When it comes to easy-to-make breakfast dishes, sandwiches are often considered one of the best options. They are not only easy to prepare but also highly versatile. One can easily adjust the stuffing according to taste and nutritional needs. A sandwich typically consists of at least two slices of bread filled with popular ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, eggs, meat, spreads, or a combination of these. They are commonly enjoyed as a quick breakfast, lunch, snack, or light meal.
Celebrating the dish, Taste Atlas recently released a list of the World's Most Iconic Sandwiches, which includes 294 dishes. Among these, there is a proud moment for India, as one of the country's most popular street snacks has been featured. Scroll down to find the details.
Which Indian Dish Is Among the World's Most Iconic Sandwiches?
Vada Pav is ranked at the 30th position. It is one of Mumbai's favorite sandwiches, with its name referring to the key ingredients: vada, or spicy mashed potatoes that are deep-fried in chickpea batter, and pav, or white bread rolls. This iconic street food is said to have originated from a street vendor named Ashok Vaidya, who worked near the Dadar train station in the 1960s and 1970s. According to the Taste Atlas website, he thought of a way to satiate hungry workers and concluded that the ideal dish should be portable, affordable, and easy to prepare. Ashok made vada pav, and its popularity skyrocketed, especially after the Shiv Sena, a Marathi-Hindu nationalist political party, started to promote the sandwich as an ideal working-class snack. Today, the sandwich is sold throughout Mumbai, both on street stands and in elegant restaurants, ideally accompanied by a hot red chutney made with coconut, peanuts, garlic, tamarind, and chilies.
Which Dish Is at the Top?
Tombik Döner of Turkiye is ranked number 1. It is a variety of döner kebab where shredded meat is stuffed in a bun-shaped flatbread known as pide ekmek. The bread has a crispy exterior and a soft interior. This dish is typically served with additional ingredients depending on the customer's choice, such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce, or other assorted vegetables and sauces. At the 100th position, there is Bocadillo de lomo of Spain. It is a Spanish sandwich that consists of bread filled with pork tenderloin. A Spanish-style baguette (barra de pan), mollete, or ciabatta is typically sliced in half lengthwise, and it is then often toasted or grilled for added crunchiness. Both sides of the bread are usually rubbed with ripe tomato halves and garlic cloves on the inside, and the sandwich's filling can be enhanced with the addition of cheese, tomato slices, peppers, onions, or even slices of Spanish tortilla (potato omelet).
How to Make Vada Pav at Home
Ingredients
- For the potato filling: 4 medium boiled potatoes, 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 8–10 curry leaves, 2 green chilies, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, salt to taste, and 2 tbsp coriander leaves
- For the batter: 1 cup gram flour, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of baking soda, salt to taste, and water as required
- For serving: 6 pav, garlic chutney, and fried green chilies
Method
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, and turmeric. Add the boiled and mashed potatoes and salt. Mix well and cook for 2–3 minutes.
- Stir in coriander leaves and let the mixture cool. Divide the mixture into equal portions and shape them into balls.
- Dip the balls in a slurry made with gram flour, turmeric, baking soda, salt, and water. Ensure the batter has a coating consistency.
- Deep fry the balls until golden brown and crispy.
- Slice the pav horizontally and spread garlic chutney on the inside. Place a hot vada inside each pav and serve with fried green chilies.
Images courtesy: iStock
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