Wishing You All A Very Bright And Sparkling Diwali

Hello people! I hope you all have a fabulous and fun-filled Diwali .

Finally it took a big event like Diwali to get my blog out of hibernation. It's been a whole month since I blogged. That must be my longest ever no-particular-reason break I have taken. But no more. I am very much back. Last whole week I have been practically tied to the kitchen counter concoting all different kinds of Diwali snacks and although it's been a bit tiring I have enjoyed every moment of it. It's really only once a year that I devote so much of my time to the kitchen and so it's really welcome. I love the challenge and am thrilled when the end products turn out well. Seeing friends and family members eat the treats and rave about them is priceless. And I am very lucky to have friends who are very generous with their compliments.I feel so happy to recieve the compliments that I can hardly eat any of the snacks myself. I am completely filled with joy at just seeing people enjoy the food that I have worked so hard to make.

Karanjis made with fresh coconut filling

Now every year it is my ambition to make one such thing for Diwali that I have not cooked ever before. Mind you it doesn't always get achieved, but it is something I hope to do every year. This year I had my heart set on Bakarwadi. For those of you who are not familiar with it , it is the snack that you see on the left in first pic above. It's a savoury snack which is a speciality of Pune my hometown. I don't think there exists a single soul in Pune who has not eaten Bakarwadi. It is something we Puneites adore and are very proud of. Visitors from other cities always have the Bakarwadi at the top of their shopping list to take back home . Its popularity has even taken it to the US . Unfortunately I have not yet seen it anywhere in the UK markets and it is something we get to eat only when a friend goes on a visit to India and gets back some for all of us here.

So I thought it would be nice if I could make some at home. And so I tried. Verdict? They turned out quite nice and went much beyond my expectations. The taste mind you was not exactly the same as the shop variety but hey it was my first attempt and I am sure they will turn out better with every attempt.

Here's how I made them. I followed the recipe from a Marathi Cookbook called Swayampak by Sindhutai Sathe. The recipe although not difficult has several components and so many ingredients which need to be combined.

Ingredients:

For the outer cover:

3 Cups plain flour, 2-3 drops orange food colour (I did not have this so did not put any), 4 tblspns very hot oil, 1/2 tspn salt, 1 tspn red chilly powder, water to form a dough.

For the Filling (which is called Bakar):

3 tblspns toasted poppy seeds, 3 tblspns toasted sesame seeds, 1 cup roasted dessicated coconut, 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander, 1 tblspn grated onion (squeeze out all the onion juice completely ) 1 tblspn lemon juice, 3 tblspn sugar, 1 cup fine sev.

Seasoning:

3 tspn red chilly powder, 6 cloves of garlic finely crushed , 1 inch garlic finely crushed, 8 to 10 leaves of fresh mint, salt to taste.

Spices:

1 tblspn coriander powder, 1 tblspn cumin powder.

Method:

Combine all the above components in a dry grinder and grind them coarsely. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning. The taste should be a combo of sweet, sour ,salty and spicy.

Mix all the ingredients for the outer cover and form a moderately stiff dough. The hot oil in the dough makes the rolls crisp on frying. Make dough balls the size of a golf ball . Taking one dough ball at a time roll out into a thin roti and spread the filling to cover the entire roti. Then roll up tightly like a cigar. Hold the roll vertically in your palms and press it gently to elongate it further. Place it back on the platform and cut into one inch pieces.

Similarly make all the wadis and then deep fry them slowly at a moderate heat. Frying them at a moderate heat in important to make them crisp.

Try them .

Other Diwali treats on Food -n-More are:

Coconut Laddoos

Jhatpat Chiwda

Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune have been the pioneers in making the most delicious Bakarwadis for decades now . To see some mouth-watering sweets and snacks and a clip of how Bakarwadi is commercially made click here.

***WISH YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN A VERY GRAND DIWALI ***