We explore why Vada Pav is synonymous with Mumbai

In the week of World Vada Pav Day, we decided to trace the snack’s history to understand why it is synonymous with Mumbai

Pav, vada and chutney — a trio that when clubbed together, makes a dish that every Mumbaikar knows and loves to devour. But what is the story behind this common man’s meal, which is sold on the streets and restaurants across the city? “Vada pav originated in Mumbai’s Dadar area, precisely near Dadar station’s Suvidha store. Ashok Vaidya was the first one to start serving and selling this dish on a small stall,” says Dr Mohsina Mukadam, a food historian.  

Vaidya was the inventor and founder of this iconic dish, that he invented sometime between 1967 and 1968.  “It is a relatively new dish. Vaidya’s two sons now look after the same stall at the same location,” says Dr Mukadam, adding that in general, in India, one cannot isolate a dish from the politics and economics of the time  when it was discovered . “The late 1960s was the time when Shiv Sena was getting a foothold. It was also the decade when several Udupi restaurants had cropped up in the city; people from the southern states had migrated to Mumbai and were getting employed in the private sector. 

So, there was a certain anti-South Indian sentiment, as well as the entire local versus immigrant unrest. All of this was expressed by late Balasaheb Thackeray in his political speeches in the late ’60s,” she elucidates. There was a lot of conversation around ‘protecting the Maharashtrian identity’ at least when it came to food. So it started with promoting and selling bhajiyas and vadas on stalls across the city; and from this, Vaidya decided to tweak it a little, and came up with the idea of making vada pav. 

For a dish to evolve, several factors need to come together. Like in this dish, there were a few reasons that pav was included. “Until the late 1960s, a major part of the society was not accepting any kind of bread, because there was a colonial shade to it — bread was introduced to Indians by Portuguese and the British. However, in the same decade (1960s), a lot of women had started joining the workforce, and so bread became an easy breakfast item,” explains the food historian.

The reason that the good ‘ol vada pav is still so popular in the city is that the dish doesn’t require any cutlery to be eaten and neither do you need chairs and tables to sit and eat. “You can eat while walking on the road or before boarding the local train — it is well-suited to the fast-paced life of Mumbai,” concludes Dr Mukadam.

Prawn vada pav

Here’s a fun twist to the humble vada pav

Ingredients 
>> 250 gm prawns (cleaned, washed and dry)
>> One boiled and smashed potato
>> 50 gm of fresh crushed coconut
>> Two chopped green chillies 
>> Half a cup chopped coriander
>> 1 small onion chopped 
>> Rice flour, as and when needed (for binding the vada) 
>> Red chilli powder
>> Turmeric 
>> Salt (as per taste)
>> Besan (gram flour) for batter 
>> Refined oil 
>> Water

Ushri Guruji

Method 
In a container mix prawns, potato, green chilli, crushed coconut, coriander, turmeric, salt. Mix all of these with your hands. Add besan and water (very slowly) so that you can make a thick batter out of it. Now, make four round vadas. In a deep pan, pour oil and heat it. Once hot, dip the batter vadas and deep fry them till they turn golden brown. Place the hot vadas in between the pav and serve with dry garlic powdered chutney, mint coriander chutney or even mayonnaise; with a side of fried chillies.  

Recipe courtesy: Ushri Guruji, home chef, @ushri_homechef

Delish list

Curious where the city’s popular restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs get their fix of vada pav? Read on to know 

Parvez Patel, owner, Ideal Corner
I absolutely enjoy eating vada pav at Shree Datta Snacks in Panvel. The vada is not too salty and not too spicy, it’s perfectly balanced — it has a peculiar taste. At most eateries, vada pav usually has too much masala. This halt that’s near Panvel Phata en route to Goa, makes vada and the pav of the same size, which is rare.

Asha Jhaveri, owner, Swati Snacks
I have tried vada pav a few times and loved the version that are sold near Mithibai College, near Cooper Hospital. It is a small roadside stall, and the taste of the vada is absolutely amazing. The flavours are authentic and, not deep fried too much. I love their red garlic sukha chutney in it and the green chillies served with the dish. If I travel to the suburbs, I drop by.

Munaf Kapadia, chief eating officer, The Bohri Kitchen
Aram Vada Pav in the Capitol Cinema building (opposite CSMT) seems to have nailed the way a vada pav should be made. The taste is authentic and the masala that they make the stuffing in the vada gives it a delicious and distinct taste. It’s a no-nonsense vada pav. They always have freshly made vadas so they are always hot, and the pav is fresh and soft. 

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