Ask anyone from Mumbai about what they remember most about street food & Chances are high that you'll hear the word 'vada pao'. It was & still remains the ultimate fast food of sustenance, The Vada, a heady mix of crumbled potatoes, ginger Garlic & sauteed green chile, enrobed in a batter of chickpea flour is deep fried and stuffed inside a rustic Pao ( the Indian version of a portuguese saloio roll), dusted with a spicy red Garlic chutney powder. Pao is part & parcel of the Bombay/Mumbai food scene thanks to to the Portuguese influence during colonial times.
<br />In the past couple of years a number of fast food chains have opened up vada pao counters with machines making the vadas...yeah whatever... Part of the experience of eating it is to visualize the huge black cauldron of smoking hot oil frying up batches of the piping hot vada & get your hands on them before they disappear!
<br />The Pao really completes this snack. The closest I've come across in the US is a saloio roll & its worth getting these to make the dish. Other substitutes sold by Indian grocery stores (labeled as Pav) just do NOT cut it! Although its never done in the traditional version, I like to add a few salad greens for an extra crunch!

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