food invited me over to his lovely blog to share an Indian recipe with him and his readers. It was 4th of July and I had made these Vada Pav for the picnic. Prefect time for me to share this recipe which is easy, simple and yet packed with tons of flavors. Brian says his readers loved the recipe. If you want to check it out head over to Brian's blog. But let me warn you that its going to be tough for you to come out of it. Yes, he is awesome and so is his photography and blog. Hope you enjoy!