Vada Pav

The pride of Maharashtra, the Vada Pav has long been one of the most sought after snacks in Western India. A vegetarian Marathi snack, Vada Pav has its origins deeply embedded within the coastal state. The snack mainly consists of two elements —the Vada (a fried pattice made of boiled potato mashed with chopped chillies, finely diced onions, coriander and other ground spices, coated multiple times in chickpea batter) and the Pav (Indian bread). After the Vada is deep fried, it is placed between two butter-tossed crispy Pavs and served with green mint chutney (a gooey mash), almost like a burger with dressing inside.

The roots to Vada Pav’s invention are fairly well traceable. Ashok Vaidya, a Maharashtrian gentleman, was the inventor of this popular snack. In the 1960s, Balasaheb Thackeray, the then-Chief Minister of Maharashtra, urged local vendors to create new eatables and cited the shining example of the state of Karnataka with its prolific business of setting up Udipi restaurants across the nation. This inspired Vaidya to set up a stall outside Dadar Railway Station (arguably the busiest of all Mumbai local railway stations) in 1966 and sell Vada with Poha (a vegetarian snack made of rice flakes lightly tossed with onions, coriander, peanuts, tomatoes and chillies), as well as Omelette-Pav. One day, Vaidya suddenly thought of placing the Vada between two Pav-s and adding a dash of chutney to enhance the flavour. His experiment took off remarkably well, boosting his sales exponentially. The snack not only earned him fame and respect but became a signature dish of Maharashtra, one that proudly heroed local resources.

The sales of Vada Pav were further bolstered after the coastal state witnessed a financial crisis. In the 1970s and 80s, the industrial landscape of Maharashtra was undergoing a major shift, with numerous textile mills shutting down after contentious bouts of strikes. This automatically led to mass unemployment. With the Shiv Sena government’s encouragement, these out-of-job factory workers began opening Vada Pav stalls and selling their wares. Soon, Vada Pav supplies accelerated and the snack became an easy answer to every citizen’s craving for a mid-day meal or even an evening titbit.

For that matter, even the influx of foreign food chains like McDonalds into India during the 1990s was unable to upend the beloved loyalty that Vada Pav seamlessly enjoyed. The economic viability of the vegetarian snack was much more appealing than the fancy brands belting out the same, monotonous items on the menu.

In fact, the dish has so much significance and fanfare till date, that 23 August is celebrated as Vada Pav Day, every year.