Indian 'Burger' !! Garma garam batata wada !!!

When my friend S said she wanted to eat Batata Wada... the popular Mumbai street food snack.. I was more than happy to make it! I was loathe to make it for myself (the guilt is overwhelming!).
Having spent all my teenage years and a large part of my BSchool days 'surviving' on Wada Pav and cutting chai... I miss eating this item and that too on the streets!
Almost every street in Mumbai has a 'thela'(cart) which sells wada-pav. But there are some vendors who are particularly famous! I remember particularly one which is very famous, one the way from Mumbai to Pune, via train, there is a station Karjat, which has 'the best' wada pav ! That was one reason why I liked travelling to Pune in a train (which is otherwise accessible by road and a faster route!) ! The other I particularly recall is during my first year at college, my friends and I had travelled to an area in Mumbai, Lalbagh, where there was a guy who called himself 'Graduate Wada pav walla'... when there was a dearth of jobs, he decided to sell wadapav to make his living and was he GOOD at it!
Going back to B School days.... my best friend and I would sit for hours in the college canteen and our breakfast, lunch & tea would be the wada pav and cutting chai served by Mama (the canteen owner). We were like permanent fixtures there and after a few days there was no need to go and place an order... upon sighting us, he would automatically call for 'garam wada ani cutting' aahhhh.. how I miss those days!



For the Wadas you need:

4 Boiled Potatoes
1 tbsp. Oil for tempering
1/2 spn. Mustard seeds
4 Green chilies chopped ( +/ - according to individual taste)
A few curry leaves
1/2 spn. Turmeric
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2/ spn. ginger grated
Salte to taste
1-2 spns. finely chopped Cilantro
ForCovering :
Besan
2 Pinch Turmeric
1/2 spn. red chilly pwd.
Salt (only so much that the covering does not taste bland)
1/4 spn baking soda
water to make a batter

Mash the boiled potatoes.. or chop them..your wish.
In a kadhai, heat oil, add mustard seeds,after they sputter, add green chilies and curry leaves, ginger-garlic, turmeric. Saute a while. Add mashed potatoes, salt. Add chopped cilantro.

To make the batter for covering, mix all ingredients listed above. Mix well to ensure that there are no lumps. Careful with the water, the batter mustn't be too runny nor too thick. Like pancake batter.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Make balls of the potato vege. Dip the ball in the batter and deep fry in oil till it turns a nice golden brown. Drain on a tissue.
Serve hot with garlic chutney, fries green chilly and Pav.

*P.S : try drinking hot tea with this... woohaahhhaaaaa.... :D