Ingredients
FOR THE BREAD
All purpose flour – 1 & 1/2 cup or 230 gms
Salt – ½ tsp
Instant dry yeast – ½ tsp
Powdered sugar – 1 Tbsp
Refined Oil – 2 Tbsp
FOR THE STUFFING
Oil – 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 4-5
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Garlic paste – 1.5 Tbsp
Ginger paste – 1 Tbsp
Green Chilly paste – 1 Tbsp
Boiled potato – 3-4 medium potato or 300 gms
Chopped coriander – 2 Tbsp
Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together all the dry ingredients for the dough. If you are using instant yeast like I am then add that also to the dry mix. If you are using active dry yeast, then you will first need to dissolve it in water before adding it to the flour.
- Add water slowly to the dry flour mix and make a soft dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes till it is soft and supple.
- Add the oil and knead it in the dough well. In a well oiled bowl, place this dough. Cover it with a moist cloth or clingfilm and leave it in a slightly warm place to rise for 20- 25 mins.
- Don’t wait for the dough to become double in size or very fluffy at this stage. If the dough over proofs (over rises) then it will get difficult to roll and shape into buns.
- For the stuffing, heat oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and mustard seeds. Let the seeds crackle.
- Add the curry leaves, green chilly paste, turmeric, ginger and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes off.
- Add the boiled and mashed potatoes. Season with salt. Finally add in the chopped coriander after switching off the flame. Let this mix cool down completely. Divide it into 6 equal balls.
- After the dough has risen for 20 -25 mins, punch it down and divide it into 6 equal balls.
- Apply some oil onto a flat surface and roll the dough balls into a thick flat roti about 4 inch in diameter and 1 cm thickness.
- Place the potato stuffing ball in the middle of this and bring all the edges together, like we would do for making alu paratha. Pinch and secure firmly. Place the ball on the surface with the seam side down and then roll it using your palm , while stretching its surface and pinching it at the bottom to create tension. This will give a smooth top on the bread, otherwise it will have a lot of poch marks. Repeat this process for all the dough balls.
- Flatten this slightly and then, apply oil to prevent drying. Place all the shaped pavs on an oiled and dusted baking tray. Cover and rise for 30-40 mins. You can also use baking parchment paper/ silicon paper to avoid dusting the tray. Cover it carefully such that the pavs have space to rise on top.
- After they have risen in size, bake in a preheated oven at 250 C Celsius for 8- 9 mins. Preheat the oven for 15 mins.
- Once they are out of the oven, brush them with refined oil or melted butter, to soften the crust. They are now ready to serve.
Notes
- To make mini sized vada pavs , you can make 12 dough balls of equal size instead of 6 in this recipe. Bake them at 250 C for 5-7 mins.
- When you reheat these in the otg, set the temperature at the lowest setting and place them on the tray. Cover them with aluminum foil , to prevent further browning of the vadas. This will also prevent them from drying out. You can spray them with fine mist of drinking water with the help of a spray bottle, before reheating them. Do not heat them for more than 20 – 25 mins this way. So keep heating them in smaller batches. Once they are out of the oven, once again rub some melted butter on top , to make them look fresh and appetizing.
- You can bake them 3-4 hours before serving time. If you want to keep them for a longer time it is better to freeze them in a freezer safe container, do not store these in the refrigerator as the bread dries out and becomes crumbly. Just thaw it to room temperature before following step 2 for reheating. These can be kept frozen for 15-20 days. I haven’t tried freezing beyond this time.
