Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Traditional Cabbage- Piyava (Onion) Ambado/ Tikki/ Vada/ Fritters.


“Traditional Cabbage- Piyava (Onion) Ambado/ Tikki/ Vada/ Fritters” … We can give all the twists and changes we like to bring out change in dishes ... but there are times when the mind craves for traditional dishes that one grew up relishing, especially those scrumptious ones that Amma (Mom) made which still holds dear to our heart ... cabbage ambado is a delicious deep fried snack/ dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine that is relished in almost every home served as a side dish during lunch/ dinner with Dalitoy (spiced tuvar dal) and SheetHa (Rice), though it can be enjoyed as it is as a snack too with some coconut chutney or tomato ketchup… Yummilicious ..... 

** Cabbage and Piyava (Onion) ambado is a very old traditional GSB Konkani Saraswat dish that is prepared almost in every Amchies home. The method calls for addition of ground masala with coconut and spices along with coarsely ground rice and tuvar dal. This was the most sought after dish in thali, when there are guests dropping in for food in my Mom's place. During initial days of my marriage, there were always guests visiting my home, so I followed my Mom's pattern and always prepared this ambado as a side dish for lunch. You can prepare the mixture few hours ahead and put it in the refrigerator and then prepare them hot just before serving time. This curtailed my work load a lot from unnecessary last minute hassles which was a boon as cooking full fledged meals were new to me. Those days unlike now, I am actually talking about 25 yrs back, things were not so easily available and also I had access to limited gadgets etc. Now the technology and availability of things have grown to such extent that I myself find cooking very easy. 

** Coming to preparation of Ambado, over the years preparing them in traditional method almost got stopped as people are nowadays too busy to visit homes and all functions now unlike those days are held in the premises of either restaurants or halls and food is catered from outside, even if held at home. There was a time when in my Mother's place, she cooked for over 50 people easily with some help from us and aunts. That literally drained us out, but it was really fun and there was so much chaos in the kitchen and the excitement of preparing the same in time. Initially years of my marriage, there were many such occasions wherein I had to cook in bulk and I did so, but over years, things were not that easy. The working schedule made it very difficult to have so much work got done easily a pain. So, I stopped this laborious method of preparing ambados and stuck to instant ones, where in we just used powders and mixed the same as the quantity required which was enough for just a few people. After a lot of health issues, with no help from outside, I finally stopped get together in my home as it was simple not feasible, as the work before and after the event would simply give me body aches. 

** But, a few weeks back I remembered that I had not blogged these ambado in the traditional method, also my hubby simply loves the cabbage ambado as we call it in Konkani Homes, in traditionally prepared style, so I really felt it was high time I prepared it and shared it with all of you too.  I would like to mention here that “Ambado” is a Konkani Saraswat name give to deep fried tikki's, so have no confusion on that side. I have always found that be it ambado/ tikki’s/ chettambado again another Konkani Sarawat dish/ kababs are almost all same with different style of cooking like, tava fry, shallow fry or deep frying. Over the years, and in different parts of the country/ world they are called in different names, while the basic pattern is the same. Yes, the difference lies in the ingredients and the mixture only. Again, the word tikki has universal acknowledgement now and is understood better than ambado/ chettambado which only Amchies/ Konkani's will follow, but that too is not so now with children having settled all round the globe. That is why I put in all the words that which I know while explaining so that it is grasped better. 

** Here is the method of preparing “Traditional Cabbage- Piyava (Onion) Ambado/ Tikki/ Vada/ Fritters” …. My Mom’s way …. I am always thankful to my Mom for teaching me all the things I learned in life, they have not only helped me in being a better human being, but a better cook and home manager too … I have still so much more to learn from her on cooking side … will share more soon, so keep a keen watch on my Blog for both my Mom’s and my recipes … and yes do try them out, they are fantastic … 

** Ingredients : 
Raw Rice/ Tandul/ Akki : 1 heaped cup (I used thick surti kollam) 
Tuvar Dal/ Tori Dali/ Togari Bele : ¾ cup. 
Cabbage : Two cups finely chopped. 
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : One large sized / 1 heaped cup finely chopped. 
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 5-8 finely chopped. 
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste 

** Masala to be Ground : 
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 1 cup freshly grated. 
Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies/ Byadgi Mirchi/ Kumte Mirsanga : 8-10 
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly/ Huli : A small pinch 

** Plenty of oil for deep frying : any edible oil you always use. 


** Wash and soak rice and tuvar dal together in plenty of water for 2 hrs. Drain off the water, wash well; and put it in a colander for about 20 minutes for all the excess water do get drained off. It is very important to remove all excess water lest the batter turns too smooth on grinding. 

** Add all the ingredients in the mixer grinder and grind the masala to a very smooth paste. Do not add in much water, grind with just as much is necessary for smooth grinding of the masala. Remove the masala into a wide stainless steel bowl. Add in the finely chopped onions, cabbage and curry leaves along with salt to taste and keep this ready aside. 

** Now add in the drained rice and tuvar dal into the mixer grinder and grind it to a coarse paste without adding water. The mixture should be like rava consistency and dry without the addition of any water. Keep mixing in between grinding to get evenly coarsely ground mixture. Remove and add this to bowl in which the other ingredients are already added and mix well. 

** Note : You should not add in any water while grinding the above. The rice and dal will have soaked well and will grind to a coarse texture without water. Just keep mixing in between the dal while grinding to get even consistency. 

** DO NOT ADD WATER while binding the mixture. The mixture should come to a smooth and binding consistency when rolled in palm. You should be able to prepare small ambados / tikki / vadas out of them without them breaking open or cracking up. If absolutely necessary just sprinkle some water and bind the mixture. Leave it aside covered for 10 minutes. 

** Heat plenty of oil for deep-frying in thick bottomed Iron kadai or any other you usually use. When the oil reaches smoking point, lower the heat to minimum and wait for 4-5 minutes. Take in a large tablespoon of the mixture in palms, roll it into a ambados/ round balls/ tikki/ vadas and then gently press it to flatten it out a bit. Add these one by one into the hot oil and fry them till evenly browned. 

** Note : Do not overcrowd the kadai as there should be enough space for the ambado/ tikki/ vadas to get evenly fried. Also when you have added in the ambados allow them to cook on medium heat till they are cooked before you try to stir them and flip them over with spatula. If you disturb the ambado in a hurry to flip or turn over before they are done, they may loosen and break up in the oil making a mess of it. 

** Note : Remember to maintain the heat to medium while frying and to fry evenly until crispy on all sides It takes about 8-10 minutes. If you find that the oil is getting cooled slightly lesser in heat level and the ambados are soaking in oil, raise the heat level for a few minutes, to bring the oil to the consistent heat level. 

** Note : If you find it a difficult to bind the mixture, you can keep the mixture in fridge for 15-25 minutes and then try out the same. This step helps the mixture to dry out a bit and easier in binding. With practice you will learn to gently roll it between palms and add it to the hot oil, without the assistance. If you still find the mixture a little bit softer than you can add in a tablespoon of gram flour / besan and mix the mixture, though as per the above measurements if done with care you should not need it. You can also add rice flour instead of besan. 

** Once the ambados are evenly fried crisp, remove them with the help of a slotted spatula, draining off excess oil. Put it on an absorbent paper for the excess oil to drain off completely. Prepare the remaining mixture in similar way in batches to make the tikkis/ vadas. You can put the mixture in an airtight box and store in the fridge to fry them hot for later use too. 

**  “Traditional Cabbage- Piyava (Onion) Ambado/ Tikki/ Vada/ Fritters” is done and ready to be served. Always serve them fresh and hot immediately as a side dish with other dishes or as a starter too. This ambado is served for lunch/ dinner along with other dishes in Konkani Saraswat homes. Goes very well with Dalitoy and Rice. Do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. 

** Special Note : There are many more Ambado/ chettambado/ tikki/ vadas in my blog which I have shared before. Some of them have step by step procedure and show the picture of the consistency of the mixture. If you are a novice and still not sure of the correct texture need for the ambado, please go through the same. I have not repeated them again here, as I have posted them many times before. Do go through them for more choices, mix and matches etc. 

** I am sharing a two link's below for the same, but you can choose the search option for other fritters or use the label option too. 

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