Operation Vada Pav !

Thanks to Australian Open , I achieved the perfect vada pav yesterday ! One might wonder what Australian Open has to do with the famous amchi vada pav of Mumbai -well , here goes - my better half is an avid fan of tennis and whenever time permits and whenever AXN , HBO , Star Movies , etc. , etc. channels do not show some action movies ( don't know why men all over the world , and of all ages love gory bloody scenes with lot of guns and revolvers ) , he will automatically start watching any sports channel which is showning any tennis match ( it could probably be last years match or the year before that ,it does'nt matter as long it is tennis !) in any part of the world ! So for obvious reasons any of the BIG TENNIS MATCHES simply have to be watched - not that I grudge him of that pleasure, far from it - all programmes for that particular Sunday (If I am right all these finals are normally held on a Sunday) are cancelled and priority is given to the Big Event.

Yesterday being the finals of Australian Open , my better half sat down to watch, with lot of excitement ( after being married for 28 years , I can sense his moods even though he is the silent type and is not given to revealing his emotions ! ) . About my interest in sports - I am a cricket fan (like most Indians ) and tennis somehow does'nt excite me . Hence with a long afternoon and an evening before me , my thoughts turned to one of my interests _ cooking .

With two thirds of the working members at homeI decided to tickle their tastebuds with something more interesting than the usual "chakli , sev, farsan'' Sunday evening snacks. A light shone in my mind's eye and before me I saw the humble but ever so popular Vada pav !

Operation 1- Armed with Tarla Dalal's ( God bless the sweet lady ) "Chaat ", I delved into vada pav recipe with full energy and excitement and a little nervousness and proceeded to create the perfect vada pav- boiled , peeled and mashed potatoes, let the oil splutter and swish , in went mustard seeds, & garlic-chilly paste, into the sizzling oil and finally mashed potatoes, a pinch of turmeric powder, asfoetida and salt and two minutes of stir fry - the golden potato stuffing was ready, merrily garnished with fresh coriander ! Next , ( now the excitement was growing !) some grated coconut , red chillies and some garlic pods roasted ( what an aroma !)and ground coarsely - Voila the pungent " lasun chutney " ! Finally, chopped green green chillies, fresh coriander, and ground with salt and a little tamarind and there -green chutney was ready too. Finally , gram flour, soda bicarb ,salt and a pinch of chilli powder mixed proportionately with water to the right consistency and lo behold - the batter was ready !

Operation 2 - Heated oil in the kadhai and as the oil sizzled blobs of potato filling dipped in batter, went intothe oil and emerged golden brown ! Took a pav ( one of those very soft ones ordered from the friendly neighbourhood kirana shop ) , sliced it , applied lasun chutney on one side and green chutney on the other and in between the two went the golden brown batata vada . The fruit (more appropriate to say snack ! ) of my labour was ready !

The stage was set for the verdict to be given by the family members and I was as nervous as a school girl as, first, my husband bit into his vada pav . Slowly his eyes widened in surprise and his face broke into a wide smile and nodding his head he ,gave me the thumbs up sign ! I heaved a sigh of relief and happiness washed over me , but I was still a little apprehensive as my daughter had to give her opinion ( she happens to be the one who, over the years has contributed by no small means to boosting my confidence in my cooking and till today considers me to be the world's best cook ). One bite and by the look in her eyes I knew that i had not let her down. "Romba Nalla Irukku , amma " (its very good ) and the lasun chutney is amazing " she piped ! I knew from that - I had made the perfect Vada pav !

Vote of thanks - 1- The Australian Open Finals without which my mind would not have come up with this creation on a Sunday evening !

2. Ms. Tarla Dalal without whose guidance I would'nt have created the perfect "Vada Pav " .

3. Last but not least, my better half and my daughter ( my confidence booster !) for their encouragement and giving me the feeling of "duniya meri muttee mein " as far as cooking is concerned !