Batata Vada Recipe (Aloo Vada)

Batata vada are a snack made of spiced potato balls. These balls are dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep fried. Batata vada are served as a snack and sometimes stuffed in Indian bread known as pav.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Servings7 to 8

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

To make the filling

3 medium potatoes (2¼ cups crumbled)
2 to 3 green chilies
¾ inch ginger peeled
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon oil
¼ to ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 pinch hing (asafetida)
⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 sprig curry leaves (pat dry)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
⅛ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
2 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped

For the covering

¾ cup besan (gram flour)
2 to 3 tablespoons rice flour (cornstarch)
⅓ to ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 Pinch Hing (asafoetida)
1 pinch soda-bi-carbonate Tiny (optional)
1 pinch Turmeric (optional, for color)
⅛ teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
2 to 3 cups oil to fry, use high smoke point oils

How to make the recipe

Preparation

Boil potatoes whole in a pressure cooker or diced in a pot of water, until fork tender. Do not make them mushy or waterlogged, they should be fully cooked yet hold their shape. Later remove from water, peel and crumble them.
Mince or crush together ginger, garlic and green chilies to a paste.

Make the filling

On a medium flame, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add curry and fry until crisp. Add ginger garlic and green chili paste.
Saute until fragrant and stir in hing, salt, turmeric and red chili powder.
Add the crumbled potatoes and coriander leaves. Turn off the stove and mix everything well. Taste test and adjust salt to your preference. Cool this and divide to 7 to 8 equal portions. Roll them to balls.

How to make Batata Vada

On a medium flame, heat oil for deep frying in a kadai.
Meanwhile stir in besan ,rice flour, salt, hing, turmeric and chili powder in a mixing bowl. Pour water little by little (start with ¼ cup and add more) and mix to make a batter of thick flowing consistency. (check video or photos). Taste test and adjust salt as need.
When the oil is hot enough, add a tiny pinch of soda to the batter and mix it well.
Test - Drop a small amount of batter to the hot oil to test if it is hot enough. The batter should sizzle and rise to the surface without turning brown. If it sinks it means the oil is not hot enough.
Regulate the flame to medium. Dip each ball in the batter with a spoon or fingers, to coat it well and gently slide to the hot oil. You can fry about 3 to 5 vadas in each batch depending on the amount of oil and the size of cookware.
Do not disturb them for 2 to 3 mins, until the batter becomes firm. Gently stir and fry until golden and crisp. Remove to a cooling rack. To fry the next batch make sure the oil is hot but not smoking hot.
Serve batata vada hot with green chutney or sandwich them in pav along with green chutney, dry garlic chutney & fried green chilies.

NUTRITION (estimation only)