Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Vada Pav





Dark clouds were moving quickly...darkening the little day light that we had. As the thunder roared and the rain poured, I stood by the patio door ...looking outside at the drenched chair, yearning for an evening under the bright summer skies, with fireflies and stars....shining ever so bright. My eyes fell on the little droplets that were trickling down...almost slipping away to the floor ....I saw the reflection of the dull evening light on the drops.....each of them almost lit up against the dark, dull backdrop....!! This moment was so beautiful.....am always thinking of the next step, the next thing on my list....am living in tomorrow....! This moment, really made me think ....made me stop, take a deep breath. I don't know how long I stood there...it felt energized and relaxed...! 

I had to take some shots of the beautiful evening. It has been an exciting fortnight. Me and my camera have been inseparable, literally! Everyday I am learning something new and just when I think I have created a beautiful work of art...I wait for a day and go back and revisit my photograph and I can see the flaw or the shortcoming in it, definitely developing an eye for detail. 

 Neel's 30 days food photography challenge has been FUN. It's fun to work and interact with people who share the same passion. It's amazing how none of us have seen each other and we come from different parts of the globe and we bond so well... Thanks Neel, for making this happen, and yes we do get homework...every day! But, it's not like school ...this kind of homework am willing to do 365 days not just 30. Am sure all my friends at the challenge will agree with me. If you want to explore LFP - here is the link for google plus. Am sharing today our lesson about lighting. Shooting with different light helped me learn about the relationship between textures and light and mood and light. The pix below is the same subject with different lighting. You can see, how lighting changes the mood, texture and meaning of the food.




On a beautifully nippy evening like this day...my palette was yearning for a spicy, deep fried meal...my brain did a quick scan of all the possibilities and.... before I knew it, I was cooking the potatoes and chopping the onions. Bitting into the crispy, spicy, juicy vada-pav with the pitter-patter of rain outside, a moment to live for. I guess you don't need a whole lot to enjoy the finer moments of life...!

For the filling 

4-5 big potatoes boiled, pealed and mashed
1 medium onion finely chopped
2-3 green chilies
6-8 garlic cloves
handful of cilantro finely chopped
1 tbsp kasturi methi

Spice blend  

1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp asafetida
salt to taste

Mix all the above ingredients and keep aside.

For the batter

1/4 cup besan/gram flour
2 tbsp rice flour
pinch of baking soda

spice blend

salt
paprika powder
all of the above to taste

Mix the batter in water, till it is a little runnier than cake batter consistency.

In a pan, heat oil to fry or use a deep fryer. make bite size balls from the potato mix and coat them in the batter by dunking then in it. Release in the hot oil slowly and watch them transform into absolutely deliciousness.

Slit a dinner roll/bun in the middle, add the vada-pav powder. I did not make the powder, but used the store bought ones....trust me it is really good and worth the drive to the Indian grocery store. If you want add some nice spicy chutney - recipe here. I like mine just with the dry powder and ....what are you waiting for dig into it :)

Before I forget, thanks to all of you who voted for me for Wholesome Harvest photography contest, so excited to win that and here is the picture again :))) thxs guys !!



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34 comments:

  1. Here also the evening is like this..thunder and rain..I am too tempted to make vada pav now..seeing your awesome refreshing clicks and loved the mood of the vada pav pic......

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    1. Reshmi :) hope you made vada- pav ! one of our favorites :)

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  2. Suddenly its too hot here, eventhough i dont bother to have this fabulous food, beautiful clicks and those raindrops click is just fabulous.

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  3. Perfect for this weather! Loved the rain drops in the collage.I liked the darker moodier ones...:-)

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  4. beautiful photography!! The vada pav looks so apt for the weather. And congrats for your win!!!

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  5. Beautiful captures, I love vada pav total comfort food right?

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    1. Absolutely - I can have this everyday but for the calories !

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  6. who can say no to vada pav simi? you have planted vada pav in my head now

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  7. Lovely post and beautiful clicks,specially with the raindrops,feeling the rain here!

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  8. Love vada pav ... Clicks are wonderful!

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  9. Beautifully written Simi....While I am running all day to put ends together...I really wish I had the time to sit down with my camera and do what I want to do. Bada Pav looks delicious.

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    1. Thxs soma! I agree, I wish i had nothing else to do but just play with my camera.

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  10. What a great winning shot. You are so lucky to be doing a course like that. It is always fun to be with like-minded people. I am sure you are learning heaps although your photography is already beautiful.

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    1. Thxs Suzanne :) i am loving the hangout and learning so much... ! Have been very quite on the photo critique club on fb :(

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  11. Hey Simi,
    Back to your page after a long time.
    And look what I come to... a posh pav-vada...this is my fav snack too on a gloomy, rainy day. Or what the heck any time of the day.
    Little inquisitive about the kasturi methi you used...will try next time when I toss some vadas.
    Cheers.

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    1. Welcome Back Chetana ! hope you visit often and thxs !

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  12. nice presentation and liked all ur clicks especially the water droplets :)

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  13. Looks amazing ! Healthy one too... great photography!!!

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    1. Divya, am not sure about healthy .....but it's worth all the deep fried goodness!

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  14. ur clciks are sooo gorgeous! felt nice reading this post abt ur clinge towards photography. and the vada pavs luks so delish!

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  15. It's raining here and I need this vada pav with a cuppa chai right about now!

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    Replies
    1. :) i love Vada- pav too and its a magical combo

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  16. hi SImi..just dropped by..to give a hai! i really likes this post and the images of the rains.. :)

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to browse. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. Hope you enjoy your stay :))

hugs!
simi

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