In other parts of India ,especially Northern India , sabudana or sago is consumed as a part of their fasting meal or vrat menu . Various items are prepared using Sabudana like sabudana kheer, sabudana khichdi , sabudana farali mixture. Hindu month of Shravan/Aashada , Navratri , Janmashtami , Ekadasi are some events when people fast and perform special poojas and partake this divine meal after offering to the Lord.
What is Faraal ?
Faraal /Faral generally refers to snacks but most commonly this term is used for menu prepared during the days of Vrat or fasting .
On these special days , devout Hindus abstain from eating onion , garlic , rice and many more items depending on the cultural and regional background.
In northern India ; sago /sabudana, potatoes , buckwheat/amaranth/rajgira flour, arrowroot, peanuts , varai thandool (barnyard millet) , sweet potatoes,yam are permitted as part of the fasting menu while in southern India people abstain from eating rice, onion, garlic and try to have something prepared out of rava /semolina or wheat .Basically a satvik meal is partaken.
In addition, some people avoid sugar and table salt and prefer to use jaggery and rock salt /shendha namak/व्रत (vrat) ka namak while preparing the menu for fasting .
As I said , potatoes and sabudana are widely used in preparation of Faraal . 2 famous faraali items from gujarati/maharashtrian cuisine featured on my blog are very commonly prepared for the vrat .
Faraali Pattice
Sabudana Chiwda / Faraali Chiwda
This Monday's theme for our Foodie Monday Bloghop is Faraali Farmaish suggested by our co blogger Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds. Do try her recipe on Faraali Dosa which is really tempting and on my bookmark list.
Now , without further delay , let us get on to the recipe of how to prepare sabudana vada .
How to soak the sabudana/tapioca/jawwarsi perfectly?
- Take the sabudana in a wide mouthed vessel and rinse it once or twice under running water .
- Pour water such that the sabudana gets immersed well and there is about 1/2 inch water above it .
- After about 6 hrs you can see the pearls have absorbed the water and swollen up beautifully.
- If you press one pearl between your fingers it should be soft and easily mashable. This is the perfectly soaked sabudana.
Preparation Time - 6 to 7 hrs
Cooking Time - 20 mins
Makes - 10 to 12 vadas
Complexity - simple
Ingredients
100 gms sabudana /sago/tapioca pearls
2 small potatoes boiled
2 tbsp roasted and crushed peanuts
3 to 4 green chillies finely chopped
Handful of coriander finely chopped
Rock salt/vrat ka namak/regular salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp lime juice
Method
- Soak the sabudana for about 6 hours or until they are soft but firm . It should not become soggy .
- Peel the potatoes and crumble it roughly with your hands .
- In a mixing bowl, take the soaked sabudana, crumbled potatoes , crushed peanuts, chopped chillies , salt,sugar, lemon juice , coriander and mix it well such that all the ingredients are mixed well.
- Don't make it like a dough because we want the pearls to be intact while frying . That is the beauty of these vadas.
- Keep this mixture in the fridge for about 30 to 40 mins . This step will help in shaping the patty well and oil absorption will also be less.
- Take it out of the fridge, grease your palm and take a little mixture and flatten it like a patty or you can also fry them as balls .
- If frying as balls, frying time will be more because the inside will take more time to cook hence always the patty form is preferred.
- Heat the oil well and drop in the vadas one by one carefully in the hot oil.
- Initially keep the flame on high, then slowly reduce to medium and fry by flipping both sides until crisp and golden brown.
- Serve it hot with sweetened curd if you are preparing for vrat /उपवास/upwas or with green chutney or sauce on normal days.
Linking it to Foodie Monday Bloghop week #254 - Farali Farmaish
