Vada pav
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Vada Pavs (also spelt Wada Pav) are Bombay's very own fast food. Cheap and filling, they are best eaten hot on a rainy day. The vada pav consists of the vada and the pav (bread). The vada is usually potato-based. Potatoes are mashed/diced and coated with a herbed batter, then deep fried. The finished vada is then wrapped in bread and served with condiments such as chutney and red chili powder.
Vada pavs form a breakfast for many of the local people of Maharashtra. The snack is often served at breakfast and at tea time in many of the region's small eateries. On long distance trains, it is sometimes served as a snack. Like hot dogs and other roadside fast food, care must be taken in ensuring that the product is not undercooked, or illness/acidity/etc are likely.
Mumbai's favourite snack was born 35 years ago, when Ashok Vaidya, a snack seller outside Dadar railway station, decided to experiment. The combination of batata vada and split pav continues to be the city's sledgehammer answer to the burger.