It is 6.00 am on a summer Sunday 15 years ago. The Chennai sun peeped out from the clouds with a yawn and cruel plans of turning the city into a sizzler. He was taken aback with the scenes on the terrace spaces of most houses. Women, girls, boys, and in some homes the men too, were all busy. The terrace spaces were abuzz with activity and loud chatter. Socializing and excited information exchange between terraces filled the air. ‘Oh” groaned the sun…” it’s vathal ,vadams time again’…. All his blazing fury is going to be productively used by these clever people resulting in happy faces while they crunch upon these deep-fried sundried crispies.
Though I was initiated into the art of Vathal making by my mother, I had a complete hands-down training from my grandmother after I got married. She would come home on every Saturday morning during the summers, and we would begin the preparations for vathal making. It would start with sweeping the terrace, cleaning, soaking rice, grinding it into a batter, fermenting….. Wheat, and ragi would go through the same process and so would some lentils to make kuzhambu vadams. The fermented batter would be gelatinized to the right texture to be extruded the next day in the wee hours of the morning.
Ghee would be drizzled on a portion of the gelatinized balls and set aside for immediate consumption. Hot vadam Maavu was a delight indeed. Broad beans, cluster beans, Tanjore chilly, brinjal would all be treated and dried. During the fag end of the season, we would be tired, but still would continue with simple preparations using sago and aval. Children would be actively involved in the entire process and with additional duty of shooing away the crows… this had its perks too….of gobbling the fresh vadam on the sly.
Shrinking families, shared or no terrace spaces, carbohydrate myths, fitness mania, burgeoning supermarkets, and online availability has almost diminished these scenes in most homes. A community/family activity with perfect teamwork & work delegation on which todays modern management techniques rest is sadly done away with. Vanishing scenes in today’s times yet brings in nostalgic memories…
SAGO VADAM / JAVVARISI VADAM / VATHAL RECIPE
Ingredients for Javvarisi Vadam:
- Sago big pearls 1 c
- Green chilly 4
- Asafoetida 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Salt as required.
- Juice of 1 big lemon
Preparation Method for Javvarisi Vadam:
- Wash and soak the sago overnight.
- Take a heavy-bottomed pan. I generally use a big pressure cooker.
- Add 5 to 6 cups of water and the required salt. Bring to a rolling boil on a low flame. Grind the green chilly to a paste. Add to the water along with cumin and asafoetida. When the water boils add the sago.
- Cook with constant stirring on low flame till the sago cooks soft and the starch gelatinizes. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Switch off the flame and cover with a tight-fitting lid till warm. The mixture on cooling should be a thick semi-liquid.
- Spread a plastic sheet or a wet while cloth on the terrace floor. Spoon in small quantities of sago mixture. The mixture will spread into circular discs. Allow to dry in the hot sun for a day in the evening the sago discs will automatically lift up from the sheet. You can also peel them away from the sheet and spread the same under a fan indoors.
- Next day morning again spread them in the hot sun. Repeat this till the sago vadam are crunchy dry. Store them in a tight-fitting jar. The shelf life of these is a couple of years.
crispy & crunchy “Sago/Javvarisi Vadam” is ready 🙂
NOTE:
- Ajwain or til can be added in place of cumin.
- Red chilly can replace green chilly.
- You can substitute 2 cups of water with a puree of tomatoes or palak.
- If you want the sago pearls to be distinctly visible, then reduce the water to 4 cups.
