Batata vada is a popular Snack from the Maharashtrian cuisine. Batata in Marathi means potatoes and vada are fritters. Also known as aloo vada, these are spiced potato balls that are dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried. These are crisp, flavorsome and super addictive. Batata vada are also a popular street snack and is eaten as is with chutney & chai or stuffed in a pav to make Vada pav, another street food delicacy from Mumbai.
Mumbai is popular for its wide range of street foods, from Sandwiches, Pakoras, Chaats to delicious Kulfis and Faloodas. Batata vada is one such street food that you will find almost everywhere, even in other regions of India. There are also a few different versions of these known as Aloo bonda & veg bonda in Karnataka.
Batata vada are easy to make and makes for a great snack. The preparation for this appetizer starts with boiling the potatoes until fork tender. These are mashed and added to a tempering made with spices and herbs. Small portions of this spiced potatoes are shaped to balls.
The second part is to make a thick batter with gram flour, known as besan. These spiced potato balls are dipped in the thick batter and deep fried until crisp and golden. Sounds so good right!
Batata vada are best served right out of the hot oil. These are good to serve on their own. A cup of Masala chai, or dry garlic chutney, Green chutney, Mint chutney, Red Garlic Chutney or some fried green chilies also go well.
For convenience you can also make the spiced potatoes ahead and refrigerate. Make the batter and fry them when you are ready to serve. They can be reheated in the oven or air fryer until crisp.
For more Potato recipes, you can check
Aloo bread pakora
Bread rolls
Aloo samosa
Aloo sandwich
How to Make Batata Vada (Stepwise Photos)
Prepare the Filling
1. Boil potatoes until just cooked and not mushy. You can cook either in a pot or cooker. I cooked them in pressure cooker for 2 whistles with some water.
2. Make a fine paste of ginger garlic and green chilli paste.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and allow to crackle.
4. Add curry leaves and fry until crisp.
5. Add ginger garlic and green chilli paste. Saute until a nice aroma comes out. This may get burnt very quickly so regulate flame to medium.
6. Add turmeric, hing, red chilli powder and salt.
7. Mix everything well.
8. Add crumbled potatoes and coriander leaves.
9. Mix everything well. Turn off the stove.
10. Cool this and make 7 to 8 balls.
Make batter for Batata Vada
11. To a mixing bowl, add besan, rice flour or corn flour, salt, hing, turmeric and chilli powder.
12. Mix up and add water as needed to make a thick batter.
13. This is the consistency of the batter. If the batter is runny, the covering may turn thin or batata vada may break while frying.
15. I have added a small pinch of soda to the batter just before dipping the balls in the batter. This is optional. This gives a light texture to the covering. Add it if using and beat the batter for few seconds.
Fry Batata Vada
14. Heat oil in a kadai on a medium heat. Do not use very less oil. Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small portion of batter. It has to rise.
16. When the oil is hot enough, drop a ball in the batter. Coat it well with batter.
17. Drop in hot oil. I have used a tbsp for this purpsose, you can also use your fingers.
18.Do not disturb them for at least 2 minutes otherwise they may break. Stir them gently and fry on a medium heat.
19.When they are crisp fried and deep golden in color, drain them to a kitchen tissue.
Serve batata vada hot with green chutney or flatten it and sandwich in a chutney smeared pav, with some fried green chilies on the side.
You can serve these with this Green chutney or coconut chutney.
Pro Tips
Potatoes: Avoid boiling potatoes to a very soft texture. The boiled potatoes should be firm and not mushy.
Corn flour or rice flour: Along with besan, corn flour is used to get a crisp texture. If you do not use refined flour, you can substitute corn flour with rice flour.
Consistency of batter: The consistency of the batter is the key to making good batata vada. The mixture should not be too thick or too thin. You can check the video to know more on it.
Soda-bi-carbonate: A tiny pinch of soda-bi-carbonate is used to make the batter light. But you can also skip it. I find no difference in skipping.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Batata Vada | Aloo Vada
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
For the Filling
- 3 potatoes medium, 2 ¼ cups crumbled
- 2 to 3 green chilies
- ¾ inch ginger
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp oil
- ¼ to ½ tsp mustard
- 1 pinch hing or asafoetida
- Salt as needed
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/8 tsp turmeric or haldi
- 1/8 tsp red chili powder (optional)
- 1 Handful coriander leaves chopped
For the covering
- ¾ cup besan or chickpea flour
- 2 to 3 tbsp rice flour or corn flour
- Salt as needed
- 1 Pinch Hing or asafoetida
- 1 pinch soda Tiny (optional)
- Turmeric little
- 1/8 tsp red chili powder (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Boil potatoes until just done. They must be firm and not mushy. You can boil them either in a pressure cooker, steamer or in a pot.
- When done, crumble them lightly.
- Make a coarse paste on green chilli, garlic and ginger.
Make the filling
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard, when they begin to crackle.
- Add curry leaves and fry until crisp. Add ginger garlic and green chili paste.
- Fry on a low heat until it turns fragrant.
- Add hing, salt, turmeric and red chili powder.
- Mix well and add potatoes and coriander leaves. Turn off the stove and mix everything well.
- Cool this mixture and make 7 to 8 balls.
How to Make Batata Vada
- Heat oil for deep frying.
- Add besan and rice flour or corn flour to a mixing bowl.
- Add salt, hing, turmeric and red chili powder (optional). Mix everything well adding water as needed and make neither too thick nor too thin batter. Check salt and spice.
- When the oil is hot enough, add a tiny pinch of soda to the batter. Mix well. This is optional.
- Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small amount of batter in oil. The batter should rise.
- Regulate the flame to medium.
- Dip each ball in the batter, coat the potato balls with batter and drop in oil. You can use your fingers or a tbsp to do this. You can drop 3 to 5 balls in each batch depending on the size of your kadai.
- Do not disturb them for a while, gently stir and fry until golden.
- Drain them on a kitchen tissue.
- Serve batata vada hot with green chutney or sandwich them in pav along with green chutney, dry garlic chutney & fried green chilies.
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
I boiled the potatoes in their skins, let them cool then put the potato into a bowl, realised that I only had salt and self raising flour so I made potato scones and they were lovely, would definitely make them again.
Turned out fantastic. thank you. I stored the leftover potatoes in a container. For how many days can I store in the fridge.
Hi Ananya,
Glad to know! Yes you can keep it for 1 to 2 days. The taste alters beyond that.
Can you make bateta vada without gram flour as my family is allergic to it? If you can, what is the best alternative flour?
Hi Heena,
Not sure if any other flour works as I have not tried. May be all-purpose or wheat flour should work. I have the batter recipe here on other posts you may check out – goli baje and mysore bonda
Dear Swasti,
I would like to make batata vada. Is it possible to make the balls only and keep it in the freezer?
I need to fry the balls for antoher day. About the batter: can I use breadcrums to make the batter instead of besan and rice flour?
please let me know as soon as possible.
Thank you for sharing your great recipes.
Hi Kashish
Yes you can make the balls ahead and refrigerate or freeze. I don’t think bread crumbs alone will work, i guess they soak up lot of oil. You can check these bread potato rolls. Instead of making the rolls you can roll the balls in moist bread slices. Place the ball in the center and roll them.