Bombaiyya ….Anando Mela
Vada Pao the quintessential Bombay street food like all true street foods is essentially a very simple dish which uses flavors which 99% people would love. What’s not to love about fried potatoes and warm bread, anyway? Since our anando mela sees a fair amount of non Bengali navratra celebrating guests I made it a point to have two chutneys to go with my vada pao. The first a green coriander, mint chutney with no onion or garlic and the other the ‘must’ dry chutney that goes with vada pao made with red chillies and garlic. To my surprise I ran out of Vada paos even before I finished my Sali boti and that says something. Here is the recipe for all of it. Warning: the recipes may not be totally authentic for I do let my tongue and mind overrule most cook books. Ingredients: 1 kg potato – boiled peeled and mashed Pao – I got store bought ones Vegetable oil Asafoetida – a tsp, I like the flavor so usually use more, you can use a pinch if not too happy with it Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Green