Malvani Vade are the soul of Malvani cuisine. A quintessential dish that is a must try if you are visiting the Konkan Region. Malvani Vade are fluffy fried hollow dumplings made by using the different flours. Apart from the scenic beauty the Malvan , Konkan region is known for its distinctive cuisine.
Growing up in a Malvani household, my Aaji’s and Aai’s cooking is greatly influenced by the Malvan region. The liberal use of fresh coconuts in the everyday cooking and also using fresh coconut as a garnish is gives their food a distinct character, texture and flavour.
My Aai maneuvers her special Malvani masala which is used in all of her cooking even today. A distinct recipe and method she follows (to the T) sets it apart from the store brought Malvani Masala. She procures different varieties of dried red chilies which she dries it under the sun and roasts all the ingredients carefully and patiently. All this in the crazy Mumbai heat in April-May. It is then taken it to the masala mill (Kandap Kendra) to ground it into a fine powder.
It’s a long process and she does it every year with the same enthusiasm and makes batches for everyone she knows. I wish I had that much patience to do all of this. She ships my batch to Canada too. My dad usually helps her by buying the red chilies and then going along with her to the flour Mill. Not just my dad, all my kaka’s (uncle) help my Kaki’s (aunties) in whatever way they can. This is something that I absolutely admire about my family that is the men are not shying away from household work just because it is a women’s job.
Malvani Vade and festivals:
Malavni Vadas are an integral part of the festivities in our home. As my family belongs to Konkan region we make Malvani vades on many occasions. Malvani Vadas are also prepared on ‘Gatari (Deep Amavasya)’, ‘Gauri Ovase‘, ‘Dev Diwali‘ and ‘Shimga‘ in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan.
What is Kombdi Vade?
Kombdi Vade is a traditional Malvan dish that is prevalent along Maharashtra’s west coast. It’s tasty, crunchy, and delicious. In Marathi, Kombdi means “chicken,” and Vade means ‘pooris‘” It is a specialty of Maharashtra’s Konkan area. Spicy Chicken curry served with Vade is a match made in heaven. Dip the vada in the spicy rassa and slurp all the juices.
Bhokache Vade
These vades with the hole are known as Bhokache Vade. Bhok means hole in Marathi. These are very common in Ratnagiri and Chiplun, (Maharashtra, India). My Mom is from the Malvan region and my dad is from the Ratnagiri. So naturally, I grew up eating the bhokache vade because that is what was made in my Mom’s Kitchen. The only time we ate the ones without the hole in the center was when visiting my mom’s side relatives.
Now, you have to be actually from the region to know the difference between Ratnagiri and the Konkan area. There is a difference in dialect, traditions and customs . Growing up in a mix household, we just chose the best of both . And being married to a Punekar (ghatavarche), my MIL makes the ones with the hole so I have stuck to making those.
My understanding is that when you break the vade in the centre,it creates a pocket which when you dip into the rassa (Marathi word for curry) it holds it. And this is the way you slurp your way into the spicy curry. But with the hole or without the hole either ways these are DELICIOUS!! So the choice is yours entirely.
Now, every household has different methods of making the Vade’s. The proportion of the lentils change but in general they are the same. This recipe is what is followed in my Mom’s kitchen. The recipe given below is first to make the flour mix (Vadyachi Bhajni) and then how to proceed to prepare the dough for the Malvani vade. Follow the process perfectly and you won’t be disappointed.
Can’t find any flour mill near you? Don’t worry you can still make the Malvani Vade using flours. Head over to the notes section below to read how to make it.
Important tips for making the Malvani Vade:
- You can use whole grains for making the dough. As I don’t live in India, I find it difficult to procure the grains. Also finding a flour mill was very difficult. So as an alternative, I used flours from the Indian store. Try to get fresh flours if possible.
- The quantity mentioned makes approximately 1.75 kg of Bhajani Pith (Flour Mix) I haven’t used the entire quantity to make the vade. I have used just 1/2 kg out of the 1.75 kg and have followed the recipe
Malvani Vade
Course: Uncategorized4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
- For the Vade flour mix (Bhajani)
5 cups Rice (old rice works the best) I have used the same amount of flour
1 cup Jowari (Sorghum) I have used the same amount of flour
1 cup Whole wheat grains (I have used the same amount of flour)
1 cup chana dal .( I have used the same amount of besan)
1 cup urad dal ( Check Notes)
1 cup Pohe (flattened rice)
1 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup fennel seeds (Badishep)
1 tablespoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Methi seeds (Fenugreek Seeds)
- For Making the Malvani Vade
1/2 kg grinded Bhajani mix (flour mix) I am not using the entire amount of the prepared Bhajani)
Salt – To taste
1 tablespoon Jaggery
Warm water as needed
1 small onion (make a paste in a grinder)
Charcoal 1 small piece should be sufficent
1 tablespoon Oil for the Dhungar Method
Oil – to fry the Vade.
Directions
- For making the flour mix (Bhajani) (Makes approximately 1.75 kg)
- If you are using Raw rice, then wash the rice 2-3 times under water. Then spread it on a cloth and dry it under the fan.
- The Sorghum and whole wheat kernels are not washed. You can use it directly. I have used the same amount of flour as I could not get the whole grains.
- Heat a pan on a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chana dal and roast it. Keep stirring so that it does not get burnt. You don’t have to change the colour but roast it just enough to remove the moisture. If you touch the chana dal and it feels hot, it is done. Remove from the pan and set it aside to cool on a plate
- In the similar manner, add the urad dal into the pan the next. Keep stirring so that it does not get burnt. You don’t have to change the colour but roast it just enough to remove the moisture. If you touch the urad dal and it feels hot, it is done. Remove from the pan and set it on the chana dal and let it cool down.
- To the pan now add Pohe. You need to roast it slightly for a minute should be enough. Set it on the same plate aside to cool.
- Add the corriander seeds to the pan the next. Roast it well till it releases it’s aroma. Set it on the same plate aside to cool.
- Add the fennel seeds to the pan next. Roast it well till it releases it’s aroma. Set it on the same plate aside to cool.
- Roast the black pepper the next. Roasting it around a minute should be enough. Set it on the same plate aside to cool.
- Now, switch off the flame, and add the methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) to the pan. The residual heat should be enough to roast the methi seeds. Set it on the same plate aside, to cool.
- Now mix the rice, sorghum, whole wheat along with the roasted spices and mix everything well and grind it in a flour mill.
- If you are like me using the flours, then follow this step. You can use rice flour, whole wheat flour , sorghum flour, urad dal , flour. I found urad dal flour at the Indian stores. If not, roast the urad dal and grind it in your mixer jar and then sieve it so that you can get a fine powder. You can also use besan or if you prefer you can roast the chana dal and then grind it into fine powder. You can roast the coriander seeds, pohe, black pepper, fennel seeds, methi seeds as mentioned above and grind it into a powder and add it to the flour. This is your Vade Flour Mix (Bhajani)
- Making the Vade
- The above mentioned quantity makes approximately 1.75 kg of flour. I did not use the entire flour mix at a time. I am using just 1/2 kg of the flour mix. You can adjust as per your requirement.
- In a large bowl, add salt, jaggery and little of warm water (1/4 cup should be enough). Mix well until the jaggery is dissolved completely.
- Add the paste of a small onion and mix well.
- Add the bhajani mix(1/2 kg ) and start kneading the dough with adding required warm water little at a time. Knead it into a stiff dough so add water accordingly. Since we will be fermenting the dough it will tend to become loose and soft after fermentation.
- Transfer the kneaded dough into a air tight container. Any container with the lid should work. Make a well in the center. Makes 3- 4 small holes all over the dough. And place a small steel bowl or plate in the center. Now we need to flavour/ smoke the dough using charcoal- the Dhungar method. This is the traditional method. If you don’t like the flavour of charcoal you can totally skip the dhungar step.
- Dhungar Step : Hold the charcoal with tongs and place on the gas flame. It will turn red with some white ashes. This will take 5-7 minutes. Put the hot coal in the well made in the dough and add in 2 drops of ghee on it. The coal will immediately start emitting a dense white smoke, have the lid ready and quickly cover the container . This smoke trapped inside will infuse a unique smokey flavour into the dough.
- Leave this undisturbed for 4 hours.
- In the summer the dough get fermented faster so 4 hours should be enough. During Monsoons and winter my mom would ferment it for 6-7 hours.
- After fermentation, Place a plastic sheet/ zip -lock bag on the kitchen counter, sprinkle some water and spread it over. Dip your hands in water and take a small portion of dough and roll it into a ball and then flatten it. Now roll each one with hand on a plastic to make a flat circular bread. Now make a hole in the middle using fingers .[ you can also make with out hole just like Now make a hole in the middle using fingers .( you can also make with out hole just like puri’s)
- Heat sufficient oil in a wide kadai on medium heat.
- Slide it into hot oil . Fry it on medium flame. A tip I learnt from my kaki – Don’t try to flip the wade around. It will turn over on its own.
- Drain and remove on absorbent paper .
Notes
- You can choose any size container to measure out your ingredients, but please use the same proportion and use the same container to measure out of the ingredients.
- The rice is washed. But the sorghum and whole wheat is not washed. Also rice, sorghum and whole wheat is unroasted.
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