Vada Pav in the Instant Pot (Spicy Potato Sliders)

Vada pav or spicy potato sliders are an iconic street food found all over India. Traditionally, this is a very indulgent snack as it has bold spices and is deep fried. With our hack, we’ve made this popular favorite into a non-fried, quick and easy dish without sacrificing any of the flavor. Serve up these sliders and no one will ever guess they’re not deep fried!

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Instant pot
Trivet which comes with the Instant Pot
Paniyaram pan
2 bowls
Potato masher
2 tablespoons oil (1 for tempering + 1 for batter) + extra to cook potato vada
4 large potatoes-peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
½ large onion thinly sliced into rings
Amli/imli chutney (tamarind chutney)- use our recipe to make your own
Cilantro/Mint chutney-use your favorite brand
¼ teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced green chilies
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
8-10 curry leaves dried or fresh
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric (½ tsp for batter + ½ tsp for potato mix)
1 teaspoon salt (for potato mix) + ½ teaspoon salt (for batter)
½ teaspoon rye (mustard seeds)
Slider buns-use your favorite brand
½ cup water + extra for batter

Instructions

Place the trivet in the Instant Pot
Pour ½ cup water in the pot
Place the potatoes on top of the trivet
Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot
Press MANUAL (6 qt pot) or PRESSURE COOK ( 3qt pot) on the Instant Pot (high pressure)
Set timer to 8 minutes
Once the timer goes off, allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 mins
After 5 mins, turn the vent on top of the lid to venting to release the rest of the steam
Carefully remove the potatoes into a large mixing bowl
In a small pan, heat oil and add curry leaves and rye (mustard seeds) and allow to pop
Using a potato masher, completely mash the potatoes
Add the curry leaves mixture to the potatoes
Add in the green chilies, garlic, ginger
Add in the sugar, salt, turmeric, citric acid, cilantro
Using a spoon or your hands, mix well to incorporate all ingredients
Taste to see if you need to adjust spices
Set aside the potato mixture
In another bowl, add the besan (chickpea flour)
Add turmeric and salt and baking soda
Add a small amount of water to get a thick batter
Add 1 tablespoon of oil
Whisk batter to make sure there are no lumps- set aside
Make 1 inch balls out of the potato mixture and set aside
Heat the paniyaram pan on the stove on medium heat
Add a drop of oil into each slot on the pan
Drop the potato ball into the batter and place it into the pan
Allow to cook for 3 minutes
Flip each vada and allow to cook for 3 more minutes
Carefully remove the vada onto a plate
To assemble, split open the slider buns
On one half of the bun, spread cilantro chutney
On the 2nd half of the bun, spread the amli/tamarind chutney
Add a few slices of onions on top of the bottom bun
Add a potato vada on top of the onions
Add extra chutney if desired
Place the top bun on top of the vada
Serve and Enjoy!!

Notes

Serving suggestion
You may toast the vada pav on a hot pan or griddle with butter after assembling if you want the bread to be toasty
You can add fresh sliced green chilies in the vada pav for an extra spicy kick
Amli/Tamarind chutney recipe

Variations

Vegan Variation: This recipe is completely vegan.
No Onion/ No Garlic: Omit the onions and garlic and follow along with the original recipe.