Delicious

At a speed that is rarely expected from a street-side fast-food vendor, he dropped a batch of perfectly shaped spherical ‘batata vada’ into the hot cooking oil which had been sizzling for quite some time. Vada are potato patties made out of mashed potatoes mixed with finely chopped onion, green chillies, coriander, and spices that are dipped in chickpea batter just before frying. After tossing and turning the Vada five-six times, they were ready. He picked up a square-shaped bread, called ‘Pav’ and sliced it open with a doctor-like precision and finesse. He slathered it with a green chutney (made out of chilli and coriander) and a garlic chutney and placed the Vada in between the two layers of Pav. He wrapped it in a square paper cutout made with an old newspaper and handed it over to me along with 2 fried green chillies in exchange for 20 bucks. The moment I bit into the “Vada Pav”, as it is popularly called in Mumbai, its taste etched a astronomical memory in my mind that I will never forget. It was, in simple words, just delicious.The credit for inventing the rustic and mouth-watering Vada Pav goes to Ashok Vaidya.

HISTORY:

In the 1960s, Balasaheb Thackeray appealed to Maharashtrians to become entrepreneurs the way South Indians had by setting up Udupi restaurants. This inspired Vaidya to set up a stall outside Dadar Station (1966) through which hundreds and thousands of workers passed every day on their way to the textile mills in suburban areas such as Parel and Worli. He began selling Vada and Poha alongside a stall that sold Omelet Pav. Once, he experimented and placed a Vada between Pav along with some chutney to add more flavor. The result of the experiment-Vada Pav-became an instant hit in no time.