Ek cutting aur Ek Vada Pao - Living Mumbai 5

The first thing I wanted to do after I landed in Mumbai after 3 months in Amsterdam was to have a Vada pao. But my flight landed at night by the time all the vada pao stalls had down their shutters.

Its no fun eating Batata vada pao (patato vada bread, I don’t know what vada is called in English) in a hotel. It’s always tastes the best and is a lot of fun on a tapri (small cart or way-side stall). Mumbai can never be complete without vada paos. It’s truly the only fast food of Mumbai. Sure there is samosa, cutlets and now even Chinese. But Vada pao will remain the original fast food of Mumbai, cheap, fast and easy to eat. You just stuff a vada between soft bread and you are ready to go.

I have been eating vada pao since, I don’t know since when. My dad used to bring vada pao when I was small. I have eaten it everywhere, in my school, college everywhere. It serves what you want it to be. Like a breakfast, a lunch or dinner.

Nobody knows who, where or when the vada was invented. But surely whoever invented it did one hell of a job. Potatoes boiled, mashed and mixed with turmeric, chillies and much more to form a round ladhu and then covered with besan and then deep fried.

Then you have the choice of what has to be applied on the pao. It can be hot chutney, or sweet chutney or both. Many vendors are known for their chutneys. I remember when I used to attend college in Grant Road, there was a vada pao vendor (I think he still is there). He used to serve redish chatney. I still don’t know what it was. But it tasted good. It was worth parting our precious pocket money for vada pao.

Then there was the vada pao stall in front of dad’s shop. Whenever dad asked me to sit there, I surely would eat a couple of vada paos there. Then there’s the famous Krishna vada pao in dadar, next to Ideal book shop. Big in size and surely great in taste. people have been eating vada pao for many years now. In fact there are so many vada pao stalls in Mumbai, there is always a locality favourite. And then there were these flat vadas in long distance train. They looked different and were tasty.

Forgive my boasting, but maharahstrain make the best vadas and I mean the best batata vadas. Just as south indians make the best mendu vadas.

I always liked my vada hot and if it is with a cutting chai then it’s the best. Cutting chai or tea as we know it again tastes best on a tapri. Rs. 3.00 if you sit or Rs. 2.50 if you drink it standing. It comes along with elaichi. Tastes too good. A hot spicy vada pao in one hand and a steaming glass of tea in other, pure bliss. And having a vada pao and a cutting chai in a cold weather, incredible.

Back in Amsterdam, I really want to have a vada pao when i go home in the evening with that soft bread, hot cutney and ek cutting chai.

Vada pao is sometimes called the Indian burger. But I think burger is the western’s vada pao. This blog really makes my mouth water.