My husband is a simple man, not particularly fussy about food. Requests are rare, complains even rarer.

I was pleasantly surprised when the other day, out of the blue, he challenged me to reinterpret the classic Bombay Vada Pav. More so because he is a complete Bombay boy, absolutely in love with the ubiquitous dish.

I have been mulling over it for the last few days and have a few ideas up my sleeve. Today I committed to one of them. This is the laziest of versions and while it doesn’t quite translate literally, it comes pretty close. It will definitely be one of my go to sandwich stuffings. Besides he loved it too 🙂

What goes into it

10 slices of bread
3 medium sized potatoes, grated or finely diced
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1 green chilly, chopped fine
1 tbsp coriander, chopped fine
1 tbsp ginger paste
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp red chill powder / paprika
1 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp fresh cream / malai
1 tsp of lemon juice
2 tbsp of oil
Salt to taste
Water to cook the potatoes

How to go about it
Place a non stick pan on medium flame. Add the oil, the potatoes, the onions, the green chillies,  the ginger, the coriander, all the dry spices and the salt.

Mix well, allowing the spices and the oil to coat the potatoes and onions. Add about a half cup of water and cook covered. Add more water if and when required and cook till the potatoes are nice and soft.

When the potatoes are done, mash them and add a tbsp of cream. Cook till all the moisture evaporates. You’ll be left with a creamy mixture.

Place about 2 tbsp of the mix between 2 buttered slices of a bread of your choice. Slightly butter one side of a pre heated sandwich griller. Place the sandwich, butter the top side of the bread and grill for a few minutes. Cut and serve hot with chips, chutney and cola.