eatingindia

Passport & Plate - subudana wada

India | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
Subudana Wada (sago fritters)
Like many Indian dishes these fritters are about texture and flavour rather than fancy technique. The work is in assembling the base ingredients. Make sure the oil is hot before you put the fritters in and then be patient as these can take 10 minutes or more to become crisp; you will probably need to adjust the temperature down a little once the fritters have browned a bit on the outside. The wada are good enough to eat on their own or you can serve them with green coriander and mint chutney.
Ingredients
I cup pearl sago
1 tbsp oil or ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
12 curry leaves
1 small green chilli, finely chopped
salt to taste
200g potato, boiled/steamed and peeled
100 g roasted peanuts, chopped
oil or ghee for deep frying

 

How to prepare this recipe
Method
1, Soak the sago with two cups of water overnight or for at least six hours. Drain and place in a bowl.
2. Heat the oil/ghee over a medium high heat. When it is hot drop in the mustard seeds. Once these ‘pop’ (this will happen quickly) add the curry leaves and chopped green chilli. Stir for a minute, add salt and stir around for another minute. Pour this into the bowl with the sago.
3. Crush the potatoes with your hands until it resembles rough mashed potato. Add this into the sago along with the peanuts. Use your hands to blend this mixture until it holds together (it should come away from the side of the bowl). Shape the mixture into patties. Refrigerate until firm.
4. Heat the oil or ghee and fry the wada until they are golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.

If you want to serve a chutney with the wada try the following recipe.

Green coriander and mint chutney
Ingredients
fresh coriander, ½ bunch, washed
fresh mint, ¼ bunch, washed
2 green chilies
1 tbsp sev*
salt to taste
lemon juice
Method
Blend all the above to a fine paste & reserve
* Indian snack food used to give a bit of body to the chutney. You can substitute it with a few peanuts or cashews.

 

The story behind this recipe
I transited through Mumbai the same year it transitioned from being Bombay. What I saw, and smelt, from the taxi that took me across town from railway station to ferry terminal suggested it as a city of little charm. Based on this brief encounter I decided it was a place best avoided and for the next decade or so, I did exactly that.
While India’s most populous metropolis failed to impress, my greater experience of the subcontinent changed my life. I discovered a diverse regional food culture of little resemblance to the homogenous ‘curry’ and chicken tikka of Indian restaurants. This was a revelation to me and I decide I am going to write a book to tell the world about it. Years of dedication to pursuing this project follow.
As I edge towards completing this book I realize I need to include Mumbai. I allocate a miserly three days to eating my way around it: my plan is to work hard and get out quickly. The idea that I would fall in love with this city, and with a recipe I would discover there, would have seemed an absurdity, if it had even occurred to me.
The three days turns into eight. I am in no hurry to leave. Mumbai is fascinating: its food culture extraordinary. A Mumbaikar I strike up a conversation with insists that I ‘must’ visit a cafe called Prakash to try their subudana wada.
I act on his imperative and I find Prakash as crowded as a Mumbai commuter train. I manage to squeeze myself into a slot on the bench seating and order subudana wada or sago fritters. I had only eaten sago as an insipid pudding so I had not expected something based on this starchy material to be the textural and flavour revelation these turned out to be. Years of eating my way around India and I discover my favourite thing in the last place I expected.
The proprietor of Prakash happily shares his recipe for the wada with me I share it with you to give you a taste of the city he belongs to and the one I regret avoiding for so long.