The city of Mumbai is known for a lot of things; the Marine Drive, the Hindi Film Industry, and the world famous Vada Pav.
These Vada Pav's are made out of squarish white bread, with a fried potato filling sandwiched in between. This delectable treat can be paired with sabzi, keema, vada and chutney. It is a popular belief that the Portuguese introduced the concept of baking breads during their colonial stint in Goa. Mingling the European tastes with the India tadka, the famous Vada Pav was born.
The credit for the modern-day Vada Pav largely goes to Ashok Vaidya, who was a street vendor who sold these Vada Pav's outside the chaotic Dadar train station back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Rather than just frying the mashed potatoes dipped in besan and serving them piping hot, he tossed them in a pav along with some chutney and a green chilly.
The political connect of the Vada Pav
The homegrown Shiv Sena party is also known to have had a major role increasing the popularity of this dish. In the 1970s and the 1980s, Shiv Sena promoted Vada Pav as the first food choice of the Marathi working class. This further encouraged the party members to set up Vada Pav stalls across the city. It eventually got so popular that they even had a Vada Pav branded in their party’s name – Shiv Vada.
Even though the name and the scheme got caught up in a lot of controversies when it was launched, it can still be found in certain places across Mumbai.