VADA PAV CHUTNEY POWDER (with/without garlic)

VADA PAV CHUTNEY POWDER (with/without garlic) – a lip smacking Indian spice mix, often used as a condiment to spice up the popular street food of India – vada pav. 

This is one recipe I have always wanted to make, but somehow it kept eluding me; not anymore! When our gourmet Facebook group “Healthy Wellthy Cuisines” suggested the theme spice powders this time for our bimonthly posts, I could not think of anything other than this lip smacking and versatile vada pav dry chutney powder!

Can you believe I have never had the pleasure of enjoying a simple vada pav either on my visit to Mumbai some time back or at home? This time, there was no looking back. I was adamant I was not going to let this opportunity go!

VADA PAV - STREET FOOD OF INDIA:

Now, what is vada pav? "Vada pav" is the quintessential street food originating and most popular in Mumbai, India. It is basically like a slider sandwich or a small burger (like dinner rolls).

Deep fried potato patties (coated in a thick besan or chickpea batter) are sandwiched between a small burger like Indian bread called pav (something like a dinner roll), slathered with green chutney, a tangy and sweet tamarind sauce along with the must-have spicy dry garlic-coconut chutney powder, generously sprinkled in and sometimes on top of the vada pav!.

DRY VADA PAV CHUTNEY POWDER:

I had heard a lot about this dry chutney which uses lots of garlic along with coconut and peanuts. It is so lip smackingly tasty and is so versatile, once you have a jar of it, you can use it to spice up all your meals!

Our family sometimes tries to avoid garlic in most dishes and so I decided to make one without garlic too! To be frank, although I loved both, I kinda preferred the no-garlic vada pav chutney a bit more! Do let me know which is your favorite!

Anyway, once you make this spicy dry vada pav chutney powder  (with or without garlic), you will end up using it not only in vada pavs but for dosas, idlis (just mix in some oil and dip), mixed with rice along with some ghee, in sandwiches etc. like my family has been doing ever since I made two bottles of this dry chutney powder!

BASIC INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THESE AMAZING CHUTNEY POWDERS:

• Garlic
• Coconut (grated, fresh or frozen) or you can use dry unsweetened coconut too.
• Spices like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, Kashmiri red chilli powder (which gives a lovely deep red color)  and white sesame seeds
• Nuts are the base of this chutney which gives a lovely nutty hue and flavor. I have used peanuts in the garlic chutney powder and pumpkin seeds in the non garlic chutney. Feel free to use your favorite nuts or seeds and make the chutney powder your own version!
• Dry red chilies – two varieties, the hot variety and the byadgi or Kashmiri red chili one which imparts color more than heat.  You can use only one or a mix of both.
• Salt – my favorite is pink salt or kala namak. You can also use regular salt.

KEY STEPS TO MAKE DRY CHUTNEY:

There are some important steps you need to follow to make the best tasting vada pav chutney powder;

• Make sure to roast the ingredients on low to medium low heat, stirring often to avoid burning. DO NOT BURN as then it will turn bitter. Let cool.
• I have used roasted sesame seeds so I did not roast them along with the other spices. But if you have raw sesame seeds, roast on low heat until slightly toasty and brown.
• Make sure to cool the roasted ingredients before making them into a powder.
• Once powdered (try to keep the texture coarse), store in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks at least.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Of course, this spice powder or chutney has to be used in vada pavs but there are many dishes where you can use this lip smacking and homemade dry garlic or non-garlic chutney powder to amp up the flavor!

You can serve it with dosas or idlis (just mix with some oil, dip and enjoy), smear on dosas to make Mysore dosas, mix with rice and some ghee, sprinkle in sandwich fillings etc.

Blitz a large batch of this lip smacking Indian spice mix powder (with or without garlic) right away and spice up your daily meals or snacks!

For more delicious Indian chutneys (wet or dry), do check out some of these from my kitchen:

• Molaga Podi (mostly used to enjoy with idlis and dosas)
• Ambuli Gojju/Raw Mango Chutney
• Apple Thokku/Chutney
• Peanut Coconut Chutney

PRINT OR SAVE THIS RECIPE HERE:

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SPICY VADA PAV CHUTNEY POWDERS:

TO MAKE THE DRY GARLIC-COCONUT CHUTNEY POWDER:

In a saucepan, roast the ingredients one by one.

First roast or fry chopped garlic pieces in 1 tsp oil on low to medium low heat, stirring continuously until it is light golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Dry roast the rest of the ingredients for a few minutes until aromatic and toasty – red chilies, coriander seeds, sesame seeds and peanuts (if not already roasted). Remove and let cool.

Dry roast coconut separately until dry and light golden brown.

Cool all the ingredients and powder to get a slightly coarse powder.

Add salt to taste, mix and bottle until ready to enjoy with vada pav, sandwiches, dosas, rice etc.

TO MAKE THE NON-GARLIC VADA PAV CHUTNEY POWDER:

Dry roast all the ingredients one by one until slightly aromatic and crisp.

Remove and powder in a coffee grinder or blender to a fairly fine powder.

Add salt to taste and store the spicy vada pav chutney powders in glass jars until ready to use.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

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I am sharing this with our Facebook gourmet group "Healthy Wellthy Cuisines" where the theme this time is "Masaladabba" or loosely translated, an Indian "spicebox"! Do check out these other versatile and spicy Indian masala powders shared by my friends:

• Punjabi Garam Masala by Jayashree
• Kadhai Masala Mix by Swaty
• Garam Masala by Ruchi
• Achari Masala Powder by Sasmita
• Maharashtrian Goda Masala by Seema

Join the party at Angie's FiestaFriday along with co-hosts Dian of @GoatsandGreens and Petra @FoodEatLove!

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