Railway station vada pav is a delight unto itself. My favorite vada pavs were the ones bought at the little snack & newspaper station right on the railway platform as an always-starving stufent 
.
Vada pav isnât chaat, though. And the abomination of tamarind chutney is a recent one 
. The spicy dry red garlic chutney is all thatâs needed, and all that used to be offered back in the day. Donât need chutney if youâre just eating a batatavada, but if you pay the minor upcharge for the pav to make it a meal, the addition of the red chutney adds some heat to balance the blandness of the bread.
One of my dadâs favorite snacks. Heâd go for an evening walk for âhealthâ purposes and return with piping hot vadas (âshe was frying them fresh and hot - how could I say no? 
).
You may enjoy the Maharashtrian food thread from a while back â discussion of batatavadas and vada pav among other Bombay snacks.
