BREAD VADA

I

don't know about you but I love Teatime! It's something we always cherished at home and I am trying my best to continue that tradition in our house too. I admit that it's a lot of work because it kind of happens right after you are done with the lunch clean up. It used to be a subtle affair earlier but now as the children are growing up, their appetite seems to be growing at lightening speed! No matter what I cook and how much I cook, everything gets over in no time at all.

These days, I say a silent prayer while I cook. A one line prayer for the food to stretch for another meal so that I don't have to cook four times a day, everyday! So back to the topic... I cannot do a subtle Teatime anymore. It's full on...Boost, Tea, Coffee and sometimes even a glass of Green Juice for the little lady! Then the food. I honestly thank heavens because I enjoy cooking. If not, I would have walked out of the house already! :-)

No one asks for it but if I make something around Teatime, it vanishes in two seconds. So I know, everyone is hungry! I try to make different things for 'naalumani' so when I came across this recipe by Lakshmi Nair, I made a mental note to try it sometime. Now that Jobin's mummy is with us, it's even more exciting to plan and execute THE snack for the day.

While I was frying these vadas, Jobin reached back home from work and I immediately asked him if he could make some tea for us to sip while munching on piping hot vadas. While we were hankering around the stove, I told him about my prayer these days. He laughed and said that there's no way that the food I make can last long! I mean, seriously? But why? :-( He was like please don't even think that you can cook one day per week and stretch that food...because we LOVE to eat! I agree, all 4 of us live to eat.

I sometimes dream of having a help in the kitchen like how Amma has. Like, there are days when I don't feel like touching another dirty cup! There's no paid help in our house and we do every chore ourselves. Kids have designated jobs to do everyday and they do it, luckily without hesitation.  Now that Spring is here, it's going to get extra crazy with ALL the yard work that's waiting for us outside. We have a huge wooded/ private backyard which is extremely beautiful throughout the year but maintaining it is work. When I am gone to India in Summer, Jobin is left with all the work in and around the house and he tells me that it's exhausting. I agree. But the satisfaction that you get when you do it for yourself is something worth experiencing!

BREAD VADA
Makes 12-14 pieces

Ingredients:
10 slices white bread, crumbled
1 cup yogurt,whisked
2-3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup rice flour (puttu podi)
4 tablespoons semolina
1 medium onion, diced
2 green chilies, diced
1 inch piece ginger, diced
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cilantro, as needed
1 small sprig curry leaves, torn
Salt
Oil for deep frying

Method: In a large bowl, mix together the bread, yogurt and water and set it aside to soak for 5 minutes.In the meantime, heat the oil for deep frying. After 5 minutes,add the remaining ingredients to the soaked bread mixture. It should be like ' Uzhunnu Vada' consistency. Basically, if you scoop some batter in a spoon and tap the spoon, it should fall back into the bowl. If needed,add just enough water to get to that consistency. Wet your palm, pinch a small ball out of the batter, pat into the palm, mark a hole in the centre and gently drop it into the hot oil. Fry till golden on both sides,about 2 mins. Drain excess oil on tissue paper and serve hot!

It's a quick snack that you can make with easily available ingredients. Even though it doesn't taste like 'Uzhunnu Vada' it's a nice crisp snack with a faint sweetness from the bread and heat from the green chilies.You can serve it with Ketchup or any other spicy sauce of your choice. We really enjoyed it and as usual it vanished in under 5 minutes!