VETTU CAKE / FRIED CAKE

T
his is a chayakada / tea shop special that I've eaten only in Kerala. I am sure it's available in other states but I have personally never seen it elsewhere. It's something that you can eat when it's raining outside. Anything deep fried counts as a rainy day food,right? Maybe not French fries as I've never eaten that as a snack for tea. Whenever we travel together as a family in Kerala, a stop at a chayakada in inevitable. A pit stop for tea will end up being a pit stop for a meal. We usually order one of every item displayed in those glass shelves so that we can taste everything. The last time I remember eating a Vettu cake was on our way to Kodaikanal,somewhere close to Munnar.I also asked the teashop owner to pack me some for the road.

We get some good rains here in Minneapolis and one such gloomy afternoon, I was craving for these fried goodies. I remembered Swapna chechy posting about it a while ago. So I pinged her on Facebook to check if it was the tender kinds,by which I mean not as hard as rock types. That's when she said that she's never had it in a tea shop. I trust her recipes so I thought of giving it a try . They turned out 100% the way I wanted it to be.

So I have some news for you. 2 bad news actually. The first one is that I didn't get through the scholarship contest and the second one is that I lost a dear Uncle a few days ago. The first news didn't bother me at all since it was just a competition but the latter did. Being so far away from my family doesn't help either.He was my Amma's second brother who lived in Pallikuttumma. Now, Pallikuttumma will not be the same anymore.

Let's move on to the recipe now.

VETTU CAKE

Ingredients:
500 grams all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
250 grams confectioners sugar
Approximately 1/2 cup water
Oil for frying

Method: In a bowl,whisk together flour,baking soda,salt and ground cardamom.
In another bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the flour mix along with just enough water to form a tight / stiff dough. Cover the dough with a damp towel and set aside for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 4. Roll them out to form a cylinder. Flatten it out and cut out 1 inch squares or triangles. Slit the pieces as shown.

Heat oil to 350 F on medium heat and fry them till they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, cool and store in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for 2-3 weeks!

These cakes are super addictive.You really cannot stop at one. Move aside potato chips!
When I was little, we would make doughnuts at home. It's not the same kind you get to buy outside. They were a little hard and dry. I am not sure how many of you can relate to me. It was something that my Grandaunt made for us.Mamma's sister-in-law Thankachi aunty. Then when we got the recipe, we would try it at home. Neethu, my cousin,made it once after she graduated from college and everyone made fun of her saying that she is trying to show off her 'Home Science' skills! I've heard that comment too since I took up Home Science in college. Trust me, we are not taught to become better home cooks instead a sensible cook who knows what goes into their meals. So there's a lot of science to it.

Anyway, these vettu cakes reminded me of those doughnuts I ate a long time ago. They are incredible. Do make it the next time it rains in your part of the world. You can thank me later!