Fada Lapshi – Broken wheat Halwa

Fada Lapshi ….. the mention of this sweet and extremely traditional dish leaves most of us salivating. No celebration in a Gujarati household is complete without a bowl of Lapshi, a sweet preparation made with the humble dalia or broken wheat . There are two kinds of  Lapsi one is simply called Lapshi or Kansar – made the coarsely ground whole wheat flour while the other is Fada Lapshi –  made with broken wheat or ghau na fada. Both these preparations hold equal importance. Weddings, births, house warming, festivals, new purchase or any good new in the family is celebrated with a bowl of Lapshi/Kansar. The one difference I have noticed is the Lapshi is more rustic charm  while the Fada Lapsi has a more urban appeal. The flour Lapshi/Kansar  is very popular in the Saurashtra region and that is the reason this was the only kind of Lapshi  I have grown up eating. It must be because of the easy availability of coarsely ground whole wheat flour in the villages that the rural communities always choose to make Lapshi/Kansar over Fada Lapshi. The Lapshi recipe calls fro another blog post 😉

Fada/dalia or broken wheat are a breakfast staple in the north of India or amongst the wheat eating belt of India. The Fada Ni Khichdi is also one of the most enjoyed Khichri in Gujarati cuisine. If the Khichri is a savory version the Fada ni Lapshi is the sweet version made using Fada, in fact these are the only two ways we know of including  broken-wheat in our diet as we  Gujaratis aren’t  very fond of having fada for breakfast 😊

The traditional recipes have a distinct charm attached to it, in the older days food was not taken very lightly. Each dish that was cooked fed  not just our body but our  soul as well. If there was a Lapshi on the menu, it was understood we were celebrating or else it would never be served or cooked!! The mood in the house would be upbeat and there had to be guests around. Mishtan or sweets weren’t an everyday food.  It called for special occasions!! I remember our daily need for some sweet indulgence was met either with a piece of jaggery or a cube of Sukhdi!! Nothing fancy…

The recipe of Fada Lapshi I share is the pressure cooker version. The way it is cooked is the only change we have done to this recipe otherwise.  The ingredients call for nothing extravagant, in fact the list is very small. The Fada ni Lapshi is such a soulful food that you will find an occasion to make it at the earliest. Remember to enjoy it piping hot when the ghee is still oozing from the sides and gleaming on the top!!