Croissant vada pav anyone? Unique spins on Mumbai's favourite street food to try this Vada Pav Day

It's officially Vada Pav Day! Today, August 23 is being celebrated as World Vada Pav Day. You could run over to your nearest street vendor and have them pack this deliciousness up for you right away. But, if you want to make your Friday afternoon a little more gastronomically exciting, make your way through this list of very interesting reinterpretations of Mumbai's favourite food export to the world.

Chicken vada pav

Love the curry leaf tadka and carb-cased spicy chutney combo but feel like gorging on some meat? Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor has already reimagined the vada pav with chicken swapping the humble potato.

Ingredients: Pavs - 8 (slit in half), Chicken mince - 250 gms, Oil - 1 tbsp, Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp, Chopped curry leaves - 6 to 8, Chopped green chillies - 2, Chopped garlic - 1 tbsp, Haldi - 1 tsp, Freshly chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, Salt to taste, Besan - 1 1/2 cup, Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp, Jeera powder - 1 tsp, Dhaniya powder - 2 tsps, Baking soda - a pinch; Green chutney, Vada pav sukha chutney, Fried green chillies to serve

Method: Make tempering with mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, garlic, turmeric powder and chopped coriander. Add to chicken mince with salt and mix well. In a separate bowl make a semi-thick batter with the besan, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and a pinch of baking soda. Grease your palms with oil and make vadas out of the tempered mince. Dip in slurry and deep fry till crispy and golden. Drain off excess oil. Slather green chutney on the pavs and layer with sukha chutney. Finish with vada and green chillies.

Vada pav quesadilla

If you're trying to lay off white bread but still love yourself an occasional vada pav run (or two!), this innovative vada pav quesadilla from Bingo Foodbook, has a more nutritious take on the recipe while keeping the core flavours intact.

Ingredients: For stuffing — Oil - 1 tbsp, Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp, Hing - 1/4 tsp, Chopped curry leaves - 5 to 6, Haldi - 1/4 tsp, Green chilli paste - 1 1/2 tbsp, Dry ginger powder- 1 1/2tsp, Carom seeds - 1/8 tsp, Boiled and mashed raw potatoes - 3, Salt to taste; Assembly — Half cooked wheat rotis, Green chutney, Sweet chutney, Stuffing, Ghee

Method: Mix all the ingredients together for the stuffing. Layer a roti with the chutneys and stuffing and seal in with another roti. Heat ghee on a pan and cook assembly on both sides till completely cooked and crispy.

Croissant vada pav

Croissant vada pav didn't really get the reception it deserved when it made its way to the internet back in 2021.

Come to think of it, the flaky croissant becomes the carb, adding a patty-like texture to each bite while the potatoes and chutney maintain the authenticity of this fusion recipe. Just get the vadas and chutney from a vendor and a packaged croissant from your favourite convenience store. Slice the croissant, nestle in the vadas, lather on the chutney and dive into the (very messy) deliciousness.

Ulta vada pav

This is hands down the most innovative spin on the list. Tarla Dalal's reimagining of the vada pav, turns the recipe inside-out. Quite literally!

Ingredients: For potato stuffing — Oil - 1 tbsp, Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Curry leaves - 6, Chopped garlic - 3/4 tbsp, Chopped ginger - 1 tsp, Chopped green chillies - 1 tsp, Finely chopped onions - 1/4 cup, Haldi - 1/2 tsp, Boiled and mashed potatoes - 1 1/4 cups, Chopped coriander - 1 tbsp, Lemon juice - 1 tsp, Salt to taste; For the besan batter — Besan - 1 1/2 cups, Haldi - 1/2 tsp, Baking soda - 2 pinches, Hot oil - 2 tsp, Salt to taste; Other ingredients — Ladi pav - 10, Garlic chutney, Oil for deep frying; For serving — Dried garlic chutney, Fried green chillies

Method: For the stuffing, add oil to a hot pan followed by the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the garlic, ginger and green chillies followed by the onions, haldi, potatoes, coriander, lemon juice and salt. Cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine all the ingredients for the besan batter with 3/4 cup water. Now slit your vada pavs and slather with chutneys. Layer with the stuffing. Now put the bread back together and dip into batter. Deep fry till golden brown.

For the health freaks: Nutty sweet potato vada pav

Are you fighting to stay off the carbs and calories but still catch yourself wistfully dreaming about some good old bread and potatoes and the million mouthwatering recipes that can come of them? This nutty sweet potato vada pav recipe from Cooking with Pree keeps nutrition in mind.

Ingredients: For the vada — Sweet potato - 1 large, Giger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp, Curry leaves - 4 to 5, Chopped coriander leaves - 2 to 3 tbsps, Haldi - 1/2 tsp, Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp, Finely chopped green chilli - 1, Hing - 1/4 tsp, Salt to taste, Oil as needed; For the batter — Besan - 1/2 cup, Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp, Haldi - 1/4 tsp, Baking soda - 1/4 tsp, Salt to taste; For the spicy nut chutney — Walnuts - 2 tbsps, Pistachios - 2 tbsps, Chilli powder to taste, Amchur - 1/2 tsp, Jeera - 1/4 tsp, Garlic - 1

Method: For the chutney, dry roast the nuts and garlic till aromatic. Dry roast the remaining ingredients then blend together with salt. Boil, peel and mash the sweet potato. Add ghee to a pan followed by the mustard seeds, jeera, chilli, ginger-garlic and curry leaves. Now add the sweet potatoes, haldi, chillies and salt and mix. Once this has cooled, add the coriander leaves. Make the besan batter. Make lemon-sized balls of the mixture and dip in batter. You can either fry these with minimal oil the way you fry appe or even pop them in the air fryer. Heat the pavs on the tava, slather the nut chutney and some green chutney. Finish with the vadas.

Will you be switching things up for your taste buds with any of these unique spins?