I did’t sleep well last night but woke up fresher this morning than most days. Strange, na? Some days are like that I guess. Started work early since there were back to back calls lined up all morning… my throat actually hurt after that…. it’s still hurting… oh wait, thats the ice cream and milk shakes and chilled water’s doing :p
By lunch time I was exhausted and the moment I entered the kitchen, I was hit by a sudden urge to eat something sweet… the chocolates in my fridge didn’t look inviting and on an impulse i made vada. Now guys, don’t confuse with the well known fried namesake! Vada is something my mom has been making ever since I can remember. I guess my Nani used to make it too… its a quick 10 min dessert – ideal for winter, but can be had whenever the sweet craving hits! The best part is that there is no fixed ratio of things to add and I improvised a little bit today… giving it a much softer texture…! So here is the Mom’s version of Vada…
- Melt Ghee in a kadhai…. copious amounts of it! If you are worried about calories, go for a walk later or skip your next meal… but don’t skimp on the ghee here
- Add crushed almonds to the warm ghee. Stir them for a minute or two till they are just a shade darker. Make sure that they don’t turn ochre or brown. If they do, remove them from the kadhai and set them aside
- Add Ajwain – a pinch or two should do it. Don’t add too much of it or you’d get a bitter flavour. And who wants bitter desserts, right? Unless we are talking gooey, dark, bitter chocolate over vanilla ice cream…. errr, back to the vada
- Stir the ajwain in the ghee for a few seconds and add Atta. Yup, whole wheat flour, not maida or suji…. although I have never tried it with these. Maybe, one day, I will!
- At this point, reduce the flame and keep stirring the atta in the kadhai. Ensure that there are no lumps. Also, do not leave the kadhai or increase the heat. The atta might burn. Within 5 minutes, you’d realise that the atta has changed its hue. It goes slightly pink to brown.
- At this stage, turn the flame off and add jaggery or gud to the kadhai… you must turn the flame off or else the vada will take on a sticky jaw quality once it cools… keep stirring the kadhai till the gud melts and mixes with the atta…
- Serve it piping hot!
But me being me, I decide to try something different today…. you see my gud was frozen… which meant that if i add it to the kadhai with no flame, it would not only cool the entire dish, but end up not melting and mixing. So, i kept the low flame on while adding the gud and added a bit of water to the kadhai… my vada took on a halwa like texture because of the water and the gud did not harden… mission accomplished!
Anyone use Jovees lip balm tubs? I picked up one the other day in lavender. It has just a hint of pinkish tint and is very smooth on application but does not last more than a few hours…. am still sitting on the fence with it….
Ok, time to get back to work!