Vada pav — 515 kcal, and where they actually are

The verdict

Refined bread wrapped around deep-fried potato. There is no protein in it anywhere.

Component by component

Per one vada pav. Estimates, not yet verified against IFCT 2017.

Pav

1 piece · ~60 g

160

Carbs31 g

Protein5 g

Fat2 g

Fibre1 g

White bread. The smaller half of the problem.

Potato and besan coating

1 vada · ~90 g

165

Carbs26 g

Protein5 g

Fat4 g

Fibre3 g

Potato is the filling; the besan batter is thin.

Absorbed frying oil

— · ~17 g

155

Carbs0 g

Protein0 g

Fat17 g

Fibre0 g

Around a third of the calories, and entirely invisible.

Where the damage is

Chutneys

— · ~25 g

Carbs6 g

Protein1 g

Fat1 g

Fibre1 g

Small. Not worth worrying about.

Three ways to fix it

Ordered by what you give up.

Option 1 · One, as a snack, not as lunch−515

One. Never two. Never as a meal.

Around 515 calories with almost no protein means you are hungry again within ninety minutes. That is what makes it two.

Taste cost: None

Option 2 · Vada without the pav−160

The vada on its own with chutney.

Common in Mumbai and nobody looks at you strangely for it.

Taste cost: Real

Option 3 · Change the snack−350

Roasted chana, boiled corn chaat, or an egg.

Vada pav is not fixable. It is worth eating occasionally and worth not building a habit around.

Taste cost: High

← All thirty dishes