Pudachi Wadi for ICC-April

For this month's Indian Cooking Challenge (ICC), Valli chose Pudicha Wadi recipe from Archana's Tried & Tested recipes. I don't think I ever heard about or had this dish before, but the process making this dish looked very interesting. I thought wadis were like pakodas (pakoras) where the veggie (s) are mixed with besan and deep fried, but in this recipe chopped cilantro or kothimeer is stuffed inside a wrapper and then deep fried.

The filling and the wrapper were so flavorful by themselves that I couldn't help myself from snacking on bits of dough and pieces of cilantro while cooking. I thought the addition of roasted and ground coconut, sesame and poppy seeds made the dish extra special. All in all a very yummy dish that is a little time consuming to make but the result is totally worth it. It took me about 1.5hrs to make and we finished all of them in 15minutes. Thoroughly enjoyed making and eating, thanks to Valli for choosing this dish and Archana for a fool-proof recipe.

Here's how I made the dish:

• Filling: In a sauté pan, heat 2tsp oil and add 1 medium onion, chopped. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 2 finely chopped green chilies, 1" piece of ginger grated and 2 cloves of garlic, minced. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or until garlic and ginger are fragrant don't smell raw anymore. Remove from heat and keep aside.
• Dry roast until golden 1tbsp sesame seeds, 1tbsp poppy seeds and 2tbsp dry grated coconut, preferably separately and grind them together into a coarse powder.
• In a medium bowl, add 2cups chopped cilantro, cooled onion mixture, sesame-coconut powder, red chili powder (to taste), 2tsp lime juice and salt (to taste). Keep the filling aside.
• Covering: In a bowl, mix ¾ th cup each of Atta (whole wheat flour) and Besan, along with a pinch of turmeric, ½ tsp of red chili powder, 3tbsp of hot oil and salt to taste. Add water as needed to make a smooth pliable dough. Keep aside covered.
• Spreading paste: In a small bowl, mix together 2tsp oil, 1tsp garam masala (kala masala) and 2tsp tamarind paste. Mix well and set aside.
• Making the Wadis: Heat oil for deep frying. Divide the covering dough into small equal sized balls. Roll each ball into a thin disk, spread evenly with the paste, and place about 2-3 tbsp of filling in the middle. Fold the disc in such a way that the edges overlap a little bit in the middle. Fold the corners to cover the filling. Press all the edges with little water to seal. Deep fry until golden brown on both sides, this does not take too long, about 1 minute per side.
• Remove onto a paper towel to drain extra oil, then cut them into bite size pieces and enjoy with sweet imli chutney or green chutney.

We enjoyed ours with sweet imli (tamarind) chutney (from Show me the Curry) and I have to say these wadis are definitely very addictive, even my 3-yr old came back for seconds. Enjoy!!