Aluwadis

In 1969, Amma and Appa came to Mumbai. Amma recalls seeing the steamed Aluwadi rolls in Farsan Shops for the first time, and she used to wonder what in the world where these! Over the years she has become an expert in making these Aluwadis and the ways she prepares it, it is just delicious! Appa who never used to like them, loves these and each time we visit our local market he will be in search for the freshest Alu leaves!

After learning this recipe from our neighbour, Amma has tweaked it to tickle our taste buds! We love these pinwheels, which are so healthy...provided you steam them and use bare minimum oil to toast them on a tava.

INGREDIENTS

5 Arbi Patte | Colocasia Leaves, large sized
300 gm Besan | Chick pea flour
1 tsp Lal Mirchi |  Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Hadi | Turmeric Powder
1 tbls Dhania | Coriander powder
1 tblsp Saunf | Fennel powder
To taste Salt
For Sweet Chutney:
10 gms Gur | Jaggery
Small lemon sized Imli | Tamarind
1/2 glass Water
For Tempering:
1 tblsp Oil
1 tblsp White Til | Sesame seeds
For Garnish:
1 tblsp Coconut, freshly grated

METHOD

• Wash the Colocasia leaves thoroughly in water. Wipe the leaves dry. Gently trim off the veins on the back side of the leaves using a sharp knife.
• In a pan add the Imli along with half glass of water. To this add the jaggery and let it boil. Once the jaggery melts, switch off the gas and let this syrup cool.
• Squish the Imli to extract its pulp and strain this syrup through a sieve to get the sweet chutney.
• In a mixing bowl, add the besan, and rest of the ingredients.
• To this besan-spice mixture, add the sweet chutney and mix well to get a fine paste. The paste should be such that it can be spread easily across the leaves to form a thin layer. Adjust with water to get the correct consistency. 
• Take one leaf, keeping the trimmed vein section upward. Gently apply the paste across the entire leaf.
• Place the second leaf in the same manner and thus build a layer of all the 5 leaves.
• Once layered, fold the sides gently so that you can neatly make a tight roll of the leaves.Apply a little of the paste near the ends so that they are bound well.
• Secure the roll with a thread or inserting toothpick.
• In a steamer, place the rolls for about 15-20 minutes. If keeping in the pressure cooker, ensure you do not place the whistle.
• Once the roll are steamed, let them cool.
• Once they are cool, remove the thread/toothpick and cut the roll into thin slices.
• The steamed sliced wadis taste delicious as-is. But for the authentic taste, shallow fry these sliced wadis till they are a bit brown. (Normally these wadis are deep fried but keeping the health factor we just prefer to shallow fry or just eat them steamed)
• Arrange these shallow fried wadis on a serving dish and then pour the tempering made of the crackled til seeds over them.
• Garnish with freshly grated coconut and serve

This is a wonderful tea time snack. These wadis can be munched any time of the day! Hope you too would love the taste of these delicious wadis. There are many ways to make the besan-spice paste. However the one we shared is what is our favorite. Enjoy!!

We have used:
1. Everest Thikalal Red chilli powder
2. LG Hing Powder
3. Tata Salt Lite

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About C R Meena

(c) 2014 - 2016, Meena's Taste Mantra is the result of my ardent desire to share my recipes, with all who appreciate and celebrate food. These recipes are as a result of 60 years of cooking experience, influenced by tradition and exposure to various concepts, new recipes/ingredients and a passion for cooking - adapting to healthier alternatives.