ALu chi Wadi

One thing that came as a 'bundle' in our home was the dhokla-aLuwadi combination. Whenever my Mother went to Dadar Kabutar Khana area, she would stop over at Saurashtra snack shop and bring home goodies. 

Sometimes kachoris (ping pong ball sized and deep fried, stuffed with a spicy-sweet moong daal filling that left you wanting one more), sometimes jilebi - sticky, orange spirals with a slight tang that were devoured even before she could transfer them to a bowl, but mostly she brought back dhokla and aLuwadi combo.  The spongy square pieces of savory-pillowy  goodness and the slightly spicy 'rolls' of colocassia /taro leaves rolled into a cylinder with a spiced besan paste inside was a treat. 

These were rarely made at home, to my mind, these were complicated things, best left to experts. 

But now, so far away from home, I cannot rely on the Indian store weekend supply of dhokla (sold at a ridiculous price ) or frozen packets or even packaged goodies to re-live those memories. 

Once in a while, we get taro leaves in the store and I try to get them (they are limited in quantity and get sold quickly or they have insect eggs on the back of the leaf and need to be trashed).

One such day I was lucky to get a fresh supply of the leaves and clean ones at that, yay! 

The only hitch was, these leaves were small and I did not get many, just 7-8. 

The longing to eat aLuwadi is a strong one and not easily put away.

But instead of making the roulade, I made 'wadi', squares. 

I found this recipe in Annapurna that I followed.

You need:
7 - 8 Taro / Colocassia/ ALu leaves
Lime sized Tamarind ball or 1 tsp Tamarind Concentrate (I used concentrate)
2 tsp Jaggery crumbled or substitute with dark brown sugar
1 tsp Red chillies powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
6 tbsp Rice Flour
1 Cup Gram Flour / Besan
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Hefty Pinch Asafetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
3 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste ( about 1 tsp)

If using tamarind soak it in warm water for about 10-15 mins and extract the pulp and discard solids. If using concentrate, move on to the next step directly.

Wipe the Taro leaves with a moist tissue or napkin. Cut the stem and any tough veins.
Shred the leaves finely.

Mix all the ingredients given above in to a thick-ish batter.
IF you are using tamarind pulp you may not need extra water.
IF you use tamarind concentrate, you need to slowly add water to make the batter.

Grease a container or a 'thali' that can be used in a steamer or pressure cooker and pour the batter into it.
Cover and steam the mixture for about 25-30 mins in the cooker (without the whistle).
Once done, cool and then cut into squares.
Shallow or deep fry as preferred and serve.

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Batata Wada for Anita's Party!

It's a Mad Tea Party and everyone is invited !!!

My blog quietly turned two in July, I was excited but I could not celebrate that special day, being Mommy is a 25 hr job! Oh well, I'm just glad that I can post something... as and when I can. So when I saw Anita's invitation, I knew, this was one party I did not want to miss!

And it was a while since I had made these! Deep frying though very gratifying to the tongue is a disaster for my waist! I am one of those unfortunate beings who magically manage to gain weight by just looking at stuff, I kid you not!

Apart form being the sole means of nutrition for 2 solid years of MBA, Batata wada, for me, is anytime food.. think picnics, guests for tea, kitty party, a savoury served on the side at a dinner, at movies, rains and hot wada-pav!

Torrential rains and Wada Pav is my favourite combo! I love the rainy season in Mumbai (except when the streets are waterlogged and life is disrupted for days) perfect time for a walk in the rain, get soaking wet, stroll to the nearest wada pav stall ( eat this snack on the roadside, restaurants do serve it on their menu, but it can NEVER taste half as good) and devour this awesome snack, standing under the awning .. with a cuppa ' cutting chai'. Warms the cockles of your heart and completely satisfies the taste buds!

For the Wadas you need:

4 Boiled Potatoes
1 tbsp. Oil for tempering
1/2 spn. Mustard seeds
4 Green chilies chopped ( +/ - according to individual taste)
A few curry leaves, torn to pieces
1/2 spn. Turmeric
3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 inch piece Ginger grated
Salt to taste
1-2 spns. finely chopped Cilantro

For Covering : (No measures here, I use approximates)

Besan / Chickpea flour
Red chilly pwd.
Salt (only so much that the covering does not taste bland)
Pinch baking soda (optional)
Water to make a batter
Oil for deep frying

Mash the boiled potatoes.In a kadhai, heat 1 tbsp. oil, add mustard seeds,after they sputter, add green chilies and curry leaves, ginger-garlic, turmeric. Saute a while. Add mashed potatoes, salt. Add chopped cilantro.

To make the batter for covering, mix all ingredients listed above. Mix well to ensure that there are no lumps. Careful with the water, the batter mustn't be too runny nor too thick.Heat oil in a kadhai. Make balls of the potato vege. Dip the ball in the batter and deep fry in oil till it turns a nice golden brown. Drain on a tissue.Serve hot with garlic chutney, fries green chilly and Pav.

I served these with green chutney -Grind together 1 bunch Cilantro, 5 Green chilies, 1/2 inch Ginger, 1 small clove Garlic, Salt to taste , juice of 1/2 lime

And Sweet n Sour Tamarind Chutney : (I used approximately) Lime sized ball of Tamarind soaked in hot water for about 15-20 mins., Jaggery twice the amount of Tamarind , 1/4 tsp. red chilli powder, Salt to taste, 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
Squeeze out the tamarind pulp, discard solids. Heat a saucepan, add all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil the mixture for about 10 mins. till it thickens to the desired consistency. Cool and serve with wada-pav.

Typically Wada Pav is served with dry Garlic / Lasun Chutney

This wada pav is my contribution to Anita's Party! Do you have your platter ready??

* On a different note... the Husband gifted me a Nikon DSLR as a pregnancy + birthday gift!! I was very confused when I was asked to choose a model and so I asked the experts. Thank You Bee and Jai!!I am yet to learn everything but as of now I am just going crazy clicking Little S!!! and in between took a hasty shot of the wada pav and back to S!!!

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An Honour! A Snack, A Friend's 'Easy' Recipe & A Break.......

I'm THRILLED!!! Happiness and Sunshine Everywhere!!! So MANY Good ... nay... GREAT things have happened!!
First... Delhibelle has very generously passed on an award to me (making me DROOOOOOL over her dessert recipe.. how I wish I could have a portion of that....) !! Thank U so much Dear!

Secondly... my Ma-in-law sent me some stuff I (badly) wanted and shamelessly asked for!!! Why shamelessly? M was TOTALLY against 'expanding the kitchen to the size of a 5 star hotel kitchen' and it was an additional load for my parents to cart all the way from India from January to mid May... SO!
My first act,within 30 mins of my Parents arrival was to make them snap open their bags and show me 'my loot' which my in-laws sent me and the other stuff Mom- Dad got for me! I had asked for a Medu Wada Maker ( Anjali brand). I had seen this waaaay back in Apna Bazar Co-operative stores in Bombay. I wanted this, only because I am an occasional victim to deep fried wadas and have tried in vain to make round-wadas-with-a-hole-in-them (otherwise they are not medu wadas) and convinced myself that 'this' was the only way I would be successful. So a couple of evenings ago, I finally got around to making medu wadas!
I basically used my wada recipe with the addition of 1/2 cup Yellow Moong Daal soaked with the urid daal to make the batter. And yes, I added the Soy chunks as well! To the batter I also added 1/2 inch grated ginger, 2 finely minced green chilies, 2 crushed peppercorns and 2 finely chopped curry leaves.
Heat oil, not upto the smoking point, in a wok / kadhai. To test how hot the oil is, drop a very small amount of batter in the oil and if the batter rises to the top, you are set. Add the batter to the medu wada maker and press the knob on the top, directly into the kadhai. Deep fry the wadas to a nice golden brown. The first 4 wadas... not so round.. but DEFINITELY Medu wadas!! and VERY crisp!!!
Aaahhhh!! MUCH better!!! The trick was to make the batter thickish (but with a blender that one gets here, that is not possible)
Dunk the wadas in sambar and serve hot with chutney!!
Some Chutneys that go very well with medu wada smabar :
Coconut chutney- Sailu's blog
Nandita's - Coconut Chutney
And my all time fav!!
We now come to making a hearty dinner! Last night , I wanted to make something 'nice' for my parents.. and something not from my blog, I have been re-trying many dishes once again , now that I have more than 1 to cook for! and a while ago my friend Ashwini, who likes to cook, has 2 adorable boys (the younger is a few months old), but is a bit hard pressed for time had e-mailed me her super easy recipe for Daal Makhani. But I got round to trying that just about now! Thank You, Ashwini! this is an easy recipe and yummy too!
For the Daal Makhani:
1 cup Whole Black Urid daal
2-3 tbsp Rajma / Kidney beans
1 small Onion chopped
1 Tomato chopped
1 tsp each Ginger and Garlic paste
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder
1 Green Chili
Salt to Taste
1/2 tsp Garam masala
Butter for tempering
Cream / Butter

Soak the Urid daal and Rajma in water for a minimum of 4 hrs. ( overnight is also fine). Pressure cook these with salt and red chilli powder (depends on your pressure cooker, in my new Pressure cooker it took only 3 whistles and on sim for 4 mins.)
Heat oil / butter in a wok / kadhai. Add onions and saute till brown and tender. Add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute till it does not smell raw. Add the tomatoes and cook until mushy and oil starts leaving the sides.
At this point add the daal and mix well. Add Garam Masala ( I dislike the 'too strong' smell of garam masala so I use it a bit sparingly)stir and give it one good boil. Check for salt, add if required.
Add fresh cream and serve hot with rice or roti. I substituted butter for cream.

I served the Daal Makhani with this absolutely marvellous and fragrant Ghee Rice !!And FINALLY... announcing a small break! I will take a small hiatus from blogging... to WELCOME a new member into my family!

I am due in a week now and so it's time to take a break, enjoy these last few days with M ( who is biting his nails to bits) and my parents and though at a great distance, my in-laws who are very anxious for me! I've had a grand time these 9 months and once I got over my 'cry-baby' days I loved every minute! Thank God I had no nausea or any aversion to any type of smell or food! Sadly, what did affect me was high sugar levels in my last trimester ( and hence the protein diet posts!) and I was on a severe diet and could only fantasize about food, not eat anything I wanted (fret...fret...fume..)! But all is well and it has helped me and the baby is safe (touchwood) !

Before I go however, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Nupur who when I disclosed to about my pregnancy, sent me a parcel of chikki and this awesome candy! I felt pampered when I ate these.. trust me, those first trimester days when hormones play havoc with the system, and no Mommy and Daddy to hold your hand and say 'there, there' and a confused, bewildered and 'lost' husband looking at you with sad eyes , just because the volcano of emotions erupted (yet again)... something like this is a life line and even if it is splashed with a few salty tears, it tastes like heaven!!
And Cynthia .. do I even need to say anything about this warm hearted person? She immediately sent me her recipe for cook up rice (with vegetarian options) which would help me in my protein intake, sadly, I could not try it out.. my Doctor banned rice TOTALLY! But, it is bookmarked and I will try it out the first opportunity I get!!

So see you all soon.... I will not be able to post for a while and may not be able to peep into your blogs.. but I will catch up as and when I can. Have a lovely weekend!!

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P is for PALAK PURI

Here I am .. in time this time too ! for 'P' of Indian Veges @ Nupur's One Hot Stove !!

Every once in a while I go and pig out on oily stuff! Oh Stuff those 'too much fat' 'too many calories' talk.. The bounce off me easily!!

I like to keep in shape.. the nice round shape I am in!

So to treat myself I made puri! with a slight change.. I made Palak Puri! Happily enough I had just this half bunch of spinach in the fridge... fat lot of good that was for making Alu Palak.... wouldn't feed a chicken.. but then... do chicken feed on palak!!??!! hmm...

Anyway... so Palak Puri it was!!

This deep fried goody holds a special place in every body's heart (or so I imagine). We always had Puri on a festival day (Ganesh Utsav, Diwali or when we had guests over for dinner) which was eaten with plain potato vegetable (maybe I'll post this later!!) or with a sweet, like Basundi.. heavenly!!

Or Mum would make masala puri when I had my school picnic, which was an instant hit and the first item to be cleaned up!

For the Puri, I basically used approximates.

~2cups Wheat Flour (Atta)

1/2 bunch of Palak / Spinach

2 tsp Farina/ rava / Sooji

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

4-5 sprigs Cilantro

1/2 Serrano Chilly (just to give it a hint of heat)

Water to bind to a dough

Blanch the Spinach and Drain the excess water

Grind spinach, chilly, cilantro to a paste

Mix the paste in the Flour, add the Farina, Salt (the farina makes them crisp)

Bind to a dough (should be stiffer than the normal Roti Dough)

Cover and keep aside for 15 mins

In the meantime, heat oil in a kadhai/ wok

Take small marble size and roll it to a puri

Deep fry in oil.

I served the puri with Alu subzi, and Beet Raita (canned beet (1 tin), chopped into cubes and mixed with plain yogurt, salt and 1/2 tsp of MDH~Raita Mix)

The puris taste great as they are, without any accompaniment, so personally i enjoyed them with Raita and as they are.

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Ruz Wa Banadoura & Falafel in Pita pockets....

Wow... I wish I had a genie like this... oh, and more than just 3 wishes!!
This is my very first attempt (like many of you) at cooking Middle Eastern food. In fact when I saw this theme on Meeta's blog I wanted to try it out! All I knew then, was that there is this dish called Falafel, which I had once seen on some Cookery Show on Star TV... that was waaaay back, when I was a student in India, and I also recollected that this was a vegetarian preparation.

So I popped into the library and made a beeline for the cookbook section... where, a few weeks ago I had seen this book on middle eastern cooking , glanced thru it, but since I had a lot of books already, I shoved it back in to the shelf!

Thankfully I found it there, grabbed it and headed home, where I could sit and go thru the whole book.

What first struck me was the simplicity of the ingredients (for the recipes I chose). The combination of two or three spices bring out the wonderful flavors of the dish. I followed the recipes to the T.

Ruz Wa Banadoura... if that has confused you, how does Rice with Tomato sound? That's just what this is!!
And here's how you make it:

1 Small Onion, chopped
1 tbsp. Olive oil
1 Small Ripe Tomato, Diced
2 cups Water
1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 cup Rice
Salt to taste
Saute the onion in the olive oil until transparent.
Add the diced tomato and cook for a couple of minutes
Add water, tomato paste and pepper
Bring to a boil, then add the rice
Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 mins. or until rice is tender and the juice has been absorbed.

For the Falafel :
1 lb. dry Chickpeas (Kabuli chana / dry choley)
1 medium Onion
1 cup chopped Parsley
1 cup chopped Cilantro
1 tbsp. ground Corriander
1 tbsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tbsp. Baking powder
Salt to taste
Soak the Chickpeas in cold water for 24 hrs.
Mix all the ingredients, except, the baking powder
Grind the mixture in a food processor until it turns to a paste
Add the baking powder and let the mixture set for 30 minutes.
Then, shape into patties
Deep fry (in Olive oil)
* Traditionally falafel are deep fried, but if you want to drastically cut down on the calories, they can be broiled in the oven

For the lack of a better pic...

** Leson I learnt... I do not have a food processor... and so, I had a tough time grinding the mixture... all I have is a small Chopper and a Blender (which needs an adequate amount of water to work well!) So (after a few unladylike words!) I first ran the whole thing in the chopper.. then thru the blender, ended up using water when not required.. the end result was not disappointing ( as my friends, who have eaten falafel before, told me), but on the whole... tedious.
Falafel is served on mini pita loaves with its condiments of chopped onion mixed with sumac, sliced tomatoes, pickled turnips and tahini sauce. I liked them as they are too! As an accompaniment / dip I used (store bought) Hummus Tahina sauce, and mixed ground garlic, lemon juice and some red chilly flakes in it (for a bit of a punch!)

Till date I had only heard of Pita Bread, but never tasted, and so I was a little apprehensive of making them. So I hunted around on the net and finally settled down for this recipe and boy, was it GOOD!! I was thrilled to see the dough rise.. then the pita bread puff up in the oven!! Here's how they turned out...

For your convenience, here is the recipe ( link above )

Pita Bread

Makes 8 pitas

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to active it (see the note on yeast above). Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water (I had to add an extra 1/4 cup).

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

(The purpose of kneading is to thoroughly combine the ingredients and to break down the flour so that the dough will become stretchy and elastic and rise well in the oven. A simple hand kneading technique is to firmly press down on the dough with the palm of your hand, fold the dough in half toward you like you are closing an envelope, rotate the dough 90 degrees and then repeat these steps, but whatever technique you are comfortable using should work.)

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. I use canola spray oil, but you can also just pour a teaspoon of oil into the bowl and rub it around with your fingers. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary (in the batch pictured here I removed them at 3 minutes).

For the Final step... stuffing the falafel in the pita bread....
I sliced the bread in 2. Chopped a tomato in thin slices.
I had very little lettuce, so I usedthat too (but you cannot see it in the snap :( ... )
Arranging it was simple, open the pita pocket, layer with shredded lettuce, tomato, some hummus , Falafel... eat!!

Oh how I wish I could take better pics!!

This is my contribution to Monthly Mingle @ Meeta's. Thank U Meeta, for this wonderful theme which gave me an opportunity of exploring a wonderful cuisine!!

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H is for....... Hara Bhara Kabab!!

The Husband called up to inform me that he was going to be late.....

Me: " how late is late?"

He: "umm, a bit..."

Me:" but it is already 8 pm, later than usual..."

He: " yes, just a bit more..."

Me: "ok, lekin jaldi ana.."

He: " hunh?.. acha, ok...."

After an hour I called up to check the status...

He: " 'Lo (sounding cross)"

Me :" Main hun (it's me).. (now he won't sound cross!!)"

He : "hmm.... what?"

Me:"Ghar kab aoge? (when will you come home?)"

He: clicked his tongue in an exasperated manner... " I will come home, sooner or later"

Me : " how sooner ... or later?"

He: "If you don't disturb me, sooner... otherwise later"

There you are! Whatever happened to the... "damn the office, I wish I could be with you".. ~sighhhhh~

Now that I had plenty of time on my hands, what better to do than potter around in the kitchen?
Apart from that, for a few days now, I was wondering what dish to make starting with H..... for Nupur's A-Z of Vegetables.
The first thing that came to mind was Harbhare and Hirve Watane, the former which I could not find in the market and the latter which I assiduously avoid and when not possible,try to make their presence as inconspicuous as possible!!
And then I remembered Hara Bhara Kebab! This appetizer scores high on the list in any menu card at any restaurant. Made up of the versatile Potato also has a good amount tof vegetables in it. What an appetizing way to sneak in those greens! The kebab gets it name from the colour it has when spinach and green peas are added to mashed potatoes.
The recipe is simple and easy and not very time consuming to say nothing of lip-smacking! A sure hit when you have a dinner party!

For Hara bhara Kabab you need :

3 Large Boiled potatoes
Half cup Boiled green peas ( this is the least i added, you may want to add more if you love peas!!)
100 gms Boiled spinach
2 tbsps Chopped cilantro
1 tbsp Chopped green chili
1 tbsp Chopped / grated ginger
1 tsp Chaat masala
2 tbsps Cornflour
Oil for deep frying
Salt As per taste

Peel and grate boiled potatoes.
Mash boiled green peas.
Squeeze out excess water (very important) of spinach and chop finely or run thru' blender.
Mix grated potatoes, peas and spinach. Add chopped green chilies, chopped green coriander, chopped ginger, chaat masala and salt. Add cornflour for binding.
Divide the mixture into equal portions. Shape them into a ball and then press it in between your palms to flatten it. These are now called tikkis.
Heat oil in a Kadhai. Deep-fry the tikkis in hot oil for 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot with sauce / mint chutney.

Tip: You may also shallow-fry the Hara Bhara Kabab on a griddle plate or a Tavaa as I did , but nothing beats deep frying these!!



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Indian 'Burger' !! Garma garam batata wada !!!

When my friend S said she wanted to eat Batata Wada... the popular Mumbai street food snack.. I was more than happy to make it! I was loathe to make it for myself (the guilt is overwhelming!).
Having spent all my teenage years and a large part of my BSchool days 'surviving' on Wada Pav and cutting chai... I miss eating this item and that too on the streets!
Almost every street in Mumbai has a 'thela'(cart) which sells wada-pav. But there are some vendors who are particularly famous! I remember particularly one which is very famous, one the way from Mumbai to Pune, via train, there is a station Karjat, which has 'the best' wada pav ! That was one reason why I liked travelling to Pune in a train (which is otherwise accessible by road and a faster route!) ! The other I particularly recall is during my first year at college, my friends and I had travelled to an area in Mumbai, Lalbagh, where there was a guy who called himself 'Graduate Wada pav walla'... when there was a dearth of jobs, he decided to sell wadapav to make his living and was he GOOD at it!
Going back to B School days.... my best friend and I would sit for hours in the college canteen and our breakfast, lunch & tea would be the wada pav and cutting chai served by Mama (the canteen owner). We were like permanent fixtures there and after a few days there was no need to go and place an order... upon sighting us, he would automatically call for 'garam wada ani cutting' aahhhh.. how I miss those days!



For the Wadas you need:

4 Boiled Potatoes
1 tbsp. Oil for tempering
1/2 spn. Mustard seeds
4 Green chilies chopped ( +/ - according to individual taste)
A few curry leaves
1/2 spn. Turmeric
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2/ spn. ginger grated
Salte to taste
1-2 spns. finely chopped Cilantro
ForCovering :
Besan
2 Pinch Turmeric
1/2 spn. red chilly pwd.
Salt (only so much that the covering does not taste bland)
1/4 spn baking soda
water to make a batter

Mash the boiled potatoes.. or chop them..your wish.
In a kadhai, heat oil, add mustard seeds,after they sputter, add green chilies and curry leaves, ginger-garlic, turmeric. Saute a while. Add mashed potatoes, salt. Add chopped cilantro.

To make the batter for covering, mix all ingredients listed above. Mix well to ensure that there are no lumps. Careful with the water, the batter mustn't be too runny nor too thick. Like pancake batter.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Make balls of the potato vege. Dip the ball in the batter and deep fry in oil till it turns a nice golden brown. Drain on a tissue.
Serve hot with garlic chutney, fries green chilly and Pav.

*P.S : try drinking hot tea with this... woohaahhhaaaaa.... :D

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Sabudana Wada (and Mango smoothie)

What tastes good on a winter afternoon? (Ok, so it is not 'so ' cold here)... but late afternoons can turn real cosy if you have a plate of hot sabudana wadas and friends to share them with!

Typically eaten when fasting, this snack is otherwise also widely popular.But then, most deep fried snacks are! Practically everything tastes good when deep fried! It's just the calories that one thinks of ... later (or atleast in my case)!!!

Lately, I and my friends have formed this habit of ganging up at one apartment and spending time .. talking... gossiping, exchanging views about our whimsical partners!.. it starts with one topic and goes in all possible directions till one common topic, snacks , unites us again.
Now, my dear friend S, mentioned one afternoon how much she liked Sabudana Wada... and ofcourse I wanted to make some for her... this snack being my fav too. So yesterday afternoon I made wadas... This one is for you, S!!

Once again I have approximates... 'nazar ka andaaz'.... no fixed measurements... I made around 15 wadas (patty sized)

Sabudana / Sago soaked overnight^*(water level about 1 centimeter above the sago)
Powdered roasted Peanuts
1 Large Boiled Potato
Salt to taste
Sugar (about 1 1/2 spn.)
1/2 spn. Jeera / Cumin seeds
2-3 finely chopped green chilies ( more or less to your taste)
Chopped cilantro
Oil for deep frying
Yogurt

*soaking the sago overnight ensures that it is completely soft and also not sticky. other option is to soak it for a good 5 + hrs.

Mash the boiled potato. Mix together all the ingredients EXCEPT the yogurt.
Make a homogenous mixture and form medium sized patties.
Heat oil in a kadhai. Deep fry the wadas till golden brown on a Med- High flame, this makes them very crisp. Drain on tissue before serving.
Beat the yogurt lightly, add a couple of pinches of salt and sugar, mix well. sprinkle a pinch of cumin powder on top and serve with sabudana wadas.



I made Mango Smoothie to go with the Wadas.... I had a can of mango pulp handy)

For 1 glass :
1/4 glass Mango pulp (or 1 mango diced if you have the fruit)
Milk
2 spoons PlainYogurt
Sugar (optional)

Blend all the above and serve chilled.

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