Meera Sodha's vegan Christmas recipe for vada pav with coriander and peanut chutney | Christmas food and drink (2024)

Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Makes 8, to serve 4

For the vada
500g maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
Rapeseed oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
Fine sea salt

For the batter
150g gram flour
⅓ tsp baking powder

To serve
8 good-quality bread buns

First make the chutney. Throw everything but a small handful of the coriander into a blender, add a couple of tablespoons of water and blitz until just blended – you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl and/or add a little more water to get it nice and smooth. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside.

Put the potatoes in a saucepan, add cold water to cover, bring to a boil, then simmer until a knife slips into the flesh easily – about 10-15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a heatproof bowl.

For the batter, put the gram flour in a bowl with the baking powder and a third of a teaspoon of salt. Drizzle in 165ml water, mixing as you go, until the mixture is as thick as pouring custard.

Divide the potato mixture in half, split each half into four and roll into equal-sized balls, so that you end up with eight little balls roughly 4cm in diameter.

To cook the vada, put 3cm of oil in a small-ish saucepan at the back of the hob, and set over a low to medium heat. Test by dripping in a bit of batter: if it floats almost instantly, the oil is hot enough.

Dip the potato into the batter using a spoon, roll it around, then carefully drop it into the hot oil. The cooking time may vary, but leave to fry for a minute and a half, until the vada lifts easily with a spatula without breaking the batter, then turn upside down and fry for another minute and a half, until golden all over. Remove with the spatula and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining potato balls, then drizzle any leftover batter into the hot oil and cook until golden, so you end up with a small mountain of crisp bits.

To serve, place one or two vadas in a bread bun, or pav, drizzle over some of the green chutney, add a few bits of the crisp batter and some of the reserved coriander, and eat fresh, hot and quickly.

Fiona Beckett’s drinks match

Who doesn’t secretly want a beer at the end of Christmas Day? My general go-to is Lost & Grounded’s Keller Pils (£2.75 for 440ml Waitrose, 4.8%) or, if you’ve overdone it, Lucky Saint’s Low-Alcohol Lager (£1.80 for 330ml Sainsbury’s, 0.5%). Both are also available at indies.