Air-Fried Batata Wada: A Healthy, Tasty Treat

Batata vada is a popular Indian street food snack, often served with ladi pav, an Indian bread roll. It is made by deep-frying spiced mashed potatoes coated with a batter, resulting in crispy golden dumplings. With the advent of air fryers, many people are looking to convert their favourite deep-fried recipes into healthier, low-oil alternatives. So, can you make batata vada in an air fryer?

How to make the potato balls

To make the potato balls, you'll need to first boil and mash your potatoes. You can do this by adding water to a saucepan, dropping in the potatoes, and placing the vessel on the stove under high flame for 15-20 minutes. Once they're soft, drain the hot water and run cold water over them before peeling the skin.

Next, you'll need to prepare the potato mixture. For a basic mixture, add ginger, chillies, salt, red chilli powder, and turmeric to the mashed potatoes. However, you can also add ingredients like coriander leaves, cumin, coriander powder, dry mango powder, and cheese for extra flavour.

Once you've mixed your ingredients together, it's time to shape the potato mixture into small balls. Keep these aside while you prepare the batter.

Tips:

• For a gluten-free option, use red lentil flour instead of chickpea flour.
• You can also add other vegetables like peas, carrots, and onions to the potato mixture.
• If you like your batata vada extra spicy, serve it with lehsun chutney or garlic chutney powder.

How to make the batter

To make the batter for batata vada, you will need chickpea flour, water, salt, red chilli powder, and a pinch of baking soda. You may also add spices like turmeric powder, coriander powder, and ginger and green chilli paste to taste. The consistency of the batter should be smooth and thick, similar to pakoda batter, and not too thick or watery.

• Take chickpea flour in a bowl and slowly add water, stirring continuously to make a batter. The amount of water required is usually 2 tablespoons less than the amount of chickpea flour.
• Add salt, red chilli powder, and a pinch of baking soda to the batter. You can also add other spices like turmeric powder, coriander powder, and ginger and green chilli paste at this stage.
• Mix all the ingredients well.
• Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes to allow it to puff up.

Once the batter is ready, you can dip the potato balls into it and then place them in the air fryer to cook.

Air fryer settings

To make batata vada in an air fryer, first prepare the potato balls and the batter. To make the potato balls, boil and mash the potatoes, then mix in the spices and shape the mixture into small balls. For the batter, mix the chickpea flour with water, salt, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. The batter should be lump-free and thick, with a consistency similar to dosa batter.

Once you have prepared the potato balls and batter, dip each potato ball into the batter and coat it thoroughly. Then, place the battered balls on a sheet of parchment paper in the air fryer. Set the air fryer to 170 degrees Celsius or 340 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 10 minutes. Optionally, you can spray oil on top of the vadas and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

You can also place the battered balls directly into the air fryer without parchment paper and cook for 12 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius or 390 degrees Fahrenheit. Halfway through, spray a teaspoon of oil onto the vadas. When the timer is done, open the air fryer and brush each vada with a little oil.

Deep-frying method

Ingredients

• Boiled potatoes
• Chickpea flour/gram flour/besan
• Water
• Spices (red chilli powder, paprika, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chaat masala powder, carom seeds, asafoetida, dry mango powder, etc.)
• Salt
• Oil for deep frying
• Fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
• Green chillies
• Ginger
• Garlic (optional)
• Curry leaves (optional)
• Baking soda (optional)
• Rice flour (optional)

Method

• Prepare the potato filling: Mash the boiled potatoes and mix with spices, ginger, garlic (if using), and fresh coriander/cilantro leaves. You can also add chopped green chillies, curry leaves, and mustard seeds.
• Shape the potato mixture: Use your palms to shape the mixture into small balls or dumplings.
• Make the batter: In a separate bowl, mix chickpea flour/gram flour/besan with water to create a batter. The consistency should be similar to pakoda or dosa batter—not too thick or watery. Add spices and a pinch of baking soda to the batter, if desired.
• Coat the potato balls: Dip the potato balls into the batter, making sure they are well coated.
• Heat the oil: Use a deep frying pan or wok and heat a sufficient amount of oil for deep frying. The oil should be hot, but not too hot, to avoid the vadas absorbing too much oil.
• Fry the vadas: Carefully drop the coated potato balls into the hot oil and fry them on a medium-high heat until they are golden brown. Gently turn them occasionally to ensure even cooking.
• Drain the excess oil: Once the vadas are golden brown, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon and place them on a plate lined with a kitchen napkin or paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
• Serve: Batata vadas are typically served hot with chutneys, such as tamarind chutney, coriander chutney, dry red garlic chutney, or spicy fried green chilli. They can also be served as part of vada pav, a popular Indian street food snack, where the vadas are sandwiched between ladi pav, a type of Indian bread roll. Enjoy with a hot cup of masala chai!

Serving suggestions

Batata vada is a popular snack and can be served in a variety of ways. Here are some serving suggestions:

As a Snack

Batata vada is often served as a snack on its own. It can be enjoyed hot or warm with a variety of chutneys, such as spicy green chutney, dry garlic chutney, tamarind chutney, coriander chutney, or mint chutney. It is also commonly served with fried salted green chillies on the side for an extra spicy kick.

With Bread

Batata vada can be stuffed into pav (Indian dinner rolls or bread rolls), burger buns, or regular bread slices. It is often served with a combination of Indian chutneys, such as dry red garlic chutney, green chutney, or tamarind chutney.

With Drinks

Batata vada is commonly served with a hot cup of masala chai, making it a perfect evening snack. It can also be enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea.

As Part of a Meal

Batata vada is a key component of the popular Mumbai street food, Vada Pav. It is a delicious snack where the batata vada is sandwiched in a pav (Indian bread) with fried green chillies and served with masala chai or coffee.

Frequently asked questions