We first had Pudachi wadi when traveling to Nagpur in Maharashtra for our dear friends wedding. It was December and with the cold weather there these hot fried parcels of cilantro, coconut and poppy seeds wrapped in a chickpea flour crust really hit the spot.

When we had a packet of puff pastry in the fridge we thought of making a puff version of the cilantro parcels. We roasted onions, ginger garlic and green chili paste and dried grated coconut and sesame seeds in some oil till the coconut was toasted pink.

We then added some tamarind paste, and mixed in the poppy seeds and cilantro. We made a paste with tamarind and maharashtrian goda masala. We applied this to the puff pastry and laid out the cilantro mixture.

We then cut strips on each side of the mixture and folded them over like braids.

One important flavor components of the pudachi vadi is the besan or chickpea pastry getting fried to impart a very distinct nutty taste. Since the puff pastry is made from all purpose flour and butter we would have missed that. So we toasted some chicpea flour over ghee and then added water to whisk it to a thick glaze like paste with some turmeric. We then brushed this paste generously over the braided pastry. We then sprinkled some more sesame seeds and poppy seeds. In the oven it went and baked at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

It takes on a gorgeous color when baked and the nutty flavors of coconut, besan, poppy seeds and sesame seeds are balanced by the acidity and bitter components of the tamarind and goda masala. The cilantro gets steamed and brings a dominant herbaceous but fresh flavor.