Besan Vadi or Pithala Vadi is made from Besan cooked with water. Besan is chic pea flour and in Westen states of india it is mixed with water and cooked down to make a dish called pithala or jhunka along with seasonings. The consistency is just like a flowing polenta or a porridge. This is used as a side with bhakari which is a rustic bread popular in this region. My mom would pour this excess in a pan and it would set as it cooled down allowing her to cut it into diamond shaped pieces. she would garnish this with a tempering of mustard seeds and coconut.
Inspiration from Torta De Ceci
As we were making plans to travel to Tuscany we were scoring food documentaries and articles to make lists of food we wanted to eat. We came across a curios dish made from chic pea flour mixed with water poured into a pan and baked in a coal oven. It comes out like a thin layer of cooked chicpea flour with a deliciously golden crust. This dish called torta de ceci reminded us of moms pithala vadi, and we were immediately wondering how it would taste like if we bake it in the oven.
Our recipe
For our besan vadi we did just that. We mixed chic pea flour with water, salt and some turmeric for the Indian flavors and color. We then poured this in a baking sheet and baked it in our oven. It is important to oil the pan well and bake till it is just starting to form crust.
Sure enough we were rewarded with a tempting crust and very soft and silky vadis to be devoured while hot.
We dressed these simply with some nutty sesame seeds and cilantro.When eaten hot these were light and melted in your mouth. We felt the flavors and textures deprecated quickly as these cooled.
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Besan Vadi
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
This is our recipe for a chic pea flour vadi which is similar to indian pithala vadi. This recipe is baked just like an italian torta de ceci
Ingredients
- 1 cup chic pea flour
- 1.25 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 tsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp oil to coat the pan
Instructions
- Mix in a stand mixer or with a whisk the chic pea flour and water while adding the water gradually to make sure no lumps are formed
- Also mix in the salt and the turmeric
- Let rest for 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Coat a quarter baking sheet (26 x 18 in) with the 2 tsp oil
- With a strainer skim the surface of the mixture to get rid of the air bubbles
- Pour the batter in the pan
- Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the surface is just starting to crisp and turn golden
- Cut into squares
- Gather in a dish and garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Snack
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: Besan
