Batata Vada

Batata Vada is a popular Indian snack from the state of Maharashtra. It is made by batter coating a spicy potato mixture and then deep-frying it until crispy. Serve it with green chutney and dry garlic chutney for a delicious tea-time snack.

Here are some more of my favorite potato recipe which you must try too – Punjabi Samosa, Aloo Bonda, Aloo Tikki, Aloo Chaat, Aloo Pakora, Sindhi Aloo Tuk, Aloo Sabudana, and Karare Aloo. 

Jump to:

• About This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Batata Vada
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• You might also like
• Recipe Card

About This Recipe

Batata = Aloo (potato) and Vada=Deep Fried Fritter. Batata Vada (Aloo Vada) is a traditional Maharashtrian-style snack where spicy potato mixture is coated with chickpea flour (besan) batter and deep-fried to golden perfection.

Making Batata Vada at home is very easy and it comes together in under 30 minutes. The taste of this aloo vada differens from region to region and home to home. In today’s post, I am sharing the recipe that I learned from my mom. It is always a hit with my friends and family and is super easy to make.

Batata Vada is best enjoyed in monsoons with green chutney, dry garlic chutney, and some fried salted green chili peppers. You can serve it as a tea-time snack too. The same vada is stuffed between pav (buns), and popularly known as Vada Pav.

This snack can be made healthy by pan-frying them in a paniyaram pan with very little oil. This will give you nicely crisped batata vadas with comparatively fewer calories. You can also bake and air fry the vadas as a healthy alternative.

Ingredients

To make the batter for outer covering

To make the batter for the outer covering, you will need chickpea flour (besan), carom seeds (ajwain), cornstarch, salt, vegetable oil, turmeric powder, and baking soda. The thickness of the batter is very important, it should neither be too thick nor too watery. 

The measurements of turmeric powder and baking soda are also very important to get the perfect color and crispiness of the vada. I used standard cups and spoon measures to measure out the ingredients.

To make the filling

My version of potato vada has a delicious potato masala, where boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes are mixed with asafetida, crushed coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cashew nuts, raisins, green chili peppers, cilantro (coriander), salt, red chili powder, dry mango powder, ground black, garam masala powder, and roasted cumin powder. 

Red chili powder can be swapped with paprika powder or cayenne pepper.

You can add some shredded cheese in the masala to give the vadas a cheesy gooey twist.

Use any vegetable oil to fry these vadas.

How to Make Batata Vada

Cook the Potatoes

Start by cooking 400 g potatoes. You can boil them in a traditional pressure cooker, Instant pot, or in a pot over the stovetop. Unlike aloo tikki where you need cool dry potatoes, use freshly boiled potatoes to make the filling for batata vada.

Do not over boil the potatoes. They should be a little firm and not mushy.

Here is how to cook potatoes for the filling.

1. Traditional Pressure Cooker – Wash the potatoes with water and add them to a pressure cooker. Cover with water and close the lid. Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles on medium flame. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and run the potatoes under cold water. Peel and use.
2. Instant Pot – Wash the potatoes and add them to the instant pot along with 1 cup of water. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6vminutes o high pressure. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Remove the remaining pressure manually and open the lid. Run the potatoes under cold water. Peel and use.
3. Pan over Stovetop – Wash the potatoes and peel them using a vegetable peeler. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the potato cubes and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain and run under cold water. Mash and use.

Make the Filling

Once the potatoes are cooled, let’s make the filling. Heat 2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing), 1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.

Add 1 tablespoon crushed cashew nuts and 1 tablespoon chopped raisins and fry until they are browned (8-10 seconds).

Add 2 teaspoon finely chopped green chili peppers, 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (coriander), crushed boiled potatoes, salt to taste, 1 teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne), 1 teaspoon dry mango powder, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, and ½ teaspoon cumin powder and mix everything well.

Note – You can also add ½ cup chopped onion and fry them until slightly browned before adding the green chili peppers.

Cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool completely.

Make small lime sized balls from the filling and keep aside. You can also flatten the ball slightly so that it is easy to stuff the vadas inside pan if making vada pav using them.

Make the batter for the outer covering

Stir together 1 cup chickpea flour, ½ cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and 2 pinch baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.

Add water (approx ⅓ cup) little by little, and whisk to make a lump-free flowing batter.

Frying Batata Vada

I like to double fry the vada for extra crispiness. I fry them once on medium-high heat until they are lightly browned. Then drain them on a plate. Then fry again on high heat until nicely browned and crispy. Do try this method for extra crispy vadas.

Heat oil for deep-frying in a deep pan or kadai over medium-high heat.

Dip the potato balls in the batter and coat them all over with the batter. Drop them gently in hot oil. Use a fork for dipping and taking them out of the batter. Do not overcrowd the pan.

Fry the vada on medium-high heat until they are lightly brown. Keep flipping them to cook evenly on all the sides using a slotted spoon.

Drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. Fry all the vada until lightly browned and drain on the plate.

Now heat the oil once again on high heat until it is very hot. Drop a few vada once again in hot oil and fry until they are nicely browned and crisp.

Note – If making these for a gathering, you can fry the vada once and store them for 4-5 hours. Then fry them again in hot oil when ready to serve.

Drain them on a plate lined with paper towel.

Note – Fry a few green chili peppers in the same oil until blistered. Make sure to make a slit in them so that they do not burst while frying. Drain them on a plate lined with a paper towel and sprinkle some salt over them.

Serve the vada with fried chili peppers, green chutney, and dry coconut chutney. You can also stuff these in-between pavs and serve as vada pav. Or else stuff between burger buns or sandwich bread to make sandwiches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

Serve them just out of the pan with chutney such as Dry Garlic Chutney, Coriander Mint Chutney, and Sweet Tamarind Chutney. I like them with ketchup too. Fried green chili peppers and dry coconut chutney are also traditionally served with these vadas.

In South India, these are served with Coconut Chutney.

You can stuff them between pav, bread rolls, or sandwich bread with a side of fried green chilies, and serve along with Masala Chai, Adrak Wali Chai, or Filter Coffee. 

Storage Suggestions

Batata vada tastes best when served right out of the oil but you can store them in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the fridge

You can also freeze once-fried vadas! Just fry them once and arrange them on a tray. Freeze the vadas for an hour, gather and store them into ziplock freezer bags and freeze for about a month.

Once you want to serve them, take the frozen vada out, let them sit on the counter for an hour, and then deep fry until crispy and browned.

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