Back home the season is just right for some hot Makai Vada/ Maize flour Vade accompanied by its partner in crime, a piping hot cup of mint+lemongrass+masala cha and not tea. We never confuse cha with tea. Gosh, I miss Indian monsoons 😞…Monsoons and deep-fried foods are match made in heaven. They jam so well. Each Indian cuisine has a vast repertoire of foods that are enjoyed during rains and pakora or Bhajiaa top the list.
Apart from the Bhajiaa/Bhajji and Khalva, Gujarat has many kinds of Vadas especially designed to last few days. Bhajia can never go beyond a day, but Vada made with millet or other gluten free flours in combination with whole-wheat flour lasts for few days. In fact, they make best travel buddies!! All we need is a cup of tea from road side tea stall to sneak out the dabba filled with Vada from out of our bags, dunk them in chai to satisfy that travel wali choti bhukh. Back then we never had so many fancy highway food joints and finding a decent roadside food joint had it’s own challenges. It is during these times that snacks carried along came to rescue. There is one particular festival called Randhan Chath a day spent cooking that is consumed the next day when it is enjoyed cold. A thali or an elaborate menu of Randhan Chath always has some or the other kind of vada on the plate. It is also about the way these particular type if food grows with time. It tastes better the next day, when it matures a little, the interplay of flavours become more profound. The tartness is striking, but so is the pleasing sweetness that the jaggery the imparts. Together these khatta – mitha – tikka flavours create a perfect symphony ….
The vada dough is always kneaded using yogurt and is rested for an hour or so. The mild tartness that springs up as a result of that yogurt is well balanced with little jaggery that is added to the dough. If the Bhajia are to satiate that sudden urge of eating something fried and crispy on a rainy day, the vada with their crispy exterior and soft interior are for the ones who appreciate complex flavours. Each family has their own way of making these traditional recipes and all are excellent. The recipe here is one we have used for decades with just added a spoonful of my whole-wheat sourdough starter. The starter made them a little soft from inside. Sourdough can be completely avoided hence, don’t let the ingredient intimidate you.
The dent on the disc is the idea adapted from Ruxmaniben and Binduben Danthi’s book Farsu Etle Farsan. After I began writing this blog and exploring more about the foods of my heritage I have also began reading and referring cook books in vernacular language. And the work done by these enterprising women of our community is stupendous. More from and about these books and their lovely creators in my upcoming posts. The purpose I the dent is to avoid the vada from ballooning up. Whenever these snacks puff up they tend to turn soft the next day. The dent in the enter prevents the puffing up.
Makai/heirloom corn is widely eaten in the tribal belt of Gujarat. Before the American sweet corn conquered our markets Desi Corn Cobs made an appearance only during the monsoon, when our menus would be designed around fresh corn and Makai ni Khichri would top the list on any given day…
Makai na Vada
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn meal/makkai no lot
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour/atta
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger, green chilli, garlic mix
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon carom seeds
- 1 tablespoon jaggery powder or grated jaggery
- 1 teaspoon gujarati acahr masala/methi no masala or little red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon sourdough starter (optional)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- yogurt to bind the flour into a stiff dough, sour yogurt preferred, take 1/3 to 1/2 cup
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
Take a large mixing bowl bring together the flours and 2 tablespoons of oil. Rub the oil well into the flour mix.
Add the minced ginger, green chillies and garlic mix, sesame seeds, carom seeds, turmeric, Gujarati achar masala or red chili powder, jaggery. Mix well.
If adding sourdough discard add it now.
Bind the mix into a stiff dough using yogurt. Knead for a minute or two.
Cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Divide the dough into Indian lime sized or smaller dough balls. Roll and press each dough ball between the palm and make an indent with tip of the thumb or finger in the middle of the pressed disc.
Spread the pressed Vada over a thali or kitchen towel and let them dry for 10-15 minutes.
In the mean time heat the oil in a wok/kadai to deep fry the vada.
After 15 minutes deep fry the vada on a medium heat. Do not crowd the oil. Add few vada at a time and fry them from pale to deep brown as you see in this picture.
Drain on a paper towel and store in airtight container.
Makai vada can be enjoyed hot or cold with a cup of tea.
Notes
The dough does not stick to your palm. If it does, oil your palms. The thickness of the vada depends on individual or family preference. I have kept them so because this is how they are sold in Ahmedabad, where I have grown eating them.
No Comments