Vada pav recognized as the world's 13th-best sandwich
One of the most popular street foods of Maharashtra, vada pav is a vegetarian fast food treat that can be relished during breakfast, lunch, or even dinner when you are in a hurry. Recently, the dish gained worldwide recognition after Taste Atlas ranked it as the world's 13th-best sandwich. Taste Atlas shared an image of the rankings on its official Twitter handle.
Vada pav got a rating of 4.4 on the list
Taste Atlas is an online experiential travel guide that was founded by Matija Babić in 2018 for traditional food. It collects authentic recipes, research articles, and food critic reviews about well-known dishes and ingredients. Recently, Taste Atlas released a list of a total of 50 "Best Sandwiches in the World." Vada pav was 13th on the list with a rating of 4.4.
Here's the list of rankings shared by Taste Atlas
The last item on the list was Torta Ahogada
The last item on the list was Torta Ahogada which is a typical sandwich from the Mexican state of Jalisco, particularly the city of Guadalajara. Coming back to vada pav; it consists of a deep-fried batter-coated potato dumpling placed inside a soft bread bun. It is usually served with hot red chutneys and green chili pepper.
The top 3 dishes on the list
Tombik or gobit kebab was the first one on the list. Popular in Turkey, Tombik is a variety of doner kebabs where shredded meat is stuffed in a bun-shaped flatbread called pide ekmek. The second spot was secured by Butifarra which is a Peruvian sandwich. An extreme version of a steak sandwich called Sandwich de lomo was ranked third on the list.
Vada pav was invented by Mumbai-based street vendor Ashok Vaidya
"This iconic street food is said to have originated from a street vendor named Ashok Vaidya, who worked near the Dadar train station in the 1960s and 1970s," Taste Atlas stated. "He thought of a way to satiate hungry workers and concluded that the ideal dish should be portable, affordable, and easy to prepare. Ashok made vada pav and its popularity skyrocketed," it added.
Many unhappy with the rating
The popularity of vada pav gradually increased after the Shiv Sena, a Marathi-Hindu nationalist political party, started to promote the sandwich as an ideal working-class snack, Taste Atlas stated. However, many netizens are unhappy with the rating of the dish and stated that it should have been listed as number one. Many foodies also argued that vada pav is not a sandwich.
