Aloo Wadi Subji (Potato and Dried lentil dumplings recipe)

                                           

                                              

Last Friday my husband returned home with a packet in his hand.

On asking what's there in it he replied its a souvenir a colleague brought him from Amritsar.

I got excited and immediately opened it and was a little shocked for what I found in it. There were some big dried dumplings(wadi ) in it.(n believe me Big means real BIG!)Now who on earth gifts wadi's as souvenir ??I knew that Amritsar wadi's are very famous but had no clue of how to cook it.

I tried my hands on it the next day and the outcome was .......we ordered Pizza that night...;););)But then, I did not want to give it up on it so easily and called one of my Punjabi friends and learnt the process and finally was successful in putting the 'Punjabi tadka' to my food...

It is said that Vadi's originated in Rajasthan as vegetables are scarce there and they had to mainly live on lentils. So they came out with this process where they made paste of  the lentils combined them with various spices and sun dried them. These are not only tasty but healthy and filling too.

 

If you think about it ,Vadis are not only confined to Rajasthan and Punjab but it is made in almost all the regions of our country with different variations.Earlier like many other things wadi's were also made at home where the older ladies passed on their expertise to the younger amateur ones. There would be chat sessions, gossip and laughter and I think it was because of this that the wadi's got that extra flavour of love which the market one's lack. In my house wadi's were made by my Grandma which were the tastiest wadi's I ever had. I remember her sitting in the Sun in the chilly winter mornings and making different varieties of them .small wadis, spice wadis and many more which were used in different recipes in different ways which added to the taste that dish. My personal favourite is the small masoor dal wadis which is deep fried and I will share its recipe with you very soon.

For now,here is the recipe of Amritsari aloo wadi. But if you don't have amritsar wadi you can also try it with any masala wadi which  you will get in any of your nearest grocery store. Do try it and let me know if you have any other idea of having these Wadis.

INGREDIENTS
1)Wadi - 2
2)oil
3) Pinch of aesofodita
4)Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves )
5)cumin seeds -1 tea spoon
6)Ginger paste -2 table spoon
7)Turmeric powder
8)Potato -2
9)Paste of 1 medium sized tomato and onion
10)Chopped coriander for ganishing
11)Salt to taste
12)1/2 tea spoon sugar
 

PROCEDURE:

1.Break the vadis into peices.

2.Put some oil in a frying pan and pry the wadi's over low to medium flame.

3.In a vessel put some oil.Put the pnich of aesofodita ,kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves ) and cumin seeds.

4.Put the ginger paste,cumin powder coriander powder and turmeric powder and fry it .

5.Add the tomato and onion paste and fry it till the oil starts leaving the surface.

6.Put the potatoes and salt and cook it for a few minutes.

7.Put a cup of water and cover the vessel with the lid.Keep in on low flame and let it cook till the potatoes become tender.

8.When the potatoes are tender add the fried wadis.Add some water if needed and cover it again for 5 to 8 minutes.Keep the flame low.

This way the flavours will mix in together.

9.Garnish with freshly chopped corriander and serve with Roti or rice.

Happy cooking!!

Madhumita.